Alamo claims I damaged their car

[escape]

About a month ago, I rented a car from Alamo at the WDW Dolphin resort. All the paper work was taken care of inside the hotel. We were instructed to go to the valet area to wait for the car. When the car attendant brought the car to us, four of us - all adults - looked around for previous damage. We noticed a scrape/ding about the size of a half-dollar on the side of the car. We mentioned it to the valet person and he just shrugged it off. I've rented cars with dings in them before so I didn't think anything more about this until now - when we got a letter from Alamo.

Alamo said there was damage to the car. The letter does not state what the damage is but said that we need to contact our credit card company or insurance company to report the claim and contact Alamo with our claim information.

I am TICKED to say the least. There was no damage done on our end. Unfortunately, with this being the weekend, I can't contact Alamo or my insurance agency.

Has anyone had experience with this kind of thing before? Ugh!!!!!

 

[happygirl]

I'm really leary for car rental place. When I check in I make them come out and make sure there is no damage. Once you leave then can say anything and there is no way to defend yourself

 

[LoraJ]

Usually whenever we rent a car they have a slip of paper where you mark off where you see previous damage/scratches on the car. I'm surprised that they did not do that.

 

[Carly_Roach]

I take digital photographs of the car (inside and out) while I'm still on the property and I let the attendent see me taking these photographs. We never have problems with rental cars. You probably should have insisted on noting the ding on the rental agreement rather than keeping to an oral remark, however.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

But keep fighting the car rental company. They usually prefer soft targets and will go away when you appear to be someone who's going to fight.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You should have made sure it was noted on the paperwork, even if it meant you had to go back inside (PIA, I know). Pictures would be helpful, too.

We've had many rentals and never had a problem. I've read about others having problems, though, so I usually check the car before we leave and note any dings, even if I have to write them in myself.

I imagine this type of thing happens a lot. I'd start by building my defense. Four of you witnessed the damage, as did the valet. I'd find out who the valet was and at least see if he remembers your approaching him (though he may be motivated to "forget" if he didn't follow procedure; and your witnesses are, well, your witnesses, but there are four of them. You could go over the top and offer to get sworn statements, take lie detector tests, lol). Any pictures of the car from that first day you had it that show the damage? Short of that, I don't know what else you could do. Maybe others will.

It might also be worth talking to management at the Dolphin about it.

 

[manning]

The old adage ...buyer beware.


I usually rent from Hertz and they are doing the same now. Did you sign papers stating there is no damage to the car?

The last time I rented from Hertz we did an inspection and I asked for a copy noting damages.

One thing they will try to collect is loss of revenue of the car while it is being repaired. In order to collect that they have to prove that ALL their cars have been rented out during that time. 99% of the time they can't.

Also hopefully the credit card you used is the primary insurer, which means your insurance company will not see the claim.

Another thing I wouuld try to do is get Enterprise to show you the paperwork on the car as to the condition of the car when it was returned by the previous renter.

 

[swanmom]

My DH frequently rents cars for business travel. In the past, he would just use the express drop off -park the car in the lot, put the keys in a locked box and go. Those days are definitely gone! Now, when he takes the car, he checks everything, inside and out. If there is anything from a mark on the upholstery to a ding on the outside, he requires them to document it no matter how small. When returning, he arrives at the airport extra early, insists that the car be inspected and that a receipt by issued on the spot that the car has been inspected and no damage was found. Yes, it is a pain but he know so many of the people he travels with who have had problems with this. And yes, he takes digital photos from his phone -even though he has a receipt. At this point, it is so bad that he believes it is an actual revenue stream for the rental companies (although they'd never admit it.) It is as close to a scam as a legitimate company can run.

 

[manning]

I'm really leary for car rental place. When I check in I make them come out and make sure there is no damage. Once you leave then can say anything and there is no way to defend yourself

I had that happen to me once and I wasn't smart enough to do what you did. However I turned the table on them and asked for the paperwork showing an inspection report. They couldn't produce one and backed off.

 

[LindaR]

Oh YES!!!! They do not want you to point out damage but you MUST insist for your own protection. This happens very frequently!

