Iceland Car Scammer?

Zillah

So, first off, a disclaimer: I've no interest in legal advice, I would just like some help understanding the legal framework in play here.

Some friends and I recently rented a vehicle in Iceland. "Mary" did all the paperwork with her name on it, including her driving license and address. One of our drivers reversed into a bollard and did damage to the rear of the vehicle. We sent a photo to the rental agency and asked them what the situation would be, they told us that we would have to pay the excess but that insurance would cover the rest. Fine, no problem.

This is where it gets a little odd: he wanted us to pay the excess (1250 euro) straight away and promised to send back the difference if the repairs were less than this value. We told him we'd like to see an invoice or other paperwork before we handed over money, but he tried to fob us off with his opinion that it would be more than that anyway.

This is where is gets very odd: he has since claimed that we left the car in the wrong place at the airport (we left it exactly where we were told) and it cost fifty quid to get it out, and that there was very little fuel in the car (I personally filled it to the brim at the last station before the airport, about 3km away). Icelanders are super casual about the danger of crime, all of the guest houses we stayed at said when we were leaving to just leave the door unlocked with the key on the table, so it didn't seem overly strange that they said to leave the car in the airport unlocked with the key in the glovebox.

I will concede there is a very small chance that someone might have interfered with the vehicle after we left it, but I think it far more likely that this guy is a total cowboy trying to squeeze us for extra cash.

So, assuming that he is a charlatan trying to fleece us, what sort of projection of consequences can this guy inflict on my friend Mary to Ireland from Iceland? My guess is basically zero, but I would like to hear opinions on how situations like this usually play out. Can he hurt her credit rating? Is there any scenario where this has criminal rather than just civil ramifications?

It also occurred to me that he probably has insurance against bad-faith renters, and is currently laying the groundwork for the largest claim possible with these accusations.

Thoughts appreciated!

Peregrinus

Zillah wrote: »

So, assuming that he is a charlatan trying to fleece us, what sort of projection of consequences can this guy inflict on my friend Mary to Ireland from Iceland? My guess is basically zero, but I would like to hear opinions on how situations like this usually play out. Can he hurt her credit rating?

He has, I'm guessing, Mary's credit card details, plus her signature on a rental agreement filled with small print which, odd's on, includes an authority to debit unpaid charges to her credit card.

Zillah wrote: »

Is there any scenario where this has criminal rather than just civil ramifications?

Doubt it. I know nothing about Icelandic criminal law, or about whether anyone in your party did anything or is alleged to have done anything that might be an offence in Iceland but, on the assumption that he's a charlatan trying to fleece you, of what advantage to him would it be to accuse you of a crime? That won't get him any money.

foggy_lad

Peregrinus wrote: »

He has, I'm guessing, Mary's credit card details, plus her signature on a rental agreement filled with small print which, odd's on, includes an authority to debit unpaid charges to her credit card.


Doubt it. I know nothing about Icelandic criminal law, or about whether anyone in your party did anything or is alleged to have done anything that might be an offence in Iceland but, on the assumption that he's a charlatan trying to fleece you, of what advantage to him would it be to accuse you of a crime? That won't get him any money.

Any charges would have to be backed up with evidence like a repair bill for the damage and evidence that they had a person at the airport who was there to accept the vehicle back and check the fuel in the presence of the renter.

Peregrinus

foggy_lad wrote: »

Any charges would have to be backed up with evidence like a repair bill for the damage and evidence that they had a person at the airport who was there to accept the vehicle back and check the fuel in the presence of the renter.

What makes you say the latter? I've never handed back a hire car anywhere where there was someone on hand to check the fuel level.

As for a repair bill for the damage, no. They just have to prove that they were charged the full amount of the excess. (What the repairs actually cost is a matter between the insurer and the repairer.) And they'd only have to prove that after imposing the charge, if the cardholder disputed it.

GreenFolder2

Unfortunately things like this can happen anywhere. Iceland is generally (due to its tiny population and lack of access routes) very easy to police and has low crime.

However, it's populated by humans and things aren't always perfect.

My experience talking to people from there is that the projected image and the reality aren't quite the same. It's definitely a very, very safe place but in much the way that very rural parts of Ireland are.

If you feel you've been ripped off you need to contact:

EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE ICELAND /
EVROPSKA NEYTENDAADSTODIN
(Director: Hildigunnur Hafsteinsdottir)
Neytendasamtokin – ENA
Hverfisgata 105
101 Reykjavik
Tel: 00 354 545 1200
Email: ena@ena.is
Web: www.ena.is

Their counterparts in Ireland are:

EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE IRELAND
Director: Ann Neville
Macro Community Resource Centre, 1 Green Street,
Dublin 7.
Tel: 00 353 1 879 7620
Email: info@eccireland.ie
Web: www.eccireland.ie.

Iceland is not in the EU but it is in the EEA and many EU consumer protection laws apply.

Zillah

Thanks all. My friend decided to cancel her card once we got the dodgy vibes from this guy, afraid that he would charge us unreasonable fees. We're willing to pay the excess once he provides some sort of invoice or other paperwork but he keeps ignoring that request, which I find off-putting.

So thankfully he can't extract any money from us that we do not consent to, so no appeals or complaints required at this point.

TeaBagMania

I would also inform Mary to cancel her CC.
I keep a CC specifically for renting\hiring cars with a $3K dollar limit

GreenFolder2

If you've any more issues have a chat with the ECC in Dublin and get advice on how to proceed.