Unjustified costs for car hire

Suppose you return home after a well-earned holiday and you discover that unjustified or unclear costs have been debited from your credit card. If this happens, immediately contact the car hire company in writing – by e-mail or registered post – and ask for an explanation or adjustment of these costs.

Unexpected costs for car hire

Often, these unexpected car hire costs relate to extra insurances or repairs to the car.

In the former case it involves extra insurances which you – without realising it - took out when you signed the contract. You agreed with the contents of the contract, and it is therefore extremely difficult to challenge these costs. 

If you need to pay extra for repairs for damage which was supposedly discovered on the hire vehicle, but you were not – when you returned the car – given an opportunity to inspect the vehicle along with an employee of the hire company, challenge these extra car hire costs immediately in writing.

Remember that the car hire company must justify these extra costs for the car hire, by providing you with the invoice of the repairs. The repairs must also be performed by a third party and not by the car hire company itself!

Refund of unjustified costs for car hire

If you have taken the correct steps to challenge the unjustified costs for your car hire, but the car hire company fails to get in touch with you, and no money is refunded to your account, immediately contact the appropriate authority:

• Challenge the costs by applying to the provider of your credit card via www.mijnkaart.be 
• If you hired the car in another country of the European Union, or in Norway or Iceland, please contact us. Or apply to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS), if you hired in the EU and if the hire company is a member of the conciliation service.