Lack of integrity by Budget Car Hire

I hired a car at Cape Town Airport. After waiting an hour in the queue for my turn to collect the car, I was handed the keys and told which bay to find my car. When I got to the car, I walked around the car checking for obvious scratches and bumps, but also looked around for someone to do a "handover" but their was no one around. When I returned the car, I was told that the paint damage on the sill(vertually underneath the car) was my fault! Short of inspecting a car by lying underneath it, I would never have noticed it and didn't on collection. The fact that I drove the entire time on tarred roads and parked in parking lots - making it highly unlikely that it was my fault. I am however being charged for it. On returning the car and insisting that I did not have anything to do with the paint chip - I was asked to stare my case on a form and sign it - I understood that to be an affidavit of my declaration that it was not my fault. Only to be told via a telephone call that it was a declaration of guilt form - this is not what I was told - gross misrepresentation!!!!!!!! Budget are refusing to take any responsibly for not doing a proper handover or for for staff "conning" me into filling in a declaration of guilt - telling me telephonically, I should have read the fine print! Really!!!!!!! At the airport!!!!! When you are trying to catch a flight!!???!

Firstly this us a warning to anyone hiring a car! Do not take one without someone actually doing a handover inspection with you. Secondly, I will not be using Budget car hire again as I do not trust them and they lack integrity!