By Christopher Elliot | Travel Troubleshooter
Q: I recently rented a car from the Enterprise location in Munich, Germany. When I returned the vehicle after several days, no one inspected it. A few days later, I received a message in my spam folder saying I had damaged the car.
Enterprise claims I scratched the car during my rental. The scratch is small, barely finger-length and thin. They sent me a bill for just over $1,800.
The photos they sent show no damage in one photo, and the other two photos that show the scratch don’t show the license plate or any indication that it is the same car. I took a video of the car when I returned it, and it shows no damage where they claim the scratch is.
I called Enterprise customer service. The U.S. representative couldn’t find any record of the damage and couldn’t help me. Three months later, Enterprise charged my credit card for the full amount of the damage. I disputed the charge with my credit card company, but they are siding with Enterprise.
How can I defend myself against this false claim? — Eric Weiman, San Diego
A: You shouldn’t have to pay for damage that didn’t exist when you returned the vehicle. You’re responsible for the car from the time you pick it up to the time you return it. But after you return it? That’s on the company.
You did the right thing by taking a video of the car when you returned it. That gives you some evidence to support your claim. I also recommend taking “before” photos and videos of the vehicle, just to establish a baseline.
The most confusing part of your case is that you showed the rental location a video of the car you rented and it appears the car didn’t have a scratch. Meanwhile, the photos they showed you allegedly proving you had damaged the car were not identifiable as the car you rented. In other words, it could have been any vehicle in the company’s fleet. And when you asked for clarification, Enterprise seemed to double down on its claim.
I think you had one more option: An appeal to an executive at Enterprise. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the top customer service executives at Enterprise on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
I contacted Enterprise on your behalf.
“We take seriously any concerns brought to us by customers and investigate them thoroughly,” a representative told me. “In this particular instance, damage to the vehicle was not present when the renter took possession of the vehicle, yet, was clearly present when the vehicle was processed for return.
Enterprise says it has a photographic tunnel, which is operated by a third party. Vehicles from all rental companies pass through the tunnel in and out of Munich airport and are photographed for damage. The photos suggest you returned your car with damage.
“Because of this, we do intend to stand by our charge in this case and pursue the renter for damages,” the Enterprise spokesman said.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.