Enterprise Rent-A-Car review: damage fraud 5

I am disputing a charge of $962.92 that Enterprise rental company sent me a bill for.

On November 17, 2009 I went to Enterprise at 601 South Cameron Street, Harrisburg PA to pick up a rental car. My car was in the shop getting fixed from an accident after someone ran me into a barrier on 581 and fled the scene. When I got to Enterprise this lady that took care of me seemed to be helpful. She walked around the car and marked down all the damage that she saw. We talked about the insurance and since the car was in good condition I declined it since I park in safe places and don't really drive that much. I signed off on the papers so that I could get the key. I left the office and everything seemed fine for a week.

It was December 1, 2009 when I was at work and got a call from the same lady that I dealt with when I first got the car. She stated that she needed to give me another car and take the car I was currently using. I informed her that I was getting my car back the very next day, in less than 12 hours, but she insisted that they had to have the first car back. She came to my work and stated that she was in a hurry as well as she knew I was since I wasn't on lunch or break. She had already started to mark down damage on the car before I got a chance to meet her in the parking lot. When I got down to talk to her she was almost finished and she said to me that she was finding a lot of damage from the previous user. I took a look at the paper she was filling out and saw that there were a lot of damages. It seemed as though she got everything after looking at the car and the paper. There was a lot of writing and this car was really beat up. I initialed the paper since she was in a hurry and I had to get back to work. She did not ask about insurance on this car which I would have taken considering the poor condition of the car and the fact that she was finding countless amounts of damage as we were standing there. She handed me the key and I went back to work. The very next day, December 2, 2009, I had to go to work so my husband took the car to pick up my car at L.B. Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury, and since there was an Enterprise on site he was told he could just leave the car there. He drove from New Cumberland to 1100 Market Street, Lemoyne. When my husband went to give the key to the Enterprise representative the representative was extremely rude to him. The guy walked around the car and stated to my husband that there was a dent on the car that wasn't marked down previously. My husband explained that we had the car less than 12 hours and didn't drive anywhere except home from work and then to the Enterprise location. He also told the rep working for enterprise that there was a bunch of damage when the car was given to me. My husband refused to sign anything since the damage was not ours. My husband left the site and accidentally left the papers in the car. When he told me about this I immediately called Enterprise and they directed me to the Damage Recovery Unit. I spoke with a rep and they told me that there was nothing reported and that unless I receive something in the mail not to worry about it.

On February 5th I received a letter as well as the bill from Enterprise for $962.92. After looking at the bill I saw that they charged me for two dents, loss of use, a depreciation fees, and administrative fees. On the letter dated January 29th 2010 it stated that I needed to remit payment within 10 days. I made a call to a guy named Mike Smith at [protected] who was the representative that was working on my case in the Damage Recovery Unit and asked what I can do to dispute this. The guy was extremely rude and short with me. He told me that if the payment wasn't in the office within 10 days that they were going to send me to a collection agency. I asked Mike if I could get a copy of the reports to see what other damage was reported that day and he said he was not able to release that information to me. I also asked if he could send me pictures that were taken after the previous user returned the car and after I returned the car. Mike said that they only have pictures of when the car was in the shop getting fixed from the damage I caused. I was told that he would email me the pictures without a problem. I waited and waited and still no pictures. Since I am looking into buying a house and need to keep my credit in good standing I had to make the payment in full which I did. Along with the payment I also sent a letter stating that even though I am making the payment I am not accepting responsibility of the damage on the car. The payment and letter were sent certified to Atlanta, GA and delivered February 15, 2010. I have not heard anything since.

I do not accept responsibility for this and feel that I was set up to take a car that they knew was damaged. Please help me with this since I do not have the money to fight this battle alone.

I am now going through the same exact experience. This is the letter that I have sent about my indecent:

This is to address the claim on a car we rented on June 29th to July 6th. I have a couple of issues that need to be addressed with this claim:

• We do not believe that the damage done to the car occurred under our watch. The damage was shown to be underneath the front bumper of the car. That area was not inspected at the time we picked up the car but was then inspected as we brought it in.

