flra

[first post after lurking for a long time]

I rented a car from Sixt in Slovenia (Sunday June 16, from Ljubljana train station to Ljubljana airport).
I only had the car for a few hours and had no accident whatsoever.

Upon pickup, I signed that everything is fine. Upon return, I gave the keys to an attendant, who then told me that I can go.
Even though I returned the car during business hours, they did not do the return inspection and paperwork right away.

Now 2 days later, they sent me the return paperwork by email including a damage assessment claiming I caused a scratch on the car ("5 cm scratch down to primer").

They demand I fill out a damage report now, where I have to describe how the damage occurred, even though I did not cause it.
They also threaten if I don't fill out the damage report, I will be liable for even higher repair costs.

Any experience in handling this?

I've never had a problem with other rental car companies. Is this a general problem with Sixt?

rickg523

I had this happen in the USA, renting from Payless. 6 weeks after returning a car (I had rented for one day) I received a damage demand for $6500!
I had paid for the rental using AMEX Platinum and I am enrolled in the Premium Rental Protection Plan - pay a $17.95 fee to AMEX each time you rent using the AMEX card and they stand as first insurer. I sent the demand letter to AMEX, who demanded documentary proof of the damage from Payless. I never responded to Payless at all, just left it to AMEX.
About 6 weeks later, I received notice from AMEX that the claim was closed and Payless had abandoned the demand.
So my thought is you should not respond to SIXT, simply pass it along to your insurer used for the rental. Let them fight it out.

Valeva

Had the same issue with Sixt Belgium. Returned the car no issues, then few weeks later received an invoice for side car damage for $4000 which have no idea about. Opened the claim with Chase. Still under review. Will see what happens next.

LondonElite

guv1976

+1.

Whenever I return a rental car these days, I do a walk-around and video-record it on my phone. I also take a picture showing the odometer reading and fuel-gauge level to protect myself against bogus refueling charges.

It is, of course, essential to make a thorough inspection of a rental car when picking it up, and to ensure that any pre-existing damage is noted on the contract. If there is any, make sure also that you hold onto the annotated copy of the contract when you return the car.
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Isochronous

Photos and video walk-around at pick-up and return are essential. I did a recent return at INV and helpfully the Sixt staff member saw me do the video, which I think intimidated him a little.

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. 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.

LondonElite

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.

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.

Paolo Schiavon

I am a motorist / traveller like you.
Did you rent a car anywhere in the world and received charges for damages? Do you suspect the damages was there already? Take less than a minute to submit the number plate of the car, few other details and help yourself and other ppl.

https : // forms.gle / yPLtiD8t5xcFrudt5 (delete the 10 spaces from the URL)

This Google form will validate data automatically.
If someone else have had the same damage within a short period of time from your rental, applied to the same car (same number plate or VIN number) you will receive a notification with the email address of the other customer who received the same charge.
Your email will not be shared except for the purpose as described above.

CatB2020

I joined FlyerTalk just to respond to this thread. We had nearly the exact same issue with Sixt Croatia, renting from Dubrovnik. They gave us an absolute beater of a car--not just scratches but literal dents everywhere and bald tires. We return the car and a week later just happened to check our credit card statement. They charged us $700. Upon investigation, the charges were for insurance we never agreed to and a scratch on the bottom right bumper "5cm in length down to primer." The scratch cost nearly $500. We couldn't believe it. There were no scratches from us on that car when we returned it. Went through Chase, who after several weeks of investigation, agreed we weren't liable and removed the charges. Yet, Sixt Croatia continues to come after us for the charges. We just got a notice from a Collections Agency. We actually contacted a lawyer here in the States but we can't decide if it's worth continuing to fight this, paying it, or just ignoring it. Sigh. I will, I swear to all things holy, NEVER rent from Sixt again. What a scam of a company.

LondonElite

If Chase removed the charges, why are they not dealing with Sixt? Send the collections letters to Chase and let your insurance deal with it. Sixt in Germany is fantastic. Outside, not so much.

Vinotraveller

I have used Sixt in UK, Germany, France, Spain, Mauritius, Argentina and Italy many many times and have never experienced any issues like these. I have stated this before but if you don't take photos of all damage and panels at the start of the rental and fully inspect the vehicle you leave yourself open to this kind of thing - and that is regardless of which company you use. Only two weeks ago the BMW 7er I picked up in TLS had serious damage to one alloy which was unrecorded. I pointed it out to the staff before I left the station and it was added to the vehicle damage record.

What people must realise is that staff don't always notice new damage and so it is really important that you do your own thorough inspection too.

HawaiiO

Had a similar scam from sixt usa a few weeks after returning the car.
claimed scratches here n there but the car was fine when i returned it.
told them so n just ignored them.
total scam.

Another scam they pull is to charge for an extra day, claiming the car was returned past the assigned time.
this racks up another day of rental.

Rented from many car companies before and sixt is the only car rental place that scams like that.

Totally untrustworthy.
never renting from them again.
Terrible business

Often1

It sounds as though the renter is located in the US and has a card issued by Chase in the US. In that case, what he referring to as having the charges "removed" means a chargeback which has been substantiated. But, it does not prevent Sixt from pursuing the renter for the funds if Sixt believes that the chargeback was wrongfully sustained by Chase and thus Chase has made a demand and has referred it to a collections agency.

If this was indeed an insurance claim made against insurance provided to the renter by Chase or through his card, then indeed he should provide the letter to Chase and have it dealt with, but also make certain that he is scrupulous in responding directly and providing contact information for Chase. But, I fear that it is the former not the latter.

This can have a devastating impact on the renter's credit score and thus negatively impact both his access to credit and the rates which he pays. US law requires that collections agencies provide specific information as to how to contest what one views as an invalid debt and it is essential that the renter follow those exactly. Hopefully he has photos showing that the damage was there when he rented the vehicle.

HawaiiO

Just did a search of Sixt problems and wow.. so many similar issues reported on internet with "damage after rental return".

Terrible company

codfishcandy

Type in any of the bigger companies, they'll all have similar issues reported. It's in the nature of the business and it's nearly always a case of their word against your word, you say untrustworthy company, they say untrustworthy customer. This is why as Vinotraveler very correctly points out you should do a pre pick-up inspection and preferably document it as well, then follow it up with an inspection at drop-off. That latter part is more tricky as rental staff may be fast in processing the vehicle. Going over the vehicle together with them (and have a sheet to track damage at return) may also help.