1st time "free" rental and $90 for what?

When my pregnant wife and I took our car into the dealership for maintenance it needed to stay in the shop for a day. The mechanic being a nice guy gave us a free day rental pass for the Enterprise inside the dealership so my wife and I were not without a car. We sat at the Enterprise desk for about 30 min before a 20ish year old eminem comes walking in with his pants saggin, boxers hanging out, and gold teeth blinging in the sun. He tells us "Forgot bout y'all. You have to come across the street" The Enterprise office was across the street. He then drives like a bat out of hell (50mph in a 25 zone at one point I remember) and scares the shit out of my wife while crossing the highway. Then we get there and wait in line about 15mins, then I hand the man at the counter the pass (basically a enterprise business card with the mechanics name on it and "Free Day Rental" scribbled on it and try to be cool with the guy because the lady before me was a b*tch and kept grilling him. The guy looks at this and starts the paperwork. He then asks me if I want insurance, I say yes and he gets my credit card and swipes it. He tells me I will only be charged something like $6 because this is a free rental so i sign. He walks out to the car and writes the milage on the rental agreement and rips my copy off and hands it to me. I didnt care about the lack of professionalism because I just wanted the car to go baby shopping. I drive the car a total of about 40 miles, home (parked in the garage) back to the dealership and I put in $8 in gas as to return it with more gas in it than I got it with just to be safe. I drive to the dealership, pay the bill (almost $600), and the lady at the counter says to just leave the keys here because the Enterprise office inside is where the car stays. I figured that was that but then I look on my credit card statement and notice that Enterprise has charged me $90.93 for something. I tried calling Customer Service but after an hr on hold I get discouraged and hang up. I guess I gotta go in person and talk to them? I know damage will cost more than $90 and I have no clue what this $90 is for but I know this isnt how a "free rental" should work. The military doesnt pay enough to just hand that type of cash over. Never again will I deal with Enterprise after reading this website and next time I will give the rental car a "white glove" inspection.

[FailingEnterpriseAdmin]

Originally Posted by Un-registered

When my pregnant wife and I took our car into the dealership for maintenance it needed to stay in the shop for a day. The mechanic being a nice guy gave us a free day rental pass for the Enterprise inside the dealership so my wife and I were not without a car. We sat at the Enterprise desk for about 30 min before a 20ish year old eminem comes walking in with his pants saggin, boxers hanging out, and gold teeth blinging in the sun. He tells us "Forgot bout y'all. You have to come across the street" The Enterprise office was across the street. He then drives like a bat out of hell (50mph in a 25 zone at one point I remember) and scares the shit out of my wife while crossing the highway. Then we get there and wait in line about 15mins, then I hand the man at the counter the pass (basically a enterprise business card with the mechanics name on it and "Free Day Rental" scribbled on it and try to be cool with the guy because the lady before me was a b*tch and kept grilling him. The guy looks at this and starts the paperwork. He then asks me if I want insurance, I say yes and he gets my credit card and swipes it. He tells me I will only be charged something like $6 because this is a free rental so i sign. He walks out to the car and writes the milage on the rental agreement and rips my copy off and hands it to me. I didnt care about the lack of professionalism because I just wanted the car to go baby shopping. I drive the car a total of about 40 miles, home (parked in the garage) back to the dealership and I put in $8 in gas as to return it with more gas in it than I got it with just to be safe. I drive to the dealership, pay the bill (almost $600), and the lady at the counter says to just leave the keys here because the Enterprise office inside is where the car stays. I figured that was that but then I look on my credit card statement and notice that Enterprise has charged me $90.93 for something. I tried calling Customer Service but after an hr on hold I get discouraged and hang up. I guess I gotta go in person and talk to them? I know damage will cost more than $90 and I have no clue what this $90 is for but I know this isnt how a "free rental" should work. The military doesnt pay enough to just hand that type of cash over. Never again will I deal with Enterprise after reading this website and next time I will give the rental car a "white glove" inspection.

When you agreed to take the insurance, the guy probably gave you all three coverages, which can easily add up to over $30 per day, and this is definitely not covered under your "free rental".

Yeah, you got swindled. That's why Failing Enterprise exists.

The only way to avoid this is to grill them on every detail. Of course, then they'll come on the discussion board and bitch about what a demanding customer you are. You can't win. Rent from somebody else.

Your free rental cost $90. That's funny, but that's the Enterprise way. You're lucky you didn't get a free upgrade. That would have cost even more.

[GP51 Weidner's Bitch]

Are you sure you didn't misunderstand the guy when he said $6 a day? That might have been the gas price if it wasn't brought back with the same amount, $6/gallon. If he did say the insurance was $6/day, he should be slapped.

Do you still have your pink copy? Look on the insurance part where your initials accept the insurance. Just to the right of that it clearly states how much it is per day. If you don't, you can call any Enterprise in town and have them print out a receipt for you.

I'm sorry they swindled you. Next time, especially if dealing with Enterprise, read everything you're signing and don't take anybody's word for shit!

