Damage to vehicle post drop-off, customer charged

I recently rented from ERAC, and due to timing, dropped the vehicle off after hours. There was no noticeable damage to the vehicle at this time. The following afternoon we received a call stating there was damage to the back bumper. Long story short, we inspected the damage only to discover that it was very "old", hadn't happened overnight, and was missed in the initial walk-around. We are being charged for this damage. Can anyone send me any advice on arguing this, and/or similar stories?

On another posting someone suggested getting copies of previous rentals on the car to see if it was noted on them. If they say they can't share personal info of other renters tell them to black it out. Here is the title of the other posting

Really long story from a British Enterprise customer.

ask for copies of the damage box for previous rentals. if they say they can't give it b/c of personal info ask for that to be blocked out. its a VERY common trick taught VERY early on to employees.

yup that was me who posted that one too. it should work

Yes, we tried asking for previous reports on this car. Our "Regional Loss Control", person said that none of these reports contained damage information. How do we demand them? They are not, no surprise, being very cooperative.

did you bring the keys back or leave them for them? ask why they didn't call you first thing that morning. did the contract you signed make you initial for the condition of the car? that is the section you want from previous rentals. the only other thing i suggest is don't bring up the word "lawyer" b/c then they won't deal with you at all.

Thanks. Right now our only threat has been a call to St. Louis. Not sure if that will do any good.

Are they trying to nail you for a tiny scratch or a large dent? The previous rental agreements should indicate such damage at some point, but sometimes damage is undocumented either by mistake or on purpose (to stick the customer with the cost rather than hitting the branch.) Your insurance carrier will most likely have more luck and pull to get those previous contracts that erac won't release. The damage history of the car should have nothing to do with personal info that they can omit anyways. We had something similar happen at one of the old branches that I worked at, but the car was dropped at a dealership rather than our branch. The customer go stuck with it. But if you dropped the keys and the car is on their lot--it's a he said she said--and if the proper amount of pressure is placed on erac specifically by ins companies, then they will probably drop it and write it off unless it is a huge amount of damage.

I know this won't be the popular stance to take in this particular discussion, but you must also keep in mind it is possible it happened while you had the car. With the type of bumper in use on most cars today it is almost silly to say damage looks 'old'. If you took it to a body-shop, they may be able to give you some idea how old damage is, but even that I doubt.

I seriously doubt anyone in their loss control department would lie to you either, because the chance is simply too great they will be caught, and they know this.

But, if you really want those contracts, contact the claims department at your insurance company. Explain the situation and inform them that you do not actually want to file a claim on your insurance at this point, but would appreciate it if they would acquire copies of the old rental contracts for you, for your own piece of mind. It will take them all of fifteen minutes to get the information for you, and you can bet if the information is going to an insurance company it won't be tampered with. Enjoy.

this is very true, you might have not checked too well initially figuring "this won't happen to me". play fair with them and they should play fair with you. i agree with jeanho, normally that dept is on the up-and-up
(now i will wait to get bashed for agreeing with jeanho)