$500+ damage and no pics for over a month?!

The alleged damage is above the door, along the frame. The ERAC rep said that it looks like somebody tried to pry their way into the car... When I had the rental, I noticed that there was some paint missing along the top frame, but nothing dented in like ERAC claims.

They sent me an estimate and I wanted some pictures as evidence. It has now been a month since the incident and they're telling me that the car is rented out and they are unable to get a hold of the renter because he/she is out of town. Apparently, the body shop never took any pictures either.

What should I do? The whole situation is ridiculous, since I'm confident that the damage was already there, and because I would have never thought to look "up". The ERAC rep and I were too busy looking down, checking the main body for damage.

Buy the fake insurance they sell next time you rent

1st, ignore all the replies that instruct you to "buy the insurance next time"and also the ones saying "what did you expect, that you could tear up a car for free".

2nd, if you haven't already contact your insurance agent and ask him for a claims supervisor in your area. Any reputable company will be glad to contact Enterprise about the alleged damage and should be able to twist arms.

3rd, contact the local BBB and file a complaint.

4th, check your local state gov web site for consumer fraud protection laws in your state, most have a grievance procedure in palce.

5th, contact your local news station that investiagates fraud and company abuses, one fo those "call for action" type things, they love stories like this and Enterprise avoids bad press like the plague.

6th, check your yellow pages for the Enterprise Admin office and start from the top down, if you have a family lawyer have them start making inquires.

these easy steps will make this go away. I have worked for "E" in the past (6.5 years) and now work for another rental company. The way subrogation works to collect and file for damages limits the number of times a car can be rented after discovered damage becomes no longer enforcable due to the car being out of control of the owners (in this case Enterprise). Overall, dont worry and dont fold they have no case once they let the car go out on rent again.

good luck

Thank you for your response. You're saying that their right to claim damages goes away after they rent the car out again? Do you have evidence of this?

Plenty of losses to my spreadsheets attributed to undocumented damage. Plus a little trick the managers do is to try and mvoe a damaged car to someone elses books, once they rent it your branch can no longer be charged for the damage. Thats the way it worked back in the day.

At my current company our subro department doesnt pursue damage unless we claim and file prior to the car being rerented. Some damage slides by, if you dont catch it its charged as an undocumented loss. The inspection process is part of the dispute process also. If you note any damage prior to leaving then no company can charge you for it.

Your agent and adjuster will be more familar with the Enterprise practices in your area. If their experience is Enterpsie folds when pressed then have them go full court.

As far as evidence or procedures, good luck in getting those without a subpeona. They wont volunteer it. Thats why sites like this are good for the consumers to keep them from adding to a branches bottom line due to rental car companies fun and games. The sad fact is we bank on alot of people not to dispute small claims to help offset our losses. Alot of people just dont feel its worth their time to argue about 500.00 or less to help avoid a claim, thats Enterprise's favorite way of settling, avoid a claim and just pay "X" amount.

Remember, cars our assest, we make more on selling them then renting them (in the big picture), we are allowed by remanufactures and auction a set amount of damage so dont let them hold you over the fire on small nicks and door dings, thats allowable. Your damage was different, granted, but their failure to provide the information makes their claim suspect at best.

[I'm Gonna Git You Tucka]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thank you for your response. You're saying that their right to claim damages goes away after they rent the car out again? Do you have evidence of this?

Not if they have a signed damage report from you. If you signed nothing then you should be okay but if you signed the damage report and they documented the damage on the next rental they have the right to rerent the car if the damage is not serious enough to warrant fixing right away.

Not if it’s subrogatable

Your all idiots. You rented it. You damaged it. Now pay for it.
Enterprise does not scam people. This is so dumb.

I'm finding the same issues with a suburban I rented last weekend. Upon returning the car they say there were dents in the roof. I did not see the dents even when I returned it and looked with the agent. He said it looked more like scuff marks from luggage however his computer program wouldn't change the word 'dent' to 'scuff' mark. Like an idiot I just signed whatever form and was on my way. He assured me it was no big deal.
We weren't even up on the roof and the car was parked in a vegas VIP valet garage all weekend.
Upon calling the adjuster from Enterprise they say they took it out of circulation for 3 days to repair and:
-refused to stop the repair
-will not get an alternate estimate as theirs came in at $981
-will not let me or anyone else see the car
-will not pull prior contracts to see if it was noted on prior rentals

I finally got pictures in the mail and I STILL don't see dents even in their pictures. Funny though as now it just asks for $125 for the repair... I assume they're going for what you say about betting on that I don't dispute it-- and frankly I'm thinking about just letting it go and paying it... but on principle this is still eating away at me... any suggestions? ideas?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm finding the same issues with a suburban I rented last weekend. Upon returning the car they say there were dents in the roof. I did not see the dents even when I returned it and looked with the agent. He said it looked more like scuff marks from luggage however his computer program wouldn't change the word 'dent' to 'scuff' mark. Like an idiot I just signed whatever form and was on my way. He assured me it was no big deal.
We weren't even up on the roof and the car was parked in a vegas VIP valet garage all weekend.
Upon calling the adjuster from Enterprise they say they took it out of circulation for 3 days to repair and:
-refused to stop the repair
-will not get an alternate estimate as theirs came in at $981
-will not let me or anyone else see the car
-will not pull prior contracts to see if it was noted on prior rentals

I finally got pictures in the mail and I STILL don't see dents even in their pictures. Funny though as now it just asks for $125 for the repair... I assume they're going for what you say about betting on that I don't dispute it-- and frankly I'm thinking about just letting it go and paying it... but on principle this is still eating away at me... any suggestions? ideas?

I call bullshit. They said they would not pull prior contracts? That's standard practice.