FlyerTalk Forums - car damage and National hasn't sent me a report

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- - car damage and National hasn't sent me a report (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/national-emerald-club/1987745-car-damage-national-hasnt-sent-me-report.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by s0ssos (Post 32320354)

Update:
My timeframe is a bit off, as I cannot remember all the details and when, as I am only able to talk to them over the phone.
Sometime months ago I checked in with them again and they said the paperwork was never properly filed, and they will file it.
I check back later and someone says yes, you had the paperwork sent. It has to be re-sent though. And I also learned that the initial person who contacted me no longer works there (though technically they couldn't say that, just said "I don't know who this is"). But if it is no good then we will work on escalating it and closing the case.
I call back again and another person responds and says it takes 3 tries to contact the branch, so I need to wait again as she will send it one more time. But yes, if they don't respond they'll escalate it and get it closed out.
Finally I called back two weeks after that, on the dot, and the person said yes, they didn't respond. Technically they have 4 years though to take care of this. But she will escalate it and see what she can do. She promised much less than the last person, who said they'll just close it.
A few weeks later I see a refund on my card for the deductible, so it seems they have closed it.

I have no documentation of any of this. My credit card company has stopped bothering me for information. Should I request National actually write to me, email vs letter, that they closed it, or give me a status report? Can they re-open it in the future?

@s0ssos, thank you for the update. If there is anything that we can assist you with in regards to this concern please send us a detailed email to [email protected] include the exact rental location, your contact telephone number, your claims, rental agreement or reservation numbers and any further information that will assist us in helping you promptly. Thank you! - Carol H. Social Monitoring National Car Rental

Quote:

Originally Posted by NationalCares (Post 32321841)

Does National have bots replying now?

Seems incredulous that a customer had to chase after you all for a year - and after their update - you thank them for the update and give them an email address if they need further assistance (which they obviously did pursuing this saga!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by btonkid12345 (Post 32324289)

Because of the loss of customers with COVID, the rental companies have to care more about their "customer relations" image now, and are sending their "bots" to the forum to make these posts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by glostix (Post 32326247)

Because of the loss of customers with COVID, the rental companies have to care more about their "customer relations" image now, and are sending their "bots" to the forum to make these posts.

Well, they aren't exactly bots - they're real people, at least so far as I can tell. But your point is well taken. We've been trying to get a meaningful engagement with the National reps for years, both under myself as moderator of this forum as well as my predecessor. Unfortunately, the pattern seems to be that they'll helicopter in every 6-18 months, reply to a few random threads (often, as you point out, which are quite stale at the time of reply), and then disappear again. While we certainly appreciate their contributions, scattered as they may be, it'd be really nice if we could get some consistent participation or, at the very least, a pipeline into the customer support center for our members when real issues arise. @NationalCares would it be possible to engage in an offline discussion about this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by glostix (Post 32326247)

Should I request National actually write to me, email vs letter, that they closed it, or give me a status report? Can they re-open it in the future?

As the rep have said, National has 4 years to pursue this (i.e. the statute of limitations for written contracts). So National has the right to re-open this unless National has released your liability in writing only (because the original RA was in writing).

Not a guarantee, but if National refunded the money, there is a good chance that National will not pursue this further. Documentation related to damage is not difficult to generate. It takes you mostly 30 minutes. So after 7 months without any paperwork, either the branch was too lazy or the damage could not be substantiated. If you want to push National, be my guest. But I would consider this one closed.