Sixt goes the extra mile…

Unfortunately, your theories of excellent customer service do not appear to be reflected in reality.

I recently rented a small car from Perpignan Airport. During the rentail, I opened the driver’s door and the edge brushed against a wall breifly. It caused a 1cm scratch to the very edge of the door.

On returning the car, I felt it would be best to be honest about this, and noted it on the forms I competed on returning the vehicle.

I was very surprised to be charged 299 Euros for “damage to the vehicle”. I complained to customer services who advised that, because the door was “dented” and that I had indicated this on the forms that the charge was appropriate and justified.

I remain in discussions with customer services in France.

A few observations:

1. I would have been more than willing to accept a small, reasonable charge for remedial work to repair the small scratch (why would I have noted it on the form if I had not been?)
2. There can be no justification for a charge of 299 Euros for a 1cm scratch.
3. I am convinced that, had I not mentioned the mark to the door on the forms at the end of the rental, no charge would have been made (my mistake). Sixt seems to be happy to penalise honest drivers by using an honest declaration on a form to justify punitive and unjustified charges.
4. I travel to France at least once every two months, and have done so for the past 5 years. I rent a car on most trips and have always used Hertz, Europcar or Avis, without ever having cause for complaint. I decided to try Sixt on this occasion for the first time ever. You can imagine how likely I am to use Sixt again.
5. I would recommend to anyone who is thinking of renting a Sixt vehicle to not use them at all. The other rental companies I have used have never tried to pull this kind of stunt.

I would welcome any comments by email from Sixt management in respect of this situation.

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Gary Coughlan Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:53 pm

Hi Andy,

I will be happy to look into this for you, please you could e-mail me directly with further details and any previous correspondence with my colleagues in France. My e-mail address is gary.coughlan@sixt.com

In instances of damage we automatically charge the insurance excess. This is in accordance with our terms and conditions and your contract with us. The amount 299 Euros could either be the Excess or the repair cost, I will need the details to check this.

There is of course no intention to penalise honest drivers but I am sure you will agree that any new damages should be charged. There is normally the posibility to take additional insurances to lower the excess charges and therefore reduce any liability.

I look forward to receiving further details from you and will do what I can to help.

Best regards
Gary

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Gary Coughlan Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 8:51 am

Hi Andy,

Thank you, for your patience while we have been checking your Damage query, my colleague Eric who is responsible for the French Damage Department has confirmed to me that you will receive a full refund for the damage and that the file will be closed with no further charge raised as a gesture of goodwill.

Please check your account this time next week, if you have not noticed the refund please contact me and I will check this for you.

Best regards
Gary

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Andy Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 9:30 pm

I am very pleased to report that a full refund of the excess charge has been returned to my card. I would like to say a very big thank you to Gary and the UK Customer Services department for looking into the case and understanding my concerns. Your actions have gone a very long way to making me reconsider my previous decision never to rent with Sixt again.

Thanks again.

Recently requested a Mercedes ML320 with built in sat nave from Heathrow.

The VW Toureg I was supplied with had all the in car audio and navigation functions on the central screen in German language which I do not speak. Noone knew how to change it although pretty much the whole staff had a go which considerably delayed our departure to no benefit.

There was no navigation disc so the sat nav was inoperable.

This should all have been checked before the car was deemed suitable for customer delivery.

There were two other touregs ( but no Mercedes) on the lot but I was not able to take either of these because the staff said i could not have them because they were dirty…) they both looked clean enough to me. And the staff were unable to transfer a working sat nav disc from one of them to my vehicle.

Instead they provided me with a plug in garmin system ( so I couldn’t use my iPod) until the plug fell apart on the gamin device the first time I removed it from the car.

A simple problem then that could and should have been easily rectified by better trained staff…

Finally given that the staff on sight were unable to take care of the problem, I asked to speak to a manager, but none were available because it was the weekend. A lady phoned later to apologise and say there was nothing they could do at the weekend and promised to get back to me on Monday but unsurprisingly did not.

Gary coughlan has since been in touch and offered me a 25% discount on my daily rental fee which I think was a fair waybof acknowledging that the service was not up to the high standards I would have expected from sixt

I have also received an apologetic email from the manager of the Heathrow branch so thank you for acting promptly and effectively to restore my faith in Sixt.

