Comments on: How to outfox your car rental company on a bogus damage claim

By: Missy

Missy — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:41:54 +0000

I know this post is over two years old, but I really wanted to say thanks for the great advice! This just happened to us on a recent trip to Florida. First, we opened a claim with our CC company (you only get 30 days to open it but 180 days to provide all the details) just in case we were held liable. Then we sent an email requesting the documentation you listed above. They replied by simply saying they had reviewed our case and still had to hold us accountable. They hadn’t sent us ANY proof or even an estimate of damages (they wanted our insurance info first, of course, so they could send us a bill for $2 less than our deductible)! They didn’t even produce a copy of our signed contract (the one they had given us at the counter was blank).

I responded by telling them that I would be happy to pay for any damage they could prove occurred while we possessed the vehicle, but that we would not pay them anything until they proved we were responsible. I copied Florida’s insurance commissioner on the email and pointed it out in my email, saying that I hoped it would make National take our request for documentation more seriously.

The next day, we got an email and phone call from National saying that they had closed the claim for damage to the vehicle.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

By: Gene Ziegler

Gene Ziegler — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:59:50 +0000

Thanks for the great web site. I travel often for pleasure but never, as in never, use a third party to reserve a car, flight etc. I always deal directly with the company I will buy from.
It seems to me that almost all of the complaints that I read about on your web site or in the newspaper deal with the likes of Priceline, Travelocity etc but rarely with the company itself. Also I also use either Hertz or Avis and have not had any problems.
If you go cheap you get cheap.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:44:51 +0000

This exact scenario is happening to us right now! We rented a car in Hawaii earlier this month, from Alamo. It was an older Pontiac, with scratches everywhere. My husband circled all over the inspection form when he took possession of the car. When we returned it a week later, the check in girl “noticed” a scratch in an area he apparently hadn’t circled. She even told us she had been reprimanded the day before, for not catching enough damage! We told her absolutely nothing had happened to the car in our possession and she referred us to her manager. The manager hemmed and hawwed and eventually gave us a receipt with no balance due, saying “don’t worry about it”. Yesterday we got a notice from Alamo that they are pursuing a damage claim. I sent a letter like the one Steve had, above, and the person in Alamo’s damage department told my husband today he didn’t care about our letter. I could use help from anyone and will keep you posted.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:34:48 +0000

Hey it is me Steve, the guy who originally rented the van. Hey just a quick follow-up note. I wrote fox’s collection agency a letter stating my case and cc:ed the district attorney (the same one that headed up a law suit against fox for illegal business practices). Apparently fox was fined a huge sum of money a few years ago for illegal billing practices. (found the info online with the whole transcript) I cced all of the prosecuting attorneys listed on the case as well as the better business bureau. Well that was all it took, guess dropped there collections case against me and all was well.
During the process an interesting question arose. Who has the burden of proof if a damage dispute comes up? The legal response I received, yes I contacted an attorney, was the the rental car company holds the burden of proof that the car was damaged while it was in your possession. That means no check out slip stating the condition of the car when you picked it up= no liability. The only time they may be able to stick you is if the car is brand new 0 miles on it. They it would be easy to prove you did it.
Hope this helps someone!

By: Rob M.

Rob M. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:04:51 +0000

i too rented from Fox Rent a Car in San Jose, CA – i believe the scam tactic is to rush you out on vehicles that have noticeable damage so you do not list or sign the document listing these damages. In this ocassion the window had scratches that were there when i rented the vehicle. When i returned the car, this is what the attendant said, “these scratches were not here at time of rental” me: “you did not look at the paper, how do you know?” attendant: “it is not in our document.” me: “well this is why i paid an extra $15 for insurance so you take it with your insurance carrier. is that listed in your document?” and i walked away. Never heard nor went back to Fox Rental Car again. Scammers. Although this was the very first time it felt good to pay the extra $15 for insurance (yes i know that’s also a scam).

By: Zoltan Egeresi

Zoltan Egeresi — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:22:15 +0000

On April 25 I wanted to rent a vehicle for 2 days from Budget at the Dublin airport in Ireland. Unfortunately the vehicle what they gave me had a defective clutch (?); of course it is not visible from the outside. The vehicle was a VW Golf Reg No. 09W651, MP1002 with rental agreement DA629472 it was defective, it stalled three times within 5 minutes. I had to come back from the first roundabout, the total time I was behind the wheel was maximum 10-15 minutes. After three stalls, common sense tells you to return to the rental location to prevent any further damage, as I did at the first possible U turn place. When I returned, I told one lady at the second rental booth that this vehicle has some problem, stalled 3 times in less than 15 minutes, and I would like to get a replacement. This vehicle had 2150 km on it, when I returned it within 15 minutes it read 2155 km on the meter, so I was not the first and only driver. The manager came out and tested the car, he said I damaged the clutch. I asked, how can I damage a VW clutch in 10-15 minutes, the car stalled 3 times within 2 km!!! The total driving (crawling) was 5 km only. The “towing” was was on June 18-19 SEVEN WEEKS after my rent. So I must assume, that Budget made some adjustment to the clutch. It is a good possibility, you can adjust the link to the clutch, than Budget kept on renting it to other people for an additional seven weeks or so, than I got the invoice .This is more like a criminal fraud. I asked for the actual odometer reading at the time of towing, they refused to give it to me, we need to inspect Budgets rental history on this car if this car was rented to others during this seven weeks. The “repair charge was ” 500 euro higher than an authorized VW dealer in Dublin, plus towing charge 160 Euro, loss of rental 88 Euro, plus one day charge of 50 euro for one day use ??? What a super scam!! Filed a claim already in Ireland in the district court, ready to testify. Too bad, my credit card company could not help, they said, they act only as an arbitrator in this case .
Zoltan, Santa Cruz, CA USA