You insist that the attendent do a walk-around with you and mark EVERY scratch and such on the rental agreement BEFORE you leave. You sign. They sign.

And then you do the same when you turn the rental back in!

They hate doing this but you have to protect yourself.

 

[LindaR]

The first time I encountered this was several years ago. My boss had rented a car five months prior! They claimed over $600 in damage for a scratch. I, of course, had to "take care" of the mess!

Turns out that the rental companies do NOT have to prove that they even fix the damage. They collect the money. Period. And, I have a feeling.....run this scam over and over on other "lazy" people who do not insist on inspecting and noting damage.

I got my boss out of it purely thru the assistance of his AMEX platinum card. Because he is a very frequent traveler AND a high dollar customer, AMEX got the rental company to drop the claim as a "good will" gesture. Didn't want to tick my boss off and have him take his business to another company.

But MOST people are not in the same category and get screwed by the ease and "convenience" of bypassing lines and take the keys and go!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would not submit a claim until they issue paperwork listing the damage and pics.

My husband had an accident in his rental.

And while the person who caused it had their insurance taken care of it--we received a detailed report of the damage and photographs.

I would not submit a claim when they haven't even told you what the damage is.

If it turns out to be the damage you noted in teh beginning, I would communicate that. It is unlikely that your insurance or credit card will pay for something that they failed to notate and that you didn't cause.

 

[escape]

The first time I encountered this was several years ago. My boss had rented a car five months prior! They claimed over $600 in damage for a scratch. I, of course, had to "take care" of the mess!

Turns out that the rental companies do NOT have to prove that they even fix the damage. They collect the money. Period. And, I have a feeling.....run this scam over and over on other "lazy" people who do not insist on inspecting and noting damage.

I got my boss out of it purely thru the assistance of his AMEX platinum card. Because he is a very frequent traveler AND a high dollar customer, AMEX got the rental company to drop the claim as a "good will" gesture. Didn't want to tick my boss off and have him take his business to another company.

But MOST people are not in the same category and get screwed by the ease and "convenience" of bypassing lines and take the keys and go!

Hmmm, I used my AMEX platinum. However, I'm not a frequent car renter. It just makes me mad because I did have a bad feeling about this. If I recall, we were in a hurry and after I mentioned it to the valet, I (stupidly) thought at the time that it would be enough. One of the adults in the group might have taken a pic of this. I'll have to find out.

Another thing that has me wondering....the date on this letter is marked Jan 13 - two days after I turned it in but I just now received the letter. Doesn't make sense. I'm kind of thinking that maybe the next person who rented the car made some notation and they are trying to claim I'm the one who did it since I didn't put it in writing.

I would not submit a claim until they issue paperwork listing the damage and pics.

I would not submit a claim when they haven't even told you what the damage is.

If it turns out to be the damage you noted in teh beginning, I would communicate that. It is unlikely that your insurance or credit card will pay for something that they failed to notate and that you didn't cause.
Today 11:36 AM

First thing I will do is call my insurance agent. Hopefully, he'll be able to help me with this.

Oh YES!!!! They do not want you to point out damage but you MUST insist for your own protection. This happens very frequently!

You insist that the attendent do a walk-around with you and mark EVERY scratch and such on the rental agreement BEFORE you leave. You sign. They sign.

And then you do the same when you turn the rental back in!

They hate doing this but you have to protect yourself.

The funny thing is...usually I do make a notation. Most of the time, I rent through a regular agency at the airport. Whenever I drive out, I'll tell the attendant checking me out of the parking garage/lot that I noticed some dings and he will note on my rental agreement. However, I didn't do this with the Disney valet guy. I'm just hoping one of my friends got this on camera. Maybe it will help somewhat.

 

[Christine]

I had a similiar issue last year with Alamo. This was the first time I had rented with them and I won't do it again (but they did have a FABULOUS price).

When I picked up my van, there were all kinds of dings on it. However, the dings were already tagged with stickers on the vehicle. It was an older vehicle and had about 36,000 for a rental car. This is unusual for a rental car but I had read prior to going that the rental car businesses were hurting and they were keeping the cars much longer.

