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.

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?

by

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?

by

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!

by

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

by

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!

by

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

by

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.

Alamo rental car in the desert.

Alamo billed me $662 for rental car damage. Why won’t insurance pay?

by

After Robbin Yeh’s last car rental, Alamo surprised him with a repair bill for mechanical damage to the vehicle. Despite Yeh’s protests that the rental car had pre-existing problems, Alamo continued to pursue him for $662 to fix it. Reluctantly, Yeh agreed to let Alamo file an insurance claim through his credit card company.

At least, that’s what he thought Alamo was doing to pay for the damage to the car.

It wasn’t until four months later that Yeh discovered that he was responsible for filing that insurance claim, not Alamo. 

Now with the deadline for filing an insurance claim long since passed, Yeh is asking Consumer Rescue for help. He’s hoping we can convince Chase eClaims to make an exception and pay the repair bill for the rental car. 

Can we do it?

Consumer Rescue Fiascos and Fixes at the foot of the page in the logo box

Subscribe to our free newsletter

Invalid email address

Categories

Consumer Guides

News and Alerts

Cruise Fiascos

Travel Troubles

Problematic Products

Popular

Get Free Help

What's your consumer problem?

Executive contact finder

Quick Question

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Meet the team

Legal

Advertising Policy

Cookie Policy

Privacy Policy

Media shout outs to Consumer Rescue. Washington Post, Newsweek, The Points Guy, CNN, National Geographic and more.

Advertise on this site

Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Info

© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman