• Someone dented our car, and you're gonna pay: For several years, car rental customers have complained about bills for damage to a rental car for which they weren't responsible. A few car rental companies were even caught invoicing customers twice for the same damage.
The industry at first seemed to back down, pursuing only the renters they were sure about. But it turns out that move was only temporary. Instead of leaving well enough alone, there's evidence that car rental companies were just quietly retooling their internal systems, adding technology that makes it easier to successfully pursue a claim.
Some of the applications -- for example, there's technology that automatically photographs a car when it leaves the lot and returns, allowing the company to monitor damage -- are helpful. Others, which have streamlined and automated the claims process -- whether the customer is responsible or not -- aren't.
In order to make sure you don't get stuck with a bill for damage someone else inflicted on your rental car, take pictures of the vehicle before you pick up the car and when you return it. If you see damage when you're handed the keys to your car, be sure it's noted on the rental form. Otherwise, you'll probably be asked to pay up later.
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