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.
I don't know this for a fact, but I'm betting there is fine print in the rental agreement saying that you are still liable for the car until they open Monday morning for business. IOW, We offer this convenience, but do it at your own risk.
They would also have a very bad PR problem on their hands.
Oh, do they. $47 isn't going to begin to equal the crap they are going to take for this.
Back to my first comment, if there is a liability clause in the contract, imagine what will happen to their business when their clients realize that they are on the hook for the car when they leave it on the Enterprise lot on Sunday. Here's a nice convenience, BTW, we will screw you six ways to Sunday if anything happens to the car *on our lot*.
With the chipped keys those cars have, I'd be asking who at Enterprise has access to that key dropbox.
Enterprise covered everything and even sent me a check to cover the cost of the new tire.
What kind of (used rental car) Mustang is worth 47 grand?
A GT Premium convertible is 38k sticker.
Are they billing her some absurd daily cost for “unavailable to rent” above the cost of the car?
Enterprise is a stickler for charging, at least trying to charge, renters for every dent and ding that happens. They tried to tag me with damage after I returned the car. I ask for a reciept with my signature that showed I acknowledged the damage they didnt have one, I asked for their daamage report which showed the damaged repeorted the day after I returned it. They threatened and blustered and sent a credit agency after me. I just kept laughing at them and (sic) renting cars from them. One time they lost a car after I returned it and accused me of stealing. That is, until ask them to look up the serial number and they discovered that the rented it without completing the return process.
She followed their return procedure so nothing will come of this unless she lets herself get bullied.
Alwaya get a sign-off of no damage if possible. Rental companies love to try and sneak unknown damage claims thru after turn in.
This is why I ONLY rent cars with a Visa card that has rental car coverage.
Your car was stolen? that sucks. Fight it out with Visa.
I remember the Uhaul truck I rented. it was documented I drove it 12 miles. I put 4 gallons of gas in the thing.
They billed my card for 251 dollars.
I went in with the receipt from the pay at the pump. “no sir! the truck was empty when we got here this morning”
um, ya.. ok boys.. lets use some logic here. Guy drives the truck 12 miles, puts 4 gallons of fuel in it (I am SURE it got better than 3 MPG) and you think he drove the fuel out of it?
Manager finely got around to viewing the tape from the night I dropped it off. 2 kids, a hose and 10 gas cans..
Go figure.
tow trucks trump chipped keys.
Anyone with a magnet?
Google - many many complaints.
https://www.google.com/#q=enterprise+rent+a+car+complaints
They do cheat people. I rented a car from them and took out the insurance and prior to driving we did the walk around looking for damage. After my trip I dropped the car off and the clerk said I was lucky I had insurance as there was a scratch on the tail light... It was a very good thing for that clerk that I wasn’t charged!
BTW I had the car parked in my space at home while my car was being repaired that day. I made no other trip as the car was repaired quicker then I thought. There was no way ANY damage could have been done.
Now times the number of false claims of damage charged to your insurance company equals millions of extra dollars for them. They get your money also by you paying extra for their insurance that your car insurance company covers as you do not want to take a chance of being taken by this criminal organization.
Thieving bastards. Rented one from Enterprise, pointed out the scratches and dents to the dude signing it out to me, “don’t worry about anything less than this size (clipboard with a 3 inch round picture)” and when I took it back they tried to charge me $1300 for the damage. I picked it up in the rain with my buddy and he confirmed the previous damage. Didn’t matter...you owe us $1300. Never, EVER again from these thieves. Talk to my lawyer and go eff yourselves. Scam central. American Express card...just try it douche bag.
I think it’s routine for rental companies to send out these kinds of bogus bills. That happened to me in DC a long time ago. I was rear-ended, the DC police made a report that I wasn’t at fault, so the rental company should have gone after the guy who rear-ended me. He was obviously some kind of low life that probably didn’t have insurance, so after a few months they started sending me threatening letters to pay for the damage. I just threw them away and after about 3 or 4 letters they quit sending them to me.
I once rented a U-Haul truck for moving to my new home. When the idiot that filled out the papers put in the wrong date for the return U-Haul immediately billed my charge card for 20,000 dollars when the truck was not returned on the date the idiot put on the paper work.
U-Haul had my phone, my address, and my place of work. They did not call me or anything. They billed my card for the cost of the truck. I did not realize anything was wrong until I went to fill up the truck prior to return.
My credit card was declined because it was maxed out due to their charge against my credit card. They also reported the truck as stolen. It took almost two months to get things straight.
U Haul never apologized for their error. But as luck would have it, when it was all settled I got the rental for free. I think that was their way of saying, “we screwed up.”
I do regret that I did not follow my brothers advice, which was to drive the truck around the police station honking my horn and driving erratically. After my arrest I would have owned a nice settlement from U Haul.
Those that filled out the paper work were no longer there when I checked up a couple of months later.
I guess I won!
See my post 55
I still rent trailers from Uhaul (it’s about the only choice sadly) I have never seen the same face twice.
I’d bet the guilty party quit.
we had a similar experience, but with a trailer. They realized and fixed the error quickly. The operator said that they have stuff stolen all the time and people return trucks and trailers after being weeks overdue expecting to get their deposit back even when they don’t return the dolly and blankets.
That's not always possible when you're traveling on business and have a late or very early flight to catch.
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