Damage Management Policy
In case of Damage: damages will be verify at the car's delivery office, if the damages are less than the deductible value of the purchased coverage, the lessee may settle these charges directly in the office (in case of having partial coverage).
It is mandatory to present a written police report in case of any type of damage, whether major or minor at the time of contract closure or vehicle change. Europcar reserves the right to change vehicles or validate the coverage acquired if this document is missing in the event of an accident.
You may not be fully liable
Please note that depending on the type of protection you bought for the rental, you may not have to pay for the damage, or you may only be partially liable. See the Europcar Insurance & Protections provisions in the Terms & Conditions.
1. Damages identified with you at vehicle return
If you identify some damage with the Europcar agent or representative when you return the vehicle, you can acknowledge the damage by signing the Statement of Return of the Vehicle. Europcar will then provide you with an invoice describing the repair costs plus an administration fee for the treatment of the Damage and the Vehicle immobilization that will be charged to you.
In bigger cases and complication cases the evaluation process has a range of 1 to 7 days. Once the exact value of the damages is known, these will be charged to the credit card of the tenant who has left in guarantee.
Repair costs vary depending on the type of damage:
→ Light damage, insubstantial damage which does not affect the safe driving of the vehicle, such as scratches; light impacts on windshield, scratches on bumpers: Charges are made based on the Europcar Recommended price list available in any Europcar station.
→ More substantial damage impairing the use of the vehicle and requiring its temporary immobilization, such as bodywork damage. This type of damage will be evaluated by an independent expert and charged according to the expert’s report or a cost estimation made by an independent auto-repair garage.
If you contest the damages and decide not to sign the statement of return of the Vehicle, Europcar will apply the procedure described below (see the section 2).
2. Damages identified after you have finished the rental and departed
(For example, you left the vehicle outside opening hours)
If the Europcar Agent or representative identifies some damage when they inspect the vehicle after you have finished the rental and departed, Europcar will send you the following documents:
- Statement of return of the Vehicle describing all damages identified
- Pictures of Damages
- An estimate of the repair costs that will vary depending of the type of damage (see above) plus an administration fee for the treatment of the damage and the Vehicle immobilization.
3. Claims
If you wish to contest your damage invoice, you can send a claim to our Customer Relations department ecicustomerservice@europcar.com.
You may also file a claim with the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) (http://www.ecrcs.eu/).