I think I know what may have happened. You said the total they charged you was something like $90. That seems pretty expensive for just 1 day even for Enterprise. Look at the time you rented and the time you returned or when the dealer told ERAC you returned. If it was longer than 24 hours, they probably charged you for 2 days. I'm not sure what state you were renting in (as far as sales tax) but I figured a total of around $90 for a two day rental with coverage. They must have either not honored the 1 day free coupon or maybe someone else closed the ticket and simply overlooked the fact that the dealer was paying for the day.

I found this out by just figuring that an average dealer rate is about $25
The coverage was probably around $15
Taxes were about $10 for both days

Take into account they probably charged you for two days for some reason and your total would be about $90 ($50 + $30 + $10)

This may have just been a mistake by whoever closed the ticket so I would contact the branch and let them know. If that doesn't work, I'd get the dealer involved and I'm sure ERAC will cave then.

I hope this helped

[FailingEnterpriseAdmin]

Originally Posted by Unregistered44

I think I know what may have happened. You said the total they charged you was something like $90. That seems pretty expensive for just 1 day even for Enterprise. Look at the time you rented and the time you returned or when the dealer told ERAC you returned. If it was longer than 24 hours, they probably charged you for 2 days. I'm not sure what state you were renting in (as far as sales tax) but I figured a total of around $90 for a two day rental with coverage. They must have either not honored the 1 day free coupon or maybe someone else closed the ticket and simply overlooked the fact that the dealer was paying for the day.

I found this out by just figuring that an average dealer rate is about $25
The coverage was probably around $15
Taxes were about $10 for both days

Take into account they probably charged you for two days for some reason and your total would be about $90 ($50 + $30 + $10)

This may have just been a mistake by whoever closed the ticket so I would contact the branch and let them know. If that doesn't work, I'd get the dealer involved and I'm sure ERAC will cave then.

I hope this helped

Don't forget that Enterprise pulls the "calendar day" scam also. Insurance companies are billed for every calendar day you have the car, so maybe they were able to add an extra day in there on the insurance, also. (These facts I heard from a VP; let me know if they're not complete).

Originally Posted by FailingEnterpriseAdmin

Don't forget that Enterprise pulls the "calendar day" scam also. Insurance companies are billed for every calendar day you have the car, so maybe they were able to add an extra day in there on the insurance, also. (These facts I heard from a VP; let me know if they're not complete).

Calender days are only supposed to be on insurance and body shop rentals. Dealer rentals are supposed to be 24 hour day. At least that's what is was when I was there. If they put this dealership rental on calender day, then it was probably by mistake. Not every branch is trying to scam the customer, admin.

How many days did this customer have the car for? I didn't see any mention of that. He just said he drove it about 40 miles. That could have been over the course of a couple of days. This $6 mention he brought up sounds like the extra cost for an upgrade. The erac employee could have given him all the coverage which comes to about $25/day give or take. There are many possible explanations to what happened. And not EVERY one of them is the enterprise employee trying to screw the customer.

Plus I'd like to mention I thouroughly enjoyed the dramatic descriptions this guy used to describe his plight. He throws in that his wife was pregnant, the driver drove like a "bat out of hell" going 50 in a 25 MPH zone, (which is pretty amazing since the branch is right across the street). How do you get the car up to 50 when you have to just go across the street? Then this customer just assumes he's being charged for damge (unlikley in this case, I would think). It is so entertaining reading how the customer describes their problem. I am always amused at the adjectives and unnecessary bits of irrelevant information that a person uses to try and convince someone that they've been wronged (all for dramatic effect).

Well I found out why they charged me $90. The insurance is $12 a day not $6 like I thought so that is my mistake. I had the car for 1 day and dropped it off at the lot. They charged me insurance for 7 days? When I told the rep that I only had the car for 1 day he told me that this doesnt make sense which I agreed. He then looked into the dates and it seems someone at the dealership dropped the ball and returned the car late, they didnt say how late it was but the calculations still dont add up (12x7=84 then about $6 tax=$90) but where is the actual rental fees if I didnt return the car? Oh yeah realitycheck it is pretty easy to hit 50mph going down a side street before you cross the highway, I'm sure if you have ever driven a rental car you have hit 50mph in a matter of seconds. The dude driving like that just shows the lack of professionalism by this individual (not enterprise i know but...). As for my wife being pregnant, Im just stating this to show how irresponsible this rep was. I'm not going to b*tch to get someone in trouble at their job unless something actually happens, but to say the least it kinda pissed me off. Also, I didnt know saggin pants is classified as casual or business attire now but I dont even know if Enterprise even enforces a dress code. So right now as it stands Enterprise said they would return the $90 minus the $12 I owe them which is fine, that was the agreement. So this is the case, they charged me insurance but no rental fees for a week? How does this work because if I had the car for a week wouldnt they charge me for the car AND insurance, but they only charged me insurance and no car? They were more than willing to refund the money, this is a simple mistake I know but come on? A weeks worth of insurance for no car? I'll watch my credit card statement and make sure it gets refunded. ***Check your statements!***

