Toronto man billed more than $8K for rental car damage he says he didn’t cause | 24CA News
A Toronto man says he was requested to pay greater than $8,000 for injury to a rental automotive he says he did not trigger.
Sandy Soufivand, a medical lab technician, informed CBC Toronto that he picked up a automobile from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in September.
Two weeks later, the automotive broke down and now the rental firm is blaming him. The state of affairs has brought on a variety of sleepless nights, Soufivand mentioned.
“It was just a lot of stress, just so much stress,” he mentioned. “Unable to think, unable to sleep. Just an overwhelming amount of stress.”
Soufivand rented the automotive following a collision along with his private automobile in August. The rental was paid for by his auto insurance coverage firm, Aviva, however after the automotive broke down a mechanic discovered a broken transmission and proof of affect to its undercarriage. Though Enterprise is holding Soufivand accountable for the injury, Aviva agreed to cowl the invoice after CBC Toronto reached out.
Though the invoice is now not an issue, Soufivand desires to warn others to completely evaluation any rental agreements they signal.
He signed Enterprise’s settlement which included an announcement that the renter acquired the automobile in “good physical and mechanical condition.”
Soufivand feels that that is unfair provided that he doesn’t have the experience of a mechanic.
“The overwhelming majority of people that rent a car from them are not going to be car mechanics,” he mentioned. “You cannot sign off saying that every mechanical component in the car is in good condition because you cannot verify that.… They don’t have a mechanic there.”
In an electronic mail assertion to CBC Toronto, Enterprise Holdings, the corporate that owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, acknowledged, “we follow a maintenance schedule with our vehicles based on the manufacturer’s recommended requirements.
“This consists of common oil adjustments, tire inspection and rotation, brake, suspension, exhaust, automobile fluids checks, and a basic automobile inspection. We additionally carry out common visible automobile inspections for security gadgets, resembling tires and warning lights, in addition to adjustments in automobile situation.”
The statement reaffirmed that Enterprise believes Soufivand is at fault, “as [the vehicle] wouldn’t have been drivable if the injury existed earlier.”
Jennifer Marston, a lawyer with Pro Bono Ontario, told CBC Toronto that people need to carefully read any rental agreements they sign.
Even so, if this issue did go to court the terms of the contract would likely be up for debate, she said.
“If there’s an onerous time period of a shopper contract buried within the superb print then the corporate cannot essentially depend on that to implement its rights,” Marston said.
A judge would also likely take into consideration the power imbalance between Soufivand and the rental company, she said.
“The business has had months and years and the good thing about authorized recommendation in creating this contract and the buyer is commonly in line on the counter and with different individuals ready behind them and being requested to signal on a dotted line shortly to get the transaction full,” Marston said.
She added that the bill could be fought in court but Soufivand said hiring a lawyer would cost him around the same as the bill itself.
Now that the insurance company has agreed to cover the cost, he’s just happy to move on from the situation.
But he does have some advice for other renters.
“Before you get within the automotive, when the adviser is there doing the stroll round, ask questions,” he said.
“When was the final time {that a} mechanic took a take a look at it? What occurs if I’m driving it and I’ve finished nothing fallacious and the automotive breaks down? Will I be held accountable for it? Ask all of these vital questions and just be sure you’re not driving away in a automobile that has been beforehand broken.”
