"IF" you don't pay, it can be turned over to a collection agency and go on your credit record. Here's an article that has a similiar situation...

Here is a link that might be useful: Ask for a repair bill.....

lowspark, who is the rental company? I would contact the company immediately, and do so in writing so that you have proof of contact. Either the customer service department or the manager of the rental location, preferably both. If you need help obtaining that info just post back and I will help you.

Isn't there and inspection at the time you return the car and any issues of damage are dealt with at the time? How can they say there is damage at such a later date? Didn't you sign something when you returned it and get a receipt that everything was A-OK?

Was this one of those Hertz or similar type places that rent cars or was this one of those Zip cars where they are returned to a lot and just left?

Yes. A parking valet damaged one of our rental cars. I didn't notice it until later. The rental agency never said a thing.
I would think that once you have returned the car and signed off on it that your obligation is finished. They always check the car when you return it. Someone at the rental agency could have damaged the car afterwards. They can't prove that you did it.

I have been in contact with the company via telephone and emails. They emailed me the pictures. Apparently there is a camera which films cars leaving the lot and entering the lot.

The pictures don't show any discernable damage that I can see. They insist there is damage whether or not I can see it.

The pictures are time stamped. I can see enough of the people in the car in the "before" picture to know that it's us in the car. I can't see anything of the people in the "after" picture and I can't see any damage in the "after" picture.

We did turn it in to a real person who checked us in and handed us a receipt before we walked away from the car. They claim, however, that since they have it all on film, it doesn't matter that she didn't say anything at the time.

The thing is, I can't figure out WHAT they are looking at in the pictures and they don't seem to want to describe it or circle it or show it to me beyond sending the pictures and saying that whether I see it or not, it's there.

Take a look at the link below - you can see how others had dealt with this problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rental car damages scam

When you rented the car...did you purchase damage/loss insurance? Or do you carry that protection on your personal auto insurance or the credit card you used?

I did once return a car that I had noticed was dented slightly when parked in a parking lot.
Told rental car company, and never heard anything about it.

I even once had a rental car stolen out of a hotel parking garage.
The rental company sent someone over to the hotel, and had another car ready for me.
Never heard anything else about it.

No claim on my personal auto insurance policy.
When you rent with an AMEX Gold card, for example, you automatically get damage/loss protection.

What insurance did you have while driving it? Theirs? Your own? Was there a deductible? Have you talked with the insurance company that had it covered?

It sounds like someone is trying to make a fast buck, at your expense. It just doesn't all add up. Do you have a local insurance agent you might be comfortable asking some questions?

Sue

Did you drop the car off without an inspection or did an employee do a quick scan of the vehicle? Did you keep your copy of the rental agreement?

Thinking about renting a car steps to take to insure transaction is smooth and happy experience
1. Select rental company and desired type of rental along with insurance needed
2. Inspect car with rental agent (INSIDE & OUT)
3. After inspection notations should be made about any previous damage car may have (both by agent and renter) on the rental agreement papers.
4. Drive for time needed then return.
5. Before leaving care with agency yourself and an agent INSPECT car for any damages any new ones not notated on rental agreement are the responsibility of the renter. Or the insurance policy in effect when car was being leased
6. Rental agent signs car inspections sheet with no damage and off you go. No repercussions can be brought against you for any subsequent damages found.
Other than making them prove there is damage and that the damage was your responsibility and actually happened while the care was in your care. You can speak with corporate offices and see what they are learning about this, what they think is going on and if they will drop the issue after reviewing the supposed damages with you. Other wise it may cost more in court fees to fight it if you do not have a copy of a signed release stating no damages at drop off.

