Warm-Up 2 is all about complaining. 'The Hire Car from Hell' is all about really bad treatment when renting a car in the USA. The idea for this Warm-Up came from the wonderful film, "Trains and Planes and Automobiles", with Steve Martin and John Candy. The task is set up so that you don't have any other option than to write a well-composed letter to the company in the USA - and hope for the best. The sum of money involved is too small to make it worth your while starting a legal action (at least from this side of the Atlantic - it'd be different if you were living in the USA, where they have Small Claims Courts). There's also a lot of scope for 'he said-she said' situations (which is how they describe situations where one person says one thing, and the other person says something different in American English).
The task itself is quite limited: you only have to write FIVE sentences from the letter you'd write (i.e. NOT the entire letter). The point is to see whether you can calibrate your language, so that you express yourself firmly, but refrain from insults and gratuitous comments that will just result in your letter being filed in the trash can! Once again, there's a link to the Send-In Task which comes next.
You submit your Warm-Up Task 2 by copying your text into a comment. Remember to include FIVE sentences only - and to include your name in the submission.
By the way, an FAQ for this task is: what's a 'redeye'? If you'd like to know, take a look at the first comment on this blog post.
About Me
- David Richardson
- I was born in Sheffield in England, but moved to London when I was 12. I've been teaching more or less since I graduated from Teachers' Training College in 1976, though I've taken time-out a couple of times (for example, to be West London Area Manager of one of the biggest office cleaning companies in the UK). I've worked in quite a few countries, such as Angola, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago and Turkey.
30 comments:
The 'redeye' is a long-distance flight which takes off in the early evening of its place of departure, flies all night and arrives in the early morning of its destination. All the passengers on a 'redeye' lose a night's sleep, but have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next morning, ready to do business with people who've had a good night's sleep and a nutritious breakfast!
I bet you can work out why it's called a 'redeye'.
Dear Sir or Madam,
September 15, 2008 I rented a Honda Civic from your branch at JKF Airport in New York but unfortunately the car was very dirty inside, there was no washer fluid and the car broke even down on me on the freeway. I called your representative at the airport who told me to pay the tow truck in cash insuring me that I would get my money back when returning the car and promised me to refund the money. When I returned the car at the agreed time your office was closed so I left the keys in the box with a note but when checking my bank account a couple of days later I had to find out that I got debited for the full amount and that I did not get a refund on my expenses. I called the airport office but the staff unfortunately denied all knowledge of the conversation. I am sure that it was just mistake in your billing and that we can solve this problem amicably.
Yours sincerely,
Christian Anderberg
Anna Karlsson:
I find it extremely strange by You to rent out a car, which is not cleaned at all, and expect the customers not make any complaints or reclaim a refund.
Since there was no washer fluid in the car I could have collided and I am sure that You would not like to have that on your conscience.
This was a terrible experience for me and I hope that You will prevent this from happening to other customers.
I am sure that it is Your intention to make things right by living up to Your promises and giving me a 50% refund on my credit card as well as a deposit of $50 on my banking account.
For Your own sake, I think You should better take a look at Your organization and see what went wrong because I do not think it was Your original business idea to rip people off.
Dear Sir/Madame
Last month I hired a blue Audi A4 from your company. Audi is my favourite car brand because they produce very reliable cars, but this particular A4 you provided me with did actually disappoint me. I do not want to blame anything on the manufacturer, actually I want inform you that what happened to me is unacceptable. I had a very important business meeting in New York and the first thing that struck me was the sweaty smell in the car, when arriving all my colleagues gave me complements on my new cologne. I must say that I really got happy when arriving, because I thought to myself that I will never arrive. On my way to the meeting I noticed that there was no washer fluid and I had big troubles seeing the road, later all the warning lights came on and finally the engine stopped. I called your customer service who told me to pay for the tow truck. The girl I talked told me that I would get my 50$ back for the tow truck and that I will receive a 50% discount for all the inconveniences and that I have not received yet.
