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In May of 2014, through the recommendation of my insurance co., I rented a car from Enterprise while my car was being repaired. When I picked up the vehicle, I notice it was scuffed, scratched, scraped, dinged and just generally very worn. I pointed this out to the employee and was told that was normal wear and tear and was already noted from previous renters. This walk around took all of 15 seconds.

During the time I had the car (a couple weeks), there was a storm. Nevermind that the car was parked in the garage during this storm. That doesn't seem to matter. When I returned the car, an employee came out to inspect it. He looked at the car with such close proximity, I'm sure he hit his nose on the car. He looked at it from every angle, every corner, with such detail. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me management had instructed him to check all cars for hail damage upon their return. He then proceeded to point to microscopic marks (unseen to the naked eye that I asked him to circle them in the dust) on the car and claim them as hail damage. I flatly denied this accusation and began taking pictures of the car in great detail. I even signed on the paperwork, where he noted 4-5 possible hail dents, that this was false and I did not agree to these charges.

A few weeks later, I get a call from a guy named Pat, who can't understand why I would dispute these allegations. I explained all of this to him, vehemently denied the damages, asked for proof and for the vehicle's damage history - which he said he did not have to provide - and was informed he would send it on to damage recover.

On July 11, I received a letter from Enterprise stating that I owe $918. I was dumbfounded. I had received no other communication other than a demand for payment.

I sent this email in response:

______________________________________________________________

I am in receipt of your "unpaid balance" letter dated July 10, 2014. You are claiming this is for hail damage caused to a car I rented in May of 2014 from Enterprise Rent A Car in Oswego.

During the entire time the car was in my possession, there was no damage to the vehicle.

When I returned the vehicle, the employee came out to inspect the car with extreme detail, extensively inspecting the car from multiple angles, at extremely close proximity, noting that he had been instructed by management to note any dings that may appear to be hail damage.

He attempted to point out microscopic dings, undetectable to the human eye, and claim those as hail damage sustained while I had the vehicle. I disputed this claim and wrote it on the documents as such.

The first week of June, I reiterated this dispute with "Pat", who informed me he did not have to provide any documentation of the condition of the vehicle prior to my renting it, did not need to prove that these false damage claims happened while the vehicle was in my possession, and that the recovery department would be contacting me.

I heard nothing until I received this letter today with a balance due of $918.75 with no supporting evidence.

Please provide me with the following:

1. Proof that the vehicle was damaged while it was in my possession. This would include pictures of the car that are time-stamped before and after my rental date that show the alleged damage.

2. All documentation to the vehicleโ€™s condition prior to my renting the vehicle to include scratches, dents, dings, pits and scuffs, and the measures you took to repair them.

2. Documentation of any loss of use.

3. A contact for the repair shop, so my attorney can speak with them directly, as well as the repair invoices, estimates and proof of completion of said repairs.

4. Photographs of the vehicle after completion of repairs.

Sincerely,

M

_________________________________________________________

She then insisted we speak on the phone and I told her I wanted to maintain a record of communication and only use email. She replied with this:

______________

To discuss the claim in detail, I need to talk to you in person mam.

I was off last Friday, and Monday, just returned to office on Tuesday.

I just heard your voicemailโ€™s , but I need to speak with you in person mam.

I cannot provide time stamped before and after pictures, that is not something we have.

I also cannot provide prior rental agreements, that is third party disclosure.

The information for the repair shop is on the subrogation documents you received.

Also, loss of use, we do not provide any type of proof, it is listed in your contract that it will be charged, also our proof of repair is in the estimate that we provide.

Again, I would prefer a phone conversation, so you can express your concerns, and if there is a valid dispute , I will gladly assist in setting one up.

________________

So, I called her and attempted to record the conversation. I let her know this. She refused to speak to me if I was going to record the conversation so I had to call her back. We spoke briefly and I reiterated what is written above. She informed me that claim had already gone through the dispute process, even though I was never a part of it and no one ever contacted me. She also then insisted I would have to put the claim through my insurance and pay my deductible. When I said I did not authorize insurance involvement, she informed that it was their right, as they have power of attorney through the rental contract I signed.

She then sent me subrogation documents, which included very distant pictures of the car with over thirty white circles on the hood, roof, trunk - everywhere. NONE OF THIS DAMAGE CAN BE SEEN IN ANY PICTURE. Additionally, I DO have time stamped and dated close proximity pictures that CLEARLY show no damage to this vehicle.

I have now been forced to file a claim with my insurance company, as Enterprise is hoping they will get paid for their lies and false charges. They steamrolled me and went straight to my insurance. I was not even included in the dispute process. This is despicable, immoral business practice. I will never use Enterprise again and will access every media outlet to get my story heard. People need to be informed and aware of this ongoing scam. You can find incidence of this all over the internet, in consumer complaint forums. This has to be stopped. It is an outrage.

TWO PHOTOS - My photo date and time stamped photo proving no damage, and Enterprises "proof" of damage.

Monetary Loss: $919.

Location: Oswego, Illinois

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Guest

Thereโ€™s damage in both pictures. Unless these are both pictures Enterprise sent to you.

Guest

So how the *** do they get away with this if there is unseen damage?MIND BOGGLING

Guest

Ditto experience today. Latest victim to the same scam.

In retrospect, I can think of two main points:

1. Cost of business being passed on to the customer by Enterprise Rent-A-Car

2. Cost of damage being passed on to the wrong customer because the prior damaged return was not verified in the same intensity. So in the even of rain or hail, Enterprise tries to use this act-of-god and passes on the burden of fixing the car damage to the wrong customer!

Resolution to this on-going issue?

While renting, the customer has to be informed about implications of not checking enough damages and pre-existing damages needs to be photo/video graphed so that it can be level playing field for the business and the consumer.

