Official Submission – Complaint about Unfair and Aggressive Commercial Practices Subject: Complaint about unauthorized deduction of funds (deposit), coercive conduct, unjust financial enrichment, and lack of communication by STAIRWAY RENT SRL (Italy) Identification of the Complainant: · First Name and Surname: Michaela Látková · Permanent Address: Dvorní 372/56, Lužice 696 18 · Nationality: Slovak Republic · Bank Account Details (IBAN): CZ73 6210 6701 0022 0991 8962 (mBank) Identification of the Business Entity Concerned: · Company Name: STAIRWAY RENT SRL (trading name as per voucher: Clarent / Cla Rent) · Registered Office / Branch: Via Fontanarossa 20, 95121 Catania (CT), Italy · VAT Number (P.IVA): 05840600877 I. Factual Background On May 29, 2026, I was scheduled to collect an Economy category passenger car (Renault Clio or similar) from the aforementioned company STAIRWAY RENT SRL (Clarent) at Catania Airport (Sicily). The vehicle had been duly reserved and fully prepaid through the intermediary portal Discover Cars under reservation number D013976690 (confirmation no. D013976690-GGG3). The prepaid price also included optional supplementary services: an additional driver fee of EUR 56.00 and a child car seat (9–18 kg) of EUR 56.00. According to the terms and conditions, only EUR 112.00 was to be paid at the counter. Due to a verifiable delay of a scheduled Ryanair flight (flight number FR 1565), there was a delay of approximately 60 minutes in arriving at the car rental counter (the scheduled pick-up time was 16:00). For this reason, the car rental employee refused to accept the original valid reservation, claiming that the voucher had expired. This statement was false and in direct violation of the supplier's terms and conditions, which guarantee that the vehicle will be held for 60 minutes. Furthermore, in the electronic system of the intermediary Discover Cars, the reservation was still listed as active at that moment. The funds for this first reservation, which was arbitrarily cancelled by the car rental company, have not been refunded to us. Given the emergency situation in which my family and I found ourselves—late evening hours, exhaustion, the presence of a minor child, and the necessity of further transport to our accommodation—the company staff exploited our vulnerability. Through coercive conduct, they forced us to enter into an entirely new rental agreement (no. stairway 1329 / resp. STAIRWAY 78587) for a different vehicle (Renault Symbioz, license plate: HC817TE) under significantly less favorable financial conditions. During this new rental, the originally agreed refundable security deposit of EUR 500.00 was authorized and blocked on my mBank payment card. The vehicle in question was duly returned on June 5, 2026, at 14:13. The authorized employee of the car rental company generated an electronic return protocol (Check-In / Return Document no. stairway 1329) from the official internal system. In this document, under the damage assessment section, the option "NO" is explicitly and systematically checked for the question regarding the occurrence of new damages or accidents during the rental period. The protocol was not physically signed on-site by either party, as the system confirmed the damage-free condition of the vehicle. Furthermore, I have documented the condition of the vehicle without any defects upon both collection and return in detail in my own photographs. Upon returning the vehicle, a situation also arose where we left the fuel tank completely full, which is confirmed by the return protocol itself with the entry "Fuel In: 47/47". This status is clearly disproportionate and exceeds the amount of fuel with which the vehicle was actually received, given that the fuel policy on the original voucher was set as "Same to same". The car rental company has thus unjustly enriched itself by this financial difference in the price of fuel, which it refused to compensate. Subsequently, however, STAIRWAY RENT SRL refused to release the security deposit and unauthorizedly debited the full amount of EUR 500.00 from my payment card, which I prove by the attached bank account statement. I strongly disagree with this deduction of EUR 500.00. The car rental company additionally argues that a scratch and a dent occurred on the rear bumper. In this context, as the complainant, I strongly emphasize the following facts: 1. Absence of any damage upon collection: Upon collection of the vehicle, no damage whatsoever was recorded or stated in the protocol on the rear bumper. The vehicle was returned by me in an entirely identical condition. 2. Negligible extent of the alleged defect: The car rental company's own internal document classifies this damage in the glossary as "Lieve / Small" (very small / negligible damage). 3. Failure to prove the amount of damage by the rental company: To date, the car rental company has not presented, provided, or proven the actual amount of the damage incurred. I do not have any photographs of the damage taken by the rental company, nor an official tax document or invoice for the repair from an authorized service center. The deduction of a lump-sum amount of EUR 500.00 is completely arbitrary and unjustified. 4. Absence of signature on the damage protocol: The presented unilateral damage protocol does not contain my signature in the section "The customer accepts the reported damages". I refused to confirm this entry on-site, as it did not correspond to reality. After returning to my home country, I attempted to contact the company repeatedly in writing to demand an explanation; however, the car rental company completely fails to respond to my emails and deliberately ignores me. Furthermore, during an attempt to resolve the situation amicably and confront the staff with the damage-free protocol (the "NO" option), the employees on-site began to behave extremely aggressively. They verbally and vulgarly attacked us, shouted, and refused to negotiate with us. One of the employees demonstratively left the workstation, and the second one physically expelled us from the counter premises under duress, thereby preventing us from any rational defense directly on-site. II. Legal Assessment and Remedies Filed The conduct of STAIRWAY RENT SRL shows demonstrable signs of aggressive and misleading commercial practices, which are in direct violation of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market. The company deliberately exploited the consumer's distress for unauthorized financial gain, forced a new payment, abused the payment card authorization to unlawfully misappropriate funds without a legitimate legal title, and unjustly enriched itself on fuel (surplus 47/47) as well as the forfeited first reservation. I hereby announce that, in connection with the unauthorized deduction of the EUR 500.00 deposit, I have already filed an official request for a transaction reversal—a complaint in the form of a chargeback—with my issuing bank (mBank). III. Proposed Remedy (Petitum) Based on the aforementioned facts, I request the European Consumer Centre to initiate an official cross-border conciliation procedure with the concerned entity in Italy with the aim of financial settlement and the return of the following funds to the complainant's bank account specified above: 1. Full refund of the unauthorizedly deducted deposit amount of EUR 500.00. 2. Refund of the funds for the first wrongfully unrecognized Discover Cars reservation (no. D013976690) paid in full in advance. 3. Financial compensation for the demonstrable difference in fuel (surplus 47/47 in the tank) upon return of the vehicle. Furthermore, I request an investigation into the unfair, aggressive, and coercive practices of this company by the supervisory authorities. IV. List of Enclosures (Evidence) To this submission, I attach the following documentary and photographic evidence: 1. Original Discover Cars reservation confirmation (no. D013976690) – proof of the prepaid and valid service including the rental price and add-ons. 2. New rental agreement – proof of the forced conclusion of a new service and the deposit amount of EUR 500.00. 3. Official Return/Check-In protocol dated June 5, 2026 (no. stairway 1329) – key system evidence with the confirmed damage-free status ("NO"), description of the defect extent as "Small", absence of the customer's signature, and full fuel status (47/47). 4. Own photographic documentation of the vehicle upon collection – confirmation of the vehicle's condition before the start of the rental. 5. Own photographic documentation of the vehicle upon return – material evidence proving the absence of damage and the fuel tank status. 6. Official bank statement – proof of the unauthorized deduction of the EUR 500.00 deposit from the payment card. Sincerely, Michaela Látková Peter Horváth Thank you