Originally Posted by
Isochronous
In these situations the car hire company always bears the onus of proof to prove the existence of the damage and that you caused it, so if you don't have some form of your own insurance to fall back on I would advise denying the claim and demanding evidence to the contrary.
I don't know what this means, but the fact is that any damage caused between check-out and check-in is the responsibility of the renter. It is also the renter's responsibility to prove that he did not cause any damage to the vehicle, and this is done by carefully agreeing the check-out form and doing so again at check-in. Photos of before and after are of course very useful and easy to take.
If you want to go to more extreme measures you could also consider cancelling the CC you used for the booking so they have nothing to try and charge any fees to.
This is, obviously, terrible advice. The credit card would get charged and the card company would come after you (they would have an easier time of it than the rental company). You are liable for all charges genuinely incurred after you cancel, read the fine print.