ThisIsMyChosenUserName

Hi,

I am not a seasoned traveler and it looks like I just got nailed by what I'm learning is a common rental agency scam. My wife and I flew into Tampa last week for 1 day, to attend a family wedding. I used PL to book a 'luxury' car and got Avis, which gave me an Infinity Q70. We were late so we hopped in and drove off. I immediately noticed the car seemed very used - leather was worn, plenty of marks inside, and one of the side mirrors rattled substantially in the wind.

7 hours later we are returning to the airport to go home. I park and the attendant starts pointing out dent after dent on the car. My stomach sinks ... the car is as beaten up on the outside as it was on the inside. I told the attendant that there is no way, NO WAY any of that damage was done by me as we literally drove to a church, and drove to a family reception - at all times parked amongst family and friends, and then back to the airport. He just nodded understandably and handed me a receipt for fuel. I thanked him and went on my way.

Looking at my credit card I see a $100 temporary charge from Avis. And googling 'Avis rental scams' I see that I'm in for a fight.

My question is - since all I noticed on pickup is the general used/abused appearance of the interior, do I have any leg to stand on? This whole thing is making me sick.

Redwood839

Sorry to say this, but you probably don't have much room to fight it.

I understand you were in a rush and everything, but you're responsible for making sure the car doesn't have any damage before leaving the facility and/or reporting it on the way out.

I've been stopped at the gate and told them I forgot to check it, and they will let me do it on the spot and walk through with me.

In all fairness, I don't see how this is an AVIS scam.

ThisIsMyChosenUserName

I've only rented a car a couple other times and previously I was given a form with a picture of the car, and instructed to walk around it and look for damage. This time, the rep said "the keys are in the car, you can just drive away."

So that's what I did - honestly I just forgot, more than anything, to check for damage because it wasn't mentioned. The car was in a dimly lit parking garage.

If I thought there was a chance I caused all these random dents and door dings and scratches all over the car when attending a wedding on a beautiful clear day I wouldn't feel so taken. I had the car for a few hours - I wasn't driving through a war zone.

Redwood839

Which rent a car? I've personally never been walked through the inspection of the car in the US.

Anyway, Yeah. Unfortunately the TC says you are responsible for checking it and anything else that comes back as unmarked at the end, it's your responsability. I usually check everything, even the wheels to make sure they have no holes in them or similar.

If you have insurance you can use it in this case to dispute it, but I think you needed to fill a form out and a bunch of stuff. Maybe someone else can take about that.

NYC123

This may or may not be a scam. But I don't think you need to consider that you are on the hook for a whole lot of damage.

You do have some recourse.

First, if you have an insured auto at home it is very likely that it extends to your rental. Of course you would have to file a claim, but at least know you are covered for anything significant.

Second, you probably have some secondary coverage on your credit card. I don't know how this works with a Priceline rental, but most good cards do have some supplemental rental car loss and damage coverage.

Now, one of the main reasons why this matters is because the insurance companies are good at holding the rental agencies accountable for proving that YOU caused the damage. Often enough, rental agencies (or the third-party claim firms they hire) will just drop the issue when challenged. This happened to me with Hertz at SLC several years ago.

I really don't know what the $100 temporary charge is. Maybe contest it with your credit card company?

But really, wait and see if anything really comes of this. It might be that you will hear no more. If you do hear more and it is more than a couple hundred bucks, go to your auto insurance and credit card company for coverage.

btw...
Other posters here are right. Always make sure to indicate all damage at the exit booth/ with an employee, no matter what.
Beyond ensuring that all damage is marked on the damage slip at check-out, I will often walk around the car and take a video of it with my phone's light on. Any claims at return, I have proof of what was there before I left the lot.

Modo

Thank you - that is such a good point it had completely eluded me previously.

The education you can get from these forums is priceless.

Note in Europe at least you can buy a standalone secondary insurance to cover all excesses for a year for about US$50. As you say chances are if in your own country your existing motor or even Personal insurances cover you anyway.

gpia

Since helpful advise has been given to the OP already, allow me this OT: Enterprise in Anchorage (the branch across the street from the strip club, which could be considered another reason to rent there) will walk you through your entire inspection pre signature ^

lindros2

After dealing with Avis in Atlanta, my advice is to start emailing and FAX'ing their HQ in Parsippany, NJ and/or folks in Oklahoma City. I find being irate is the only way to get things solved, unfortunately.

Check out this article posted this week:
http://fxn.ws/1MDDFxe

ijgordon

It's been a while for me, but pretty sure that's SOP at Enterprise.

Doc Savage

It's a scam since they knew there was pre-existing damage to the car and are trying to fool someone into paying for it. Revenue enhancement, pure and simple. Unfortunately, the OP was rushed and forgot to check.

Years ago, the rental companies didn't try this nearly as often.

Foltan

Or.. maybe they didn't know there was pre-existing damage and so are completely within the realms of reasonable behaviour to accuse the OP of having done it.

Or... since the OP didn't check the car, how does he know it wasn't damaged during the rental? Maybe whilst parked up, by skateboarding teenagers or suchlike.

If you don't check the car before signing the form to say that it's in the condition they claim it is, then you can't really accuse them of 'scamming' you. That would only be the case if they claimed to have discovered damage after you had left the drop-off location, for example.

I do feel sorry for him, because I have also jumped in the car without checking it properly before, and can imagine it'd be rather worrying to have this then happen. But I don't think I could get angry at someone if I couldn't honestly say I'd checked it out beforehand! That just seems like pointing fingers to cover up for your own error.

Redwood839

Exactly. No need to call it a scam if you can't really confirm when the damage happened. After all, it's your responsability to check the car which was the first thing I told the OP.

As Foltan said, I feel sorry for him, but I can't say it's AVIS at fault because we missed a principle of renting, which is to check the car you got for damage. In all fairness to AVIS, I think their gate attendants are pretty sincere, the ones I've got at least. I've been stopped before leaving the gate because a tire has a piece of rubber hanging and they don't want me to get billed for it later, and for not reporting a scratched bumper.

Buster

Realistically, if the car is as worn & beat up as OP says it is, it's a scam. I've had to fight with clerks at the exit booth before over damage that they refuse to mark off. Often, they'll say, "oh, that's nothing, we wouldn't ever charge you for that." The harder they fight, the more suspicious I get.

I've been scammed by Avis before, but only overseas. I had an agent at BRU walk up to the car at check-in with a mirror on a giant stick, and then point out undercarriage "damage" that I must have done to the car. I demanded to be able to take a picture of the damage, which consisted of a 1/2" long scratch under the front lip of the bumper. There was no way I would have been able to see that, even with walking around the car to check for damage.

What do you all do when it's dark? A lot of times I'm renting after dark, and the parking garage or lot isn't really well lit enough to see small damage.

LXboy

I wouldnt be wooried to much about the $100 pending charge. This is often the case for me when renting with AVis that some sort of hold is shown until a couple of days after the rental. They probably do so just in case, tolls etc. I would wait 2 to 3 weeks and then take action if required.

Foltan

But if it's that worn and beaten up when you picked it up, wouldn't you make an effort to check that the forms had all the damage marked? It would be a red flag to most renters immediately.
And if the damage actually isn't that obvious, then how do you know whether it was there beforehand or not?
That's all I'm saying, if you haven't definitely checked it, how can one be 100% certain on one's position, and how can one accuse the agents of being unreasonable. All they're doing is looking at a damaged car and comparing it to a form that says it wasn't damaged - you can't expect them to just ignore it!