• As a penalty for not inspecting that area of the car, we were told that we would have to pay $150 to be able to leave. We thought this was very suspicious behavior, but we needed to leave, so we paid the $150. We were told that the issue was solved and the business was completed.

• A few days later we get a threatening letter that told us we had 10 days to pay up the balance of damages to the bumper. That amount now stands at $332.35. Again, to me, this is suspicious behavior because in only 10 days your told me I damaged your car. I did not damage the car, but I did not notice the damage upon rental, so I agreed to your organization pay the $150. I had two small children in the car, my children were tired, it was 100 degrees outside and I wanted to leave, so I regrettably agreed to pay your fee although I did not damage the car.

. I did not damage the car, and that we were coerced into paying $150 just so we could leave the facility was wrong. We continue to get threatening letters and phone calls, yet we have no indication that any work was done to the car, no proof that the damage had been inspected any further than at the rental return area. I replaced an entire front end of a vehicle last year and that only cost $300. I am highly suspicious that the small scratch actually cost more than the $150 to fix. I sincerely doubt the Enterprise even repaired the scratch.

• We did not cause the damage to the car. It seems that there is no appeal to this process, and that I am to roll over and pay this, or you will ruin my credit. This is unacceptable and I we would never, ever rent from Enterprise or your partners again unless this is resolved.

. I have been a partner with National for a very long time. I had a span of time where I rented a National car every week for 6 years. I had the highest status level. Never once did I have this problem. Never once did I have any problem whatsoever, let alone this treatment. And to cap it all off you have cancelled my Emerald Isle membership which I have held since 1999. After the times that I have rented from Enterprise, and the thousands of dollars that I sent National’s way, this is the treatment that I get. For $332.35, you will be losing a long time, profitable customer.

Here is what I want.

1. Not to pay the $332.35 because I did nothing wrong.
2. I want you to take the hold off of my rental accounts
3. I want you to stop sending me letters and calling me
4. I want my $150 dollars that I already sent you credited back to my account.

Sincerely,

Christopher Allen

Enterprise is trying to sam me right now. They are claiming I damaged the vehicle, and they don't even have the inspection portion of the rental contract filled out. They are Corporate Fascist ### ! Bring a video camera or a vioice recorder. This company is bad news.

I'm going through something similar now. I was given a rental car after someone hit my son's car. The first rental car I received was great but the check oil light came on after one day. They gave us another rental car that had several dings which was noted by the Enterprise Rep but he was not able to print out a contract since the printer was broken. A couple weeks after returning the second rental car I received a letter from the Damage Recovery Unit indicating the car was damaged. I called them to explain that the car was returned in the same condition as it was rented. They told me to send them a letter detailing my rental experience and they would send the claim to dispute. That same day I sent them an email asking them where I could view this damage and to send me the signed contract for this vehicle. The next morning I received an email from them saying they determined the damage was my fault along with an invoice for the damage. Funny thing is the first letter said the damage was a scratch on the right front rear quarter panel and the repair estimate was for damage to the bumper. That just smells of a "SCAM" if you ask me. Hopefully this claim will be dropped soon. If not, I will be filing complaints against the Enterprise Damage Recovery Unit all over the place.

Please do not rent from Enterprise. I was just accused of a damaging the vehicle. The damage was so minor that I and the agent was not able to find during the check out inspection. Upon returning the vehicle they found a small crack on the front bumper which they accused me of causing. After reviews by the Damage Recovery Unit I am still found at fault! Why am I at fault when I didn't even cause this! Previous renters or Enterprise staff caused the damage and now I am at fault. Never had I encounter this type of issue with other Rental Agencies. Please be careful and make sure you have them mark EVERY single damage/dent/cracks etc or even have them lift the car up for undercarriage damages. Believe me I will never rent from ENTERPRISE again.