Dealing with crooked van rental company

Hi All,

I rented some vans from a company in Arundel road Luton and they are attempting with withhold my deposit (some of it) for damage that was clearly a lack of maintenance and not my driving. (arundel road was in the news last month when the police raided it and removed vehicles and fined a lot of the businesses on the street)

They claim I drove it with a broken pulley for the power steering. This was the 2nd van the rented me since the 1st didn't even make it half way to my house and broke down on the way.

In their words "I have spoken to our mechanic (Charlie) who assessed the van upon return, the pulley had been snapped causing the vehicle (2nd) to break down, it is not driveable with a snapped pulley which is the reason for the breakdown, due to this the repairs and recovery the client is liable so the charges applied are correct and can not be credited on this occasion."

That did make me laugh really hard. How could I possibly have snapped the steering pump pulley on a 2011 FWD transit? They want to bill me £800 for the damage which is nearly the value of the van itself. Its impossible to drive a transit with no power steering absolutely filppin impossible.

My issue is I didn't damage the pulley, it was already screaming like the vicars mistress on a sunday when i collected the van.

I have written to them making my points clear and refusing to accept this situation as they put it. They are yet to reply but will by Monday I am sure.

If they insist on billing me this what are my options? The excess was close to £2000 (common for vans rented to amazon delivery drivers) and I dont want to get smacked with a 2k bill for not giving in on the £800 one they are pushing on me.

Any ideas on actions I should take next please?

Notice of Conditional Acceptance

To; (name of c.e.o )acting in his capacity as C.E.O. xxxx Vehicle Hire

with reference to hire no xxxxxxx. You are making a claim that i (your name)
did cause damage to the steering pump pully on vehicle Reg no xxxxxx
and that as a result of myself causing the consequential damage you (his name)
are witholding and refusing the return of my deposit ,being ( add amount in
letters as well as numbers)

I conditionally accept your claim upon you providing evidence that said
damage was caused either by my negligence or a deliberate act.
I therefore require the evidence listed below.

1. You provide evidence that the pully was broken by a willful act by myself.

2. You provide the broken pully ,in order that i may have an independant
  inspection and report carried out.

3. You provide all service documentation relating to this vehicle.

4. You provide documentation by way of the contract between us that
   states the hirer is responsable for all breakdowns and recovery.

5.  You provide a signed written statement that the vehicle was fully
    roadworthy and in a condition to perform the conditions for hire.

6.  You provide a copy of your public liability insurance and any indemnity
    insurance you may hold.

7. You provide the name and qualifications obtained by your fitter who
  is claiming that this event was not caused by machanical failure and
  usual wear and tear.

( add anything else you can think of)

Please explain also how this was a replacement vehicle for which the original
failed to even get me back home,and as such there are no maintance issues
at your company.

I will be happy to settle any obligation upon the above points being addressed
in full and to my satisfaction.
Please be aware however that should you not address the above ,i will
issue a claim in the County Court of the withheld deposit along with a claim
for all expences incured as a result of this failure of contract on your part.
A report will also be submitted to Bedfordshire Trading standards.
----------------------------------------------------------------  
You could try somethng along those lines ( i would not make reference to it
screaming when you accepted it).

Do your research as this model of Transit had notorious problems with this pulley delaminating and it was widespread, had the same problem with a family members Transit. This problem was down to three things, bad design, bad location and poor quality materials.

I would do a SAR and ask for the vehicles service history as this will bring up a fourth factor, if they are incorrectly fitted it puts stress on them and causes then to delaminate immediately.

This begins with a chirping sound in the early stages of delamination, followed by a constant squealing in the middle stages of delamination, followed by the full delamination where the pulley hits the plastic timing cover.

These pulleys cost around £30 and take about 30 minutes for a competent mechanic to replace.

They have clearly given you a defective vehicle which was not fit for purpose and this is your counter claim, Trading Standards would love such a case, particularly where they are witholding a £2000 deposit for a £35 part which would be fitted by their own employed mechanic. And yes I an a fully qualified mechanical engineer.

After assassins post above ,i searched 'power steering problems transit'
and it appears there have been many problems including a recall.
Most point to low or old fluid which then causes failure.
hope we have been of help.

Its also due to the location of the pump and not the fluid as the pulleys fail and not the pump itself as they are a metalastic bonded item and the bond fails and the pulley rocks from side to side. and eventually fail. Pump issues are a different issue which are caused by fluid.
They are mounted low on the engine and in the direct firing line of any spray and solid debris thrown off the O/S front wheel and have inadequate guarding from this and the pulley is virtually shot blasted which doesn't help with longevity and this assumes they have even refitted the guard at all.

This is a clear Trading Standards issue as the vehicle was not fit for purpose and if you contact them they will likely have numerous complaints about this company.