Rental Car Situation

[trulfe]

Okay I took my car in for its 10k service. i went over and rented a car and right when i got back to school i got out and noticed a big dent on the side that the lady didnt see before she rented it to me. i called about 15-20 minutes after i rented the car to confirm that they knew about the dent, but they checked the record and had nothing listed about a dent. i returned the car a few hours later and pointed out the dent and reminded them that i had immediatly phoned them when i got home off the freeway aprox 15-20 mins later to notify them of the prior damage.

anyways, just when i thought it was over because i hadnt heard from them in 2 months, i get a letter a day ago telling me i owe them $632.80. I was beyond belief. Not only are they going to try to charge me for banging out a dent, but they took it further and the estimate has a complete repaint and overspray. There was no paint damage whatsoever, the panel was just pushed in. Keep in mind thhis is for a Ford Escort with over 13,000 miles and no power windows or locks, etc.

I am very disappointed in their business practices and dont intend on paying anything.

 

[GooberPHX420]

Go to the local branch and kick all their asses

 

[RGN]

Over 13,000 miles? uh, thats nothing....

 

[compuwiz1]

Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you should always do your own inspection at the time of rental and be sure any damage is noted. You assumed the damage by not doing so, therefore it is probably your word against theirs. They have no documentation to say otherwise and neither do you. This will be an expensive lesson, but you owe.

 

[Sluggo]

Unless you have something in writing from Enterprise that says the car had damage when you took possesion of it, you are basically screwed.

You didnt buy the optional damage waiver did you?

Your original paperwork should have the name of whoever originally wrote your ticket. You should find that and drive up and talk to the manager of the Enterprise shop you rented from and discuss the matter with him. You need to get it straightened out, Enterprise will pursue you and any living relatives you have to the grave to recover their money.

Your car insurance or the CC you rented with may offer you some protection on this, check with them as well.

My wife used to work for Enterprise, when you go in and tell them what happened they will look at you with a really sympathetic face and ask if you bought the damage waiver....they will remind you that the optional damage waiver covers things such as this with no out of pocket expense on your part. Then they will cheerfully remind you that you owe them money.

 

[trulfe]

after waiting for a car for a while. i told them i just needed to get to school and i was in a hurry. they had the car parked backwards so that the damage was on the other side. i quickly looked over the vechicle and hopped in since i was in a hurry. as soon as i got out of my door to my apartment to pick up my books, i noticed it and it almost looked like it was a part of the design. i called them immediatly to notify them of the situation (only 15 mins after renting it).

not only that, but they are quoting a ridiculous amount for the damage that was done, and in my opinion performing fraud by trying to charge me for repairs that dont even need to be done. not only that but they didnt even inspect the vechicle when i brought it back except for the part where i pointed to them the dent was. they just breeze people in and out and dont do any inspecting themselves.

 

[Sluggo]

<< i called them immediatly to notify them of the situation (only 15 mins after renting it). >>



That reminds me, time makes no difference.

I remember my wife telling me of a lady who totaled a brand new Maxima ( she was the first renter on the car) pulling out of the Enterprise parking lot. She didnt buy the waiver if I remember the story right, and was stuck paying for a brand new Maxima for a long time that she only got to drive for 45 seconds.

 

[dakata24]

edit: misread.. cant you get your own estimates on the damage.. i bet they banged it up themselves somemore, and trying to place the blame on you..

 

[phatcow]

why dont you just have the dent repaired elsewhere...

 

[trulfe]

Another thing I noticed was that they didnt even have the estimate done until 500 miles after I had returned the car.

 

[Sluggo]

<< they should have still had the decency to contact you about it before make the actual repairs to get estimates to ensure that the price for repairs was reasonable or at least contest the damages... they're trying to charge you after the fact, which doesnt seem fair..

but then again, i know nothing about car rentals.. good luck, hope things work out in your favor. >>



They dont shop for prices, they have dedicated shops that can get minor stuff done overnight, and get the cars back in the fleet the next day. It aint about saving a few bucks for them, the car can make a crapload more money being rented for an extra 2 days than it can saving $200 and sitting at a repair shop for a week.