Dear Sir/Madame
Last month I hired a blue Audi A4 from your company. Audi is my favourite car brand because they produce very reliable cars, but this particular A4 you provided me with did actually disappoint me. I do not want to blame anything on the manufacturer, actually I want inform you that what happened to me is unacceptable. I had a very important business meeting in New York and the first thing that struck me was the sweaty smell in the car, when arriving all my colleagues gave me complements on my new cologne. I must say that I really got happy when arriving, because I thought to myself that I will never arrive. On my way to the meeting I noticed that there was no washer fluid and I had big troubles seeing the road, later all the warning lights came on and finally the engine stopped. I called your customer service who told me to pay for the tow truck. The girl I talked told me that I would get my 50$ back for the tow truck and that I will receive a 50% discount for all the inconveniences and that I have not received yet.
I am sorry to have to inform you of this but a problem has occurred which I hope your company will be able to help me with. According to our agreement, it is quite clear that there appears to be a mistake in your billing. As your office was closed when I arrived at the agreed time I was not able to refund the money, and now I have been debited for full amount. As I have a reasonable claim, I require your payment in full as this situation is unacceptable to me. I am looking forward to hear from you and I welcome a solution from you in the near future.
Jessica Svensson
September 25, 2008, I hired a car from your office at the JFK Airport that was in a very bad condition, I am afraid. The car had not been cleaned at all, the washer fluid was finished and finally the car broke down on the highway which made me call your office where I was told to call a tow truck and that you would refund the cost when I returned the car. Your representative also promised to give me a 50% discount on the car hire as compensation for all the trouble this had caused me, but when I returned the car at the agreed time, your office was closed and I had no possibility to talk to your staff before I left New York. When I received my next credit card statement, I discovered that I had been debited the car hire in full and no refund had been given for the tow truck cost of 50 USD. I called your office at the airport to kindly ask them to solve this mistake but they denied all knowledge about this occurence and told me to send you a written claim which I really expect you to meet in full.
It is with regret that I must inform you that the promised compensation for inconvenience was not observed. According to your agreement, it is quite clear that receiving a 50% discount on hire charge and getting $50 back are supposed to be achieved. But, there appears to be a mistake in your billing.
I am happy to discuss ways in which both can continue cordial relations. Also, I am sure we can solve the problem amicable, but if this situation is not resolved within the 7 days, I will have no alternative but to place this matter in the hands of my legal advisors.
I contacted your New York Airport office in this matter and they claimed to have no knowledge of my previous complaints.
When I arrived by the car it was in an appalling state, do you think that litter all over and a dreadful smell of cigarettes and sweat is an acceptable state when renting a car to a client?
To top it all up, not very surprisingly, the car broke down on the freeway and after a phone call you told me to pay for the Tow-truck charge from my own pocket.
When I arrived at the airport, tired after a long flight, I found the store to be closed and all I could do was leave a note together with the car keys.
Later, when I received my credit card statement I could not believe my eyes, the last thing I had expected after this awful experience was to be charges for the full amount and not even be refunded for the tow-truck charge.
Dear Sir / Madame
Two weeks ago I rented a Chrysler 300M from your office in JFK’s airport, a courtesy bus drove me to the car park where I was dropped off nearby the car without any further help from anyone in your staff.
When I sat in the car I was met by both an unpleasant smell and sight, there were leftovers and cigarette butts left in the car and the entire car smelled beer and sweat.
There was no washer fluid and the engine of the car stopped after a short time.
After being in contact with someone from your company, I was told to pay a towing fee of $50 which I later would be paid back, I was also promised 50 % discount on the hire charge.
I send this letter with the reason that I have neither got my $50 or 50 % discount and hope that together we can solve this problem in a proper way which satisfies both parties.
Thank you in advance
Asma Manesh
It is with regret that I must once again inform you that there appears to be a mistake in your billing, I contacted the company per phone some days ago and I was assured a discount.
I explained before that the car I hired was dirty, there was no washer fluid and it broke down on freeway, so I was obliged to pay a tow truck and I wanted a compensation for all trouble.
When I arrived to the airport, your office was closed so I left the keys with a note in the returns box.
Back home it was a disappointment finding out that you have debited me the full amount despite your promise, also you denied all knowledge of my situation in spite of my note and call.
This treatment is unacceptable and and I am expecting you to contact me as soon as possible with an explanation.
Dear Sir/Madame
On the 5 of October I rented a Huyndai Santa Fe from your branch office at Newark Airport, paid the full dept on beforehand with my credit card before your cortesy bus dropt me off by the car just before it started to rain heavily.
Well into the car I found a half-eaten pizza on the seat, a full ashtray together with a smell of sweat and beer, and no washer fluid to clean the window from dirty rain water with.
