What Was Your Worst Experience As An Enterprise Customer?

[grass IS greener!]

You mention you're attempting to call the branch and the rep directly?? If they've sent you a bill, it's left the branch's hands and is now in Loss Control's department. Don't dick around w/the branch anymore- work thru the channels that can actually help you... Did you say you rented from the Anaheim CA branch? The names that can help you are:

Area Manager: Matt Brady
Regional Rental Mangaer: Stacey Wheeler
Regional Vice President: Gary Behm
Loss Control Manager: Jeff Vonrheder

Good luck!

Yet again, another customer who damaged a rental vehicle, gets called out on it, and lies saying the damage was already there. People, own up to the damage you cause and stop lieing about it. Pay your dues. Ever heard of karma? It will get you. That's why I left Erac, too many customers who wouldn't own up to the damage they caused. Erac loses millions evey year paying for repairs to cars for damage they cannot collect on because some jerk customer backed into a pole or whatever and won't pay up for what they did. Erac needs to start sueing more people for not paying up.

Thank You for that information! I will definitely call and see if I can talk to any one of them directly. This has been a very upsetting experience for me. I would have no problem acknowledging and paying for damage that may have happened while I had the vehicle. But in this case, there was no damage to the vehicle while it was in my possession and, from similar accounts, other customers have been wronfully charged for damages they didn't commit as well. Not a proper or ethical way to run a business by extorting and defrauding customers but, I realize that it happens and unfortunately too often.

Again, Thank You for your input! It is greatly appreciated!

[grass IS greener!]

Originally Posted by stopwhining

Yet again, another customer who damaged a rental vehicle, gets called out on it, and lies saying the damage was already there. People, own up to the damage you cause and stop lieing about it. Pay your dues. Ever heard of karma? It will get you. That's why I left Erac, too many customers who wouldn't own up to the damage they caused. Erac loses millions evey year paying for repairs to cars for damage they cannot collect on because some jerk customer backed into a pole or whatever and won't pay up for what they did. Erac needs to start sueing more people for not paying up.

Hey jack ass! He said that previous contracts showed prior damage, so giving him the benefit of the doubt doesn't hurt anyone. If he truly damamged the car, they will pursue him for it, if not, then prior records will prove otherwise and they will go after that renter. You and I both know that ERAC employees are out for the fastest fix, the quickest buck, why not help a guy out?

I wonder if that employee that checked in your car was new. You said he looked nervous when he came back in. I'm guessing that they saw this minor damage, looked at your rental agreement, saw it wasn't marked, and started worrying about how to approach you. They should have checked the system for a previous DX before asying anything to you (maybe they did this, I don't know). It could easily have been undocumented damage from previously when that branch gained the car from another office. That happens often. If the damage is not marked on the current rental agreement and is not marked in their computer system, it's difficult for the branch employee to know who caused it and when unless they are familiar with that particular car and remembers seeing the damage. Employees are trained to always do a damage report in situations like that and let loss control figure it out.

This is a training issue at the branch level. Plus no branch wants to take a hit on the OX, so they pass the car around, hoping the branch they pass it to doesn't notice until after it's rented out. That problem exists because of the indiviudalistic and extremely competitive culture that has been created within that company.

My advice is to not take this personally and just call the regional manager and loss control rep that is handling the claim. The branch has nothing to do with DXs once they do the damage reports. It becomes the responsibility of loss control. I doubt the employee is trying to intentionally screw you over. They are just doing the job that they were trained to do. I can understand why this would be frustrating, but I would bet this will get dropped after you talk to the regional manager and loss control rep. These mistakes happened all the time, and very rarely was it a case of purposeful scamming of the customer by the employee. It's simply the fault of piss poor training and an 'every branch for themselves' mentality.

Originally Posted by stopwhining

Yet again, another customer who damaged a rental vehicle, gets called out on it, and lies saying the damage was already there. People, own up to the damage you cause and stop lieing about it. Pay your dues. Ever heard of karma? It will get you. That's why I left Erac, too many customers who wouldn't own up to the damage they caused. Erac loses millions evey year paying for repairs to cars for damage they cannot collect on because some jerk customer backed into a pole or whatever and won't pay up for what they did. Erac needs to start sueing more people for not paying up.

