I can see the side of the rental companies when there is actual damage done by a renter. I would wa

Q uestion cruising world 1975 al mason design : I recently rented a pickup truck through National in Berkeley, Calif., for a one-way move to Walla Walla, Wash. The two-day trip went smoothly, and we loaded and unloaded the truck without incident.
When I returned the vehicle to the rental agency, I did a thorough walkaround, and found not one iota of damage. I cleaned the interior, and opened and closed the back gate to check for any left-behind items, and found the truck bed in exactly the same condition I rented it in.
I brought the keys to the counter, and the agent accepted them, and told me they would send me my final invoice. No one was in the lot to check the condition of the truck with me and verify cruising world 1975 al mason design the condition of the truck.
I was shocked. When they finally sent me the documents, they showed massive damage to the rear gate. There also appeared to be some sort of collision damage. The repairs were executed months after my rental.
I told him I couldn't have done it. They refuse to hear from me or treat the case as anything but an opportunity for monetary gain, and I was dumb enough not to have photographed the truck or have them do a full inspection.
As of today they will be sending the bill to collections, so unless they hear reason I will be harassed and my credit possibly damaged. This is really a nightmare for me, in part because I find myself so helpless to the wolfish and questionable practices Enterprise Holdings and National Rent-a-Car has employed.
Here are a few things that concern me about your case: First, the timing. A lot of time had passed between the time of your rental and the repairs and subsequent damage claim. That's highly unusual. Damages to a rental car should be identified cruising world 1975 al mason design at the time of your return, and the repairs should be made promptly – not months later.
National should cruising world 1975 al mason design have shown you time-stamped photos of the damage to the truck immediately after your rental, a repair estimate, and an invoice from the body shop. It sounds to me like there were some paperwork problems.
And not just on the car rental cruising world 1975 al mason design company's part. As you say, you should have photographed the truck, both before and after the rental. Use the digital camera on your phone or shoot video, but whatever you do, get some evidence of pre-existing damage or of the fact that you returned the car in good condition.
Also, you shouldn't have accepted the agent's assurance that everything was fine and that an invoice would be sent to you. Next time that happens, ask for a manager and conduct a walkaround. Get the manager to sign the receipt and, if possible, to indicate in writing that the vehicle was returned in acceptable condition. That limits any future claims.
No one is trying to get out of paying a bill, here. It's just that you want to make sure you're paying your bill, not someone else's. I asked National about your case, and a representative contacted you, and said proper procedures hadn't been followed in your case.
Rented cruising world 1975 al mason design a one yesr old 15000 mile Crown Vic from Enteprise last week, during the 15 second walk around the agent tried to dismiss all of the preexisting damage that s smaller than a golf ball , that will buff out so don t worry about it etc. I insisted that he mark them all down anyway. Upon return of the car after a rain stormnthe same agent spent several minutes going over the car, at times almost on his hands and knees, trying to find damage that wasn t on the contract.
Rented a one yesr old 15000 mile Crown Vic from Enteprise last week, during the 15 second walk around the agent tried to dismiss all of the preexisting damage that s smaller than a golf ball , that will buff out so don t worry about it etc. I insisted that he mark them all down anyway. Upon return of the car after a rain stormnthe same agent spent several minutes going over the car, at times almost on his hands and knees, trying to find damage that wasn t on the contract.
I wish I could say I was surprised that National did this, but I m not. It says something about how prevalent this problem is when we all insist on taking before cruising world 1975 al mason design and after pictures. If it was an honest industry, we wouldn t have to. It s unfortunate that the first thing you check for in stories like this is if the victim took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures in a brightly lit area that zoom in and show every inch of the car.
Chris, cruising world 1975 al mason design I wanted to point out that there are plenty of rental places that don t/won t do an immediate walk around upon request. I rent from a smaller airport here in the Midwest and they don t usually have more than 1 employee, no matter what company it is. Every time I ask for a pre/post rental walk around they can t do it because it would leave the desk area empty. It s been like this for several years. Even at Houston International I ve had the same things. I picked up the car at 2100 and was one of many people waiting in line. I asked for a walk around and was told no because they were busy with all the people in line. There was nothing I could do but accept the car and do my best to take pictures in the dim parking garage. I returned it at 0500 two days later and the location wasn t even open, so, again, no one could check it. Frankly, I haven t had a place that could/would walk with you for the pre-rental check in a couple of years. It may not be like this at all places, but it s just not practical to expect that at all locations any more.