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I have an unpleasant situation to report. The 16th of August, when I returned a hired car at the London Heathrow station , the Sixt emploee noticed some small damages (scratches and a dent) in the lower part of the rear bumper.

I am sure that this kind of damage cannot occur during my rent and that it was already there when I rented the car. I didn’t notice these damages at pick up time because they are were not clearly visible, being in the lower part of the car (you need to bend down to see the damage) and being already partly repainted.

To proof that the damage was alreay there and partly repainted I took some pictures with my mobile phone that show a that a quick repair (a re-paint) had already been done to cover (hide) the existing damage.

I sent these pictures to the Accident Claims Unit emploee that followed my case. She said that they were not aware of any existing damage and that I signed to agreed to the condition of the vehicle at the start of the hire: however as a gesture of good they were willing to accept a 50/50 settlement which amounts to £115.

It is true that I signed a rental agreement and indeed it was my fault not to have thoroughly checked the status of every square centimeter of the car at check in time but I still felt that Sixt was trying to profit from a damage by charging me for something that I have not done (I can send you the pictures proofing that the damage was already there).

Despite my protest I was chardeg the £115 amount. Since I paid for the damage, I wanted to be sure that the money:
1) is not too high compared to the extension of the damage
2) is being used to repair the damage so that it cannot occur that someone else will pay for the same damage again as it happened to me.

The reply that I received is that the repair may not be performed until de-fleet.

Now you can understand why this situation makes me think that:

1) part of the damage was already repaired, and Sixt knew about it and may be someone else has already paid for it
2) the damage will not be repaired until de-fleet and it is likey that the same mark gets charged over and over again to a stream of customers because it cannot be seen from a customer quick car inspection
3) I would also like to point out that the Sixt emploee who checked the car when I returned it, took several pictures of the damages, but none highlighting the previous repair (I had to take them): this also makes me think of a bad fath (are there performance-related bonuses on this ?)
4) The claimed amount of the repair (115 x 2 = 230) is high compared to the extension of the damage

I am sorry that this rental turned into this unpleasant situation, but as I have already written, I do not tolerate to be charged (not even the 50%) for a damage that I have not done.

[Reply]

Gary Coughlan Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Dear Mr Mella,

Thank you for leaving your feedback here on our blog.

I have contacted both the Head of the Damage Department in the U.K. and the Branch Manager at Heathrow to discuss and check your damage case.

Our hand held car check system automatically uploads all pre-existing vehicle damage recorded at the end of each hire. The existing damage is transferred automatically on to the rental agreement at the start of each new hire, which the customer must check and sign at the beginning of each hire. This ensures that all known damage is already noted and reduces the possibility of the customer failing to record all damages as maybe the case if you were starting the hire with a blank vehicle check sheet.

We checked the inspection reports prior to your hire and the damage you incurred was not present on any of the previous reports. The damage noted was therefore recorded as new damage and you were charged.

The damage has been recorded and is now automatically printed on all future rentals until a repair is completed, it is impossible that another customer can be charged twice for the same damage.

I do empathise with you over this unexpected additional cost. The Damage department will always try to find the best possible price and for you made a special case and offered to charge the repair costs at de-fleet as the damage does not render the vehicle unrentable.

It is however very likely that the vehicle will be repaired prior to de-fleet as the vehicle still has 172 days rental life, plenty of time to accrue new damage. In this case all repairs will be at the local garage cost as opposed to the refurbishment cost at de-fleet. However, we have committed to you to charge only the refurbishment cost of £115. To take advantage of this the invoice will not be available until the vehicle is de-fleeted in approximately 6 months time when the vehicle is refurbished or prior if the repair is done locally as a result of new damage. Should you require the invoice earlier the repair would need to be arranged locally and the cost would therefore be as per the original estimate of £230. With regret on this occasion the charge £115 will not be further reduced as this relates directly to the cheapest possible repair cost.

