ECC and disputes
Free help with a dispute with a rental company in another European country.
You go to the European Consumer Centre in the country where you live, not the one where you rented the car. That centre works with its sister centre in the rental company's country, for free. The ECC Network covers residents and traders in the EU, Norway and Iceland; UK residents use the UK International Consumer Centre instead.
The European Small Claims Procedure is a mostly written court procedure for cross-border claims up to 5,000 euros, available in every EU country except Denmark. You fill in Form A in the court's language, a lawyer is not required, and the defendant generally has 30 days to answer. It suits a car rental dispute when the company refuses to refund a charge after your objection and an ECC or dispute body could not solve it.
ECRCS is a free conciliation service run by the industry body Leaseurope for cross-border car rentals in Europe. It checks disputed rental charges against an industry code and its decisions bind the participating companies, not you. You can only use it after the company's own complaint procedure, if you booked directly with a participating brand and rented in another country than where you booked.
A broker or comparison site books a car in your name with a rental company. According to Your Europe, the rental company is responsible for carrying out the rental contract unless the contract says otherwise, so damage claims and charges at the desk go to the rental company. Problems with the booking itself, such as the price shown or the cover sold by the broker, go to the broker. The European Car Rental Conciliation Service does not accept brokered bookings, but your European Consumer Centre can still help.
If you rented from a company based in another EU country, Iceland or Norway and your written complaint to that company did not solve the problem, you can ask the European Consumer Centre in your own country for free help. It contacts the company through the ECC in that country. For some large rental brands there is also ECRCS, a free conciliation service for cross-border rentals.
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