Rental car damage disputes

We got a bill from our credit card company stating we owe $500 for damage we did not cause or knew about. What strategies can I employ to straighten it out?

MODERATOR COMMENT FIRST: Welcome to the Straight Dope MEssage Boards, GYm1000. I think you’ll getter better response in a different forum, so I’m moving this from “Comments on Cecil’s COlumns” to IMHO.

RESPONSE TO QUESTION: First, call the credit company and tell them you’re disputing the claim. Second, call the rental car company to ask for clarification. When I’ve had disputed claims in the past, that’s usually been sufficient. However, if you don’t get satisfaction that way, check with the credit card company again about what to do.

It won’t help you this time but next time take a couple mins when you pick up and when you drop off the car to do a quick series of photos or a video of the car.

That won’t stop the situation you’re in but then the solution is to respond to them that according to your photo records the car was returned in the same condition it was rented in. That’s usually enough for them to reverse the charges.

Car rental agencies are having some profitability issues lately and it seems their new profit line is making these claims. I think they’re using the plan of send out enough claims and hoping that enough people will just pay and not contest them OR that they won’t have sufficient documentation to prove they’re right. The last couple times I rented a car I had to insist on having an employee go over it with me on turn in. One of their key tools is to not review the car until you’re already gone.

I only rent a car every 4 or 5 years at the most. At least twice I’ve had them bring up some small windshield ding or damage on the car. They dropped it both times, but it felt like a fishing expedition to me. My impression was they were looking for people who would roll over and pay it without questions.

This is why digital cameras were invented.

Rented a car recently. Took a whole bunch of pics while the guy was standing there at turn in. Even got him in the picture.

Yeah, this is a common scam now. You have to protect yourself as much as possible. (They’ll probably turn to claiming to find interior damage and such in the future.)

When I rent a car, they have a pre-existing damage report that I sign. Before I go anywhere with the vehicle, I make sure all damage on the vehicle is on the pre-existing damage report. They do this for every rental, so I would assume that if I were to return it with significant damage, though would take pictures at that point (prior to renting it out again, with a changed pre-existing damage report). This both allows for my protection and theirs. They can then point to my specific rental as being the cause of the damage.

Was this done with your rental company?

So the first you heard about the damage was when you received your credit card bill and noticed the charge from the car rental company? That’s weird. Normally, I’d expect that they would have sent something to you about it first.

Former car rental company customer service agent checking in. (It was a long time ago.)

You should still have a copy of your rental agreement. There should be a toll-free customer service number on it. Call them. Explain that you want to see proof that you incurred the damage.

What’s likely is the person who checked in that car before you didn’t bother to document any damage. They probably never bother to document damage and may try to charge everyone who rents that particular car. Sometimes they are a little ethically sketchy at those places. Because of my past experience as a CSR, I document the condition of every car I rent. BTW, tires and glass are on you and the fine print says that on your rental agreement (which nobody ever reads). So if there was a nick in the windshield or something, that wouldn’t be covered by any rental insurance or even your personal car insurance.

Back in the day, we’d have asked you to mail in a copy of your rental agreement and then the customer service agent has to research the damage with the branch manager and the fleet manager at corporate. Usually, they can ferret out exactly when the damage occurred and they will process a refund. I would try this before I’d dispute the charge with the credit card. Because the credit card may chargeback the entire bill – not just the $500 damage charge. And that’s not fair, you* did* rent a car.