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23/03/07 Daily Rental Guide - How driver damage can send costs soaring
Damage to rental cars can lead to hefty bills for fleet operations, so it pays to ensure drivers treat vehicles like their own to avoid any unexpected charges
Rental damage charges can mount up and surprise fleet operators when they look at the cumulative cost.
Trying to manage this can be an additional headache as claims can be difficult to assess and the whole process becomes generally time consuming.
In addition, for most rental companies, damage charges are not an additional revenue generator, so they put a strain on their business administration.
However, associated costs and inconvenience can be easily reduced for both parties by effectively managing the process and by taking some simple preventative measures.
Stefan Rodgers, head of product development at FMG Support said:“One of the contributors to damage costs related o drivers’ care and attention.
“There is the age-old attitude that rental vehicles are not treated with the same care as a personally owned vehicle and this is exacerbated during business use as the company foots the damage bill but not the driver.
“Therefore, fleet operators need to be able to communicate the expense and resource that damage incurs an be able to compare this to something tangible that drivers can identify with. For example, if a sales team were incurring high damage claims, then illustrating this according to equivalent sales revenue or deals secured may help to bring the message home.”
It isn’t just the drivers’ own damage that fleet managers need to confront.
Employees need to be trained to check vehicles carefully when they pick them up to ensure all damage already incurred has been registered by the rental firm.
Mark Graham, national sales manager of Arval’s vehicle rental division, said:“ The main problem facing fleets in relation to damage is increasing driver awareness of their responsibilities to the vehicle and to take time on the delivery and collection of the vehicle to check for damage so that this is reported to reduce the number of disputed charges.
Personal care and attention would go a long was to reducing the number of minor scratches and dents that cause so much dispute and mistrust between rental companies and customers.”
The firm says that fleet managers should impress on drivers the importance of doing handovers for delivery and collection personally.
Technology can help too, with National Car Rental launching the Light Damage Estimating System (LDES) last year.
It allows on-the-spot assessment of the damage when the car is returned to confirm the cost there and then. Since its launch last year customer queries in relation to damage charges have reduced by almost 30%, the firm said.
Rental companies are extremely keen to be as transparent as possible about damage recharges after a row last year over claims that some rental company employees received commission for identifying vehicle damage.
At Avis, as part of a transparent inspection process, more than 200 frontline staff have been trained by the inspection team at auction giant Manheim. All location staff are now scheduled to take the training.
Fleets and rental companies alike recommend choosing a company that is a member of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, as members have to sign up to a code of conduct and adhere to fair wear and tear standards.
Simple steps to cut damage claims
There are some simple steps that can be taken to limit occurrence of avoidable damage claims:
Check the vehicle before signing paperwork – the most common cause of discrepancies is around existing vehicle damage that has not been identified by the driver when signing for the vehicle. Rental companies can also support this by always checking vehicles on return.
Treat the vehicle as your own – Careful driving controls costs, it improves safety and requires fewer explanations to internal finance or procurement departments.
Be honest when reporting incidents – it may be tempting for drivers to try to offset liability or play down the extent of damage caused. However, accident management companies and rental providers have increasingly sophisticated technology and systems to clearly identify the cause and cost of damage.
Use management information – fleet operators should use the information within incident reports to identify common causes of damage and take action to remedy these wherever possible.
Source: FMG Support