My Son just went through all this with a front runner corporation in car rentals. Its a good thing I didn't just let him drop it off and he got the signed release. Same situation rented a vehicle and dropped it off I made him get the inspection, Both him and the agent were angry because it was raining out and there was no awning or covered area. She rushed through the inspection, signed off and we left with the copy. Then son got the letter stating he wasn't getting his deposit $550.00 back to cover the cost of repairs to damage on front right fender. (Covered by a no-deductible auto insurance already.) We took signed non damage papers and pics of the car and agent during the inspection to corporate. They refunded his deposit immediately on the spot and that was it.
Always CYA
Good luck

LIL

I do have my own car insurance which does cover me for any car I'm driving so I didn't take out the rental company's insurance. But for $550 it's probably not that great of an idea for me to submit it to my insurance company. It's either going to just meet my deductible or be less. I'd have to look up my deductible, I can't remember off hand.

I hadn't thought of checking with my credit card company and I may do that next. The thing is, if I could actually SEE the damage and see us in the car, I'd at least have some idea of what this is all about.

When I dropped off the car, there was a woman employee standing there. She did all the check in and handed me a receipt. I can't honestly remember if she looked at the car because there was a lot going on at the time and I wasn't thinking about it.

Maybe I should talk with my insurance rep just "off the record" to see what advice she can give me about how to handle this.

I just can't get beyond the fact that the pictures they sent me aren't showing damage that I can see. And that their response is, It's there whether I see it or not.

Stay with the biggies, and join their frequent renter's club.
I will not rent from anyone except Hertz/National or Avis - in that order.
Heard too many stories about the cheapies.

"Maybe I should talk with my insurance rep just "off the record" to see what advice she can give me about how to handle this."

N0000OOOoooo!

In the insurance business there is no such thing as "off the record". Every call you make "just to ask a question" will be duly noted in their folders about you. Calling to ask about damage to your auto and then not bothering filing the claim due to the high deductible still becomes a ding on your file and increases your rates.

Unless your insurance agent is your dad or your minister I would not trust them to discuss it "off the record".

I am guessing that they are talking about a scratch in the paint. That could have happened after you dropped it off or before and you did not notice. If you got signed paperwork saying it was dropped off in good condition you would prevail in court.

I rent a lot & I have never had a company tell me there was damage. (Always a corporate card is used)
Unless it is 4 am and I drop off the car, I am almost always checked out by an agent.
They routinely walk around the car and open all the doors and trunk, while asking me how the car performed, was I happy....etc.
I have always assumed that was the end of our contract.
If I were you I would fight this harder.
Do you have a copy of your agreement? I wonder now if they have a window of opportunity to claim against you. Most cars rentals go in, are cleaned, and out again the same or next day...especially at an airport location.
I would probably ask them for a rental history on that car beginning the day you dropped it off, and the full name or employee number of the person who received the car back.
Ask for enough information and I bet they drop it.
Be very careful about paying this...it would automatically mean you assume responsibility. Every contract I have had also includes that you will be billed for the time the car is out of service to be repaired!

I'm in the insurance business and any of our customers know to call us personally before calling customer support or after hours if they have a question. Not all agents are the same. The rental car companies are getting extremely aggressive about "damages" to their cars. If you rent a car you have to have your own insurance or take there's, submitting a claim against either is a win win for them no matter what. This time of year they may even be bringing in new fleets, getting the older cars to auction. Any damages that are fixed will only increase their end result. More than likely if you don't talk to your agent and file a claim, they have your insurance information, you would have supplied it to them when you rented the car, they will call on your behalf and start a claim against your policy. It will be considered an at fault accident, there is no way for the insurance company to know if the incident was a collision or if it was a flying object which would be a comprehensive claim unless you discuss it with them first. Comprehensive claims don't affect your preferred driving discounts and generally carry a lower deductible. Hope that helps. I've been doing this for 14 years and have a pretty good idea how it goes.

By any chance did you pay for the rental with a credit card? I always use my Am Ex card for rentals. We had damage to a rental car and my Am Ex card paid the first $500 and my car insurance paid the balance. Not all cards do this but both my Visa and AmEx cards do.

I would call the consumer protection division of your state's attorney generals office to ask how to proceed. The amount is small enough that this could be handled by small claims court. I would tell the rental company that "invisible" damage (damage that "is there" but mysteriously cannot be photographed) is not claimable.

I doesn't sound right. they need to document more than a picture.

