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I reserved a car from Alamo via Priceline for the morning of October 31, 2019. I had just returned from a Hawaiian vacation and I just needed a vehicle to get from BWI back to my home in New Cumberland, PA, which is roughly a 90-mile drive. I picked up the car around 10am and I drove directly home. I made no stops along the way. I arrived home (with NO INCIDENT) shortly after 12. I returned the car to Harrisburg airport (as I had arranged with my reservation) that evening around 6:30. The car sat at my apartment from the time I arrived home until I got back in it at 6pm to return it and meet my friend who agreed to bring me back home. Upon reaching the rental car drop-off at Harrisburg International airport, I parked my car in one of the spaces indicating that it was for Alamo/Enterprise drop-offs. The booth for the rental car attendant was not lit inside and there was no one to be found in that section. I looked for someone but to no avail. I made sure I had all of my belongings before finally putting my keys in the drop box for Alamo/Enterprise. My friend arrived 10-15 minutes after I first got to the rental car drop-off area and we went home. The next day I was looking at my Mastercard account online just matching up purchases I'd made during vacation. There appeared to be a duplicate charge from Alamo but after speaking with the agent from BWI (phone # from my rental agreement), I found it was merely an authorization and that was fine. There were no other issues in that respect. I also informed the agent that upon leaving the car at Harrisburg International Airport, that no attendant was around at the time and that I had placed the keys in the drop box. The agent said that was fine.
Fast forward to Wednesday, 12/4/19 (34 DAYS LATER TO BE EXACT) where an agent from Alamo's "Damage Recovery Unit" contacted me to tell me that there is an investigation going on for the car I rented and for the time I rented it as there was damage to the car. I made it clear that I had no accident in the vehicle and I reiterated the same EXACT account as above. I was adamant in that there was no damage to my knowledge, I never hit anybody/anything and nothing/nobody had hit me! She said that they would be in touch. After hanging up with the agent, it occurred to me...why these ridiculous insinuations OVER A MONTH after returning the car? I called back and spoke with an agent who explained to me (quite curtly) their process of discovering damage, their own filing/incident processes, etc. She then said that there was damage to the undercarriage of the car including some sort of sensor damage to the car. I told her that I did not hit anything/drive over anything. She wasn't very receptive but she said the investigation claim could take 2-3 wks. before I would know the outcome and that they would have to verify with OTHER DRIVERS any incidents/damage reported. Ultimately, I'd be hard-pressed to believe that I'm the only person who's been behind the wheel of that vehicle in the 34 days since I dropped it off at the airport. No I did not take any pictures of the vehicle upon acquiring it, I just thought it would be a fairly straight easy drive coming home on 83 North and it was until my phone rang almost 5 wks. later! I also didn't take insurance on the vehicle as I have my own insurance. One would think that I would take comfort in that I am fully covered but that's hardly the point. (Think criminals pleading down to reduced charges...it's still an admission of culpability.) In my case, I DID NOT HAVE ANY INCIDENT IN THAT CAR. I had it for 8.5 hours, I drove it for 2...that's it. NOTHING HAPPENED. Upon doing further research into Alamo Car Rentals, this appears to be their modus operandi. In the future, I will never again rent from Alamo nor it's sister business, Enterprise. This whole situation is incredibly shady. All I wanted was to get home from the airport. I made it home safely and SO DID THE CAR. That's all I can say.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Actually, this complaint has not been resolved to my satisfaction...over 8 months later. On February 10th of this year (68 days after Alamo first contacted me), I received a letter demanding $2906.01 for damages NOT incurred by me as well as invoices from a local Nissan dealership. The car was taken in for repairs 4 days after I had it. Also, there was another invoice for headlight repair from January of this year...over two months after I drove the car. I immediately called my auto insurance provider to file a claim and explained that I had no incident in that vehicle when I drove it on October 31st, 2019. After a lengthy investigation by my insurance agent which spanned almost 2 months including her waiting over a month for Alamo to produce ANY documentation, the claim was denied. What documentation that was eventually provided failed to conclusively prove that I was at any fault. Any documentation to conclusively prove my culpability does not exist as I will maintain until my dying day that there was NO incident when that car was in my possession. This was mid-April. I thought this was over. However, Alamo sent me a letter and an invoice just last Thursday (6/4) indicating that they are still deeming me liable and that I'm to pay for damages I did not cause. So...no not resolved at this time.
