National trying to bill me for acciedent repairs that did not happen

[Tiffany]

Tiffany,

When I call National on Monday, I'm wondering how many people I'll end up talking to. Did you say you ended up talking to about five people? Did they transfer you back and forth? Also, was National the one that told you to send the letter stating the car was fine when you dropped it off and include the receipt, or did your insurance company tell you to do that? I'm kind of wondering what to expect.

We've rented from National for years and never had a problem like this. It's really scary. I told my husband I'm glad that was probably our last trip to Hawaii. I don't even want to have to rent a car anymore after this.

This makes Magical Express or towncars at Disney even more attractive for us.

Hi,

I called the number on the letter first and they are no help unless you want to pay the claim of course. The woman I spoke to there indicated that if I wanted to dispute the charge that I needed to send a letter to the address on the letter I received.

I called my agent to discuss and he advised me on the wording to use in the letter.

I then called the 1-800 customer service number for National and they were no help and told me to call the rental center I rented from. When I called the MCO rental I ended up speaking to three different people. The final person was the woman who worked in the "body shop" and she was the one that finally confirmed for me that I would not have been given the receipt by the attendant at drop off if I had returned the car with any sort of damage never mind with the damage that they had listed on the claim.

She also advised that I send a letter with a copy of my receipt. They all seemed very surprised that I had my receipt.

Basiclly it is on me to prove that I returned the car in the same condition in which I rented it and the receipt is the only proof of that.

Good luck.

 

[manning]

Unless you purchase, the over priced, damage waiver from the rental car agency you are responsible for all damages. You may have coverage from a credit card or from your own auto policy and the rental car agency may chose to collect directly from them BUT they have the option of billing you directly and you're responsible to get reimbursed.

Diners Club is generally primary coverage but the rental car agency has an agreement with you not Diners Club for the car.

The guy at the agency was being a (three letter word). I was giving him a signal. Being in big business I also know they are going to go to whoever they can get the money the easiest.

Been around the block, done that.

 

[seashoreCM]

You still need to report the accident to your insurance company, just as if the accident was with your own car. Seeing that you already left town and been gone for several weeks you can send a report to the police where the accident occurred, if you can find out whom without any effort looking them up. Also report the accident to your credit card company. On all of these reports, clearly state that you dispute that the accident even happened, if that is the case, twice, first at the beginning of the description and second, at the end of the description.

If the police contact you directly about an accidnet you did not have with your rental car or a city contact you directly about a parking or speeding ticket you did not get with your rental car, send it back unanswered saying it is not yours. Your dealings here are with the rental company only, not directly with the city. The rental company has to send you a copy of the ticket or citation, too.

 

[erikthewise]

Prior to being an insurance agent I was a police officer for 7.5 years. It was very common to find the wrong plates on rental cars when we stopped them. Seems like the guys who put the plates on don't pay very much attention to getting the plates on the proper cars. Sometimes they even came back to a different make car.

Wrong plates?! A number of years ago I rented from Hertz in San Diego, and was given a car that had NO plates, front or back! I didn't discover this until I received a parking ticket citing absence of plates! Hertz was only too happy to give my address to SDPD so they could mail me the bill for the ticket. I didn't pay it, and nothing ever came of it.

Now I try to look at the car a little more carefully before driving away.