Originally Posted by Un-registered

Well I found out why they charged me $90. The insurance is $12 a day not $6 like I thought so that is my mistake. I had the car for 1 day and dropped it off at the lot. They charged me insurance for 7 days? When I told the rep that I only had the car for 1 day he told me that this doesnt make sense which I agreed. He then looked into the dates and it seems someone at the dealership dropped the ball and returned the car late, they didnt say how late it was but the calculations still dont add up (12x7=84 then about $6 tax=$90) but where is the actual rental fees if I didnt return the car? Oh yeah realitycheck it is pretty easy to hit 50mph going down a side street before you cross the highway, I'm sure if you have ever driven a rental car you have hit 50mph in a matter of seconds. The dude driving like that just shows the lack of professionalism by this individual (not enterprise i know but...). As for my wife being pregnant, Im just stating this to show how irresponsible this rep was. I'm not going to b*tch to get someone in trouble at their job unless something actually happens, but to say the least it kinda pissed me off. Also, I didnt know saggin pants is classified as casual or business attire now but I dont even know if Enterprise even enforces a dress code. So right now as it stands Enterprise said they would return the $90 minus the $12 I owe them which is fine, that was the agreement. So this is the case, they charged me insurance but no rental fees for a week? How does this work because if I had the car for a week wouldnt they charge me for the car AND insurance, but they only charged me insurance and no car? They were more than willing to refund the money, this is a simple mistake I know but come on? A weeks worth of insurance for no car? I'll watch my credit card statement and make sure it gets refunded. ***Check your statements!***

They could have the rental part getting direct billed to the dealer. That would explain why you were charged for just the coverage. The rental branch didn't know the car returned, so the charges kept accumulating. And the only reason I mentioned your descriptive detail of what happened is because people have a tendency to leave out convenient details or add dramatic adjectives when trying to convince someone that they've been wronged. I saw it so many times when I worked there. I wasn't really trying to single you out. I've just seen it so many times so far on this site. I knew this overcharge was just some simple error, but admin mentioned that erac was probably scamming you, and I responded. I don't like erac from an employee's standpoint and I can see how people would not like erac from a customer's standpoint. But, there are several people on this site that think everything erac employees do is for the purpose of scamming the customer. That's just not the case.

[Splitmaster]

Good point realitycheck. I wonder if the employee thought the wife was so far along in her pregnancy that he thought she might be due to give birth at any moment. In that case, maybe he was just trying to get her to somewhere safe (the branch) just in case she decided to pop out her kid. I think he deserves a pat on the back for being so concerned. Or I could have just had one too many hits off the crack pipe......

Originally Posted by Un-registered

Well I found out why they charged me $90. The insurance is $12 a day not $6 like I thought so that is my mistake. I had the car for 1 day and dropped it off at the lot. They charged me insurance for 7 days? When I told the rep that I only had the car for 1 day he told me that this doesnt make sense which I agreed. He then looked into the dates and it seems someone at the dealership dropped the ball and returned the car late, they didnt say how late it was but the calculations still dont add up (12x7=84 then about $6 tax=$90) but where is the actual rental fees if I didnt return the car? Oh yeah realitycheck it is pretty easy to hit 50mph going down a side street before you cross the highway, I'm sure if you have ever driven a rental car you have hit 50mph in a matter of seconds. The dude driving like that just shows the lack of professionalism by this individual (not enterprise i know but...). As for my wife being pregnant, Im just stating this to show how irresponsible this rep was. I'm not going to b*tch to get someone in trouble at their job unless something actually happens, but to say the least it kinda pissed me off. Also, I didnt know saggin pants is classified as casual or business attire now but I dont even know if Enterprise even enforces a dress code. So right now as it stands Enterprise said they would return the $90 minus the $12 I owe them which is fine, that was the agreement. So this is the case, they charged me insurance but no rental fees for a week? How does this work because if I had the car for a week wouldnt they charge me for the car AND insurance, but they only charged me insurance and no car? They were more than willing to refund the money, this is a simple mistake I know but come on? A weeks worth of insurance for no car? I'll watch my credit card statement and make sure it gets refunded. ***Check your statements!***

Mistake #1 was dropping the car with the dealership rather then the branch. They in turn, as they so often do, probably did not tell ERAC that you had dropped the car and it was discovered a week later. There would be no rental fee charges to you if the dealer was paying since it would be a direct bill and thus you would only be charged the 7 days of insurance coverage. Not to pick on you, and I don't like ERAC either, however, before you go online and start running off have your facts straight first. #2 I support our military however, I can't stand people who have to bring up the fact that they are in the military. It is almost as if they are trying to gain some sympathy. I served 8 years went about my life busted my ass at ERAC for 8 months while getting my MBA and now have something much better in life. So if you don't like your military pay check then find something else. As I once said to the guy who wanted to rent a car from me that "I am a Lt. Col. in the Army " I don't give a shit who you are or what you do.