boboqui

SIXT rent-a-car AG
Colin Darms
Schadencenter
Schwarzwaldallee 242
CH-4058 Basel

December 2, 2014


Dear Sir/Madam,


It is impossible to complete the incident report because there were absolutely no incidents with the car during the rental.


>We have noted the following new damage on your rental vehicle:

> Spoiler, bumper, front Passenger side scratch 5-10 cm deep (down to primer)

The scratch in the bumper was noted by the agent when I took out the car, it did not occur during my rental. Please check the attached contract damage notes.


> Wiper arm middle missing surrounding

I did not notice what I assume is a piece of plastic missing, however, it did not occur during my rental.


> Windscreen Driver side stone chip not in driver's vision

I did not notice, however, there were no incidents of damage to the windshield incurred during my rental.


Please help clear these incorrect claims.


Thank you very much,

boboqui

Here's a copy of the email that I received:

"Dear ,

thank you for your e-mail.

If a damage is reported to us by one of our branches, we try to find out when and how our vehicle was damaged.

Before we charge a damage, we check all facts first. Therefore we contact you in order to clarify if you can provide any information.

With your mail this matter is settled. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Best regards
Manuel Jeannerat
Sixt rent-a-car AG/SA
Flughafen Basel-Mulhouse
CH-4030 Basel"


There shouldn't have been any "matter" to start with, it ruined my day and caused me a couple hours of work, finding the contract, taking pictures, cropping, sending, resending, composing email, etc.

First and last time I use sixt.

Vinotraveller

As with all rental companies it is important to check a vehicle over with a fine toothcomb and report all unrecorded damage before driving away with the car. I also take photographs of all damage. In that respect I don't think SIXT are worse than anyone else. I have rented from them 11 times in the past 12 months in a variety of locations. Apart from two times when I had almost 0km new cars all the vehicles had some unrecorded damage - generally very minor but I always point it out to the agent and insist it is recorded. I have never had any issues with them trying to claim I damaged a car. IMHO Europcar are far worse for this than SIXT. Once rented a car from them at Bordeaux, no damage recorded, but every single panel had damage. After that I started using only SIXT.

shutterbugguy

Another example: EXACT SAME THING happened to me, TOO, from Sixt at Zurich airport. My rental was returned exactly as I hired it, even vacuumed the inside before returning it, and it was spotless. We did not cause ANY damage, but now they sent a letter saying that there is "Outside mirror Passenger side scratch 5-10 cm superficial" damage.

I waited for the check-in technician to thoroughly inspect the vehicle, he said there is no problem, said, "Thank You." I asked for a verification of the condition and return, and he replied, "Kein Problem, wird die Quittung per E-Mail gesendet werden." If you rent from Sixt, record the check-in on your cell phone as proof!

itisme

Same here. They say damage was at at 28-7-2014 and send 3 objections against it so far. All they do is send auto-replies and asking me to pay Half a year now and not one serious answer. Every time it takes them 2months to send the same pdf file stating i have to pay.. Tiring to say the least.

All they say is:

'When you dropped off above mentioned vehicle it was damaged. According to the terms of your rental agreement and the
relevant provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) you are obliged to return the vehicle in its contractual condition.
You admitted that the damage was caused during your rental by signing the return protocol.
Based on the pictures of the damage, the estimate was issued.
So far, no objection has been raised and substantiated that the damage was not caused by you, which is why you are liable
for this damage.
We have checked the incident. Please settle the outstanding loss amount by 3rd of Feburary 2015.'


Esp. the sentence of 'so far no objection has been raised'.

I'm at point of just not even bothering to reply anymore as there doesn't seem to be anyone at their german damage department that will reply seriously to my objection. How long are they trying to keep going along with this... :/
I rent cars for over 300 days a year and this was my first experience with sixt trying something new for a change besides Herts & Europcar where i have the highest status but this sure made me not rent with them ever anymore which is a shame as i do like their fleet.

norcal_sf

Hello there,

Exact same thing happened to me as well! I rented a car from Sixt in Germany two monthes ago for 3 days and properly returned it with a full tank. There were no new visible damage (When I picked it up was full of damage. A huge dent in the left side that was marked on the rental pickup form) to the vehicle and I even had to park it on the street with 2 hours parking as there was no room left in the Sixt parking lot, so you know a team member had to look/move the car fairly quickly after return.

I got the receipt back within a couple of days and then a few days later an email asking to describe the accident I had. There were NO ACCIDENT occurred during my rental period with the car and I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT CAUSE THE DAMAGE.

Fast forward today and I have an 900 Euro bill in my inbox for a scratch on the windshield. I was in 2013 a Gold card member at Sixt, but I guess that does not count any more.

thecourtside

guess i'll never rent with sixt...

word of advice, always take pics of the car with ur camera phone and then also when u drop it off if there is no one to check you out.

Vinotraveller

I rent from Sixt well over 10 times per year at locations all over Europe and this has never happened to me.

It is very risky not to properly check a vehicle over for unrecorded damage before you leave the rental compound. That is the same for any rental company. I have no sympathy for people who don't check for extra damage and then cry because they end up having to pay up.

norcal_sf

That's the thing. I did check for damage for leaving with the car. I noted the damage already on the sheet. I returned the car, got my DEPOSIT back, then got a notice saying there was damage. It's like they notice damage a week later and assume the last renter did it. The pictures of the damage on my car were taken on a dirt lot. I returned it to a paved street. Anything could have happened between there and the place where they took the pictures. How is that my fault?

Doc Savage

Sounds like I'll never rent from Sixt. This all sounds like something certain locations are doing routinely to get a little more money out of people hoping they won't fight.

RTW1

I think you should always be very weary when dropping of a rental at a location that is unmanned....document the state of the car carefully before and after because you got no receipt.

Some branches seems to play this game, probably regardless of brand.

oxymoron

Best is to get the car checked from Sixt rep when you drop it. They will give you in writing that there were no damages.

JDiver

Best is the agent check that verifies lack of damage / additional damage.

I also take photos at pickup and return with my cellphone - they're dated and timed, I include all four views and closeup of any pre-existing damage.

It's hardly exclusive to Sixt to charge for damages after the fact; we rented a Prius from Hertz at FLL once, obvious damage to the driver side door (most likely from an employee taking it for a joy ride or whilst moving it to the rental stalls). I'd have taken another vehicle, but this was THE Prius they had left and it was an opportunity for me to test drive and evaluate whilst considering buying one. Got the agent sig, got photos, got agent sig on return, and got a bill for something like $1,600 some weeks later.

The cellphone pix clinched it for me. But I guess they had to try to bamboozle me?

musicpoem

something to note to. I will be renting from Sixt as well next month. I will take video and lots of pic of the car on pick up and return, will also check underneath the bumper and spoiler as well.

From what I read, in Sixt Munich Stachus they don't walk you to the carpark as it's quite a distance, so I may have to run back and forth to confirm any damages not listed in the contract.

cor1reb

I had rented a car in Berlin and Sixt claims after 2 days that I had caused the damage on the driver side/scratch/10 cm deep down to primer. When I returned the car the representative went down and checked the car and said there was no damage.
After 2 days they send an email saying about the damage and we replied them by email and we denied that we had caused any damage to the car. We went back to the office of Sixt and asked to see the car they said it was not there.
They are sending emails and not agreeing to anything, and threatening with legal action etc.
Its a bad experience for us and don't want to rent a car especially from Sixt anymore in Germany. From all of the above complaints I can see that Sixt is giving the same damage to most people.
What can I do ?