Complaint Review: Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado

I rented high end demo skis from Copper Mountain directly.  I paid over $70 to rent them for the day.  When I checked out the skis, the woman was great.  However, we did not lookover the current wear and tear of the skis and there was no mention about it.

When I returned the skis, the customer service person went over the bottom of the skis as if to FIND something, anything to ding me for.  I've rented demos everywhere I ski and this was the first time someone did this.  She then told me there might be some damage to the bottom of the skis and she would need to take them in the back to find out 

The guy next to me asked if she was serious!?!?  We couldn't see anything but normal small lines/scratches.  Something in me definitely didn't feel right.  She came back and sure enough she said there was damage I would be charged for.  I asked to speak to a manager and she was gone for 10-15 minutes and came back and told me everything was cool and I could go.  I was very relieved and thanked her before I left.

I really felt like I dodged a bullet.  BUT...

A couple of hours later I received this email:

Hi Michael,

Thank you for renting from us today. As you are aware the equipment that you returned came back with some damage caused by rocks or some other type of rubble that was encountered out on the hill. I’ve checked the skis records to see how often the skis have been rented out and when they were last tuned. It looks like the skis were tuned on January 26th and the last time they were rented out was on January 24th. We’ve had some down time over the last few weeks and maintaining the skis/s****.>

Thank You,

Ryan Trump
Rental/Retail Manager
Copper Mountain Resort
P: 970-968-2318 Ext 45601 C: (((REDACTED)))

______________________________________________________________________


I was furious!  I called the manager right away and got through.  I told him his customer service rep told me I was good to go and he went right into a rehearsed script.  He told me they looked all over for me, etc.  His story changed a few times during the phone call.  I was so upset.  He pretty much told me I could dispute the charge, but they'd get their money because I signed a contract and it was up to them to assess any damages.  He also said they were letting me off easy with the additional $53 charge.  And I should have bought the insurance!  What?  It was crazy!!!

Bottom line is they have a serious racket going where they look for any possible reason to nail you for additional fees after you return the skis.  Stay away from these guys at all costs!  There are plenty of other great places to rent skis in the area!