Doc Savage

Thought I'd seek the wisdom of other FTers about this.

Rented a car, there was no front license plate. I didn't notice this until:

Revenue seeking municipality cruises mall parking lot and drops $108 ticket on the windshield.

My question is -

How do I make sure the rental company doesn't try to charge me for the ticket after the fact? I know that quite often the renter gets charged for tickets even if they have been paid when the rental company gets the courtesy notice in the mail, and they "forget" to check whether it has been paid.

AND they add a "convenience fee".

Should I get the manager at the rental site to sign an acknowledgement of their understanding of their liability for this ticket?

I'm fairly annoyed, as their is no license plate holder on the front of the car, and it is pretty clear there has never been a plate there. Even more annoyed at the money grubbing of the police departments here in California.

Thanks for any advice, and for letting me rant a bit.

Doc

MJLouise

I'm confused.

What state was this in? Do cars with licenses from this state typically have front license plates? Was this car licensed in a different state? Is not having a front license plate a fine-able offense in this state, even for cars licensed in other states?

jvick125

California requires ALL cars registered in the state to have both license plates on the car. If the car is registered out of state it's not their call to make.

As for the OP, I would assume you can talk with the manager when you return the car, or call them tomorrow and advise them of the situation. I'm not a lawyer, but I assume they would be responsible for this just as they would making sure the car is fully operable and safe to drive.

Doc Savage

California plate (singular) on California car in California.

Anything you happen to do is a fine-able offense here now since they have no other way to support their salaries. Police seem to have been instructed to cruise around looking for minor stuff to fine to pay the bills. And they stuck this ticket on my car when I wasn't around so I couldn't explain that it was a rental. I am sure they saw that it was owned by XXX Rent-a-Car when they ran the plate, but put the ticket on anyway.

jmastron

I don't know that I agree that "it's not their call to make" -- states grant reciprocity for properly registered and equipped cars from other states; clearly they can't ticket for no front plate when the original state doesn't issue/require one, but they can if it does. Whether the officer knows or it's worth figuring out depends on how many out of state vehicles they see and how tight the local budget is.


Having said that, for the OP this is clearly the responsibility of the rental agency. I would type up a brief letter, referencing the ticket, stating that the the car was rented without the required license plate, that you expect this ticket to be paid by the rental company; you do not authorize any charges related to it. Give a copy along with the ticket (keep a copy of that) to the manager when you return the car, and ask for a written acknowledgement that it will be taken care of. You should have a clear case for dispute and reversal if they do try to charge you later.

If the return date is a few days off, I'd call or go by the agency sooner if possible (if you got another ticket or two, they *might* be able to claim that you didn't try to mitigate the damages)

Doc Savage

That's a good point. I will give them a call tonight. I'm returning on Thurs (day after tomorrow) so the likelihood of another ticket is low, though this little burg is notorious for being fine-happy.

Your thoughts about a letter acknowledging responsibility are about what I had thought, too, so thanks for letting me know that's what you would do, too.

cbn42

I would not call the rental company right now, because they might tell you to come in and exchange the car, which will be additional hassle for you.

When you return it, explain what happened and state clearly that you expect them to pay the ticket. The police do not have your name, but the rental company can try to bill you for it. Make it clear that you will not accept these charges and that you will contest them with the bank if necessary.

China Clipper

The mystifying thing is that you indicate there was no evidence of a bracket for the front plate in the first place (therefore, it wasn't just removed/stolen). I wonder if the agency just never bothered? If they sourced the car from one of the purple states it probably wouldn't have had a bracket. Some lazy employee could be responsible, but you are right 1) to be peeved at the nuisance and 2) leery of being stuck with the charge. Let us know how it sorts out; I'd be interested.

usagishouse

I would call the agency right away so you have this in the records. They'll take care of the ticket, so I wouldn't worry.
I just got a parking one because they parked it on the street while waiting for me to finish their paperwork - AND they tried to charge me after they said they wouldn't, two months later. So, make sure you keep records of everything because when they finally go through their records, they may charge you!

Cometintintin

Where you parked in reverse? There is a posibility that the ticket was not because you had no front license plate, but because you parked in a way your license plate was not visible (parked in reverse).

slawecki

when i go to dallas, i frequently rent from an econo renter. the cars are frequently from LA and FL. i look for dents, scrapes, and count the spare tires. i have never considered the lack of a front plate. i am from MD, and do not know the plate laws of all the states. not my job. i would presume somewhere in the contract, either written, or presumed, the rentor must provide a street legal car.

DCAKen

Once when I was picking up a car, I did the walk-around and noticed that it had no front license plate (and it was licensed in a state that required it). When I asked for another car, they initially resisted, saying that it wouldn't be a problem. However, I had gotten a ticket before in my neighborhood for a license plate problem, so I knew the local police paid attention to that, and I insisted on another car.

Doc Savage

Nope, parked normally in a mall parking lot, though in the outside lot, not up against a wall, so when no car was nosed up against me must have been when they enhanced their revenue.

I'm going to try to remember to add the plate check every time to my walkaround checklist just like dents.

I once had a similar problem with resistance to the "missing plate-car swap" when renting in San Diego many years ago. They finally relented. I had just forgotten to check for it this time.

TTT

While it is an annoying ticket, it seems that at least LAWA PD has been doing this for a long time in the long-term LAX lots. I remember seeing quite a few front-plate tickets when I parked there 5+ years ago.

Often1

To avoid the downstream problems which occur if the accounting systems nonetheless track you down for the ticket + convenience fee, I would personally prefer a credit for the $108 and then to pay it myself. It's not a moving violation and there's no consequence to the payor. But, you know the ticket got paid and won't haunt you.

At a minimum, if you do leave the ticket with the rental agency for payment, keep a copy.