Suspended license and car rental

[jen0610]

I don't know all back ground on the why of the suspended license, but one of my co-works got into a heated argument with her daughter at lunch today and I got the joy of listening to one side of it.

But the basis's of the argument got me wondering, cause I have no clue who is right.

What it boils down to is, the daughter is going on a road trip, but her license is suspended (don't even get me started on the whole illegal aspect of driving with a suspended license) and she is renting a car, because hers won't make the journey.

Mom is telling her that the car rental place will run a check on her license and she won't be allowed to rent the car. Daughter is telling her that they don't. From listening to them continue to argue, I am understanding that if they do ask, she is just telling them that someone else will be driving the car, which they won't be. Only she will. She is even having a friend go with her to pick up the car and drive it off the lot if need be.

It's been so long since we had to rent a car, I couldn't remember if they run your license or not. Mom asked me if I knew and I said no clue, but then wonder mind said ask the DIS members. Someone is bound to know if they do or not.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

Oh lord where to start?? If her license is suspended, she should not be driving, period. And her attitude about it is bothering me. It's what wrong with people today. I can do what I want attitude. I'm 99% sure they will run your license. At least I hope they do.

 

[TLSnell1981]

You MUST present a VALID license to rent a vehicle.

 

[SC Minnie]

I don't know if they run your license. DH rented a car when we were in Orlando this summer. He had left his license at the airport screening area. (yeah this was not a fun trip with no picture ID for him) Anyway, the car rental company used my license at check in. If they ran it, they did it within a minute or 2 while we were standing there.

 

[wilkeliza]

The most definitely run your license as you have to provide a valid license at time of rental and when you pick it up. I can't believe this young lady is not take the severity of having her license suspended. That isn't something they just take away because you got in one accident. On top of that a friend is helping her get the car if need be. SMH.

 

[cabanafrau]

Not sure they run the license, but they may do an insurance check, which will catch it.

 

[BLAZEY]

When we rented in California for our trip to a wedding they took both Dh and my licences as I was the renter and DH would be doing the bulk of the driving. They do check for driving record.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

I just did a mock car rental on line. There is a spot for your driver license number.

 

[sunshinehighway]

She won't be able to rent the car. Car rental places don't let you rent a car for someone else either. The friend would have to rent the car herself.

 

[jen0610]

I was pretty sure that they did, but HEY stranger things do happen.

And I totally agree with the what the heck is she thinking. I just don't get it.

 

[piccolopat]

She won't be able to rent the car. Car rental places don't let you rent a car for someone else either. The friend would have to rent the car herself.

... and unless she is added as a driver (not likely without a valid licensed), she won't be authorized to drive the car. If she does anyway and there is an accident or other issue, she's in a lot of trouble both civilly and possibly criminally.

 

[linzjane88]

They do require a valid license of the person matching the booking, at least at Alamo.

I am the vacation planner and vacation driver of our family trips. Last year I accidentally grabbed my expired drivers license (I had just renewed) from my purse when swapping it into my vacation bag. They wouldn't let me rent at the counter and had to switch the entire reservation into my husbands name. They were nice enough to keep my booked price though.

Side point: You also can't buy alcohol with an expired license. . A week long 'adults only' trip with my husband and I spent the time trying to sneak boos like a teenager. (I'm 28!). We had success with him buying my alcohol at quick service places where I wasn't visible and at Nine Dragons. The downside there was that you had to eat at Nine Dragons .

 

[linzjane88]

With that kind of attitude in life her decision making will catch up on her soon enough even if she does 'get away with it' when it comes to the rental! I suspect making bad choices isn't limited to transportation.

 

[TLSnell1981]

• I don't know if they run your license. DH rented a car when we were in Orlando this summer. He had left his license at the airport screening area. (yeah this was not a fun trip with no picture ID for him) Anyway, the car rental company used my license at check in. If they ran it, they did it within a minute or 2 while we were standing there.

  I left my license at home a couple of years ago. The rental agreement was in my name and had to change the reservation, even though DH was listed as an additional driver.

 

[bcla]

They may or may not do it. Implied permission to search driving records is given in standard rental agreements.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/travel/04prac.html

Another surprise you may discover at the rental counter is that many companies now check your driving record before giving you the keys to a car. You might not find out this is happening when you hand over your driver's license, but most agencies disclose it somewhere on their Web site. (When I rented a car from Thrifty in Michigan last summer, I had to sign a form acknowledging I had been told about this policy.)

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and Thrifty all check their customers' driving records through Department of Motor Vehicles databases — at least some of the time.