 

[trulfe]

<< why dont you just have the dent repaired elsewhere... >>




i know this may sound bad because technically i should have thoroughly inspected the vechicle, but i dont even want to pay a cent as i had absoultly nothing to do with the damage and i am willing to go to court if i have to, to fight this charge.

 

[trulfe]

if they take me to court, they will have to spend money themselves for their workers to appear and they may, and in my opinion will most likely not win, with all the things i can bring up(they were in a hurry and wrote down my phone # wrong, they didnt have the estimate until 500 miles later, they never inspected the vechicle upon return, they never took me in a full circle around the vechice for inspection, etc)


they never phoned me to speak with me about the situation, they never did anything but tell me that they did an investigation and send me a bill. i am quite disapointed in their business practices, and can say that if they decide to persue it further that i will never rent another vechicle from them again, and will recommend that my friends and family do the same, simply from the way they handled the situation.

if i was at fault, i would gladly take responsibility, however, the mere fact that i had absolutly nothing to do with the damage makes me stronger in my will to fight it.

 

[Sluggo]

<< if they take me to court, they will have to spend money themselves for their workers to appear and they may, and in my opinion will most likely not win, with all the things i can bring up(they were in a hurry and wrote down my phone # wrong, they didnt have the estimate until 500 miles later, they never inspected the vechicle upon return, they never took me in a full circle around the vechice for inspection, etc)

if i was at fault, i would gladly take responsibility, however, the mere fact that i had absolutly nothing to do with the damage makes me stronger in my will to fight it. >>



All Enterprise needs to have is a lawyer and a copy of the contract you signed.

 

[trulfe]

<<

<< if they take me to court, they will have to spend money themselves for their workers to appear and they may, and in my opinion will most likely not win, with all the things i can bring up(they were in a hurry and wrote down my phone # wrong, they didnt have the estimate until 500 miles later, they never inspected the vechicle upon return, they never took me in a full circle around the vechice for inspection, etc)

if i was at fault, i would gladly take responsibility, however, the mere fact that i had absolutly nothing to do with the damage makes me stronger in my will to fight it. >>



All Enterprise needs to have is a lawyer and a copy of the contract you signed. >>





that isnt true. they must take me to court to force any payment.

 

[Sluggo]

They wont even take you to court, they will just turn the bill over to a collection agency, who upon non-payment will just put a delinquent pay/no pay on your credit report. Then the tables will turn to you to prove that you dont owe that money.

In their corner they have a contract signed by you that says you took possesion of the car with no exterior damage on it. The fact that you called them as soon as you saw damage is of little consequence, you signed that it had no damage, and your signature also affirms that you are responsible for any damage the car incurs while in your possesion. So far as they are concerned it had no damage, and the dent was made by road debris in the fifteen minutes or whatever amount of time passed before you called them.

 

[trulfe]

<< They wont even take you to court, they will just turn the bill over to a collection agency, who upon non-payment will just put a delinquent pay/no pay on your credit report. Then the tables will turn to you to prove that you dont owe that money.

In their corner they have a contract signed by you that says you took possesion of the car with no exterior damage on it. The fact that you called them as soon as you saw damage is of little consequence, you signed that it had no damage, and your signature also affirms that you are responsible for any damage the car incurs while in your possesion. So far as they are concerned it had no damage, and the dent was made by road debris in the fifteen minutes or whatever amount of time passed before you called them. >>





okay, my father is an attorney and we have already written a letter to them notifying them that he is my legal counsel and that I have no intention of paying for damage that i did not cause. I will tell you for sure that they WILL have to take me to court to force payment (not some collection agency), and it will have to be small claims court which means that they (and I) cannot have any legal representation within. Therefore, they will have costs to attempt a payment and they may not win.

fortunatly i do have access to unlimited attorney service so they cannot push me and try to scare me like a typical customer. If they want to force payment must pay a lawyer to organize their situation and pay workers to appear without legal representation.

