I rented a car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car after having rented from them once without any problems. I was wrong this time.

A different manager was in the office and I could tell by his tone that he was going to try to cause me problems. He tried to sell me their daily insurance without giving me the option to decline. I saw him do the same thing to another customer next to me. Luckily, I knew from before that I had the option of declining and did so. He did not seem pleased. Then he gives me his spiel on how the insurance covers any and all damages. I said no thank you. I had a hunch then that I should be careful during inspection.

He quickly walked through the inspection saying "we are not looking at anything small, only big damage" and pointed to the body of the car and didn't even go around the whole car. He started at the left front and went around the back to the right front without actually looking at the front. I looked at the body carefully and noted any scratches or marks. The inspection copy only notes condition and fuel level agreed on. It says NOTHING about any specifics that we are supposed to be looking for.

After I returned it, he says it's missing a foglight cover!! a foglight cover is naturally in the front which he never got to. It is also black, which is the same color as the interior without a foglight cover so it completely blends it. Completely unnoticeable to the untrained eye. It took me a few seconds even after he pointed it out. I did not see him do a post inspection and seems to have directly pointed it out without looking at it.

I did not hit anything. I only rented the car for 24 hours for an interview. I have never been in an accident in my life. I have never hit anything with my own car in my life. Anyway, I am convinced this is fraud and would welcome any advice in my situation.

Jessica

Davis, California

U.S.A.

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6 Updates & Rebuttals

L.B.

Springfield,
Virginia,
United States of America

Bumper Damage claim

#2Consumer Comment

Thu, September 22, 2011

Actually, I am being blamed for damage to a bumper that I did not cause. It was pointed out to the representative at the time we picked up the car and he said that he wasn't worried about it because it wasn't "real damage." When we returned the car, the same rep changed his tune, and we are being billed $652.22 which includes damages, adminstrative fees and 3 days loss of use. The damage is what looks like some scratches - no dents - scratches. So yes, they do go after people for bumper scratches.

Anonymousanon

Beverly Hills,
California,
U.S.A.

Don't listen to these mo-mo ex-employees, I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

#3UPDATE Employee

Fri, September 05, 2008

Here's the bottom line, and everyone else reading this take note: when you "take delivery" of the car from Enterprise, there is a very clearly stated section on the current damage on the car when you take it into your possession. THE CUSTOMER SIGNS OFF ON WHETHER S/HE AGREES TO WHAT THE EMPLOYEE HAS MARKED DOWN AS CURRENT DAMAGE *BEFORE* S/HE TAKES THE CAR OFF OF OUR LOT. If you initialed the agreement in that spot, then you've agreed with what the employee has marked as damage. When you return the car, if something is different, guess who's responsible? You probably already know. A few things here that sound suspect to me, for all of you at home keeping score: - This customer said that Enterprise charged her for a "fog lamp cover"?? A few things here: 1) As long as there is no puncture on either the front or rear bumper, we usually do not charge you. We chalk it up to normal wear and tear, because after all, they're "bumpers"! That's what they do! Bump things! So it might not have been a "missing" fog light cover, it might have been a broken one (eg. rock could have broke it while driving, could have punctured it pulling in too far to something, etc etc). 2) Most of our vehicles are "no-frills", eg. we really don't even have many cars WITH fog lights. I will take your word that this one did, but just putting it out there. CONSUMERS, BEWARE! This person might or might not be telling the whole truth. It also really could have been a complete freak thing where a rock got kicked up and broke it. In this customer's case, ESPECIALLY if she was renting for only a day, it would have been wise to avoid all of this altogether and take one of our protection products called "Damage Waiver", which basically means you can completely total out the vehicle and we won't hold you responsible. It must rediculously expensive! you might be saying. It does vary from region to region -- in mine, it's $12.99 a day. An extra $13 to total out a $15,000 to 30,000 vehicle? Yeah, probably should have taken that.

Willie

Carmel,
Indiana,
U.S.A.

Inside information on Enterprise Rent-A-Car

#4UPDATE EX-employee responds

Tue, April 29, 2008

Jessica- If you are still having problems with the "damage" to your rental, try this. The company is obsessed with customer satisfaction. All you have to do is call the main office in the city you rented the car and go up the ladder of supervisors. If you cannot locate this number call the branch or a neighboring branch and ask for their district manager. Explain to them the situation, if this does not get you anywhere, ask for that person's manager and so on. The city/district managers know you will continue up the line until it is resolved so they should correct it right away. Use the term "very dissatisfied" if possible. You see, after each rental, the renters name and contact number is sent to a third party for a "customer satisfation survey." The third party calls the renter and asks them about their rental experience. If the renter responds with anything less than "completely satisfied" the branch of rental fails the survey. One of the most wighted portions of the promotonal steps for a branch manager is on customer satisfaction. So...if you complain to the right person/people, the case will be dropped. At least they always were in the three years I worked there (I was a branch manager) Hope this helps.

Atlanta Guy

Atlanta,
Georgia,
U.S.A.

Enterprise

#5UPDATE EX-employee responds

Fri, April 18, 2008

Get yourself an attorney. Chances are slim to none that any damage was ever reported on the car you rented. It was either missed, or was damaged by an employee. They are going to try to charge you for this damage, as well as any OTHER damage they may find. So be prepared with an attorney to refer them to. Enterprise is notorious for this. Look up the other reports on this site.

Anonymous

Birmingham,
Alabama,
U.S.A.

Peace of Mind

#6UPDATE EX-employee responds

Thu, April 17, 2008

A representative has to generate a damage report if they catch undocumented damage. The report will go to Lost Control and they will do an investigation. They will look through previous rental contracts to see if the damage was caught before by a previous representative but overlooked by your representative. There is a very good chance this is what happened. I hope it works out in your favor :)

Cat

Hendersonville,
Tennessee,
U.S.A.

There is hope

#7Consumer Suggestion

Thu, April 17, 2008

Even if you dont take out insurance you still are covered by a certain amt of money. Check into it. I had a similar thing happen and it was covered. It was covered but you have to point it out. Stick to your guns. Cat

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