By: gices

gices — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:51:52 +0000

Most insurance companies have clauses in place which they use to avoid paying out in the event of a claim – the small prints they call them – just hate them all.

By: Susan Clark

Susan Clark — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:45:28 +0000

Several years ago I rented a car from Enterprise on a business trip to Calif. The car was returned and no mention of damage noted. Two months later, I received a bill for over $2,000 stating I had damaged the roof. (Who looks at the roof! This damage could not be seen as the roof as the roof had been slightly caved in due to excess weight) After several calls to Enterprise it was stated by Enterprise the previous renter had rented the vehicle to move from the East Coast to the West Coast. Oviously, this renter had placed items on the roof.
I refused payment, Enterprise went direct to my insurance company and filed a claim against my policy! I advised my insurance carrier NOT to pay. To this day, I do not know the outcome.
Bottomline, I have learned to now #1 not rent from Enterprise #2 Look at the roof top and totally walk the car and insist every little ding is on the contract.

By: Carver Farrow

Carver Farrow — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:25:46 +0000

@Eric

The car company has no obligation to actually repair the car as its their car to do with as they wish. So no, they don’t have to supply a repair bill.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:19:54 +0000

If you have proof that the damage did not occur on your watch, photos of odometer and damage exisiting when you picked up the vehicle, it doesn’t hurt to contact the state’s Insurance Fraud Commission also. They have a nice way of sending a note to the scammers which often stops them dead in their tracks. Insurance fraud and fake claims are criminal acts, and ought to be pursued, if you have the time and inclination to do so. It’s often enough to contact the State Fraud Commission with the documents and problem, and let them go to town, IT IS THEIR JOB TO SHUT DOWN FRAUD SCAMS which cost all of us money in higher prices.

By: Eric Smith

Eric Smith — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:59:24 +0000

Is a rental agency legally required to provide a repair invoice when they make a damage claim against a renter? If not, what’s to stop them from pocketing the money and charging the next renter for the same damage?

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:53:35 +0000

@noah — I agree with Carver and others — The burden must be on the one making an accusation (the car rental company) to back it up, not to make the defendant prove a negative (which is often impossible), and jurors have a responsibility to enforce that. The technology to do so (timestamped digital photographs) is readily available to the company; if they choose not to do so that’s their problem.

Plus, I still maintain that a tiny scratch or ding that isn’t obvious from, say, 10 feet away is simply normal wear and tear (like the wear on the floor mats or steering wheel), and shouldn’t be chargeable anyway. Collision or major cosmetic damage or on an exotic luxury car, sure, but do people really run out and have every ding and dent fixed immediately in their daily driver?

By: Drew

Drew — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:16:41 +0000

I recently rented a car in Newark, NJ from Hertz. I was very concerned because there were a few deep scratches on both sides of the car that look like it had been keyed and also some marks on the bumper.

I am Hertz Gold so I just got in the car and planned on noting the damage at the gate. The first agent checking my paperwork when I left refused to note any damage and said I would be fine because Hertz doesn’t charge Gold Members for minor damage anyway. I pressed the second agent at the booth and he finally wrote on my paperwork “Scratches All Over” and initialed it. At that point I figured I was OK for any minor damage and left.

In the end upon returning my car (at JFK) they didn’t even mention the scratches or even look at the damage their other agent noted. However, from reading some of your other articles glad I played it safe.

By: Carver Farrow

Carver Farrow — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:59:49 +0000

@noah

Fair enough. That’s why you’d probably be excused from the jury. During voir dire, you’d be questioned to see if you would be willing to follow the law and the judge’s instructions.

You’d be instructed that it’s the car rental company’s burden to present evidence that the car was dentless prior to the customer renting it. If the car rental company can provide sufficient evidence that it is more likely than not, then the customer has to then refute that evidence. If it cannot or if its a tie, then you must find for the customer, i.e. the defendant.

Those are the rules that you would be expected to adhere to as a juror.

By: Noah

Noah — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:37:14 +0000

@carver

No doubt. But, if this issue were taken to court (unlikely, I suppose), and I were a juror, I would be very disinclined to believe a renter who was 100% certain that a “ding” didn’t occur while the car was in his possession. Especially if the rental company has documentation of the state of the car, and the renter didn’t identify any issues before driving off the lot.