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Help! I rented for one day, but I’m being charged for three

June 3, 2010

Everyone likes to take a day off. But should you pay for your car rental company’s vacation?

That’s what Heidi Hermanson wants to know. She rented a car for one day last week, but her car rental company wasn’t there when she returned it. It had taken off for Memorial Day. Now, her bill has tripled.

Can it do that?


Technically, yes. But it might have been nice if the company had informed her of the one-day/three-day issue before she drove off the lot.

Here’s her story:

I rented a car on May 29th for one day for the on-line quoted price of $32 at an Enterprise location in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I returned the car later that same night.

Today I got a call from the manager, who told me he was charging my card for $108, because of the dealership being closed Sunday and the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.

He also told me he “had told me that he was charging me for three days at the time he ran my card.”

This I protested, since we did not have that conversation, and if I had wanted to rent a car for three days I would have done that. I understand that he may have been busy that day, but, as I told him, if he had told me I was paying for three days, I would have canceled the reservation on the spot.

“Well, surely you can see where we wouldn’t be able to tell when you returned the car since we are closed on Sunday and Monday,” he said.

That is all fine and good, but I still thought I was renting a car for one day, and I got charged for three. I held up my end and brought the car back Saturday night. Now it all boils down to my word against his. He says we had that conversation. As someone who counts my pennies carefully, I say if he had told me he was charging me for three days, I would have cancelled the reservation on the spot.

He finally said he would split the difference with me, and he took one day off the charge, which was nice of him, but I am still paying $80 for one day of rental of a small car.

Hmm. Split the difference? I get in trouble with my readers when we end up splitting the difference (yes, friends, I read every comment before I approve it).

Enterprise should have told Hermanson about the three-day rate. It wasn’t up to her to figure out the location was closed on Sunday and Monday — that was their responsibility.

I contacted Enterprise on her behalf. Yesterday, the company contacted her and offered to credit her for the extra days. She’ll only be charged for one day.

I guess the lesson here is to ask your car rental company about their hours before you return your car. It seems that’s something the company ought to tell you when you pick up your vehicle, don’t you think?

(Photo: bennylin 0724/Flickr Creative Commons)

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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26 comments

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    Glad to read that Ms. Hermanson only ended up paying for one day.

    Over the years, I have received a message like “location is closed for the times selected” or “location is not opened” when tyring to reserve a car online at Hertz, Budget, National, etc.

    At first, it seems like there could be poor programming at the Enterprise website but it is hard for me to believe that Enterprise will allow a car to be picked up and/or returned if the location is closed. I went to the Enterprise websiste and chose Sunday as the return date when the location is closed and I received an message of “The dates & times you provided fall outside branch operating hours. Please make the changes where indicated”.

    I have rented hundreds of cars over the years (mostly from Hertz). Also, I have rented cars from Avis, Budget, Enterprise, National, etc. When I am not using the Hertz # 1 Club Gold service or Budget Fastbreak service, the car rental agent at the counter always said something like “you are renting this car for a day”, you are renting the car on Wednesday at 2:00 PM” or something similar.

    Unless Enterprise changed their website after Chris contacted or this Enterprise location changed their hours of operations without contacting corporate, it is hard for me to believe that the length of the rental was not disclosed at the time of the pickup.

  • Heidi

    I had the same issue with trying to reserve a car for this past Memorial Day weekend. However, if a location did not allow after hours drop off and required paying for the rental until the location re-opened, it said so on the website or required you to check directly with the branch. If the website allows you to book a rate that includes an after hours drop off, it should clearly be the rate that you pay as they are aware ahead of time of the location’s hours and the customer’s return time. Further, when you rent a car, you get a price estimate for the estimated rental time which would have covered an after hours drop off time period. The manager should not (if he even did) have changed the estimate verbally.

    I also checked the Enterprise website for the location in question and they clearly allow after-hours drop off:
    Here is how you can return your vehicle After Hours:

    PLEASE LOCK CAR DOORS AND THEN PLACE KEYS IN THE KEY DROP BOX. THE RENTER’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR VEHICLE CONDITION ENDS ONCE AN ENTERPRISE-RENT-A-CAR EMPLOYEE INSPECTS THE RENTAL VEHICLE THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY. * KEY DROP BOX IS LOCATED IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING BETWEEN THE FRONT DOOR AND THE GARAGE DOOR.

  • Thalassa

    Good job on this one! Enterprise should definitely have warned the customer they would charge for three days, and shouldn’t have accepted one day reservations!

  • SirWired

    I have to say, it’s a perfectly reasonable contract term but if I was a car rental company I would produce a separate signed disclaimer if the contract end date was a date when the office was not open. Even better, the system should refuse to make a reservation (or print a contract) that ends on a date when the office was not open since the effective date of the contract is longer.

  • John Roddy

    Chris,
    Thanks for assuring us that 45minutes would suffice to change German Wings planes at Hannover Airport. Our bags and we made the transfer without hastle.

