Keep in mind that contracts are a two way street...in fact for a contract to be legally a contract it must have an offer and an acceptance.
When you are handed that piece of paper to sign that is the car rental company's OFFER to you of a rental of that particular car for that particular rate under those particular terms. If you look at any rental contract you'll see that somewhere on it there are words to the effect that this written paper is the entire contract and no verbal promises were made (i.e. the agent didn't tell you something else that is not on the paper). If you sign it you have accepted it...and both you and they are now bound by the terms of the contract, including the price and insurance coverage that it says is or is not included.
When you signed, took the keys and drove away you ACCEPTED the contract as written. You accepted the condition of the vehicle (hence they have the little picture of a car for you and the agent to mark showing any dings or dents)...you accepted the mileage stated....you accepted the gas gauge level....you accepted how many days you would get for a certain rate....you accepted what the rate would be for turning the car in late (both hours and days rates)....you accepted, or decline, insurance. Remember that if you decline the insurance they make you initial in several different places that you read and are acknowledging that you've waived insurance. You may recall that these contracts are multiple pages....each of you gets a copy of the final contract with dings, gas and everything marked. That's so that both of you have a copy that is binding. If they tore off your copy before you marked the dings....you'd be in big trouble when you come back. In fact....if they hand you your copy and then make notations on theirs...insist that your copy be noted as well...or better yet, get a xerox copy of theirs so there is no question of it's exactness.
The time for them to agree to a price is when this contract is offered and accepted. Not later. If there are eligibility requirements (your age, your residency, discounts (
AAA, AEX, employment or a million other possibilities) they need to establish them at that point. Not later after you return the car, or when something goes wrong.
Think of it this way....I book a car with a AAA discount....I arrive and no one asks to see whether I have a AAA card or not.....we complete the paperwork and I drive off. When I return the car, the agent can't suddenly say "Oh we forgot to check if you had a AAA card, may I see it please and if you can't show me, we're going to charge you extra".
Or, think of it this way....you book a car at an Internet rate...or a AAA rate...or any other rate, including this coupon code rate. You do the paperwork which shows that rate and drive off. You turn your car in at the express thing and run to catch your flight. You get your credit card bill the following week and realize that they charged you "rack rate" (or whatever the equivalent is in the car rental industry). Obviously you're going to fax them a copy of your contract and object to paying that higher rate. You'd win this one...if not from them, then your credit card company with a copy of the contract should resolve it for you....and if they don't (besides it being time to switch credit card companies, lol)....any court in the land will side with the WRITTEN contract. The burden of proof is on the car company to show what those extra charges are for....and believe me, something like "we decided he didn't qualify for that rate" is not going to go over.
The same goes in reverse.....you're in a hurry, you grab the contract and sign it without reading it....your hand outstretched for the keys. You take off and speed down the highway towards Disney, determined to make it with enough time to ride Soarin. That night your wife is cleaning out the carry on bag and finds your car rental contract....and sees that you were charged rack rate instead of the discount in your confirmation letter. The car rental company says "nope that's the rate you get"......sorry, but you're stuck. Yes, you have an email or computer printout showing the discount you booked....but you SIGNED that contract for a higher rate. Sorry Charlie....the only chance you have is finding a manager somewhere that is willing to admit a mistake was made......and I'd guess you have a 50/50 chance of that....customer relations and all that....but legally....no court would award you the lower rate.
Now....there was something in this thread about someone making up phony business cards that claimed you were a
travel agent or something. If you were ASKED to show proof of your eligibility and you showed them a bogus document, then YOU HAVE COMMITTED FRAUD. And then, a court would roast you. If you are asked to show proof and honestly tell them that you don't have such proof, but you were told such and such....maybe they'll honor it and maybe they won't.....and so long as it's before they offer a contract and give you the keys to drive off (thus completing the contract)...they can change the rate. If you read their website I'm sure you'll find that in the terms it says that the confirmation is NOT a contract (ok, I've not looked at National's terms, but I'm one of those that do read the terms most of the times, and other places always say this, I can't recall ever renting from National, usually too high priced, lol). They won't guarantee you a particular car either......and they don't have to, because it's not yet a contract.
