According to Otago Daily Times, Europcar dropped its case demanding a customer pay the cost of a rental car replacement key after the original key burned in a hotel fire.

Walter van der Merwe, 56, was in Dunedin, a New Zealand city in the Otago Region, with his wife on Feb.13, when hours after they received their rental car and checked into their hotel, their hotel — with the rental car key still inside — caught on fire. After evacuation, they called Europcar asking for a spare key, but were unable to obtain one forcing them to find their own transportation.

The couple said they paid $94.92 for the car rental and $45.79 for the insurance, but only used their vehicle once to get to the hotel. Weeks after, van der Merwe said Europcar called demanding he pay the replacement costs for the incinerated car key.

Van der Merwe refused and the company reviewed the case until they decided to back down on their demands. A spokeswoman told the newspaper that “more empathy could have been shown to Mr. van der Merwe.”

For the full article from Otago Daily Times, click on the URL:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/202960/car-rental-company-backs-down-bill