On my way to New York City the engine broke down, however, a tow truck stopped right behind and for $50 paid in cash the driver tapped the alternator with a hammer and the engine started to work again.
Im contact with your bransch office I was promised full compensasion for the tow tuck fee and a 50% reduncae of the rental fee for my inconvenice when returning the car, but no-one were to be seen at your Newark office so I left the car keys in the box outside together with a note before onboarding the ”red-eye” flight back to Europe.
There must have been a misunderstanding somewhere for my credit card were later on fully dept and no tow tuck fee were refunded so I look forward to hear from you at your earliest convenience to solve this together.
Yours sincerely,
Åsa Wallberg
On October 5, 2008, I hired a Renault Scénic for $90 from your counter at JFK International Airport, New York. To my disappointment I had a number of problems with the car, including the dirty interior, the lack of washer fluid and most importantly the fact that the car broke down while I was driving on the freeway, which was both distressing and embarrassing.
I am disappointed, because I was told by one of your employees to pay the tow truck driver the call-out charge and was assured that I would receive a refund of the car tow charge along with 50 % of my care hire fee.
Unfortunately, there appears to be a mistake in your billing as I have been debited the full amount.
To resolve the problem, I am requesting a refund of $45, which is 50 % off the car hire, as well as $50 for the tow truck as promised.
Dear Sir/Madam,
On 11th Oct, I rented a blue Ford of your company in JFK airport and I paid by credit card in advance. To my great disappointment, the car I rented was in a mess inside and not in good condition so that it broke down on freeway. I got in touch with one of your employees who told me to pay $50 to the tow truck driver and promised me to pay the money back and give me a 50% discount. However, I found that I was debited for full amount and did not get the $50 back, for which I do not know the reason. I hope you can give me a satisfactory reply and I am looking forward to your solution.
Zheng Wei
Dear Mr Johnson
I think there is a misunderstanding between me and your company and I want you to solve the problem because it is not acceptable to rent a car that is not roadworthy.
Beyond the terrible smell of cigarettes and old food the car broke down in the middle of the freeway and after some help from a tow truck I had to pay him 50$ from my own pocket.
Your company told me that you would refund the cost (50$) and also to compensate me (50 % discount on the car hire) because of the condition of the car I had to drive.
We had an agreement, I would get my money back when I returned the car, but to my surprise your office were closed so I left the keys and a note.
Some days later I discovered that I had not been compensated subsequent to our agreement so now I am very disappointed but expect that you will take care of this problem promptly.
When I got the car it astonished me of how dirty it was, and I didn´t expect this from your company. The car smelt of bear and sweat and I found a half eaten pizza on the back seat. I don’t see how your company can rent out a car in this condition!
I was in hurry so all I wanted was to get to New York City on this really important appointment I had. I didn’t know then that this trip would be my worst “car” experience ever! I couldn’t even clean the windscreen, I tried the washers but there was no washer fluid! But this was not it; the warning lights on the car came on and the engine stopped! I couldn’t believe my eyes. A tow truck pulled over and I managed to get in touch with someone from your office. She promised me that I would get the 50$ back (the tow truck charge), but also receive a 50% discount as compensation. But to my surprise you´ve debited me for the full amount! I am disappointed, and I hope you will refund me soon for this awful experience.
Dear sir or madam
During my business trip to New York, I became extremely disappointed by your car rental services due to various reasons, witch I have talked to you about earlier.
To start with, the car was far from cleaned when I picked it up; there were pizza leftovers, the ashtray was full and the smell was unbearable.
The fact that made me most upset is that there were no washer fluid and the car broke down, as a result of this I had to contact a tow truck.
When contacting you I was promised a refund of 50$, and a discount on 50%, but when I came home there were no sign of the compensation and I was charged of the full amount.
I hope that you to take your responsibility in the matter, and solve this problem.
Regards
Katrin Olsson
REF: Hyundai Accent – REG NO: 1NTT 291
On 1st October 2008, I rented the above car from your office at JFK Airport, and I wish to complain about the inconveniences occurred as the car was in very bad conditions and the customer service did not live up to my expectations.
