Michael Roehricht needs a repair invoice from Enterprise to file a claim with his car insurance company. Why won’t the company send him the paperwork?
Question
I need your help with an insurance claim. I recently damaged a car I had rented through Enterprise while I was in Germany.
In a nutshell, my car insurance company has been requesting a repair invoice from Enterprise for the last two months in order to close the claim and determine how much to pay them.
Enterprise wrote that they will not share additional documentation as requested by my car insurance and instead is demanding immediate payment.
My insurance company is giving me two months to get those documents from Enterprise. If I don’t obtain them, the claim will be closed, and the insurance may not pay. Can you help me? — Michael Roehricht, Austin, Texas
Answer
I normally handle complaints from car rental customers who claim they’ve been falsely accused of damaging a rental car. It’s nice to hear from someone who wants to own up to the damage and is trying to do the right thing.
And when I got your case, I wondered why Enterprise wasn’t helping you. After all, isn’t it in the company’s best interests to get you to file a successful insurance claim? (I’ll have the answer in a moment.)
Based on the claim information you sent me, it looks like you totaled your rental car. Enterprise originally wanted to bill you for the full value of the vehicle ($31,309) but then agreed to settle for about half ($15,654).
The offer was contingent on you paying quickly. In fact, by the time you reached out to me, Enterprise’s offer had expired and it had been extended another 10 days. If you didn’t pay, you would be liable for the full $31,309.
Enterprise says it does not have to provide you with a repair invoice under German law. It says that it has the right to choose to receive the amount of money that would be required to return the car to working order under the law. “This is also a case of restitution in kind, since the value of the money is also intended for the recreation of the hypothetical undamaged state,” Enterprise said.
In other words, it doesn’t have to show your insurance company a repair invoice.
Tips for getting around an invoice problem
How to get a repair invoice from your car rental company
Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens from time to time. A car rental company can’t — or won’t — send you evidence of a repair. Here’s how to get one:
- Don’t wait. As soon as you know there’s damage, ask the rental company for an invoice. The sooner you start, the better.
- Send an email or letter requesting the invoice. This creates a paper trail you can use later if needed.
- Know your rights. Most U.S. states require rental companies to provide repair invoices. No invoice, no payment. If they’re stonewalling, remind them of this.
- Follow up regularly. An email every week or so can remind the car rental company that you mean business.
Climb the corporate ladder. If the local office isn’t helping, try contacting the company’s corporate customer service.
Don’t forget to document everything, even before you leave the rental location. Take pictures of the damage to your car and insist on getting all of your communication by email. This can be crucial if you need to file a complaint later. One more quick note: Your insurance company may be able to negotiate on your behalf. Ask if it can help you get an invoice. Often, insurance companies have special contacts at a car rental company that aren’t necessarily reachable by ordinary mortals.
What’s going on with your Enterprise invoice?
There’s another twist: Your car insurance is actually covered under your travel insurance. Car insurance companies are well-versed in damage rules and regulations, but travel insurance companies answer to different underwriters and have different requirements. And I could see that your travel insurance company would not pay without the necessary documentation.
So why wouldn’t Enterprise send you the invoice quickly? Reading between the lines, it looks as if the company negotiated a settlement with you and expected you to pay the claim out of pocket. Car rental companies often prefer to deal directly with customers because they’re less likely to question charges like administrative fees, loss of use and diminution of value.
Once an insurance company gets involved, there’s often a negotiation that results in the car rental company being liable for more damage. Perhaps that’s what Enterprise was trying to avoid in this case.
A brief, polite email to one of the Enterprise executives I list on this site might have cleared up the matter for you. Again, you were trying to do the right thing and owning up to the damage to your vehicle. I think Enterprise would have appreciated the fact that you were taking responsibility for the car.
You reached out to my advocacy team and I contacted Enterprise on your behalf. Your insurance company contacted you shortly after that and told you that it agreed to pay $17,552, which is about half the claim. You are happy with that resolution, and Enterprise has accepted the insurance company’s offer.
