Anyone fought bogus rental car charges?

[fatbob]

I returned a car to Avis at DEN at the beginning of January. Had given it a good clear out for 30 mins before driving it back. Car was received, inspected by the attendant and it was confirmed there were no further charges to pay (prepaid rental). I believe because they were operating on Ipads that there was no printed receipt but I was promised email confirmation.

No confirmation ever came and due to life etc never followed it up. In late May a charge for $250 appeared on my Amex. I challenged this in June and they initiated a suspension/ chargeback. Finally in the first contact that they had made with me Avis sent a letter postmarked after the date of the Amex intervention but sneakily backdated to May citing excessive sand/dirt and cleaning costs.

OK there would clearly be a few bits of parking lot grit in a car that was used skiing in winter but this seems like a clear scam with everything from the delay in charging to the implausible reason to the lack of communication. Anyone got similar experiences? I realise Avis probably have been hurting for cash but is scamming customers common?

Can I report this to anyone as fraud?

 

[scott43]

Yeah they can screw you over. When we rented in Iceland we were so worried about overcharges we dropped the limit on that credit card so that it only would cover the rental fee. Try back charging that card...

All you can do is escalate and complain bitterly. Trash them online etc.

 

[Tricia]

You didn't happen to take pictures of the condition of the car when you turned it into Avis?

 

[Philpug]

Go back to Amex.

 

[scott43]

My wife returned a car that subsequently had underside damage. They accused her of driving off road (!!) And tried to charge her. It was corporate and she had a flight so she said f u and left. Corporate fought it and as it turns out the damage had been there for some time. So not only were they trying to collect again on it they hadn't fixed it in months while continuing to rent the vehicle.

 

[Bruuuce]

I suggest disputing the charge, They will then need to furnish proof of the before and after conditions, something that is not likely to happen. I did this once, completely online, and the charge was removed.

 

[fatbob]

I started the challenge through Amex as I didn't want to waste my time dealing with liars but I'm looking for backup recourse. To be honest I didn't even think of taking a photo of the interior as it was clean barring normal use and every other time I've returned a rental I've been given a return slip. Something very fishy about the way they didn't even notify me they were raising a charge until I'd already disputed with Amex.

 

[RobSN]

I too have been burned, which is why when I rent a car I now go around all of it taking photographs, and do the same when I return it. One time at London Heathrow, Avis, I think, tried to charge me for a new windscreen. I was able to pull up the photograph showing a tiny chip on the windscreen (the same one seemingly requiring a whole new one) at the start of the rental. Another time, Enterprise did me (or more accurately Citicards) for an almost imperceptible crease with non paint damage on a door which I am darned sure would have been there before, but because I'd rented that one in darkness in the pouring rain, I didn't have before photographs ... I don't know, but I wonder if these little sh!ts are incentivized to find problems in order to increase profits. It would be an interesting class action ...

 

[crgildart]

Thanks for the heads up. We're renting a Yukon for a cross country adventure soon. Thinking with passengers prone to car sickness my decision to make sure we'll have a bucket handy is sound. I'll also be sure to put it on a full services credit card instead of the debit card for better dispute coverage and additional insurance. Our regular auto policy also covers rental car issues at 100% including their losses if the car has to go in the shop. Might want to check with your regular car insurance agent before paying the rental place out of pocket or get reimbursed if you have full coverage including rentals..

 

[mdf]

1) After my Mastercard discontinued rental car coverage (check yours - a lot did that about a year and a half ago) I discovered and bought AmEx add-on primary rental car coverage. It is a per-rental, not per-day charge. I don't remember the price, but remember I decided it was a good deal for multi-day rentals.

2) One time I was 10 or 20 miles from the Denver airport in a rental car when the direction of the Sun changed and I noticed a small windshield chip. I turned around, went back, parked on the side of the road next to the exit booth, and had them give me a pre-existing damage slip. I felt a bit silly, but I had tons of extra time that day. And I was worried the temprature change between the airport (over 70F!) and the mountains (snowing!) might make the crack grow. (It didn't). This thread makes me think it was a smart thing to do.

 

[scott43]

Ahhh the Sudbury windshield chip-to-crack night... (Sudbury is like -40C at night in the winter time..with a lot of sun in the daytime..)

 

[mdf]

@Tony S 's rental car at Big Sky developed a big windshield crack during the week we were there. Temperature-aided crack growth seems to be a real effect.

 

[crgildart]

1) After my Mastercard discontinued rental car coverage (check yours - a lot did that about a year and a half ago) I discovered and bought AmEx add-on primary rental car coverage. It is a per-rental, not per-day charge. I don't remember the price, but remember I decided it was a good deal for multi-day rentals.

