Learn me: rental car co. charging for damage I didn't do

Rented a car for 3 hrs - point A to B, no stops. At pickup, was told it was "pre-inspected" -- hop in and go. Dropped at their location after hours. Either the car wasn't pre-inspected -- roof was keyed -- or it was vandalized at their lot, but there's no way I could have damaged it. Picked up the car in a dark garage, didn't notice anything then. 

They want insurance info now. Before I give it, is there anything I can do to help them go berkeley themselves? No way a "pre-inspection" would have missed the damage, and I never would have left the car on their lot had I known the place would have been closed at their scheduled drop off time.

Any advice on dealing with this would be greatly appreciated. 

Just went through this. Forchinitly I had full coverage. I inspected the car with the rep. Small yellow scuff on the bumper. I told them to note it but they said it was normal and they don't mark things like this. Return the car get notice that I damaged the car. You guessed it the yellow scuff.  I sent a scathing email to the president of the rental company and the regional manager and the Attorney generals office in my state. I got there attention. I was so pissed at there completely un ethical practice and them blaming me for something I did not do. They called me trying to calm me down. I threatened to by the truck from then and then burn it on there lot after I called the local news to tell them the story and they could film a car fire. As I told them it was not the money. They accused me of somthing that the knew I did not do. For me it is a matter of ethics and principals. What they underestimated was who they were messing with as I would spend the 20-30k to make a spectacle of them and there crooked dealings.  

Google this and it seems to be a new scam that Enterprize is pulling to collect insurance claims. to pad there revenues. Complete BS on there part and from the looks of it it is coming down from management to the local franchises.  My local franchise guy played dumb  lbut I had him squirming.  

Next time I rent I will be making them note everything inside and out. Swirled in the paint to micro chips. I will be spending hours going over the car with them if needed and generating a book on the Vehical. If the car is not washed I will not accept it and make them wash it and dry it so I can inspect it. I will then photo it and video it with the sales rep making sure to get them in the Video to document it.  
 

BTW. In many states your car insurance does not cover a rental car unless you specifically have it on your policy. Many rental places will give you bad info on this.  If you don't know for sure call your agent or insurance company and ask and have them answer you in writing. People are getting caught out by this. I am wondering if enterprize is scamming the claims   to scare people in to purchasing the insurance they sell as an option.  My other thaught is they are trying to make up $$$ due to covid killing the rental car buisness. 
 

Purchase their extra policy. Insist on everything noted. Take a picture of every spot with time stamp.

In reply to dean1484 :

This reminds me of a time my buddy used his truck to rent a trailer for me so we could go pick up an E30.

They insisted we couldn't hook up the trailer to his truck, that their employee had to do it.

We pick up the car, go to drive it on the trailer, which promptly comes of the hitch, nearly takes out his man bits and punches a hole in his tailgate.

They then stonewalled us long enough I just bought him a new tailgate as they insisted it was our fault that their employee has incorrectly attached the trailer.

Toymanswife said:

Purchase their extra policy. Insist on everything noted. Take a picture of every spot with time stamp.

Ya this completely!!!   I always get the max insurance coverage on rentals. The enterprise rental place I use is local and has been great to deal with but ever since coved they have become more and more difficult. Then the last time with them accusing me of something that they knew was completely not true has me thinking they are on bankruptcy's doorstep. 

In reply to dean1484 :

It was Enterprise. berkeley them. I'll be writing to them, plus attorneys general in two states. 

I witnessed a rental car place try this on a famous race car driver once (we were riding to the airport together). In that situation, screaming/cursing/etc etc finally made it obvious this wasn't the best opportunity for a grift.

Before I pick up a rental car, I walk around with my phone and do a photo and video shoot to make sure I capture everything. Haven't had a problem. 

I take detailed photos of uhaul rentals for the same reasons.  Sample still on my phone...

z31maniac said:

This reminds me of a time my buddy used his truck to rent a trailer for me so we could go pick up an E30.