NOW THIS IS RESOLVED...I sent a letter to Alamo acknowledging receipt of their latest letter deeming me responsible and demanding payment for alleged damages I will deny causing until my last breath. I also requested photographs and the fleet utilization logs for the very car I drove. I was attempting to gather materials for legal review. 4 days later, on 6/12/2020, Alamo sent a letter to my insurance claims agent stating that they were closing the claim and they would be handling the cost of the alleged damages themselves. There were tears of joy when I received that email from my agent. Companies like Alamo appear to have a lucrative side hustle with the phantom damage racket. However, if you stick to your guns and have right on your side, you can win.
Amanda Paisley, thank you for keeping us updated on your experience. We're glad to hear this has been resolved to your liking. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we can help out in the future. Take care! - Carol H
Amanda - thanks for reaching out to me on Tripadvisor where I posted about the same hustle being done to my son on a 3 hour rental, highway driving, one airport to another for a total 3 hour rental. Look forward to being in touch to get some intel on how you went about telling this "collection agency" to go away.
Tara Shea Roe, we've noted your comments. Please contact the Damage Recovery team directly at 1-866-300-3239 or by email at CustomerClaimConcern@ehi.com. Thank you! – Carol H.
I had the same type of problem several years ago with Alamo. I returned a car to the airport at Palm Beach FL. At 4 am. The one person on duty came out to check mileage and gas. Pulled my bags out of the trunk, asked if all was okay and caught a shuttle for my flight. A month later a letter arrived on faded letterhead saying I owed $600 for left rear damage. I would have seen such damage putting my bags in and out of the vehicle. I told my insurance agent and he told me to tell them to go pound sand. Love him.
Sometime later, I received two phone calls on the same day from 2 different people trying to get me to pay. I reported the situation to Visa. Months later they cancelled my card and gave me a new one due to fraudulent activity. I never used that card for anything but that car rental. Apparently they had tried to just take the money from my account. Too many reports of this same scam to be found online for it to be a mistake. I now photograph all sides of any rental vehicle before turning it in. And never will I rent from Alamo again.
MaryC, you can view your toll charges & print receipts visit http://htallc.com/tollpass or call 1-877-765-5201. Thank you. - Carol H.
Very similar incident on my side.
I returned my car at Alamo Geneva on the 9th of March 22. No damage, no accident. Shockingly Alamo charged my credit card for huge amount of more than 3000 euro stating a damage to to the front and the driver side. Trying to reach Alamo by phone, mail, and contact request at their website yeilds no response for over 3 weeks. .
I have photos that proove it that we took upon returning the car. Alamo did not supply any damage report, nor answering my contact requests. Defenetly feels like a scam...
Noy Uzrad, we'd like the chance to address this with you. Please email care@alamo.com with your contact information, the reservation or rental agreement number, the exact rental office location and any other details so we can research this promptly. Thank you. – Carol H.
Same experience here with Alamo in Kahului. I rented with them because they had the better deal but who knew that they will try to get the money otherwise. I dropped off the car during business hours. Their agent came , inspected the car, cleared everything and then she said everything is ok and I will get the email confirmation. Proceed to TSA, almost to the gate when they call because I forgot the key. My fault, run back to return the key. All is good again.
Next day I received a message saying there’s damage to the car, and if I was in any accident.
I told them no, didn’t hit anything, no accident whatsoever. They sent a photo showing the car leaving the garage cleared but apparently they can’t provide one entering the garage. I told them the car was cleared by an agent, I didn’t even dropped it off during off hours, and I want proof that I damaged the car and it didn’t happen while in the garage. Every time I try to get in touch with them, they go silent. After almost two months they sent me an email with a little over 2K in damages. Try to contact Alamo, no answer. Customer service is useless since all they do is repeat the same monologue. They told me to contact DRU ; I can’t get in touch with anybody.
It is ridiculous. I spoke with my insurance and they advise on legal action if no response and they continue with the claim.
Never had this problem with them.
I didn’t get pictures of the car and I assumed that if the agent cleared and rental charge posted , everything is ok.
I too Just had the same fraudulent damage done to me. I was shocked and totally unaware of this scam with Alamo rental car. As a result I had several more rentals booked and cancelled immediately ! I will no longer do business with this deceptive company! No way in hell did I have any damage. No evidence was listed when they filed this FALSE claim against me.
I am in the same boar now. On April 22, 2022 I had to return the car because of a warning "Steering Loss, Stop Safely" and they sent me demand letter. I told them there was no incident but they didn't listen and sent me repair bill for under carriage damage. Now after so long time time, Sier from DRU told me that I should send email to their feedback team but didn't hear back anything. I asked Sier again about it but he said you will not get any response and GIECO paid us and they didn't mention you want to dispute the claim but after some back and forth they tried to take the dispute but as usual after couple of days they say the claim is valid. There is no one listening and sadly I don't have anything to show that, I am hoping to find some way to get this heard.