Originally Posted by
me4tux
Hello, Need some advice.
Pre-Booked and rented a car with Chase MileagePlus CC. Good thing it had the Primary insurance. The rental is 4 days, Portland Oregon.
I had a 4-day rental which I just completed/returned today. On day 1, someone bumped into my rear quarter panel near the wheel. It was minor damage but the other other person had more substantial damage to her bumper. We exchanged information, and I have her lic & insurance card & phone.
Clearly it was her fault, and she did not see my car. She didn't admit it but was apologetic. I still think she's capable of turning on me and doing something tricky... maybe...
Interesting that I only provided her my lic & hertz rental agreeement & phone. Thats it. I did not provide her my personal car insurance info. She didn't ask for anything else and took off.
I did visit a Portland based Auto body to get a repair quote and they estimated the cost to be ~$3K. I have a copy of the estimate.
Fast forward, when I returned the car earlier today, and got my final print-out; I stayed back to observe.... I saw the Hertz attendant walked around, past the damage area and drove off to take the car away....
So, what is the best course of action now? And, what possible scenarios could play out?
Option 1: When I get home today, should I just file the Hertz accident report and Chase MileagePlus CC accident claim?
Option 2: Should I just wait it out? Maybe Hertz will not see the damage?
Option 3: Should I wait until I get the Hertz letter or bill about the damage and then file the Hertz Accident report and Chase report?
Option 4: What if the other person tried to file a claim against me, and Hertz finds out about the accident later?
I hope someone can give me advice and the best direction about this matter. I am relived that I do have the Primary coverage from Chase, but I have read in some cases that Chase does nickel and dime on payout... I am not sure....
Thanks in advance...
If a body shop can quote you a $3K est repair cost, that the damage is not "noticed" by the receiving Hertz employee?
Was the damage so un-noticeable so the Hertz rep did not see it when doing the walk thru?
Yet it got an est repair cost of $3K?
Why would you not mention this to Hertz and file the accident report right at return? At that time it would be much easier to make sure the damage description is correct so as everything else... Now you are setting up a scenario that Hertz can say whatever afterward...
On top of that, without the proper accident report and the final RA indicated so, you would have a hard time getting your Chase claim approved. Otherwise, it is just a matter of getting doc / pix submitted and claim settled within 7 to 10 business days from filing to money in the bank (our experience for scratches done in Italy). I honestly dont understand why you have not brought this to Hertz attention at car return... Nothing to gain but a lot of things can go wrong by not properly documenting the damage at the time of returning the rental car.