Personally I'd write them a nice but firm letter telling them to validate the date the damage was noted,The license plate number, sh ask d for a copy of the rental agreement and the return forms etc., what the actual damage was, what they had to do to fix it, along with documentation and why they believe you were responsible for it. If they can't do that then tell them to go pound sand.

"I would probably ask them for a rental history on that car beginning the day you dropped it off, and the full name or employee number of the person who received the car back."

Excellent idea!

Every time you rent a car, a notation is made on the rental agreement if there is any existing damage. So, whomever rented that vehicle after you would have a rental agreement noting the "damage" allegedly caused when you were in possession of the vehicle.

You have the right to represent yourself in any legal action. Of course, if this were to proceed to court, you'd be wise to hire an experienced attorney, but you can certainly represent yourself in the interim.

If I were you, I'd contact the rental company and tell them that you are representing yourself and you want the vehicle's rental history for at least three rentals prior to yours, and three rentals following yours; and say that by "rental history" you want copies of the rental agreements.

If any damage was done to the vehicle after you first drove it off the lot and before the next renter drove it off the lot, it should be on that next rental agreement.

Asking for rental agreements, birth certificates and lunch menus is all well and good but I'm highly doubtful they're going to send this to you just because you request it, unless you use a subpoena. I personally would be very annoyed with a company sending out *my* contracts to every Tom, Dick and Harriet who requests it because they don't want to pay a bill, whether the bill is valid or not. AFAIC that's private data between the company and me and giving that out could be a potential violation of data privacy. I'm not sure they can give it out like that.

The big question is how much time, effort and money will you spend on this? I'd definitely be looking at the paperwork, who signed it, who checked it in and the like. You could subpoena the the person checking it in to testify or at least get a deposition and/or affidavit about it. Likely they won't remember much, especially if they want to keep their job, if they're still employed there. Trying to track them down if they're gone, well that might not be easy or cheap either.

Did you agree to arbitration for dispute resolution? What state's laws control the contract? This can make a difference too if you want to go that far. Fine print usually has a number of quirks in it. If you live in Texas and agreed that Delaware's laws will apply, that can be another monkey wrench tossed in.

I do think you're doing the right thing to take the position that they haven't proven anything to you. (They who assert must prove.) Have they sent any estimate from a repair shop or is it just their standard claim amount? $500 isn't much damage. Scratches, small dent or two will hit $500 these days. I'd be going above the person sending this. I'd also go back to the person who initially agreed to drop it. Did you document time, date, etc and did they put it in writing that they'd drop it?

I'd look over the contract too and see if there's any time-frame that could help you. How long do they have to make a claim and such. I certainly wouldn't go off saying you're representing yourself or anything like that since that's redundant. Obviously you're representing yourself.

I highly doubt they'll take you to conciliation court. It's not worth it to them either. They'll probably just badger you, try screwing with your credit and the like and of course the dunning letters to get you to give in.

You actually have some proof in your favor right now. They supplied you with a photo that apparently shows no damage. I'd use that to my benefit too, send it to the hierarchy and say this is proof that the vehicle wasn't damaged by you. Or save it for the credit agencies and collection agents.

two.25acres raised good points. Comp claims won't normally count against you and *if* you're satisfied that the damage occurred while in your possession, since in reality a rock could have flown off a truck or something, it wouldn't be too big a deal and insurance companies like to split the difference a lot so they'd likely settle for a couple hundred. This is something you could negotiate too. You could offer them $100 to resolve it, with no admission of liability and to resolve it too, but I'd be sure to make it clear that this is just offered as a resolution and that you're fully satisfied that you're not liable, will be proven as such in court, etc.

Let's face it, involving a lawyer is not a financially prudent thing to do. You'll pay far more than $500 to use an attorney and may well still be found liable. You won't get even an inexperienced lawyer for $500 since this will involve far more than an hour or two and that's what they bank on when they do this stuff.

If you have a check-in statement with an inspection or release and coupled with the pictures you have, you could be in good shape. If you don't, you might be in trouble. Not right, but the way things go. But again, I'd go back to the one with whom you had the agreement and work that end first.

Good luck.