Many people, including myself, have called and asked if we were eligible for this rate...including telling them that we didn't work for a particular companY (in my case, I'm a Stay At Home Mom). I was told yes, I could use it. If I arrive and they then tell me I need proof of employment or something....well, all I have is the name of the guy who told me I was eligible (I do intend to try to get an email stating this if I decide to book it....my dates aren't firm enough yet for me to book). If I have an email I may have an argument.....but really, only if I get a manager who can see that it's a customer relations issue that he'd be wise to honor.
And to give you a hint into my personal way of doing things....I almost always have two rental car bookings.....until such time as they require credit card numbers I'll always do this. I had too many times in my working life days that I get there and the "similar" car they want to give me isn't what I want....I have a backup. Saved my bacon once when I booked a van and needed it to seat 8.....I had 8 people....they only had vans on the lot that seat 7, despite my paperwork from the computer showing 8! I walked over to choice number 2, and got my 8 seater. Whew...MIL didn't have to ride on the roof ala Chevy Chase movies.
If you've been on these boards for a while, you may recall a hotel was advertising room rates of something like 29 cents. Obviously that was an error...and a big one. But many people booked rooms at that tiny rate. To the hotel's credit they honored it....but they absolutely did not have to, as it was obviously an error, and although people had booked the room, the contract was not complete until it was paid for, which would have been at check in (even prepayment doesn't always constitute a contract...read the terms on the website, many say it's subject to review since computer glitches are common so is hacking and generally no human is looking at the computer bookings and payments before they got through). They very easily could have told people at check in, nope, sorry, that was an error, here's your room rate. It would have been a public relations nightmare of course, but it would have been perfectly legal. The Court would have agreed that a "reasonably prudent" person would have known that .29 was an error.
We've all probably seen and heard similiar stories of websites offering big screen Tvs for a buck....or ipods for 99 cents, etc....errors or hacking that are obviously wrong. Some stores bite the bullet and honor them for the customer relations...and some can't stay in business if they did so they fall back on the law that allows them to correct their error.
The rates we're being quoted are excellent, no doubt about it....but, as several people have pointed out, there are simliar deals just a few dollars more when you have a code and a VISA card, or maybe it was AEX.....but in other words, codes that are open to the vast majority of the population without question. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible for National to argue that these slightly lower rates were such that a "prudent person" would have known that they were in error. A .29 a day rate...yeah, but these rates are only a few dollars lower than other rates offered. A prudent person would simply think they got a great deal....not an unbelievable one.
Last point.....insurance. If your contract says that insurance is included, then that's it...it is included. Read the terms to see WHAT the insurance actually covers, if there are deductibles, limits, etc. But it's included. And if it says it's not included, then you better be sure you have coverage through your personal policy (and make sure your WRITTEN POLICY says it...not the agent as many have pointed out they're not always 100% correct, but the courts will go by the written contract/policy.) My personal policy says that I'm covered in any vehicle I drive so long as I have the owner's permission and so long as the vehicle is not being used for business purposes. It even specifically mentions "vehicles for hire".
Let's imagine again....you are doing a regular rental...you tell the agent you DO want to buy insurance.....again for whatever reason you don't look at the contract closely and you simply sign and initial where the agent points. Your car is damaged in the parking lot, or you have an accident...no problem, you think...I've got coverage. But....you finally look closely at your contract and see that they did NOT charge you for it...you initialed where it says "no coverage", etc. Good luck arguing that you had asked for insurance! Yet you certainly will feel like you were ripped off by the agent who made the error!
Again, you can't change the terms of the contract, neither can National. The time for either of you to object to the terms of the contract is before it's finalized (which is when you drive off their lot).
Ok...anyone still reading this long post? Look in your yellow pages under contract attorneys and call them....most give a free consultation. I'll bet you a Dole Whip that he'll tell you the same thing (only probably not so wordy, lol).
i went thru the process to upgrade membership, etc.