Best regards
Gary

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I rented a car from SIXT in Aix en Provence that had a number of scratches that were not recorded on the contract. Despite confirming these verbally at the pick-up with SIXT staff who promised to update the SIXT system, staff at the Nice Airport drop off had no record of these, but did accept my explanation and photos I had taken, apologized for my inconvenience, and did not charge me for fuel used. I was then a bit concerned when I arrived home in Australia to receive a notice asking me to complete a damage assessment – particularly as the travel blogs are full of people who appear to have been charged excess when they were not responsible for damage. However, after raising this with Gary Coughlan (per previous blog) in the UK, within 24 hours I was very happy to receive an apology and closure of this issue and the offer of an upgrade voucher. Despite some issues with recording damage, SIXT were very professional, and I will definitely use them again!

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Dear Sixt,

I rented the car “BMW 5er Gran Turismo NAVI ” on May 21 to June 3,
but you unexpectedly changed the other one ”Benz GLK CDI 220” when I
pick up. For your mistake, I and my wife have terrible experience in
this honeymoon trip, and been disappointed at your custom service. We
have three complaints as below:

(1) This car’s price is lower than BMW 5er Gran Turismo about 20,000
ERU. Besides, The car specification ”3500 CC” I rented formerly is
changed to 2200 CC.

(2) This car’s *NAVI* has been often unworkable, the direction message
is not shownon screen.

(3) I went to Six co. at Pullach for borrowing *GAMI* on May 26.
Unfortunately, it was unworkable again and shut down for charging.

According to the above mentioned, I have been kept all proven photos
as attached files. I claim that you should pay an reasonable indemnity
to me return me, because we delayed all schedule, even missed some
sightseeing points, and cost more oil fee in my honeymoon trip.

If I don’t get your reply, I will post the proven photos and videos on
Facebook, and make known to the public that Sixt is a dishonest and
unreliable company.

I look forward your reply as soon, thank a lot.

Regards,
Richard

[Reply]

Gary Coughlan Reply:
June 8th, 2011 at 8:13 pm

Hi Richard,

I am very sorry to read of your experience. Please allow me a little time to look into this. I’ll come back to you as soon as possible.

Gary

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Gary Coughlan Reply:
June 10th, 2011 at 3:58 pm

Hi Richard,

I’m really sorry that the reserved vehicle wasn’t available and that there was a problem with the Sat Navigation system charging. I have discussed your feedback with the Branch Manager who also asked me to pass on his own personal apology. I have amended your invoice after making very careful consideration of the difference in group and the impact on your enjoyment of the rental.

I have replied in more detail to your e-mail, I hope you can see that Sixt is a reliable and honest company, we made a mistake but we hope we have demonstrated how sorry we are.

Best regards
Gary

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We recently rented a brand new car from Dublin Airport. We returned it (to the downtown Dublin office) 8 days later with a few unavoidable scratches on the left side … we totally understand the need to pay for repairs and for the time that the car would be out of service. HOWEVER, these were minor scratches … even in the estimation of the SIXT people with whom we spoke when we made the return. We returned the car on July 23 and were told we’d get a phone call from SIXT regarding the charges for the repairs. We also left our email address. We never received a phone call or an email message. And now I find that the whole amount that had been blocked on our credit card (over $2,100) has been charged to our account. We just can’t understand how the repair of these scratches could be so costly … and even if the bill did come to this amount, why didn’t the adjuster call us/contact us as promised? This was our first time using SIXT and it will also be our last. Actually, it was the American Express Platinum card people who made the arrangements and chose SIXT (Murrays) for us. I plan to share our experiences with American Express and will suggest that they point future customers elsewhere.

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Gary Coughlan Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 10:31 am

Hi Beth,

Would you mind sending me the reservation details through. I’ll contact Murrays and find out what is happening. I am sorry about the charges but until I receive their answer I am unable to comment further.

My e-mail address is gary.coughlan@sixt.com

I look forward to hearing from you.

Gary – Customer Service Team

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We are regular customers of Sixt and in our last rental we managed to scratch the passenger door. It was a very similar damage to that reported by Andy in the the first post, two spots (rather than scratches) of peeled paint to the very edge of the door (not through to the metal). This was noted when we returned the vehicle and we were expecting a reasonable charge. However, it turns out Sixt has sent us an invoice for 482 pounds to fix such “damage”.

