CD
Carolyn Deskin
Jul 30, 2026
DISPUTE: Car rental with pre existing damage charged to our account.
To save you time: Based on my research, this is well documented behavior.
-Claims department is unhelpful, though I will say everyone has been lovely. I suppose we all need a job and this company has figured out how to keep its lights on.
Full story: My 75 year old mother, who is on a fixed income, rented a car, got insurance, picked up said car. The car smelled new and was clean.
While looking over the vehicle, I noticed damage and immediately told her to take photos of it. We emailed those photos to the claims department before continuing. I am certain she did not cause this damage. I was with her the entire time, she's an extremely cautious driver, follows rules to the letter, and wouldn't even allow me or my brothers to drive the vehicle.
Despite our documenting, and sending photos in, she received notice that she was going to be charged for this damage.
This is my saint of a mother who deals with enough so I told her I'd take care of it since I'm still paying off the debt of being a pre-teen daughter (this is a life long journey ;) ).
I called customer service, got the number for their claims department, again, can't stress this enough- everyone is incredibly kind, and also you can slightly hear the "you're screwed" in their voice.
The first woman, Camille, again lovely, said she was going to check in on it and I would receive an email either by the end of the day or first thing Monday morning. I never received an email.
So I call on Tuesday. I spoke with an Allicia, (I think). Again, lovely. She says she doesn't see any notes on the matter, but she'll document everything and we should receive an email by the end of the day- and again- nothing.
At that point, I considered calling again to check on it. But honestly, I'm in school and have work of my own, and this is ridiculous.
The damage itself was cosmetic and didn't affect the vehicle's drivability, but because of where it was located and the material involved, I knew replacing the part would likely be the only repair option. That's exactly why I insisted my mom photograph it immediately. At a minimum to replace would be $500, but likely higher as it was new and could be somewhere along the lines of $1500.
One representative mentioned we would be charged $304. She also said she couldn't see damage on any of the photos, but a note that was left saying it went down to the metal. And let me be the first to say- that note is inaccurate and false. It was more of a scuff that just can't be buffed out because the material is plastic. Photo attached. So, if this company had any plans of replacing it- they won't be doing it with whatever amount of money they're requesting.
We did get a third party insurance, so that's fine, but that also means my mother will be paying the company directly as she waits for a refund from an insurance agency that will also be giving her (me in this case) the runaround. For someone living on a fixed income, that's an unnecessary financial burden, especially when the damage had already been documented before the rental.
In conclusion, I'd prefer this issue to go away since either that damage was caused by another renter, or by one of their employees who didn't dodge a wall completely.
Thanks,
I had the confirmation info here but this platform deletes reviews for various, though valid reasons. If needed, I'm happy to provide documentation directly to the company.