My family rented a car with noted damage to the rear left light. My husband was not happy to take the car, but it was late (nearly 11:00 p.m) and he was assured that because it was noted on the agreement there would not be any issues. We returned the car to the same location; no concerns were raised at that time regarding the damage.
I received a letter from the damage recovery unit less than a week after the rental and promptly called. I politely explained that the damage was there upon our rental of the car and that it had been noted on the agreement. That was when it went south. Scott, the damage recovery customer service agent, told me that they did not have a copy of the original agreement in their system and wouldn't for 10-15 days. Scott explained to me that the the individual branches kept these documents in a pile and faxed them to the damage recovery unit in batches. "It is easier for them to do it this way."
He went on to explain to me that I could fax him my copy of the original agreement in order to clear this up sooner. At that point, I questioned how they had determined that there was damage if they had not reviewed the original agreement? I got some explanation that there may 'human error' and that if I just sent him my copy of the agreement I could settle this.
I cannot believe that a company would send out a damage claim without any evidence to back up the claim. Why do I need to provide the company with their own documents? Seems extremely suspicious.
I hope I will not have to take this court, but am happy to if that is what it takes. I just can't believe that this hasn't been brought out in the media before now....Perhaps that is the way to go.