    All the best,
    John Roddy

  • Kelly Kane

    Good job, Chris! Glad you helped her get the additional refund. That is just crazy to have to pay for days they are closed!

    Wouldn’t you think a car rental place would be open every day? I tried to rent a car a month ago on a Sunday and no one was open.

  • Tanya

    I ran into this same problem with Enterprise before. My contract clearly stated when I was returning the car and how long the rental was for. They were closed on the day I was returning the car, and tried to charge me for 2 extra days. Well, I refused to pay and when the manager told me that I did not have a choice, I told him I would call my credit card company and dispute any charge above what I had orignally agreed to.
    The best I was can see to deal with this is either not to rent from Enterprise any longer, or make sure the date you want to drop the car off is on the contract/receipt. I would even go so far as to write in on the copy before signing when taking the car.
    It seems like Enterprise has found a new way to make money. Have a drop box for keys, tell your customers they can drop off the car, and then charge them when you are cloesd, without informing customers of your policy.

  • EvilEmpryss

    They can’t tell when she returned her car, huh? Yeah, right. They would be the only Enterprise location I know of that doesn’t have security cameras on their lot and facing the door where you drop your keys through the slot.

    The manager knows darned well when she returned that car, and the fact that he wanted to “split the difference” is the first clue that he knew he was in the wrong. I guarantee that if she had claimed to have returned the car on Saturday but had actually returned it Monday morning they would be using the security footage to prove she owed them for the extra days: it’s only when the evidence is against them that they conveniently “forget” about the cameras.

    Customers shouldn’t have to pay for extra days just because the location isn’t open. It’s almost as bad as forcing the customer to pay the extra fees for returning a rental to an airport because it’s the only location open seven days a week.

  • Carver

    I think the manager is crazy. If I rent a car for one day, I expect to be charged for one day if I return it consistent with the contract. Period.

  • Christine

    @ Kelly. I’ve also found that most places cost Saturday at noon and are closed on Sunday. The only location I’ve ever seen that’s open late and on Sundays was at a Sears in a mall.

  • Mike

    Enterprise has always noted ion my contract when they are closed and they always include the three days of a weekend on the contract with the notice stating that additional days are billed at such and such a rate. Thus, I don’t believe it when a manager says he “told her” and it wasn’t clearly printed on the contract. Also, weekend rates at enterprise are significantly cheaper and you can often get three days for about the price of one.

  • Jeff W

    The poster indicated that the car rental place was located in a dealership. Several states have laws on the books that prohibit dealerships from doing business on a Sunday. Therefore any other business located within that facility would also be closed.

    (There are other businesses that choose to close on Sunday for personal/religious reasons as well, which is their right.)

    If the OP lives in state where dealerships are legally not allowed to operate on Sundays, it should not have been a leap of logic to think that the Enterprise located at the dealership would also be closed.

  • Sarah Di

    The only rental car locations that I’ve seen open on Sundays have been located at airports.

    If they got a reservation for one day, were not told that they’d be charged for three days and returned it on time, they should only get charged for one day.

  • Roberto

    If Enterprise, themselves, can’t figure out when they are open or closed, how is Heidi expected to?

    Enterprise never should have accepted a 1-day rental if they knew they were closed the next two days (making a 1-day rental impossible). They should have changed her contract to a 3-day before she left the lot. Assuming she didn’t have the flexibility to return the car to a different Enterprise location that would be open for business at the return time, anyway.

  • http://www.cutcat.com ChelseaGirl

    Sorry Enterprise, but a contract is a contract and you can’t weasel out of it. Telling the customer they don’t have a choice is laughable, because the credit card company will back the customer and you will get the bad publicity you are getting right now. When will companies learn that they can’t get away with this stuff anymore? More power to the Internet and to sites like this!

  • Meredith Putvin

    I think see where the problem lies. Yes, Enterprise’s site will tell you if the branch is not open, but what about Hotwire, Priceline and Travelocity (et al…)?

    There is no such function built in there, and the price tells me she may have rented from one of those. Still the manager SHOULD have informed her of the hours of operation.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Roberto – “Enterprise never should have accepted a 1-day rental if they knew they were closed the next two days (making a 1-day rental impossible).”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
    I went to the Enterprise website and it doesn’t allow you make a rental if your pick-up time or return time is outside of the location’s hours. For my test, I selected five local Enterprise locations and chose return times when the locations were closed. I don’t know if these locations have an after-hours drop off box.

    Unless Enterprise changed their website after Chris contacted or this Enterprise location changed their hours of operations without contacting corporate so that they could update their database, website, etc; I don’t see how this online reservation could have been made if Ms. Hermanson select a return time when the location was closed.

    Even if this site in Iowa had an after hours drop box and the Enterprise website allows a return when the location has an after hours drop box, the confirmation should clearly shows the pick-up time, the return time and the length of the rental to be one day.

