Company car return to Lex with hefty charge

cyber69 · 5 Jul 2022 at 08:39

I’ve just left a company which has shall we say, different rules concerning company cars. They with held £1000 from my final salary incase of any damages to the company car and sure enough when it was inspected using BVRLA guidelines they flagged up £1300 worth of damage. This includes small stone chips mostly to the front of the car which you can argue is wear and tear.

I’ve been informed that I won’t be held responsible for the stone chip damage but I will be held liable for the cost of a small tear in the drivers seat (about 3cm). The day before the car went back I noticed a clean tear in the seat as if it had been stabbed. I don’t carry anything in my back pockets nor do I smoke so i’ve no idea how it’s happened but the charge for repair is £490!

I’ve heard stories of these companies charging an arm and a leg for repairs and i’ve told them i’m not happy about paying this amount but the company seems to be insisting i’m liable unless I can prove it was like it when I got the car.

Do I just suck it up and move on or how would I go about disputing it?

Diagro · 5 Jul 2022 at 08:48

cyber69 said:
I’ve just left a company which has shall we say, different rules concerning company cars. They with held £1000 from my final salary incase of any damages to the company car and sure enough when it was inspected using BVRLA guidelines they flagged up £1300 worth of damage. This includes small stone chips mostly to the front of the car which you can argue is wear and tear.

I’ve been informed that I won’t be held responsible for the stone chip damage but I will be held liable for the cost of a small tear in the drivers seat (about 3cm). The day before the car went back I noticed a clean tear in the seat as if it had been stabbed. I don’t carry anything in my back pockets nor do I smoke so i’ve no idea how it’s happened but the charge for repair is £490!

I’ve heard stories of these companies charging an arm and a leg for repairs and i’ve told them i’m not happy about paying this amount but the company seems to be insisting i’m liable unless I can prove it was like it when I got the car.

Do I just suck it up and move on or how would I go about disputing it?

Do you have photos?
Approach some repair companies and get quotes. Then pass them along with an agreement to pay those costs.

Otherwise, yes you will have to accept the loss.

shifty_uk · 5 Jul 2022 at 08:49

You say you noticed the tear before you handed it back? In that case I would suck it up.

What else was included in the damages?

Siliconslave · 5 Jul 2022 at 08:53

you broke it you pay for it - not sure you can really argue a tear in the seat you were aware of isn't your fault (regardless of how it happened)

tom_e · 5 Jul 2022 at 09:08

Seems completely reasonable. Yes you may be able to get it fixed cheaper elsewhere but then you missed that chance when you handed it back with damage you were aware of.

cyber69 · 5 Jul 2022 at 09:21

The damage to the seat I noticed the day before the car was collected. Nothing I could do at the time to get it repaired so expected it to be picked up but the charge does seem to be extortionate.

Greebo · 5 Jul 2022 at 09:24

cyber69 said:
The damage to the seat I noticed the day before the car was collected. Nothing I could do at the time to get it repaired so expected it to be picked up but the charge does seem to be extortionate.

I find lease companies are great on paint and wheel damage, less than our in house bodyshop can do it for with daft figures like £90 for a bad scratch but they rape you on trim. £495 for no rear parcel shelf is a good one normally and £300 no stamped service book.

If you dont get it fixed before it goes back to them there is nothing you can do unfortunately.

And with most things the item wont even be fixed, its quite often a set cost to equate to how much less they will get for it at auction or trade prices. Most things go straight through the auction unfixed.