I’ve seen high car rental bills, but the one Fareeda Elqatto just got from Budget is in a class by itself.
CLAIM
Mike and Mary Burchmore thought they’d dotted all of their “i”s and crossed all of their “t”s when they booked their South American cruise on the Norwegian Sun.
I see strange cases all the time in my line of work, but fewer are stranger than Rebecca Davis’ rental from Enterprise in Norwood, Pa.
Roger Van Horn is the vice president for corporate loss control at Enterprise Holdings, which owns Enterprise, National and Alamo. Since I’ve received a lot of recent questions about car rental damage claims — many from Enterprise customers — I wanted to ask him a few questions about what happens when a car is dinged or scratched.
When Lidia Conte returns her Avis rental to Frankfurt, Germany, a representative points to a small ding on the car. Even though another employee lets Conte off the hook, she gets a bill for 800 euros a few weeks later. Does she still have to pay?
Your rental car is fine — just sign here.
If you think the recent series of stories about car rental companies charging customers for “damage” to their vehicles is troubling, then you’re not alone.
When an Enterprise employee points to a scratch on the roof of Sandy Lamke’s rental car, she’s assured the company won’t charge her for the damage. But it does. Now, despite her efforts to have the bill withdrawn, Enterprise insists she pay up. Should she?
The allegation that car rental companies have turned the damage claims process into a profit center is so common, I could probably write an entire blog on it.
Looks like Michael Trout’s story is going to have a happy ending, after all.
Here’s a truly strange case, brought to you by the H1N1 virus and our friends at Access America. You might say Marian Levin’s claim was denied on a technicality. An important technicality that I’ll get to in a moment. But it’s how her problem was resolved that’s even more interesting: Her travel insurance company turned [...]
Diane Gandara cancels her vacation to New Delhi after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. But her insurance company won’t honor her claim because she wasn’t visiting Mumbai. Is the $7,300 she spent on her trip lost?
Remember the Prime Travel Protection scandal? You know, the one involving fraudulent insurance policies, scores of denied claims and an investigation by state regulators?
Carla Baker’s 85-year-old father was seriously injured while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Good thing he’d bought an insurance policy through Access America, which covered his hospitalization and medical evacuation. Actually, not so good.
The Stanley Hotel is an historic resort in Estes Park, Colo., perhaps best known for inspiring Stephen King to write his horror masterpiece The Shining. And also, bedbugs — if Julie Kobayashi has her way. Get those images of Jack Nicholson typing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” out of your head. This spat reminded me of the recent exchange between Elizabeth Becton and McBee Strategic.
It’s been a year since Anita Isaia’s cruise, but the insurance claim she made through a company that offered traveler “protection” is apparently lost at sea. Will she ever get her $675 back? Find out.
Deric Voelker and his fiancee recently flew from Chicago to Las Vegas recently on Southwest Airlines. The airline lost one of their bags, so they filed a claim, expecting to be compensated. They weren’t.
Suzanne Baxter’s husband falls ill on a trip to China, forcing the couple to file a claim on their travel insurance policy. Three months later, there’s no sign of the money and the Baxters feel as if the insurance company is stringing them along. Are they? And if so, is there anything they can do?