So, since I saw everything tagged already, I didn't say anything. When I came back to return the car a week later, the attendant was looking the car over carefully as I was pulling my luggage out. I turned in everything and my whole family was headed toward the terminal when the attended starts yelling for me "Hey, miss, lady, you need to come back here, there is damage on this car." (No, really???). She then points to an area UNDERNEATH the front bumper and tells me it is dented underneath like I had hit a curb or run up over a parking space barrier. I asked her "Are you kidding me?" She told me that I had to sign a piece of paper making a statement that I didn't cause that damage and that I "might be contacted later."

That was last July and I never got anything from them but the lost my business. That car was in such poor shape and to look UNDER the car? I do try to check my cars before I accept them but I have never gotten to the point where I look under the car.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

Make sure when you rent a car, they put the same license plate number on the paperwork that is actually on the car you will be driving. Enterprise always puts a different license plate number on the paperwork...its happened the last two times, though we caught it the second time.

The first time they made us pay a ticket for a car that went through without paying the toll on the highway. We hadn't even driven the car on the highway!!!! We looked at videos. It was a compact car, and we had a mini van. Of course it was their word against ours so we had to pay the ticket.

Are you sure alamo is talking about the same car you were actually driving??????? Good luck with everything!!!! Rental car companies are a pain to deal with!!

 

[natenapril]

Alamo did this to us a few weeks ago too. They claimed we put a chip in the windshield even though we had the paper that showed the chip was already there when we rented it. I fought it and told them I would give headquarters a call. I won.
THe worst part is they didn't tell me they were charging me to fix the chip in the windshield. They just charged the card you have to leave on file. I check the card every other day for activity though and caught it quickly.

We won't rent with them again.

 

[Bluestars]

Usually whenever we rent a car they have a slip of paper where you mark off where you see previous damage/scratches on the car. I'm surprised that they did not do that.

That's what I have always done too. I mark down anything that remotely looks like a scratch.

BTW, we always rent from Dollar and have always received good, clean vehicles. We have never had a problem with their service or their cars. You can even register to be a Dollar member for FREE online. Then you get to skip the regular line at check-in. They will already have your paperwork waiting for you. At some places, you get to go straight to the vehicle.

 

[Christine]

That's what I have always done too. I mark down anything that remotely looks like a scratch.

BTW, we always rent from Dollar and have always received good, clean vehicles. We have never had a problem with their service or their cars. You can even register to be a Dollar member for FREE online. Then you get to skip the regular line at check-in. They will already have your paperwork waiting for you. At some places, you get to go straight to the vehicle.

I agree with renting from Dollar or National. I've always had wonderful service from them. However, last year I did use Alamo because they were about $300 a week cheaper than the other sites. I was booking a last minute trip to Disney in the middle of July. Vans were running about $450-$600 for the week and I got one from Alamo for $199 including tax.

 

[manning]

I agree with renting from Dollar or National. I've always had wonderful service from them. However, last year I did use Alamo because they were about $300 a week cheaper than the other sites. I was booking a last minute trip to Disney in the middle of July. Vans were running about $450-$600 for the week and I got one from Alamo for $199 including tax.

Got some bad news. Alamo now owns National.

Alamo is always pulling this. Some 20 plus years I rented from them and they wouldn't let me have the car unless I took their insurance. So I took the shuttle back to the airport and rented from the competitor.

 

[terri01p]

 

[Tigger2252]

We didn't run into trouble with damage, but with gas. When we picked up the car it was pouring rain, so we do all the paperwork and dash out to get in the car. I noticed right away that the car didn't have a full tank of gas. I told my DH that he needed to go tell them or we would be charged when we returned it. He said they must know that the tank was full and he wasn't going back in (I think it was because of the rain). Well guess what? I was right. They informed us when we returned the car that we needed to pay an outrageous amount of money because the car wasn't on full. My husband patiently explained that it wasn't on full when we got it. They of course said they "always" have their cars full. He was so po'ed that he made them pull the records and check the mileage. We had put very few miles on the car so they knew we were telling the truth. They let it go, but I watched the credit card for a couple of months.