ERAC accuses me of damage that isn't even there

We have had a long-standing, pleasant relationship with Erac. In fact, before this week, I would have doubted the truthfulness of the posts on this forum (sorry.)

Last weekend, we rented a car from Erac for the weekend. The next morning, we receive a call from the manager that they found a "small dent" on the roof. I calmly gathered my camera and a notebook and headed down to the office. No dent found. I crouch down, look from all sides, stand on my tip-toes...no dent.

I ask the manager to find the dent for me. He can't find it at first. Then he says "well, if you look at it kinda from an angle, well...it's not so obvious in this light..."

I explain to the manager that he can't possibly plan to hold me responsible for a dent that he cant even find without crouching at a certain angle. (And, by the way I STILL can't find the dent.) He says, "well, it's there...you can dispute it with your insurance company if you wish."

After much back and forth, he agrees to discuss the case with his adjuster to see if they'll pursue it. He did finally agree that "it didn't look so bad looking at it this time." He said the adjuster would call me at 8:30 -- and as of 2:00 no word.

I took digital pictures, refused to sign anything, and took notes of the entire situation. Some of the stories on this forum have me worried...any other advice? Thanks in advance!

If your story is in fact just as you describe it there is no way possible that you will held accountable for anything for several reasons. Don't have the time to list all of them but they are fairly obvious.

Even if the damage was extensive if you were not notified of any damage when you returned and paid for the car it is impossible for ERAC to hold you accountable for the damage b/c they can't prove when it happened. It could have happened after you dropped of the car and put into ERAC's hands.
Once you return the car to ERAC and turn over the keys and car it is their responsibility.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

We have had a long-standing, pleasant relationship with Erac. In fact, before this week, I would have doubted the truthfulness of the posts on this forum (sorry.)

Last weekend, we rented a car from Erac for the weekend. The next morning, we receive a call from the manager that they found a "small dent" on the roof. I calmly gathered my camera and a notebook and headed down to the office. No dent found. I crouch down, look from all sides, stand on my tip-toes...no dent.

I ask the manager to find the dent for me. He can't find it at first. Then he says "well, if you look at it kinda from an angle, well...it's not so obvious in this light..."

I explain to the manager that he can't possibly plan to hold me responsible for a dent that he cant even find without crouching at a certain angle. (And, by the way I STILL can't find the dent.) He says, "well, it's there...you can dispute it with your insurance company if you wish."

After much back and forth, he agrees to discuss the case with his adjuster to see if they'll pursue it. He did finally agree that "it didn't look so bad looking at it this time." He said the adjuster would call me at 8:30 -- and as of 2:00 no word.

I took digital pictures, refused to sign anything, and took notes of the entire situation. Some of the stories on this forum have me worried...any other advice? Thanks in advance!

No damage mentioned when car returned - no responsibility up to you. Pretty plain and simple. Don't let them scare you at all. If they didn't tell you anything and agreed upon return to good conditions, you are off the hook. Just throw them under the bus for ESQi call though, thats a fun thing to do.

Thanks for the responses. Something I should have clarified is that I dropped the car off after-hours and they called the next day. As hard as it is to believe, I am not exaggerating -- when I was taking the pictures a few customers in the waiting area overheard my dealings with the manager and took me aside to say I was right -- no damage.

I *think* they dropped this -- the manager promised I would receive a call promptly at 8:30 and they never called -- and this afternoon the $300 hold was removed from my credit card and they charged the originally-agreed-upon $93 for the weekend.

I am still rather disturbed about this business practice -- I wonder how many unsuspecting customers get stuck with the bill. And because there isn't even a dent THERE, I can't even say "well next time I'll inspect the car more carefully." Not very comforting!

Thanks again for your responses.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the responses. Something I should have clarified is that I dropped the car off after-hours and they called the next day. As hard as it is to believe, I am not exaggerating -- when I was taking the pictures a few customers in the waiting area overheard my dealings with the manager and took me aside to say I was right -- no damage.

I *think* they dropped this -- the manager promised I would receive a call promptly at 8:30 and they never called -- and this afternoon the $300 hold was removed from my credit card and they charged the originally-agreed-upon $93 for the weekend.

I am still rather disturbed about this business practice -- I wonder how many unsuspecting customers get stuck with the bill. And because there isn't even a dent THERE, I can't even say "well next time I'll inspect the car more carefully." Not very comforting!

Thanks again for your responses.

I believe you didn't do any damage to the vehicle but honestly, the manager was probably just covering all his bases by calling you. Roof damage is supposed to be taken in to the shop if there is any sort of dent whatsoever. Roof damage can be hard to spot too. One time I thought I saw roof damage on a car another branch was lending me so I double checked the roof alone for literally a minute and didn't see anything. When I got back to my branch the first thing the manager said to me was "how come you didn't see the big dent on the roof", and it was pretty big. The branch you dealt with probably took it to the shop just to make sure it wouldn't be part of their "uninsured losses." However, if for some reason the dent needed to be fixed, they wouldn't be allowed to try to collect money from you two weeks later if they had never informed you after you dropped the car off. Its a good idea to never drop a car off after the branch is closed. People try that sometimes because they have damaged the car and erac employees know that. Thats why those cars get a little extra inspection when they are checked in. Plus, you are not there to dispute anything if they do find damage and you can't be sure you didn't cause damage because the vehicle was not in your possession the entire time. I assure you though that erac wouldn't try to charge you for a dent that wasn't there. There is actually no way for a branch to profit off that.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If your story is in fact just as you describe it there is no way possible that you will held accountable for anything for several reasons. Don't have the time to list all of them but they are fairly obvious.

Even if the damage was extensive if you were not notified of any damage when you returned and paid for the car it is impossible for ERAC to hold you accountable for the damage b/c they can't prove when it happened. It could have happened after you dropped of the car and put into ERAC's hands.
Once you return the car to ERAC and turn over the keys and car it is their responsibility.

Well, that's not true actually. If you PHYSICALLY hand them the keys at the Branch then, yes, the car is their responsibilty. BUT, if you drop the car off after closing hours and use the drop box or if you drop the car at another location such as a repair shop the car remains the responsibility of the renter until such time as an ERAC employee checks the car in.

I understand that, if you follow the thread above you would realize that my comment was made before the original poster told us that they dropped the car off after hours. At first, they did not disclose this important piece of information.

If loss control checks previous contracts and the damage is noted on any of them, then you'll be off the hook. Otherwise, the damage is definitely going to go on you. However, if it's a dent that can just be popped out by ERAC's dent-fixer guy for cheap you won't have to pay for it.

If you're a frequent renter like you say you are, I'm sure the Branch would rather not piss you off and lose you as a customer.

The lesson to be learned is to never drop the car off after hours. Any rental car company out there would do the same thing to you.