2) One time I was 10 or 20 miles from the Denver airport in a rental car when the direction of the Sun changed and I noticed a small windshield chip. I turned around, went back, parked on the side of the road next to the exit booth, and had them give me a pre-existing damage slip. I felt a bit silly, but I had tons of extra time that day. And I was worried the temprature change between the airport (over 70F!) and the mountains (snowing!) might make the crack grow. (It didn't). This thread makes me think it was a smart thing to do.

Looks like I'm still good go go with USAA Visa... probably because they do insurance too..

When you use your USAA credit card to rent a vehicle, you’ll get built-in Auto Rental Coverage. You’re covered for physical damage, theft, reasonable and customary towing and loss-of-use charges. Decline the collision damage waiver coverage offered by the rental agency and make sure your name is listed as the primary renter on the auto rental contract. Any additional drivers must also be listed on the auto rental agreement.

Additional drives would still have coverage on our regular full coverage auto policy.

 

[tball]

I started the challenge through Amex as I didn't want to waste my time dealing with liars but I'm looking for backup recourse.

A nice backup recourse is small claims court. You'll almost certainly get what you want if you go to the trouble, and it will also serve as a nice release of the pent up anger. If you file they'll settle as it will cost less than sending an attorney to court.

How to Sue National Car Rental in Small Claims Court - FairShake

Here's how to sue National Car Rental in Small Claims Court. We also explore another way to sue National Car Rental without leaving your couch.

fairshake.com

 

[Rostapher]

+1 for taking before/after pictures. When you use Turo they prompt you to upload B/A pictures in their app, which I think is a great practice (although, it's not required)

I had a very awful experience with Avis in SLC. I was ostensibly promised a 4x4, with "snow tires" & a ski rack & was first given 2wd with "all season" tires & no rack. After being very rude and trying to upsell me to a Suburban for $100 more/day, they eventually "found" the same vehicle with 4x4 (but the same crappy tires & no rack). I complained to anyone who would listen and eventually got contacted by corporate with some free vouchers, that happened to be blacked out for half the year. Thus, I plan to never use Avis & will try to go with Turo where you can communicate with an individual owner from now on.

Good luck with your fight with Avis @fatbob, although the stress & annoyance might not be worth the $250. Depends on your stubbornness threshold, i guess!

 

[crgildart]

I guess I don't get the value of a "before" photo. Anything that is visible damage needs to be noted and documented on their end when you pick up the vehicle... or immediately turn around and go back if you see it like 5 minutes after picking up the vehicle. No point in taking a photo of something they are already documenting on their release paperwork.. And, any photo taken after that point in time they'll say you did before taking the photo and deny that it left their premesis like that uncodumented.

 

[Scruffy]

I guess I don't get the value of a "before" photo. Anything that is visible damage needs to be noted and documented on their end when you pick up the vehicle... or immediately turn around and go back if you see it like 5 minutes after picking up the vehicle. No point in taking a photo of something they are already documenting on their release paperwork.. And, any photo taken after that point in time they'll say you did before taking the photo and deny that it left their premesis like that uncodumented.

Well, the photo should be time stamped and the time you left the rental lot is also marked on the paper work, so the photo could be evidence. I wouldn't trust that they note everything on their end before the rent out the car.

 

[crgildart]

Well, the photo should be time stamped and the time you left the rental lot is also marked on the paper work, so the photo could be evidence. I wouldn't trust that they note everything on their end before the rent out the car.

You walk around the car with them and they write on a 4 sided set of drawings all previous damage. Taking a photo of the same damage why? If they haven't noted it you have to report it to them immediately while they are still there. Taking a photo after the agent is no longer there is worthless regardless of any time stamp.

 

[RobSN]

I guess I don't get the value of a "before" photo. Anything that is visible damage needs to be noted and documented on their end when you pick up the vehicle... or immediately turn around and go back if you see it like 5 minutes after picking up the vehicle. No point in taking a photo of something they are already documenting on their release paperwork.. And, any photo taken after that point in time they'll say you did before taking the photo and deny that it left their premesis like that uncodumented.

I usually try to get some of the facility in the picture too. So, for example, if you picked the car up in the afternoon but dropped off at night, not only would the timestamps show when you did this, but there'd be daylight in the pictures. The point is more to make it very difficult for them to prevail. I suspect that the personnel drop their fake claims like a hot potato if they discover that you have some reasonable evidence. I really do think that this kind of thing is a widespread scam.

 

[Scruffy]

You walk around the car with them and they write on a 4 sided set of drawings all previous damage. Taking a photo of the same damage why? If they haven't noted it you have to report it to them immediately while they are still there. Taking a photo after the agent is no longer there is worthless regardless of any time stamp.

I don't know about you, but I've never had an agent walk me out to the car for inspection. You usually get the keys at the counter and they tell you what stall # it's in. I usually only rent with Hertz for business reasons, even on vacation. I suppose you could insist, but at a busy airport, you might be waiting a long while to take the car.