In cases like this, where they refuse to inspect the car immediately at return, I would think you should be able to note on the contract that they refused to inspect and therefore accept the vehicle s condition as is.  That s they way they treat you if you fail to inspect cruising world 1975 al mason design the vehicle when you rent it so why shouldn t the same standard apply to them?
I m thinking nowadays they are working understaffed as an excuse to not do walk around in order to pull of the damage scam. I ve noticed the same thing lately as well excuse after excuse why the employee can t leave the counter.
Yet another example of why Enterprise/National is on my list of companies not to do business with.  There seems to be reports of them doing this type of scam every week on this site.  I guess they keep doing it because they get away with it often enough that it makes them money.
I can see the side of the rental companies when there is actual damage done by a renter.  I would want damage to my car paid for by the person doing the damage too.  And I am more than willing to pay to have damage repaired that I caused.  But there just seems to be too many examples of rental car companies billing for damage, never repairing it, and then billing the next unlucky renter for the same damage cruising world 1975 al mason design over and over.  Or as in this case, picking the renter who probably didn t buy the insurance coverage and trying to stick him with the repair costs months after the rental for something he did not do.  If the damage was as extensive as reported, I believe they would have contacted him the next day if not sooner informing him of the damage and not waited months and expect him to pay up.  The truck had to have been rented at least once, and probably multiple times, after he rented it.
Yet another cruising world 1975 al mason design example of why Enterprise/National is on my list of companies not to do business with.  There seems to be reports of them doing this type of scam every week on this site.  I guess they keep doing it because they get away with it often enough that it makes them money.
I can see the side of the rental companies when there is actual damage done by a renter.  I would want damage to my car paid for by the person doing the damage too.  And I am more than willing to pay to have damage repaired that I caused.  But there just seems to be too many examples of rental car companies billing for damage, never repairing it, and then billing the next unlucky renter for the same damage over and over.  Or as in this case, picking the renter cruising world 1975 al mason design who probably didn t buy the insurance coverage and trying to stick him with the repair costs months after the rental for something he did not do.  If the damage was as extensive as reported, cruising world 1975 al mason design I believe they would have contacted him the next day if not sooner cruising world 1975 al mason design informing him of the damage and not waited months and expect him to pay up.  The truck had to have been rented at least once, and probably multiple times, after he rented cruising world 1975 al mason design it.
One quick fix would be to impose a Statute of Limitations on these car rental companies. If they haven t informed cruising world 1975 al mason design the care renter of damage (real or imagined) within 30 days, they shouldn t be allowed to do it. Unfortunately, though, the rental companies have lobbyists, and we don t, so this isn t going to happen.
Unfortunately, recent revelations showing that the BBB is in the pocket of politicians and lobbyists, minimizes the chances that they will help out. Remember their Excellent ratings for Trip Assured, Prime travel Protection, and several prominent Cruise cruising world 1975 al mason design Agencies?
Wow, it seems Elliott handles at least one of these a week.  Elliott has said it before, and we at AutoSlash cruising world 1975 al mason design constantly remind our customer  Take pictures of your rental vehicle from multiple angles (preferably date/time-stamped), both at pickup and at return.
Yes, we know it s a pain, and theoretically you should have to resort to this CYA type behavior, but it s absolutely your best protection against this type of frivolous claim.  With most of us carrying around cell phones with cameras these days, it s usually a quick couple of snapshots on the way our and back in, and it s your best defense should a dispute arise.
Glad this was resolved. But yes, photos are the only way to do it. My strategy is to put the car rental contract on the window before I ever start the car, and take photos, making cruising world 1975 al mason design sure I include the license plate in one. That way, since it s in a dark parking deck, there s no mistake. Before I return the car, when I fill it up, I take photos or video while the gas is going in the tank. This usually means the car is sitting outside, in daylight, and there s no mistake the