In May, I rented a car in Bern to drive to the Netherlands for a week. It was a great trip with no incidents. Since I was working, the car mostly sat in an underground garage across from my hotel.
A week after returning the car, I got an email notice claiming damage to the rims. The message linked to a questionnaire about the damage, and I filled it out honestly saying I was not aware of damage to the rims. Nothing had happened during the rental. Now, two months later, I get a new email with a repair invoice for over 1000chf. Included was also the estimate from an auto body shop with photos of the damage. On front and rear rims of one side of the vehicle, photos (attached) show a series of dinks in the rim.
I basically drove to and from Eindhoven only stopping for gas in each direction and parked off the street, so I'm sure I didn't scrape against a curb. I’m wondering if they were there all the time, and I never noticed them. I should have check the car better on check out, but I was running late and the rental agent didn’t do a once over like usual with me. The damage is minor enough it is hard for me to see clearly on the pictures, so we might have missed them even if we checked more closely. I urge others to learn from my mistake because looking around online I see others complaining about charges from similar damage.
Even if they weren't there when I picked up, there were two other times when the car was not under my control. First on pick up, my car was waiting outside the office but when the agent came out to show me the car, we found drips from the overhanging roof of the office had dripped into an open window and birds had pooped on the car too. He drove it away in a rush to have someone take care of it and came back fifteen minutes later. Second, I returned on a Sunday, so per arrangement I left the car in the unattended lot across from their office. Presumably, someone checked the car in on Monday.
I plan to write an answer to Sixt detailing the above once more and refusing to pay. Then what happen? I’ve read on some sites that the fine print on the agreement makes me liable for anything that happens during the rental period. Some sites warn against returning cars when the office is closed because of this. Is it really possible if I took this all the way to court that a judge would make me pay for minor damages not caused by me that would not effect the rental price or ability of Sixt to rent this car? Differences in consumer protection laws between countries are not clear in web articles I've found on the subject, but Switzerland, in my experience, has never been impressive in this regard which makes me a bit nervous.
I realize I’m also not so clear on the insurance end of this. I thought rentals in Europe included base coverage for accidents unlike in the US, and the additional coverage offered here was more like bumper to bumper. In this belief, I have a worldwide “excess coverage” from a third party insurer. Am I right or wrong on this? The coverage is a reimbursement policy, so I'll only claim if somehow legally forced to pay (for something I didn’t do). I thought I was covered, but now I'm getting nervous about it all.
Anyway, if anyone has experience or expertise they want to share on this topic, I am all ears. Thanks in advance!