Posted on 01/02/2014 4:31:21 PM PST by rickmichaels
What started as a fun getaway weekend has turned into a financial nightmare for a Dartmouth, N.S., woman who's now facing a huge bill she can't afford to pay.
It's all over a Ford Mustang that was stolen after she returned it to an Enterprise rental lot.
Back in October, Kristen Cockerill treated herself and her partner to a Mustang convertible for a day trip to the South Shore.
“It was nice. It was a Mustang GT convertible. Yeah, I don't know Mustangs the way that other people might, but it was a nice car,” she said.
At the end of the two-day rental, Cockerill returned the car to the Enterprise rental lot on Portland Street in Dartmouth.
She dropped the car off on a Sunday. Most Enterprise locations in the Halifax region are closed on Sundays and people who need to return vehicles that day are instructed to leave the key in a secure drop box.
The next day, Enterprise called Cockerill. The company had the keys, but no Mustang.
“I was pretty panicked, wondering where this car went, and actually went in to the shop that evening after work just to speak to [the clerk] in person and kind of find out what's happening here,” she said.
Police investigated and determined the vehicle was stolen. That appeared to be the end of it until Monday when Cockerill got a bill from Enterprise for $47,000, the replacement value of the Mustang.
Cockerill's insurer said the car wasn't in her control, so it shouldn't be her problem.
Enterprise, however, said that if her insurance doesn't cover it, they'll bill the $47,000 to the credit card she used to rent the Mustang. The charge won't go through, but it could cause her serious financial problems.
CBC News contacted Enterprise, which said it is working on a response to Cockerill's concerns.
Enterprise is behaving stupidly here.
So essentially if the insurance company covers the loss there is no story other than a car was stolen. I'm pretty sure a car rental company insurance should cover stolen cars.
Don’t pay and take them to court for false credit card charges!
If she turned the key in, locked the car, parked it...end of story...
Get a receipt, get an agent to confirm, take pictures inside and out...
they will then sue her directly for the $47k.
How about the women call her CC company and tell them to deny any charges...?
Placing the keys in the lockbox is not the same as parking the car in the lot, getting out and placing the keys in the lockbox.
“But I left it in your lot. I even got the insurance!”
“So you weren’t driving it when it was stolen?”
“That’s right, I wasn’t driving it.”
“We’re sorry. The insurance only covers the car when you’re driving it, not when others are driving it.”
(Seinfeld Ping)
Enterprise should have security cameras installed, which would have proven she returned the car.
Looks to me that she could sue Enterprise either for negligence or complicity in creating a situation that results in the loss.
Cancel the card?
I like enterprise. But this sounds like a possible dumb move on their part.
Will wait and see if something hasn’t come out here. Sounds like a partial story.
I use Enterprise quite a bit because they have a lot close to my house and it saves a drive to the airport. I frequently drop the car off at night and leave the keys in their lock box. If they don’t handle this well I’ll be driving to the airport to rent cars.
“Don’t pay and take them to court for false credit card charges!”
Don’t even need to do that... Just call the credit card company and have it taken off the bill.
Yes! I would never return a rental vehicle when the site I was returning it to was closed. Make sure there is someome there to take the keys and inspect the vehicle, do the whole process. And get a signed return receipt.
There’s nothing they can do and they won’t receive a dime because the car was returned to their property and the keys were returned.Been there and done that case closed.
They wouldn’t win and they would be subject to a counter suit. They are liable as she was following their return policy. They have little to no leg to stand on, particularly when they have both an individual vehicle policy on that car as well as a corporate umbrella policy.
They would also have a very bad PR problem on their hands.
They have insurance on that vehicle and their entire fleet in an umbrella policy. They would be wise to deal directly with the insurance company. As a matter of fact, their insurer should be dealing exclusively with her insurance carrier. Anything else is simple harassment.
As Paul Harvey would say “And the rest of the story” ....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.