Stopwhining, yes, I'm sure there are people out there that are unscrupulous and won't own up to their responsibilities/obligations. But unless you were there at the Anaheim facility, you have no basis or foundation for making the claim you made. For $900 dollars, there would have had to be sigificant and noticeable damage to the hood. If that was the case, why then did it take the rep over 20 minutes to find damage that should have been so obvious to see from the very beginning?! No, there was no damage. Even the pictures sent by the Enterprise claim office offers no proof that any damage occurred. No, I would pay any damages to the vehicle but there wasn't any. The prior invoices and pictures validate my point. I'm surprised Enterprise even sent me those photos! Enterprise is trying to recoup losses on the car for prior damage because of their mistakes but at my expense. Enterprise is hoping that I will give in and pay this fraudulent bill like so many others. NO WAY! Just think how you would feel if you were charged and billed for something you didn't do? I don't think you'd tolerate that, would you?!?

My guess too is that you didn't leave Enterprise solely because of your contempt for irresponsible customers. Enterprise engages in fraudulent and unethical business practices and I don't believe that all the complaints I've read, concerning others who were wrongfully charged for damages they didn't commit, are from deceitful people. You're right about karma. What goes arond, comes around. I believe that, since you're an ex-employee, you know exactly how Enterprise rips people off and there are other reasons why you really left the company. By defending Enterprise, you condone what they do and you obviously share the same principles, ethics, and morality as they do. Remember what you said about karma?! It does bite you and bites you back hard...

Originally Posted by realitycheck

I wonder if that employee that checked in your car was new. You said he looked nervous when he came back in. I'm guessing that they saw this minor damage, looked at your rental agreement, saw it wasn't marked, and started worrying about how to approach you. They should have checked the system for a previous DX before asying anything to you (maybe they did this, I don't know). It could easily have been undocumented damage from previously when that branch gained the car from another office. That happens often. If the damage is not marked on the current rental agreement and is not marked in their computer system, it's difficult for the branch employee to know who caused it and when unless they are familiar with that particular car and remembers seeing the damage. Employees are trained to always do a damage report in situations like that and let loss control figure it out.

This is a training issue at the branch level. Plus no branch wants to take a hit on the OX, so they pass the car around, hoping the branch they pass it to doesn't notice until after it's rented out. That problem exists because of the indiviudalistic and extremely competitive culture that has been created within that company.

My advice is to not take this personally and just call the regional manager and loss control rep that is handling the claim. The branch has nothing to do with DXs once they do the damage reports. It becomes the responsibility of loss control. I doubt the employee is trying to intentionally screw you over. They are just doing the job that they were trained to do. I can understand why this would be frustrating, but I would bet this will get dropped after you talk to the regional manager and loss control rep. These mistakes happened all the time, and very rarely was it a case of purposeful scamming of the customer by the employee. It's simply the fault of piss poor training and an 'every branch for themselves' mentality.

The employee was not new...during our initial conversation, he mentioned a couple of funny situations that he had encountered in his five years at the Anaheim facility. No, he was no rookie....
But you're right...there are two sides to every story and it's possible this is just a big mistake on Enterprises' part. Listen, we all work hard for our money. There are too many people/companies out there that will lie, cheat, and steal to get our money at almost any cost. The damage that Enterprise is claiming and the photos/prior invoices don't add up. It's hard not to take it personally when you feel someone or thing is trying to charge you with something that you didn't do.
Yes, you offer some good advice and I will contact the regional manager about this. My original contact with a Claims Officer was futile. She was rude, condenscending, and came short of saying that I would be taken to court for nonpayment. I have already handed this over to a lawyer but I will contact the regional manager and discuss this matter with them. As I have already mentioned before, I would make restitution to Enterprise for damage done to the rental vehicle but there was none. I paid almost $800 for the use of the rental for a month and brought the car back in the same condition I received it in. I took care of the car as if it were my own. I brought it back washed, vacuumed, and with a full gas tank. It almost seems that $800 wasn't enough and now I feel that Enterprise is just trying to take advantage of me. After reading a susbtantial amount of customer complaints, how could I not feel the way I do?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The employee was not new...during our initial conversation, he mentioned a couple of funny situations that he had encountered in his five years at the Anaheim facility. No, he was no rookie....
But you're right...there are two sides to every story and it's possible this is just a big mistake on Enterprises' part. Listen, we all work hard for our money. There are too many people/companies out there that will lie, cheat, and steal to get our money at almost any cost. The damage that Enterprise is claiming and the photos/prior invoices don't add up. It's hard not to take it personally when you feel someone or thing is trying to charge you with something that you didn't do.
Yes, you offer some good advice and I will contact the regional manager about this. My original contact with a Claims Officer was futile. She was rude, condenscending, and came short of saying that I would be taken to court for nonpayment. I have already handed this over to a lawyer but I will contact the regional manager and discuss this matter with them. As I have already mentioned before, I would make restitution to Enterprise for damage done to the rental vehicle but there was none. I paid almost $800 for the use of the rental for a month and brought the car back in the same condition I received it in. I took care of the car as if it were my own. I brought it back washed, vacuumed, and with a full gas tank. It almost seems that $800 wasn't enough and now I feel that Enterprise is just trying to take advantage of me. After reading a susbtantial amount of customer complaints, how could I not feel the way I do?