 

[trulfe]

<< and your signature also affirms that you are responsible for any damage the car incurs while in your possesion. >>




this is what i am intending to fight. the damage didnt happen while it was under my posession.

The dent isnt a small nick, it is a concave one done in a circular shape almost in the curve of someones butt cheek or something round like that. The car would have had to be involved in some kind of incident or someone sitting on the car for it to occur and not just road debris and it wasnt an obvious dent it was in a perfectly round shape and i had to look at the other side of the vechicle to make sure it wasnt a part of the design.

Its basically up to them how they want to handle the situation, i am willing to fight it if necessary, and am confident that the judge will believe my story.

 

[compuwiz1]

Your father, as an attorney, should be the first to advise you "Caveat Emptor". You do not have a case. Pay the bill.
You signed a contract, no damage noted. You'll lose this, sorry to say. I can tell by your attitude that you are not one to accept accountablility.
What I see is that you signed off your name, as any in a hurry, less than mature adult did. Now you don't like the consequences, so you want to try and twist the legalities. GROW THE F*CK UP!

 

[trulfe]

<< I can tell by your attitude that you are not one to accept accountablility.
What I see is that you signed off your name, as any in a hurry, less than mature adult did. Now you don't like the consequences, so you want to try and twist the legalities. GROW THE F*CK UP! >>



actually you are the one that needs to grow up. you are right that i am not one to accept accountability for someone elses actions and that is why i intend on fighting it, simply put, i did not cause the damage. I am not twisting anything, i am telling them i did not do the damage and that i will argue my case in court should i need to do so. on top of this, if indeed i am held responsible, i will not pay whatever enterprise puts down on a piece of paper. what they have attempted to charge me for is ridiculous and unnecessary work, and to just sign over whatever money they ask for would be stupid. thanks for your valuable input and maturity yourself.

 

[Pundit]

This is a tough one. trulfe, if you did not cause the dent, the it would be unjust for you to pay for it. But look at it from their perspective. As far as they knew, it was in perfect condition when you signed off. Logically, you have no proof that this accident didn't happen between the time you took it until you saw the damage. Or do you?

 

[Pundit]

trulfe, are you saying that if the repair cost was acceptable to you that you would pay it?

 

[trulfe]

<< This is a tough one. trulfe, if you did not cause the dent, the it would be unjust for you to pay for it. But look at it from their perspective. As far as they knew, it was in perfect condition when you signed off. Logically, you have no proof that this accident didn't happen between the time you took it until you saw the damage. Or do you? >>




well i can retrieve my cell phone bill which should have a record of when i phoned their office. This should corrospond to about the same time it would take to travel from the rental spot to my apartment. If it was involved in an accident or some sort, then typically there would be some down time for the situation, and i most likely wouldnt have been able to make it home in that amount of time.

the fact that they didnt take it to have an estimate for another 500 miles afterwards isnt evidence, but means other damage could have occured after i returned the vechicle.

 

[Pundit]

<< well i can retrieve my cell phone bill which should have a record of when i phoned their office. This should corrospond to about the same time it would take to travel from the rental spot to my apartment. If it was involved in an accident or some sort, then typically there would be some down time for the situation, and i most likely wouldnt have been able to make it home in that amount of time. >>


You may have a case after all. Good luck.

 

[trulfe]

<< trulfe, are you saying that if the repair cost was acceptable to you that you would pay it? >>



i do not want to based on principle that it wasnt me, but at this point my father is taking care of situation and we will handle it accordingly.


like i said, i am an honest person and someone to take responsibility for my own actions, but i cant help but feel sh1tty to have a $632 bill for someone elses. i will not commit fraud either by reporting to my insurance an incident that never occured. it is an unfortunate situation, an one i will definetly learn from either way, but hopefully they will understand my situation and see that i attempted do what i could ASAP about the situation even though the car was in my possession for 15 minutes.