Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - Enterprise: Is this a RipOff

Hi,

I was in Rockville, MD this week for a conference, and needed to go to Baltimore on an errand. So I rented a car on Friday evening, around 5.47pm with the intention of returning it the following day, Saturday.

At the time of the rental, I told the agent that I would be leaving town that saturday evening, so I would want to return the car earlier. All he said was that it was ok.

Around 3pm on Saturday, I went to the rental place only to find out that they closed at 12noon. There was a notice on their door indicating that all rentals dropped after 12noon will be checked out on Monday. Since I was leaving Rockville by Amtrack that saturday evening, I had no choice but to leave the car and use the keydrop.

Now, does this really mean that they are going to charge me for two extra days? If so, that would be unfair since (1) no one really drew my attention to the notice to the door, and (2) I did not pay attention to the 12noon closing time on the rental agreement -- it would have helped if they told me at the time of the rental that I should return my car before 12 noon, else I would be responsible for it for the entire weekend...

How would I handle this? I have to call them tomorrow morning, and be prepared to answer questions or explanations..

any thoughts?

thanks - Noela

Not a rip-off, just standard Enterprise weekend rental practices. Give 'em a call...if you press your case they'll often back off those other couple of days. Your contract should have the name and/or employee number of the agent who rented the car to you - there's a good chance they'll remember the conversation.

I don't see it as a rip-off-just that u didn't understand the T&C of the contract when u reserved/picked-up the car. I know most rental co's state if you return during closed hours, your rental won't be closed till that location re-opens. Maybe the rental agent should have been more forthcoming on there would be extra charge, but then he's there for the company. That's why it's always important to find out when they close in order to avoid any suprises.

Thanks for all the advice. I probably should have sought a clearer understanding of the contract.

I called the company and we agreed that I pay for only 1 extra day (saturday to sunday).

Lesson learnt (painfully) through an errand that I volunteered for.

rgds, N