Complaint Review: Enterprise Rental Cars

     In November 2011, I rented a van for a weekend from the Enterprise shop in Frederick, MD, while our family van was in for repairs.  Fast forward to July 2012 -- I received a letter from Enterprise saying the van I rented was cited for a parking violation in Shepherdstown, WV, during the period of our rental.  Further, Enterprise was notifying me that they would be charging $68.00 to my credit card to settle the dispute ($50.00 for the ticket and $18.00 processing fee for Enterprise). 

     I immediately called Enterprise and told them there must have been a mistake -- I was never in Shepherdstown, WV, and I felt like I was being scammed. 

     The ordeal with Enterprise goes on for four more weeks of exchanging e-mails, and while I'm still trying to dispute the bogus ticket, Enterprise has the nerve to charge my card (guilty first until proven innocent).  At the six week point I'm finally so frustrated that Im forced to take a vacation day from work so I can contact the Shepherdstown police department and get them to fax me a copy of the original ticket.  I find that Enterprise made a mistake on the license plate number associated with the original ticket and the Shepherdstown PD clerk went on to tell me the ticket had already been paid by responsible party. 

     Feeling vindicated I go to the local Enterprise office and ask for assistance in getting the problem resolved and getting a refund (since I'm having no luck with the CSCitations office (Enterprise's post-rental billing and disputes group)).  At the local Frederick, MD office I first get blown-off by one female manager-trainee, but I finally get some help from a 20-something male manager trainee.  He faxes all the paperwork I have to CSCitations and I finally speak with an Enterprise representative who admits that a mistake was made and agrees to start working on a refund.  I get home that evening, scan and e-mail some additional documents, and finally get confirmation that Enterprise will process a refund. 

     Elapsed time:  Approximately 6 weeks of dispute, and 10+ hours of personal time e-mailing, calling, and a lost vacation day to focus on closing the issue...an investment of my time 10-20x more valuable than the $68.00 erroneous charge.  What did I get from Enterprise in the end?  "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."  That's it.  Thus, I'll go out of my way to never rent from Enterprise again.  I hope others will boycott Enterprise as well.  Sure, Enterprise is convenient and the company dominates the local, short-term car rental market across the nation.  The company's arrogance and FU attitude, however, is more than I can stomach.  Consumers should boycott Enterprise and teach the company a lesson about playing fair and treating their customers with a modicum of respect.