CAR RENTAL PROBLEMS

Consumer Rescue often receives requests for help from our readers who have found themselves fighting a car rental agency over expensive problems or mistakes encountered during their rentals.  These stories are their experiences and our advocacy team’s attempts to fix their problem.

Turo rental gone wrong, fraudulent car repair bill, pre-existing damages to a vehicle, Consumer Rescue guidance and direct help, consumer advocates, Consumer Rescue, Michelle Couch-Friedman can help

I got hit with a fraudulent $640 car repair bill after a Turo rental!

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Fraudulent repair bills aren’t just sent to customers of traditional rental car companies. Heidi Schiller found this out recently after a 24-hour car-sharing experience with Turo. Her vehicle host, Ken, acknowledged multiple pre-existing scratches on his Tesla before Heidi took the wheel. 

Ken assured his renter that the damage to the car wasn’t her problem to worry about. So Heidi didn’t worry. That is, until a few days later when Turo sent her a $640 repair bill for the vehicle.

Hertz says this rental car is totaled, does this rental car look like it has front-end damage?, an undamaged white rental car

Hertz says I ruined my rental car! Can I just ignore this phony $6,562 bill?

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Would Hertz accuse a customer of completely ruining a rental car even if it was returned in perfect condition? According to Darleen Brazoban, the answer is yes. 

Brazoban says she drove a Hertz vehicle for four days last November without even the hint of a problem. When she returned the rental car to the Nashville Airport, an employee inspected it with her. He noted no damage, handed her a receipt, and Brazoban was on her way.

…On her way to big rental car problems, that is, but she didn’t know that yet.

Enterprise Rent a Car lot, rental cars in a row

Enterprise says Mickey Mouse damaged my rental car. Why should I pay?

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Like every savvy traveler, Kathy Mason inspected her recent rental car very carefully before driving it off the lot. The vehicle had no visible damage, and she says she returned it in the same condition just two days later. So it was a surprise when Enterprise sent her a $775 repair bill – two months after the rental was over.  

But even more surprising than the repair bill was who Enterprise believed was responsible for damaging “things” inside the rental car. In an official incident report, “Mickey Mouse” is named as the alleged suspect. 

Skyline of Pittsburgh, Budget Rental Car billed customer two years later, renting a car to drive in Pittsburgh

Budget wants $2,324 for a rental car I drove two years ago. Help!

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Could a rental car company charge you for damage two years after you last laid eyes on the vehicle? A Budget Rent a Car customer discovered the answer to that $2,324 question is, bizarrely, “Yes.”

Now, that broadsided rental car customer is asking Consumer Rescue for help. He hopes we can appeal to Avis (the parent company of Budget) and get this mysterious damage fee erased.

Hertz at DFW mistake, Hertz can't send a rental car repair bill 7 months later, Car rental scams

Help! Hertz billed me $1,050 to repair a rental car I drove 7 months ago

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Lori Gallant agrees that if a Hertz rental car was damaged while in her possession, she should pay the repair bill. Or at least her insurance company should. But the last time she rented from Hertz was in January. That makes the Vehicle Incident Report detailing her responsibility for repairing that car peculiar since Hertz created it in August.  

At a luxury hotel in Clearwater, an Avis car rental was stolen from the valet parking.

After our Avis car rental was stolen, we got a $3,600 bill. Help!

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After an enjoyable mid-winter getaway to Clearwater, Florida, Cynthia Sutherlin intended to return her Avis car rental and fly home. But the night before she was set to leave, a gang of thieves threw a wrench in that plan. Those bad guys brazenly stole her rental car from the valet at the luxury resort where she was staying.  Will she be on the hook for the $3,600 loss-of-use fee?

Fake rental car damage charges are increasing, Investigating damage charges on a rental vehicle.

Hit with fake rental car damage charges? Here’s how to make them go away

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Could you be accused of causing costly damage to your next rental car even if you didn’t do it? Several hours after returning his Budget rental car Derek Melber found out the answer to that question. That’s when an employee emailed him with the surprising news that the driver’s side window of the vehicle was shattered.

Despite Melber’s best efforts to convince Budget that he didn’t damage the rental car, the company charged him for repairing it. 

Melber says it wasn’t him who shattered that window, but he thinks he knows who did. He’s hoping Consumer Rescue can prove the rental agency has wrongly accused him. And of course, he wants Budget to refund the nearly $500 repair charge it billed to his credit card. 

But without any proof of what the rental car looked like when Melber returned it, that might be impossible. 

Or maybe not.  Let’s break this case down.

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