  • y_p_w

    I’ve rented from Enterprise several times. I always received a contract receipt with the estimated total costs for the return time I reserved. On a few occasions I was even specifically given a few hours grace period where I wouldn’t be charged for going over the daily rate (charged by the hour). If she booked for one day and the receipt says one day without disclosing the dates they’re closed, then I can’t see how they can justify charging for three days.

  • Joe Farrell

    Enterprise is the WORST for this sort of thing to the point where I simply do not rent from them anymore.

    I rented a car from the private airplane terminal at El Paso on Jan 13 for ONE DAY. I returned the car on the 14th. I got a receipt showing when I returned it. I got charged on my credit card for 2 days. When I called, the excuse which I got was, wait for it, its a good one – “We did not go pick it up until the 15th, so we charged you.” No offer of credit.

    I asked to speak to the manager who gets on the line – we have the following exchange.

    “You charged me for 2 days.”

    ‘Yes, we did. We did not get the car for 2 days.’

    “How long was my reservation?”

    ‘It was for one day.’

    “When did I bring it back?”

    ‘you returned it the morning of the 14th’

    “So how long was that?”

    ‘One day.’

    “So how much should I charged for?’

    ‘Well, it was not returned to our location and we had to go get it.’

    “You have a General Aviation program which is designed to drop cars at FBO’s right? Isn’t pick up and delivery part of the service?”

    ‘Yes Sir.’

    “Ok, so why was I charged for an extra day? What if you had not picked the car up? Would I still be charged a month later? Thats what you are saying, right?”

    ‘Sir, I will remove the charge for a day ‘as a courtesy’ but that it our policy.’

    “Where does it say that policy in writing in the general aviation program?”

    ‘well, it doesn’t. That is my office policy.’

    “And, I am supposed to know that how? It seems to me that you are ripping people off on a regular basis – I think the state attorney general ought to hear that.”

    Click. So I filed the complaint. Still pending. Did get a credit for one day, no rental fees and taxes credit for which I filed a credit card dispute. That was approved by Mastercard.

  • Ali

    I used to work for Enterprise. All of the contracts have the store’s operating hours printed at the top, so the contract indeed would have shown that they were closed on Sunday. (Though I doubt it said anything about Monday, since it was a holiday). As a few other people have pointed out, the OP wouldn’t have been able to make a reservation for the times she wanted to return it because it would have told her the branch was closed at that time. To the person who said the manager could easily look at their surveillance cameras to see when she returned the car, its very unlikely they had any. In the 2 years I worked for ERAC, I worked at 3 different branches, none of which had any security cameras whatsoever.

    I think the main issue here is just that the manager forgot to mention to her that they were closed the next 2 days. That surprises me, because I know *especially* on holiday weekends we made a point to mention to every customer before they drove off the lot that we were closed for the holiday. Anyway, all that being said, I’m glad she ended up only having to pay for what she thought she was getting. And now she knows for the future.

  • Jerry

    I reserved a car for an upcoming trip from a Hertz location that is closed on Sunday (I was going to pick the car up on a weekday when they were open). The location details said that after-hours returns are allowed; in this case the procedure is to leave the keys at a nearby hotel.

    Only when I finalized the reservation did the site show the fine print, saying that “rental charges accrue until location reopens”.

    Consequently, even though I prefer to deal with Hertz, I decided to rent from Enterprise, which is actually in a more convenient location for this rental AND is open when I need to return the car.

  • http://www.limetreebayresort.com Pet Friendly Hotel

    Its good to hear that you have paid only for one day. It wasnt your fault if there was holidays… :)

  • Shelly

    Thank you all for your comments and tips. Now I know what to watch for, and what days of the week to plan around.

    I hope to be flying to Iowa before the snow starts this year, to visit my mother’s burial site. She passed away in 2009 and I was only there for a short time for her funeral (though she died where she lived just a mile from me in Calif, we sent her to her hometown for burial with her family). I’ll either fly into Des Moines, Omaha or Kansas City, MO and be renting a car for 4-5 days (relatives are scattered from end-to-end since both parents were from different parts of Iowa). Thanks to you folks, I know what to watch for and what to ask about when I get to the rental counter and when I return the car.

    Thank you for this forum, Chris! Amateur travelers like me need this!

  • Koala

    Shelly,

    Beware of rental car taxes at the Kansas City, MO airport. It is one of the highest tax rental car locations in the US.

  • Jesse

    Folks,

    It seems, time after time, that it is our responsibility to keep the company honest. That we need to remember to check the room was not damaged–and have proof, the car was not dinged or the windshield cracked–and have proof, the car was gassed up–and have proof, and the list could go on and on.

    When are these companies going to be honest without us having to cover ourselves?

  • Jay

    I was booking a rental in Coolangatta airport (Gold Coast Australia) on the internet and put in the reservation that I was returning the car at 5:30 AM. A notice popped-up that the rental office does not open until 6AM. I then booked through a different company and that website issued no warning. However, I checked and sure enough, same 6 AM opening. I would have maybe missed my flight if I had booked without checking the opening time.

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