But this idea will not go well with the business, as they wouldn't want to scare the consumer that they might be charged with claims!

Result? So, this scam continues; forever!

Guest

I won't do business with Enterprise at all. First, we bought a car from Enterprise and it was touted as being almost new and in ex-cellent condition.

Enterprise was recommended by our Credit Union so I believed what I was told by Enterprise. A few months after I had it, it overheated repeatedly so I took it to my mechanic for repair and found that due to a "previous accident" the heater core had to be replaced. I went to look at it and was shown where a lot of "bondo" was patched over the crunch. So much for honest by Enterprise.

A few years later, I needed a rental car and was promised one would be available when it wasn't they were apologetic and said they would bring it to my home. It never came!

and not even a word from them. Enterprise is a despicable company in every sense of the word.

Guest

This is quite common. I work for a company which rents a large volume of vehicles.

When it first happened I used to try to fight them but our VISA insurance doesn't seem to have a problem with paying the claims. We usually get up-close black and white photos or far off photos of the actual vehicle then close-up photos of the "damage" with white marker circles or some other indication that make it impossible to see what is actually there.

It is a scam no doubt, I've seen it over and over but you eventually get tired of fighting and for some reason the insurance doesn't care. I was even told one time that if they didn't pay it the renter would be responsible.

Guest

I too have Enterprise Rent a Car saying that I must pay for damages to their car to a tune of $1,300.00. Hail damage....there hasn't been hail in Ohio for a long time.

I placed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General, so we'll see how that goes. I will never do business with them again and I have been telling everyone I know !!!!!!

Guest

In fact, the gal who inspected it kept telling me to only point out items larger than a quarter as we walked the gar. I kept pointing to items and she said it was not bigger than a quarter and dismissed me. I will never use Enterprise again!

Guest

Exact same thing happened to me to the tune of $4000 in damages from hail that I did not incur. In fact, there was no hail damage in my neighborhood at all and the car was in the garage the entire time. I am attempting to dispute to no avail.

Guest

He is ryt same thing happen to me aswell....

Guest

Just had the same thing happen to me today...

Guest

I rented a vehicle from Enterprise because a guy wrecked my van when I brought it back to Enterprise they did a walk around and said there was a small little dent in the bumper when I rented the truck there where dings In various places around the truck and that I would haft to pay $850 for the dent I told them I'm not pay that I think they do this to a lot of people I think it's a scam!!!

Guest

I had the same issue with Enterprise I live in the Dallas Texas area same thing rented a truck because a car hit my vehicle when I brought the rental back they stated there was a little ding in back of the bumper

Ercell Moi

Exactly what the other person said.

You obviously did not read the details of my complaint.

And yes the car WAS garaged because my car was in the shop and I always park in a garage.

A car cannot get hail damage when it is parked in a garage.

Enterprise engages in blatant insurance fraud. You are either ignorant or biased, or both.

Guest

You should have taken the extra insurance, problem solved. Things can happen to rentals, while on rent to you, that are out of your control.

Are you saying that the car was parked in a garage for literally every minute of the period that you rented it? I didn't think so.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-888846

You're an ***. You either work for Enterprise or are just simply that ***.

She said the damage was on there and that she pointed it out WHEN THE CAR WAS BEING GIVEN TO HER. I believe her b/c the SAME THING JUST HAPPENED TO ME. Whether it is her personal insurance or the insurance taken out through Enterprise, IT SHOULD NOT BE PAID FOR BY THE PERSON WHO DID NOT CAUSE THE DAMAGE. Enterprise is trying to get damaged fixed on someone else dime when the damage is their own and was there before she rented it.

The person who inspected it was either lazy, immoral, *** or unclear how to do their job. I BELIEVE HER B/C THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME. And from what I'm reading, this happens to other people too. I'm never again renting a car without taking time dated pictures.

My mistake for believing him when I asked "what about that scratch there in the front?" and he dismissively (w/out looking at it) said "oh scratches and stuff are no big deal, we only have to mark big dents and stuff, please sign here." And so I stupidly trusted him and signed. Learn how to read an entire post before commenting dumb ***.

Guest

Absolutely agree!!! They are horrible!!

Guest

My son & daughter in law had a similiar experience. The car they rented while on vacation had air condioning go out on them.

They contacted another Enterprise in the area they were staying, so they could exchange it, 2 Enterprise dealers said they had no cars. So, my son calls again, but this time only saying he wanted to rent a car, YES !! they had cars for rent.. really, driving out west in heat, with no air ??!!

They did do an exchange while grumbling, no walk around or inspection was done on the 2nd rental.. but when they returned to Middletown Ohio, Enterprise said there was hail damage to the car. But there were no hail storms while they had the car !! BEWARE..

ENTERPRISE in my opinion wanted to get AC and hail damage repairs at the expense of my son's insurance company !! and of course stick him with the deductibles !!

Enterprise C Ufe

Weโ€™ve taken note of your comments and would like the opportunity to look into this for you. Please send us a detailed email to care@enterprise.com including the exact rental location, your contact information, your rental agreement or reservation number, "DX" or damage claim number, and any further information regarding your experience with us.

Please also reference number 140724-002642 in the subject line of your email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Respectfully,

Zach A.

Social Media Coordinator

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Ercell Moi
reply icon Replying to comment of Enterprise C Ufe

The comments from "care@***.com" are also a scam. Don't be fooled.

The emails are never responded to. It is Enterprise's attempt at damage control.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Ercell Moi

Yep, you're right. It's all meant to sound officious and lull defrauded customers into a false sense of relief.

Unconscionable, sociopathic business practices. Shame they're still in business.

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