"I'm not sure that it's done every single time, but enough that it warrants being included in our policies," said Jason Logan, a spokesman for Dollar and Thrifty. Among the major car rental companies, Enterprise is an exception to this trend. "We do not run a D.M.V. check on drivers," said Christy Conrad, an Enterprise spokeswoman. "We inspect the driver's license to check that it's 'facially valid.' "

Neil Abrams, president of the Abrams Consulting Group, which works with the car rental industry, said that some companies began doing these checks more than a decade ago, and that over time the technology linking Department of Motor Vehicles records has improved — and gotten more affordable. Even so, he questioned whether companies check every customer for every rental. "There are 100 million rental transactions a year in the industry, domestically," Mr. Abrams said. "That's a lot of driver's licenses that have to be validated."

Most companies list on their Web site reasons they might reject a customer based on his or her driving record, which include things like operating a vehicle without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol (D.U.I.), driving while intoxicated (D.W.I.), or being involved in two or more accidents in the past 36 months. (A friend found out his driver's license had been suspended — for unpaid parking tickets — when he tried to pick up a rental car, even before the D.M.V. notice arrived.)

If you've had any convictions for driving violations within the last three years, you can check whether your record might prevent you from renting a car by calling a company that provides this service to the car rental industry, TML (800-388-9099). TML charges $9.95 to run a driver background check, though some states do not allow this, including California and Pennsylvania.​

The real kicker is being caught with a suspended license by police or if there's a collision. In that case the rental agency will find out.

 

[ashley0139]

You absolutely have to present a valid license when you rent a car. Whether they actually run it or not I'm not sure. Theoretically, the friend could rent the car and drive it off the lot, but both girls will be in a world of trouble if there is a problem and she is driving the rental without being an authorized driver (and especially with a suspended license).

 

[disneyfantotheend]

This is wrong in so many ways. I hope the girl gets rejected, because if she gets this car, she will think she can get away with anything. I know they take your license, but not sure they do anything beyond that. As far as I know, they do not take your license off of you when it is suspended. If they do, she won't be able to present it and problem is solved. If they don't and they just look at it for expiration date, she may get away with it.

A few years ago when we rented a car, every driver other than spouse needed a major credit card for the reservation, so I am thinking the friend, who may be willing to say she is driving the car, may not be willing to risk her card being charged for any issues that may occur.

 

[nkereina]

I am understanding that if they do ask, she is just telling them that someone else will be driving the car, which they won't be.

I assume they run the license. If they do and they ask her about it, and she tells them this, the car rental company will tell her that person needs to be there with their license and their own credit card in order to rent the car. We just rented a car over the weekend - the reservation was in my name, but I let them know DH would be doing the driving and I didn't need to be listed as a driver. DH had to come inside and present his license and put the transaction under his own credit card, as well as sign the paperwork.

I think your friend's daughter will be SOL.

 

[pryncess527]

I hope they do, because her attitude sucks.

Based on my experience renting a car last week, where I inserted my license into a kiosk and was on my way in under 2 minutes, I'm a bit doubtful they actually do. I'm sure they reserve the right . . . but doing it is another matter.

 

[Colleen27]

They do run the license in my experience. That was actually how we found out mine was suspended once; I'd forgotten all about a stupid ticket I'd gotten thanks to the county's annual door-to-door "dog census" and never paid it (dumbest thing ever - we'd only lived in the county for a month, the dog was licensed in the county we'd moved from, and I was 8mo pregnant and still unpacking so finding the dog's shot and spay records to update her license wasn't high on my priority list). And it did flag when we went to rent a car, so we ended up renting in DH's name on that trip.

The most definitely run your license as you have to provide a valid license at time of rental and when you pick it up. I can't believe this young lady is not take the severity of having her license suspended. That isn't something they just take away because you got in one accident. On top of that a friend is helping her get the car if need be. SMH.

That depends on where you live. In my state, suspending a drivers' license is the first-line punishment for just about everything. I know people who have had licenses suspended over an unlicensed dog, an unmowed lawn, unpaid child support, delinquent court costs, improper equipment on a bicycle, old parking tickets, a loud muffler, and dozens of other violations that have nothing to do with driving skill or safety. Any overdue debt to any court or law enforcement agency is grounds for suspension of driving privileges, as counterproductive as that sounds. And unlike suspensions for moving violations, DUIs, etc., there's no set duration for debt-triggered suspensions. If you don't pay that dog license fine, your license will be suspended for the rest of your life. It isn't quite debtor's prison but it is close.