I understand why your'e heated. Most people react that way when they're charged for something that they're no supposed to pay. I used to work there, so I have an idea of what may have happened. That's why I'm not all that pissed for you, because I think the issue will get resolved. But, since you never worked at erac, I completely understand your frustration with what's going on. You don't know their internal policies and procedures. You are just a customer that is having an issue. I can see why customers can sometimes think they are being scammed when they are actually just a victim of miscommunication, poor training, etc..

Erac has people working at the branches that are scum and would try and screw a customer, but the majority of the situations I saw were simple things with simple solutions that turned into huge deals. Now, if I never worked in retail, I may not be as laid back about this situation. But my experience at erac taught me that people and processes often get unnecessarily complicated, creating issues that just snowball into huge deals. You should be fine. I think you're jumping the gun with the lawyer. Just talk to the regional manager. If he/she doesn't help you, then go to the group VP. Calmly explain your side and I bet they will take care of it.

Hopefully, if you your wife or girlfriend is a church music major you can follow the advice of this guy.....HAHA

Damage to tires escalates......

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I was recently in an accident and my vehicle was totaled by the at-fault party. Enterprise was recommended to me by my insurance company(Allstate) because they provide discounted rates. At the rental dealership in Anaheim, CA, the car I was assigned to, had some minimal damage to the front fender and the emblem was missing. I pointed it out to the rep and he noted it on the paperwork. The process of checking out the vehicle by the rep lasted less than 5 minutes. I had the rental vehicle for one month and returned the vehicle in exactly the same condition I received it. I was the only one to drive the rental and only used it going back and forth to work. Upon returning the rental, which was fully gased, washed, and vacuumed, the same rep that had checked me out, took over twenty minutes to inspect the car. He went back and forth into the office several times and appeared very nervous. There were two other customers waiting in the office and he was the only employee working at the time. Finally, the rep came back in and told me that there was some structural damage to the hood. I went back out with him and proceeded to examine the hood. The rep pointed out where the damage to the hood was and I look at him and said" What damage?!" There was no damage to the hood at all. Very frustrated and, with the other customers getting impatient, the rep finished up the paperwork and said that they would do an investigation on the prior rentals of this vehicle. I signed the paperwork and it indicated the exact problems the car had prior to my usage of the vehicle.

Less than two weeks later, I received a letter and a bill from Enterprises' corporate office indicating that I was responsible for $900 dollars worth of damage to the vehicle. I was totally shocked that Enterprise was trying to extort/defraud this money from me when I hadn't damaged the vehicle in any way, shape, or form. It's interesting to point out that Enterprise forwarded me copies of the previous invoices of the rental. There are discrepancies concerning damage done in a two month period. In a two week period, prior to my renting the vehicle, on one invoice, it shows all the damage that I observed and noted on the vehicle the day I rented it. On the other two invoices, the points of damage are different and don't make sense. The invoice I received also called out for damage to the back bumper and the replacement of a headlight. These items were never mentioned or discussed at the checkout. Even if they had to replace a headlight, that is normal wear and tear of the vehicle and that is not my responsibility. I have called the Anaheim office repeatedly to talk to the rep that checked in/out the rental vehicle. Every time I've called, he's either busy with another customer or not working....please, give me a break! This whole situation smells of fraud and I won't be extorted into giving Enterprise money for damage I didn't do.
It's also interesting to point out that, after viewing several consumer sites, this practice of charging customers money for "alleged" damages, seems to be quite frequent. I am prepared to go to small claims court to fight this because I feel that Enterprise is maliciously and flagarantly trying to rip me off, and apparently many others, for damages that I didn't do.

I will continue to warn my family, friends, co-workers, or anyone else who is even remotely considering renting a car through Enterprise. The cowardly rep refused to even talk to me and the customer service claims rep was rude and condescending to me. I would also suggest that, prior to renting a vehicle through any rental service, take a disposable or digital camera with you and take pictures of the car, the sales rep, and if possible, record any phone or in-person discussions. This really might be the only way to help reduce the fraud and prevent the agency or the personnel from unethical business practices. I will never do business with Enterprise again!!!!

Your an idiot! A broken headlight is not wear and tear a burnt out lightbulb is but not a broken headlight. If you had the damage noted on the contract then it should be easy to handle. Sounds to me like your full of shit.