UAE: Firm demands Dh66,000 from customer for damaging rental luxury car

A car rental company in Al Ain has lost a lawsuit in which it sued a woman and demanded that she pay Dh66,840 in unpaid rental changes and for damaging the engine of the luxury car she rented from the firm.

The Al Ain Civil Court of First Instance dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.

Court documents stated that the car rental company filed the lawsuit against the woman and demanded that she pay it Dh66,840 in comp for the material damages.

The firm said the defendant had rented a 2018 model luxury car at a cost of Dh750 per day.

The woman took the car but failed to return it on the agreed-upon date, said the plaintiff. The firm added that the woman also caused damage to the vehicle’s engine and was repaired by the company at a cost of Dh22,590.

According to the company, the defendant had rented the car for 69 days including those the car spent in the garage for repair and had accumulated Dh51,750 in unpaid rental charges. This in addition to the value of repairing the vehicle which totalled Dh22,590 and bringing the total claimant amount to Dh74,340. Out of this amount, the defendant only paid Dh7500.

The firm pointed out that the defendant owed Dh66,840 and that she had refused to pay, which prompted it to drag her to court.

The firm presented to court a copy of the car rental contract, a copy of the identity card of the defendant, a copy of her driver’s license, a copy of the vehicle’s ownership, a copy of a report issued by a car service centre stating that the vehicle was received for repair and that the car needs another engine, and copies showing the costs of repairing the car engine and buying other spare parts.

The court assigned an expert in automotive engineering to establish whether the defendant had caused any breakdowns and damage to the vehicle during the rental period or not, and whether the malfunction was the result of an old defect in the vehicle or it resulted from the misuse of it, the value of its the vehicle repair and the period that was needed for repair.

After hearing from all parties, the judge decided to dismiss the case due to lack of sufficient evidence.