I had a nasty experience with Avis in Belfast a few years ago. Dropped off the car without incident (had declined the SCDW), parked it nose in in the early evening when the booth was closed.

When I got the invoice a few weeks later there was a £350 excess for damage. Rang the local office and after some delay they said that there was a dent along the boot lid, according to them it was so neat they had to park another model side by side to make sure it wasn't a styling feature!! However they were adament that it wasn't there when I collected it - how would I have noticed it it was so subtle..?

Anyway, I refused to pay but Amex could not query the transaction as the hire of the car itself was not in dispute. I took legal advice but as it was a 'word against word' claim my chances of success were low, and furthermore Avis had umpteen outstanding county court judgements against them so even if I had won I'd be whistling for the payment.

The only right you have is for the car hire company to have the repair to be actually carried out and to be refunded the difference if less than the £350.

If you read the small print on the contract you sign, you are liable for the car until it is inspected, even if this is days after the hire. So in my case the car was either damaged before I got it, took a knock while I had it (unlikely as it was outside parents house whole time i wasn't in it) or had a knock after I dropped it off.

Strangely a few months later I got a £100 or so credit back from Avis on my Amex, maybe they found a cheapo body shop, who knows.

So I vowed never to use Avis again on my own money, but the rest are just as bad - Hertz hired me a car with little or no screen wash on a foul winter's night, only realised when it ran out when I was in the middle of nowhere, made for a fun drive. They refused to refund me even though the first line of the T's and Cs is 'We will hire you a car that is fit for purpose etc...' - can;t you fail your MOT for having no screenwash? Again you can try to sue (for a £100 car hire) and see where you end up.

ok, feel better I have vented