You cannot ignore the facts that the car wasn´t cleaned up after being used by another customer, there was no washer fluid and the vehicle eventually broke down on the freeway. As I was told by your representative at the airport to pay the tow truck in cash assuring me to get a refund when I returned the car as well as a 50% discount in order to compensate me, it was a big surprise when finding out that you´ve charged me the full amount. Your office at the airport also proved a great disappointment when denying all knowledge of our earlier conversation.
I am sure that you will agree that the inconveniences occurred is unusual and disappointing and I am looking forward to your early reply, in order to let me know how you´d like to deal with this, and when the matter is resolved I´d grateful for a suitable replacement and refund.
Yours sincerely,
Carola Holm
Dear Sir/Madam
On 10 October 2008, I hired a car from your local branch at JFK Airport in New York.
Unfortunately, the car was not in the condition I expected, when I opened it
I found food, a full ashtray and the entire car smelt very badly.
The car did not perform well either while driving on the highway I discovered that the car had no washer fluid and suddenly the engine stopped.
To solve this problem, I would appreciate if you could compensate me of 50 dollars for the tow truck fee together with a 50% discount on the hire charge, which your local office promised me when returning the car, but has not been made according to my latest credit card statement.
I look forward to hearing from you soon, and your solution how to deal with this problem. I appreciate to receive an answer ten days from today.
Yours faithfully,
Fredrik Brorsson
I want to complain about your company’s service I have received at your office in New York’s airport. On 13th of October of 2008 I hired a car by paying by credit car and, firstly, the car was dirty inside, it was raining and the washer fluids did not work, and finally the car broke down on the road. I paid $50 to a truck diver for fixing it and the next day I called to the airport office and explained the problems I faced by hiring the car. The representative promised me I will get back my $50 and will receive a 50% discount, but when my credit card statement came I saw I was charged of full amount. I contacted the airport office once more but they denied our conversation and diverted to you as you could help in solving this problem.
Jolanta Uktveryte
Dear Mr Volvo,
Last week I rented a car from your office at JFK Airport in New York. Unfortunately there seems to have been a misunderstanding regarding your billing.
There were a lot of inconveniences concerning this car. The smelling and the trash inside the car were not a pleasant sight and the engine stopped on the freeway and I had to call for a tow truck driver to fix it. Fortunate I arrived to my business meeting in time.
I talked to Mr Ford on the phone and he promised that I would get my $50 back that I had paid the tow truck driver in cash to fix the car on the freeway, he also promised me a discount on 50 percent to compensate the bad shape of the car.
When I arrived to return the car there was no one at the office that I could talk to, so I wrote a note about the discount but in some way you have charged me for the full amount.
Hopefully there is an explanation to all this misunderstanding and inconveniences; I hope to hear from you as soon as possible to solve this out.
Yours sincerely,
Carolina Holm
I am sorry to inform you but I have some complaints about my rented car from your office at the airport, but I hope we can solve my problems amicably.
Everything started when I got in the car and found a pizza slice on the backseat and the ashtrays full and felt the smell of beer and sweat.
The car itself had two problems, no washer fluids and one even more serious, the engine broke down when I was driving.
According to the agreement, after my first phone call with your office at the airport, my charges would be adjusted, but this has not been done.
I suggest a compensation for $15 for phone calls and stamps besides the $50 for the tow truck and the 50 % discount I was promised.
When I picked up my Volvo S40 at the parking lot it was dirty and it smelled really bad. I hurried of to a business meeting and didn´t had time to contact the hire company at that time, so I took my car and drove off towards New York City. On my way to the business meeting the engine stopped and I paid a tow truck driver a $50 call-out charge, he repaired the damage and I drove further.
When I later phoned the car hire company I got in touch with Phil at the airport office, and he promised me the $50 back plus a 50% discount on the hire charge as a consolation. To my surprise I saw that they had debited me for the full amount and I’m writing to you clear up the misunderstanding.
Fredrik Björksäter
Excerpt from complaint letter
___________
To my dismay I discovered that what I had been promised by Stan at your rental desk, who by the way, denies all knowledge that we even had a conversation, was far from the truth. The car was littered with left-over pizzas, cigarette butts and a rather unpleasant smell of body odour permeated the vehicle.
On the freeway into New York City I discovered that the washer fluid was down to zero and I could not wipe the windshield in an efficient manner thus jeopardizing both me and my fellow road users.
