Excess when renting a camper, refund period?

Questioner

During the summer holidays my girlfriend and I rented a camper from a camper company. We rented the camper via the camper company who rented it out to a customer of theirs. The camper company was the intermediary in this. When renting the camper we had to pay a deductible of 1500 euros. We have insured this deductible with A. Now during the holiday I rolled backwards with the camper into an Italian who was standing behind me. The camper was not damaged because it was equipped with a thick steel bicycle rack, the front bumper of the Italian was less lucky. We filled out the damage papers and reported the incident to the intermediary who rented us the camper who in turn reported it to the owner of the camper. When returning the camper, the lessor (intermediary) told us that the deposit would possibly be settled with the deductible of the owner of the camper. We would then receive an invoice for this. You need this invoice again to file a claim with A. to be able to claim part or all of your unpaid deposit. However, when I contact the camper company I get a "there is no concrete answer yet. Processing is done via the owner of the camper, if we know more we will keep you informed." This last contact was 2 months ago. We already returned the camper on September 2, 2023, more than 3 months ago. The terms of the rental agreement state the following: 4. RENTAL FEE The rental price is stated in the rental agreement. The rental price includes 1,500 kilometers per week. For each additional kilometer, € 0.25 will be charged afterwards. mileage charged. The rental price includes all-risk insurance. In case of damage, the deductible is € 1,500 per damage, at the tenant's expense. The tenant can claim this deductible directly from A. to insure. Payment terms for rent: • 25% within 1 week after booking • 25% 4 weeks before departure • 50% 1 day before departure (+ deposit) The deposit is € 1,500 and is paid by the tenant to the landlord at the start of the rental period. paid. This amount will be refunded by the landlord to the tenant after deduction of what tenant will still owe landlord at the end of the lease. No interest will be paid on the deposit. The deposit will be returned to the tenant within 5 days after approval by the landlord at the end of the lease. refunded, or as long as necessary in case of damage diagnosis. 8. DAMAGE AND INSURANCE The lessor has fully insured the camper during the rental period. In the event of theft, the renter must seizure or significant damage to the camper, inventory and accessories thereof without delay report to the landlord. The tenant is liable for any damage that occurs during the rental period. the camper has been created, including the associated towing and recovery costs, to the extent that this is not covered by insurance. Any deductible will be charged in the event of damage recovered from tenant. The rental price includes all-risk insurance. In case of damage, the deductible is risk € 1,500 per claim, for the account of the tenant. This deductible can be insure directly with A., without your intervention. In accordance with the insurance conditions, the lessor is obliged to make a copy of both the driver's license as the tenant's ID. Tenant agrees to provide these copies to to provide the lessor for this purpose. After the end of the rental period and the settlement of any damage, the lessor will destroy these copies. In case of breakdown or damage during the rental period, the conditions and instructions of the insurer apply S. leading. My question is how long is the landlord allowed to take to refund or process the deposit? I have never received the conditions of insurer S.

Lawyer

Based on the information you have provided, I can see that the rental agreement mentions a refund of the deposit within 5 days after approval by the landlord at the end of the rental. However, there is an exception 'or as much longer as necessary in case of damage diagnosis'. However, these terms are not further defined and this can lead to interpretation problems. According to general consumer rights in the Netherlands, the landlord should return the deposit as soon as possible after the end of the rental period, but no specific term has been set. With regard to the clause 'as much longer as necessary in case of damage diagnosis', you could in principle argue that this should be a reasonable term. This is determined by the circumstances of the case, such as how complex the damage is, how quickly the landlord can inspect the damage, etc. Since it has been more than 3 months since you returned the camper and apparently no diagnosis has been made yet, you could argue that the period is becoming unreasonably long. To resolve this situation, you could write to the landlord and set a reasonable period (e.g. 14 days) to refund the deposit, or provide a detailed explanation as to why this is not yet possible. If not, it is wise to seek legal assistance. It is also important that you request the conditions of insurer S. These should in fact have been made available to you before the start of the rental agreement and may be very relevant to your situation. This answer is based on general legal principles and the information you have provided. It is always wise to seek legal advice from a professional. ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.