Enterprise charged me £982 for ‘scratches’ on a hire car

I picked up a hire car from an Enterprise London branch in March 2023 and dropped it off at another branch eight days later.

During that time someone scraped the car – a Nissan Micra – resulting in scratches on one of the doors. This happened without my knowledge.

When I returned the car, the agent also had alignment issues with one of the front alloy wheels.

Both were registered in the damage report and I took pictures in the presence of the Enterprise agent.

I was later stunned to find out that Enterprise charged me £982 which I think is completely unacceptable and disproportionate to the damage.

I have contacted Enterprise time and time again, but it has not responded to my objections to these allegations.

In the emails, I compared the damage repair costs Enterprise quoted to what anyone else across the country would pay.

At this point, Enterprise started completely blocking me – presumably hoping I’ll be discouraged and drop this issue. I’m a student and really can’t afford to pay nearly £1,000. Please help. SM, London

Helen Crane from This is Money replies: I understand why you feel like the Enterprise has fooled you.

Scratches unfortunately happen, especially when driving on busy roads in London.

But while it’s fair that car rental companies pay in the event of a prang, your bill seemed astronomical given the minor nature of the damage.

I’ve tried to break down the hefty amount into separate charges, to find out what you were actually being asked to pay for.

Enterprise told me that you were charged an administration fee of £60 as well as a lost use fee of £30.75 per day for the four days the car could not be rented while it was being repaired.

That cost totals £183, meaning £799 was charged for the actual repairs to the car – still no small sum for some scratches and a wheel alignment.

But Enterprise has since claimed that the damage was more serious than what was recorded in the report, later telling you that not only did the wheel need to be realigned, but it had to be replaced altogether.

I looked at the cost of a replacement tire and fitment for a Nissan Micra from some well-known repair shops and was quoted between around £60 and £160.

So even with that on the high side of £160, you’re still left with around £640 of your total bill.

What about the scratch on the door? You found some quotes online that suggested that, at a high estimate, repairing a scratch or dent would cost £180.

If that were the case, you would be leaving £460 of your total bill irresponsible.

But again, Enterprise claimed that this damage was more serious than the initial report suggested.

I’ve seen the damage report prepared by the real estate agent on site who calls it a scratch and you also sent me a picture where it looks like a scratch.

I’m not an auto repair expert, but that suggests to me it could be a scratch.

Enterprise also rather dramatically refers to the scratching of the car as “the accident” – perhaps a little hyperbolic since you didn’t even realize it had happened.

Wheel issues: Enterprise said our reader’s rental car wheel needed replacing, rather than just realigned

The Enterprise spokesperson also said that the estimates you found for the cost of repairs were not a comparable comparison.

The company said: ‘The damage to the vehicle was more than a dent, therefore the repair costs taken from a website renter are not a like-for-like comparison.

‘The website from which the customer obtained these figures makes it clear that they are only ‘ballpark figures’.

“Actual costs depend on a number of factors, including type or vehicle.”

It’s true that the numbers you found were just estimates – albeit top of the line.

But being charged £400 more than that amount still seems excessive to me. You drove a Nissan Micra, not a supercar.

I went back to Enterprise and asked it to break down exactly how much the replacement tire and scratch repair cost.

It wouldn’t provide me with those numbers, but insisted it was ‘sure that everything’ [its] process and procedures have been followed correctly.’

In response to my question about how it calculates the cost of repairs, the spokesperson replied, “All of our repairs are performed by an independent repair network and all estimates are valued using an industry leading repair cost estimation system.

“This is an industry standard estimation system used by most insurance and fleet companies because it provides a consistent cost and methodology for vehicle repair.

“The repair costs and methods are in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s standard to return the vehicle to its pre-accident condition.”

It also said you could have bought extra protection when you rented the car, for an extra £15 per day, meaning you would have had to pay up to £100 for repairs.

But I think that’s a bit of an excuse. Parting with almost £1,000 should give you a clear overview of where that money is going – and rental companies should make their profit on rentals – not repairs.

And is the company really saying that if you wanted to be charged fairly, you should have taken out extra insurance?

I’m sorry to say that on this occasion I was unable to convince Enterprise to cancel your fees – and I know that paying the bill will be a challenge to your student budget.

I imagine the next time you decide to hit the road, rent somewhere else.