Rental Car Deposit Reclaim | Legal Aid

Questioner

After returning a rental car (driven for a few months), the lessor withholds 800 euros from the deposit (1000 euros) for damage that was already present when the car was issued (at least this is evident from the issue form on which the initial damage is stated). The lessor disputes this. Is the lessor allowed to simply offset disputed damage with the deposit? That would mean that not HE but I would have to go to court to get money.

Lawyer

You must - unfortunately - take the initiative to start legal proceedings. The reason is that the money is with the landlord and you would like to have that money. I advise you to engage a bailiff.

Questioner

Hiring a bailiff would be nice. That would save a lot of money. But on what grounds does the bailiff go out? Shouldn't a judge first determine that I can't be held liable for the damage?

Lawyer

Bailiffs often have a collection agency that takes care of collecting your claim and, if necessary, will go to court on your behalf (indeed, the judge will have to decide whether you are indeed entitled to repayment of the money). Of course, you will have to inform yourself in advance about the costs that bailiffs/collection agencies charge for this.

Questioner

Thanks for your quick response, but I don't quite understand how your proposal is supposed to work. The rental company holds me liable for 800 euros in damages and deducts this from the deposit. Can I then hire a bailiff to collect my deposit? And if so, do I first have to send an invoice for the deposit? They will undoubtedly dispute this with reasons, which will still lead to legal action. In short, I don't quite see how your proposed strategy (as attractive as it may sound) should be implemented in practice.

Lawyer

I assume that the bailiff also offers debt collection services. In common parlance, this is called 'calling in the bailiff'. The debt collection agency will send the rental company two or three formal notices in which payment is claimed (with interest and costs). If payment is not made, the case will be brought before the subdistrict court, which will result in a judgment. The 'debt collection arm' will then transfer the case to the 'bailiff arm' within the same organisation, and the judgment will be served and enforcement measures will be taken if necessary. I hope this makes it a bit clearer for you; I noticed that the use of the word 'bailiff' instead of 'collection agency' has caused some confusion.

Questioner

It is clear to me what bailiffs and debt collection agencies are and do, what matters to me is which file I offer them. I doubt whether (and if so, when and how) I have a factual claim on the rental company. I can only outsource a claim, it seems to me.

Lawyer

What a confusion of tongues ;) Your claim consists of the surety that the bailiff 'retains'. That is the claim that you can hand over.

Questioner

Haha. We're getting somewhere, thank you very much. I'll have to claim the deposit back myself first? Perhaps it would be wise to (separately?) dispute the costs for repairing the damage that the rental company charges me? What I actually want to achieve is that the rental company is in a position where they have to prove that the damage was actually caused by me. The strategy you propose (outsource the claim for the deposit to a collection agency) sounds great, but I don't yet see exactly what steps I need to take for that (read: what I need to put in my first registered letter to the rental company).

Lawyer

Of course you are right. I assume you have a copy of the issue form on which the damage that is the reason for the rental company not to refund the deposit is already stated. You do have to prove that you are entitled to the deposit, but the rental company must prove that the deposit may be offset against the damage. In other words: the rental company must prove that you caused the damage. The law stipulates that you are deemed to have received the rented property in the condition in which it was at the end of the agreement, unless otherwise appears from a description that was made in advance when entering into the rental. However, that document now shows that the damage was already present. Simple matter, I would say.

Questioner

Neither the contract nor the general terms and conditions mention anything about the deposit (other than that it must be paid). We will therefore have to fall back on general rules regarding deposits and settlement of items. I would prefer to inform the rental company that it has not been agreed that the deposit will be settled with any claims and I summon them to refund the deposit in full (within x days otherwise I will hand over the claim, with all the associated costs blah blah). Furthermore, perhaps briefly state something like: 'It further appears that you want to hold me liable for (culpable) damage. If this is indeed the case, I request that you motivate this in writing and send me a separate invoice for this.' ... Would such an approach have a chance of success?

Lawyer

I would write in a letter to the rental company: 1. You have rented a car, the rental has ended and you have fulfilled your obligation by returning the car and accessories. 2. You paid a deposit at the start of the lease and the nature of the legal relationship (lease) means that this is returned at the end of the lease, which the landlord also acknowledges in practice (although he wants to proceed to a settlement). 3. The landlord does not want to refund the deposit but wants to offset it against damage that he claims you caused to the car. 4. You dispute this, because the damage in question was already present at the start of the rental, which follows from the issue form and also follows from the legal system (which stipulates that the rented property is deemed to have been lent to you in the condition in which it is when returned). 5. The landlord must therefore transfer the deposit amount within eight days and if he does not do so, he will owe statutory interest from the ninth day and you will then hand the matter over to a debt collection agency.

Questioner

Voila. Thank you very much! A strategy including ready-made letter content within an hour. If you send me an invoice for this advice, I will indicate in advance that I will not dispute it without further ado. ;-)

Lawyer

Haha, you won't be charged for my comments, it took me less than twenty minutes in total.