Chris Benzinger has a problem with National Car Rental. The company sent him a surprise repair bill, but it isn’t telling him what he did to deserve it.
DAMAGE
There are dents on Mark Ferguson’s rental SUV, and Enterprise wants him to pay for the repairs. But there’s just one problem: they’re on the roof, and neither Ferguson, nor the manager who inspected the vehicle, checked the top before he accepted the car. Is he still responsible?
You’ve put a dent in your rental vehicle. Or worse, your car rental company claims you returned the car with a scratch or two on it. Oops.
Carrie Finegan’s rental car has a dent on it, and the company wants her to pay for the repair. But did she do it, or was the dent on the car before she rented it? Why doesn’t the company seem to care?
This is the “after” picture of Christy Nidle’s Hertz rental last year in Perugia, Italy. “I changed lanes and scraped a car passing me from behind,” she says.
When Mary Dampier returns her rental car to Alamo, she believes it is undamaged. But the company begs to differ, and now it is threatening to refer the case to a collection agency. Is there any hope?
When Chuck Berg tried to maneuver his way back to the Le Méridien in Phuket, Thailand, on a recent visit, he ran into a little problem: a rock on the side of the road, which dented the side of his rental car.
Richard Hartman rented a car from Alamo in Montreal this summer. It’s a decision he regrets.
Carri Schoeller is charged an extra $500 after she returns her rental car to Enterprise. The reason? There’s a small scratch on the bumper. Didn’t they say little scratches don’t count? Yeah, but talk is cheap.
One of the most common questions I get from car rental customers who are facing a damage claim is: “Why can’t they take pictures of my car before it leaves the facility?”
Months after Dan Anthony’s truck rental, he gets a repair bill for $750. But he didn’t do it, and now the car rental company is threatening to refer his case to a collections agency if he doesn’t pay up. What are his options?
Peggy Suvak’s car rental started routinely enough. When she picked up the car from an Enterprise location in Indianpolis, an associate walked around the vehicle to check for damage and seemed to have “no concerns.”
Car rental damage cases are usually disputes between two parties — the renter and the agency. But not always. Ron Goldstein recently rented a car from Thrifty in Los Angeles. He left the car with a parking valet at the DoubleTree by Hilton Guest Suites Santa Monica. It’s a decent hotel about a block from [...]
When Enterprise rents Janice White a car in Chicago, there’s damage to the fender. No worries, says an associate. It will be noted. But a few days after she returns the car, she’s being asked to pay for the dent. What now?
Avoid seat 32J if you’re flying Air Pacific between Fiji and Los Angeles. Jimme Peters had the misfortune of being stuck in it for the 11-hour flight, and she’s got the scars to prove it.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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