They insisted we couldn't hook up the trailer to his truck, that their employee had to do it.

We pick up the car, go to drive it on the trailer, which promptly comes of the hitch, nearly takes out his man bits and punches a hole in his tailgate.

Was this U-Haul?  I had a very similar situation renting a trailer from them and they told me the wrong ball size.  They insisted they hook up the trailer and didn't check the ball size, though I later realized I should have checked it too, after all it was stamped right there on the trailer tongue.  About 45 minutes into a 6 hour trip I hit a pothole and the empty trailer popped off the hitch destroying the trailer wiring but fortunately the safety chains did their job.  I cobbled together a temp fix for the wiring but returned it after hours with the frayed wiring and never heard a thing from UHaul, they didn't try to charge me for the fix or even call to ask about it, I think their workers are a lot more apatheic than typical rental places.

In reply to Schmidlap :

I worked for U-Haul when I was 20 years old, it is definitely staffed by near-minimum-wage grunts who often don't know the first thing about towing or anything mechanical, and the on-the-job training is pretty much "here's how you hook up a trailer, make sure to cross the chains, good luck".

I caught more than a few sketchy hookups by coworkers before they left the lot. (Also three quarters of the workforce at my store were getting stoned behind the building on breaks...)

Always always always always always get the U-Haul insurance, even if it's the cheapest one, just to get the damage waiver. Unlike rental cars where credit cards provide a level of coverage, the card companies expressly do NOT cover moving truck/trailer rentals. U-Haul can and does take people to court to recover damages and the equipment is often pretty poorly maintained so you can very easily end up on the hook for something you didn't do.

In reply to John Welsh :

I take photos at pickup and drop off whether it's a rental car or uhaul as a CYA. 

Ive also been know to take photos when parked next to vehicles that exhibit questionable parking skills from their driver.  When I do that it's mainly to capture my vehicle, the plate of the poor parker, and that I was parked legally. 

In reply to No Time :

Three months ago I took this picture in case I came out of the store to find my Prius hit...

Last weekend I rented a U-Haul dolly to tow my daughter's car 250 miles.   Drove up empty and then towed the car back. (long story)

I bought the insurance.  $16.00 and any damage is their problem. 

The dolly rental's daily rate was  3x what they charge for a similar sized utility trailer. I figured the rental price is higher because that equipment has more damage claims than the cheaper utility trailer rentals. So... insurance.   And the yard guy did a good job of hooking it up. 

Had the same thing happen with Enterprise.  While my Cayenne Turbo was in the body shop getting fixed from hail damage I had a Dodge 2500 as a rental.  Went over the truck with them, no damage.  I returned it to the body shop (which was a mistake, always return it to the rental place!) and picked up my car.

A few days later I get a call from Enterprise wanting my insurance information, claiming that their truck got hail damage while I had it.  They claimed they called me, which they never did. I went nuts!  I called them and asked to see the truck, they wouldn't let me, said it was already in the shop getting fixed.  I then told them to pull a weather report and they'd see there were no hail storms in our area for the entire time I had the truck, that I'd give them my cell records showing their employee lied to me, etc, etc.

Eventually they dropped it and I never heard back from them.  Bottom line, you need to turn the vehicle back into the them and have them walk around it with you and sign off a release on it, then and there...

In reply to dean1484 :

Hey Dean -- I sent you a PM. LMK if you don't get it. Thanks 

Haven't had a problem yet but Turo makes me nervous for just this reason. In the case of a corporate rental your $8k is a hill of beans, but to a private party renting out a $10k sedan, $2k in false claim would be a tidy little sum. I take LOTTTTSS of photos. 
This makes me want to wear a body cam when doing business with people.

Good tip on the U-Haul insurance coverage. I always decline since I figure it's itself a scam, but I guess the lesser of two evils and all

In reply to procainestart :

Will look for it tomorrow. 

I've usually bought the extra insurance, but now I'm convinced. Won't skip it from now on.