About 3 or 4 years ago, I returned a rental car in Switzerland with some scrapes on the side of the car. My credit card paid for the repairs, but would not cover some other charges, such as "loss of use" and "transportation" charges or something like that. If I recall correctly, the total that was not covered by any insurance was about $500 worth. The car company sent me a bill for the outstanding balance, and I intended to pay it, but the paperwork got lost and so now it's several years later and the bill was never paid and the rental car agency apparently has dropped the issue.

I remembered all this the other day when I made a rental reservation with the same company, for a car in the U.S. As I remembered the outstanding bill, I wondered whether I'd encounter any problems upon picking up the car I had reserved. As it happens, I had to cancel that reservation, so I never found out. But I still wonder, if/when I would encounter problems renting from the same company with this outstanding bill. Would it only show up in Switzerland, and if so, might I encounter problems with other car agencies in Switzerland, or is it likely nothing would ever come of it?