GoldCar Rental review: Exorbitant charge for existing damage after having been told all okay

Contracto [protected] (Dates of hire; 22.11.2019-19.12.2019)

We hired from Goldcar a very well used and quite battered Ford Focus for 27 days from the airport. On collection I tried to highlight some marks on the car, but there were so many crosses (29 sectors already had damage crosses in them) on the sheet (see photo)and the numberplate was so bent and battered, that the white had completely come off the centre of one digit and one letter, that the person giving us the keys just grinned and shrugged their shoulders, as if to say what is the point. It was parked in a very dark covered car park, regardless we took photos of the whole car as best we could having driven it a few yards to the light. The car drove well and we had no incidents during the hire period.
On returning the car I parked it by the Goldcar office in the car park. There were two or three employees there dealing with other cars. A friend who came with me and myself went into the Goldcar office returned the key and then sat down on the chairs opposite the counter. After a wait the lady behind the counter said, "It's okay, you can go now." So we got up, thanked her and left. All had gone well we thought.
Then last night (9.1.20), I went to pay my credit card bill and saw that I had been charged an additional €351.46. I had received no notification this amount was to be charged, either by phone or by email, this was the first time I had heard of it.
This morning I went to the airport to ask what the charge was for? They told me that it was for a scrape on the wheel trim and a mark on the bumper. When I saw the photos, it was laughable you could easily see that the wheel trim was old damage from the dark gray discolouration. The front bumper was already marked with two crosses at either end, that I believe this small scuff was already marked on the sheet. I certainly did not cause this mark. Even to claim this was €351.46 of damage is simply ludicrous on this battered vehicle.
They tell me that they were unable to send me an email because I used Bravohire to book and they did not have my email address, although I was not asked for my email address. When I asked them to look at the CCTV pictures in the office, they said they were not able to access them. Why didn't my photos show this damage? Because, foolishly, a few days after I left Goldcar, having been told, it was okay, I deleted them. The photos are permanently deleted from the recycle bin after 15 days.
I have to say this was a very slick, if sickening "customer service" operation, I didn't stand a chance against Goldcar. Apparently you need to have your sheet stamped, the girl telling you it is okay is not enough. It appears she deliberately sent me away so they could set up a charge that I would not find out about for some time and could not then argue with them.
Use Goldcar at your own risk if you must!

Photos attached of the damage and the check out diagram

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