After these occurrences I was not surprised when the car broke down a couple of minutes later. A tow truck which happened to be passing by stopped to assist me but demanded a $50 cash payment which Stan assured me would be fully refunded upon returning the vehicle.
I have been to New York on a business trip and I hired a car form your company at the airport and I paid for it with the credit cart in advance.
During my staying in New York lot of unexpected things have happened with the hired car and, as we spoke on the phone the other day, you promised me 50% discount on the hire charge and return of 50$ to compensate all inconvenience.
I am writing to you because there appears to be mistake with your bill – you debited my account for full amount and there is no refund of the charge I had to pay for the tow truck as you have promised.
We have not had an opportunity to talk on the day I left New York because there was nobody at the desk in the evening but I wrote a note and dropped it into the returns box together with the keys so you have surely received it.
I have tried to contact you and talk about the case but your representative denied all knowledge of the conversation we had the other day so I am waiting for an explanation to be given.
Marta Binias
When recently hiring a car from your branch office at Newark International Airport I found the car to be well below the expected standard.
The car had not been cleaned, there was not any washer fluid and the engine stopped on the freeway.
After consulting with your branch office it was agreed that I should pay for the tow truck needed and I would receive a full refund when returning the car, as well as a 50 % discount on the hire charge I paid in advance by credit card.
When returning the car I found your branch office closed for the day, so I left a note stating our agreement, along with the keys, before boarding the "redeye" flight to Europe.
You have charged my credit card with the full amount but I expect you to honour the agreement, and I am looking forward to receiving a $50 refund for the tow truck call-out charge and a 50 % reimbursement of the hire charge.
It is very uncomfortable for us to need to contact you in this situation. This is actually the third time we get in touch with you regarding some complains about the services your company provide to us in New York. We hope that we can solve this problem adequately.
To give you some idea of the problem, we must to say that the service including the car rented has been of very shocking type. When I arrived to the only car available to me it was dirty inside, there was not washer fluid in it, the engine stopped after a while and I had to pay the tow truck in cash.
I was convinced that your company would pay attention to the problem and told the situation. I was promised that you would refund the money. When I turned up at the desk in the airport there was nobody present. I had to take the “red eye” and therefore it was impossible to come back later.
Due to the unpleasant develop of this situation and not enough with all these inconveniences when I get my credit card statement I see that the full amount was debited and to this day no refund of expenses has been received. I have already contact your company and the airport office deny their responsibility.
I hope you understand the importance of the situation and present a reasonable solution as soon as possible. I am sure you are going to handle with this problem in the best way.
Anna Sunyaeva
Gentlemen
I regret to inform you that I had a lot of problem during my trip. Your courtesy bus left me by the car, without help, it was a mess inside the car and I'd get soaked before I got to a rubbish bin, also there was no washer fluid. Then the warning lights on the car came on … and the engine stopped, I pulled over to the side and a tow truck pulled up behind me, you told me to pay the tow truck driver the $50 call-out charge. This situation is unacceptable to me. I look forward to your speedy response and your ideas in jointly discussing solutions to this problem.
Faithfully yours
Dear Sir/Madame
It is with regret that I must inform you that the car I lent at the JFK airport was not good. It was dirty at the first; smell, full ashtray etc. Even, it stopped on my way, so I should have used a tow truck and paid $50.
I already expressed my inconvenience and you told that you would adjust the charges when I dropped the car off. It is promised that I got the $50 back, and receive a 50% discount on the hire charge.
When I got to the airport, it was 9 pm, no one was at your desk. I left the note to you. However, I have got bill about the full amount of payment for the lent car. And I didn’t get any compensation you promised.
I am really sorry about that situation and hope to be solved this problem soon.
Yours sincerely,
I hired a car from Your company on October 25th and it was a great disappointment because:
- The car was dirty and full of garbage.
- There was no washer fluid which I needed since the windscreen was dirty.
- The engine stopped on the freeway and a tow truck driver had to tap the alternator.
I called Your office at the airport and I was told to receive the amount of $ 50 back that I was charged from the tow tuck driver. I would also receive a 50% discount on the hire charge.
Checking my credit card statement I realized that I was charged the full price from Your company.
As You probably understand, this incident was very annoying. Therefore I would appreciate if You would keep Your promise and as soon as possible repay the above-mentioned amount of $ 50 and the 50% discount on the hire charge.
Yours faithfully,
Marie Nilsson
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