I find it hard to believe that such a minor scratch demands repainting the whole door (as the invoice suggests) and, because it’s metallic paint, also blending the adjacent panels. I also find it hard to believe that the money will actually be used to repair the damage when the car is almost new and it’s highly likely any other customer could cause similar damages. Will they repaint the whole door every time, taking the car out of service for a day or two to fix some cosmetic damage? And will they also charge each customer 480 pounds for each new scratch?.

We’ve discussed the repair costs with independent garages an no one comes even near the 482 that Sixt intends to charge, precisely because it is only a cosmetic touch-up that doesn’t render the vehicle un-rentable.

While we happily accept responsibility for the damage, the costs being claimed by Sixt are completely out of proportion. It’s a shame, as we were growing loyal to the brand, but being charged almost 500 pounds for something that is barely noticeable will ensure that I never return to Sixt and that no positive references are given.

[Reply]

Gary Coughlan Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 11:33 am

Hi Boris,

Thanks for posting your comments on our blog.

I’m really sorry that we had to contact you about a damage to our vehicle.
The estimated repair cost is £401.88 – we received this estimate from the garage. Following your earlier correspondence with us the Damage Team checked and reviewed the estimate along with our Refurbishment Manager. Please appreciate that both adjacent panels have to be re sprayed to obtain a correct metallic finish , the dent will not “cold metal Repair/Touch up” as the dent & scratch are on the crease of the vehicle. The estimate does reflect the work needed to be carried out in order to make good the damage caused. It maybe the case that we repair the vehicle at de-fleet but the repair cost is as already detailed to you, is completely justified and the repair will be made.

Let me reassure you that we are in business to rent cars not charge damage and we honestly would prefer not to charge damage in any case. The fact is we have to.

Sixt will pay to repair the vehicle and of course it is right that we contact the person responsible to recoup the cost. We do empathise with you regarding the damage charge, like I said we don’t like to charge you.

I have e-mailed you directly with some further detail, I hope you are happy with my suggestion. Please do not hesitate to call me on my direct line if you wish to discuss any of the above.

Gary – Customer Service Team

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Boris Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Hi Gary

Thanks for taking the time to review my case. I appreciate the good quality of customer service at Sixt is not easily found at other providers and will be looking forward to do more business with you.

Boris.

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Dear Gary Coughland

I am writing to deny the damage that was credited to me on the Volkswagen Polo (registration FT11XVC) that I rented at Stansted airport on the 10/09/2011 and returned on 15/09/2011. Today I received damage invoice with reference 761004431 and already charged to my credit card (754.2 Pounds for repairing a scratch!).
When I lifted the car I noticed that the damage recorded on the sheet, that was given to me did not correspond to the any damage the car actually had and has. There was no such damage on the car. Thus I had deduced that it was a mistake on the data base. This was confirmed by your staff at the parking lot on site when I returned! He could not see any of the registered damage (scratches and dents). After I mentioned this to the other SIXT staff at the desk and nothing else was mentioned to me.
Today I received a letter with a 754.2 Pounds invoice for the damage that I had even pointed out (a very small almost unnoticeable scratch). I would understand if someone crashed into the back of the car or if I had made some sort of major parking blunder. But this was far from the case since I had no misfortune whatsoever on my trip. I am an experienced, careful driver and airplane pilot and I am used to pre driving/flight inspections and thus I can assure you that I handed back the car just as I had received it.
Thus I want you to re-analyse this situation due to the mismatch of registered damage with the actual damage on the car. I am sure you will also verify that the damage in the sheet does not match any on the car. I am obviously quite disturbed by all this since I handed you back a well cared, tidy, fueled and clean car. I never expected such a thing to happen to me in the UK of all places! I hope that you will carefully confirm my claim and refund the above mentioned amount.

Best regards

Rui Moura

[Reply]

Gary Coughlan Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Hi Rui,

Firstly, Thanks for your post.

I have replied to your e-mail received yesterday with a quick update. I understand that you are in direct contact with Amy who is handling your case. I have also spoken with Amy who expects to conclude the matter very soon.

Gary – Customer Service Team

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Rui Moura Reply:
October 4th, 2011 at 3:39 am

Hello Gary

Thank you very much for your attentive support. The mistake was swiftly checked and solved by Amy who then proceeded to refund the mentioned amount.
Best regards

Rui

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