Using a contract ID that you belong to but not for business
 

Hi all,

I am looking to do a quick one-way rental as a flight of mine was cancelled and I am not able to find a better one. I am a U of Oregon student and we have a National contract ID. The price using the contract ID is about 1/5th the full price.

Here's the catch: it includes the LDW, and while I am officially affiliated with the University of Oregon, I am not on official UO business. If I get in an accident, will this be an issue?

Thanks

If you have to ask, you shouldn't do it.

Helpful...

The way I see it, you're a paying student that attends a school which has a contract with National/Enterprise Holdings. I looked up the U of Oregon contract (it's readily available) and it says nothing about restrictions with regards to when the contract ID can be used.

Could there be an issue with the LDW? Possibly. Do you have your own car insurance/primary insurance on the credit card you used for the reservation? If you do, you should be all set either way.

I would say go for it. Like you said, it's a quick one-way. 99.9% chance you'll be fine.

Many contracts will extend your LDW for leisure travel as well as business travel. National does this with mine.

If it's this one here: http://ba.uoregon.edu/content/vehicle-rental

The Univeristy clearly states:

"These contracts are for use by UO employees or students only, who are on Official UO Business."

Even if it wasn't explicitly stated, let's use some common sense...would any rental agency in its right mind enter into a blanket agreement to provide leisure rentals to college students at a discount rate and also cover full responsibility for any damage? :)

If it's at all like the Big 10 agreement, then I'd say it's likely you shouldn't use it. If I remember properly, the big 10 agreement is fine for faculty and staff (and spouses) regardless of purpose, but students are restricted to official business (and it might be grad students only, can't remember).

Oh, and FWIW, if something happens, they very much will look into it. We had an issue and because it was my wife that rented the car, when national contacted the university they said she wasn't an authorized user because they apparently couldn't match her up to me. I had to track down the person at the university responsible for those claims and she was then able to pass on to national that it was indeed an authorized user.

It's all well and nice to play cute word games as many do with their supposed entitlement to various discount codes.

The simple answer is that it's a great idea until it's not and you don't get an answer until after you have had an accident, LDW coverage has been denied, you have been invoiced for the residual value of the vehicle and you have had to either negotiate or litigate your way through the issue.

If the snippets quoted here are correct, OP is clearly committing fraud if he uses the code and those who suggest that he may do so did not read the document.

Firstly, I would clarify with the University if the terms state you need to be conducting University business to rent with that particular Contract ID. Alot of times there's ambiguity or just no clarification or details in the verbiage. That might help. As a last resort, you can call National and ask them (without providing them you details), if what you doing would be acceptable for renting with that contract.

How is this possibly helpful to the OP. Aren't moderators supposed to be posting for the betterment of the members of the forum they're moderating??

Couldn't agree with you more. OP's post clearly suggested that he had his own doubts about the legitimacy of using a certain code, so I was reinforcing his (expressed) instinct that he would likely have a problem in the event of an accident - which, as you know from your long tenure on this board, is the advice that is routinely handed out in this forum. If you have to ask about using a code, you shouldn't use a given code. I think Often1 above perhaps put it best, in that it's a great idea until it's not. Perhaps I should have been more eloquent.

In any event, given that OP has not even returned to this site since he posted this thread, I am guessing he was not really looking for our input anyways.

I guess it depends on the organization?

My employer extends the benefit to us presuming way either way with our own credit card during the rental period or we make a prior arrangement to pay the company when they receive the bill.

I used to use the Ohio State contract ID all the time. Never had a problem. I didn't go to OSU and don't work there. Perhaps I would have had a problem if I had a LDW claim, but no one ever said a word about using the code itself.