Unrecorded car rental damages are one of the most common sources of revenue for many rental car companies. There are a lot of surveys that show very few people perform a thorough inspection of a rental car before they drive away with it, and only a small percentage of those who rent a car take photos of it before taking it. This means that customers make it pretty easy for rental car companies to trick them into paying for damage that they didn’t cause.
Very Common Issue
Getting charged for damage to a rental car that they are not responsible for is a situation that many renters face. Avoiding unrecorded rental car damage is very difficult after returning the car to rental company. But, getting charged for damage that they didn’t commit can be prevented if a few precautions are taken before sitting behind the wheel of the rental car.
The most important thing that consumers should do if they want to avoid faulty claims is to take several photos of the vehicle before renting it, documenting all damages to it, so that they can prove that a damage that they are not responsible for existed before they signed the agreement. Photos of the vehicle taken before the renter’s agreement is signed is the best tool to support a consumer’s claims that the damage was preexisting and that they did not commit it.
Also, drivers should ask the rental car company’s representative to take note of the damage to the vehicle they are about to rent, including all dings, dents and scratches, and their location, so that they can not be charged for damage that they didn’t commit.
Inspect the Car Together with the Rental Car Company Employee
Another thing that consumers are recommended to do is ask a representative of the rental car company to inspect the car together with them after returning it, and to bring the form that they filled before the renter’s agreement was signed, which should include the preexisting damages.
If a consumer does not have photographs of the rental car or a list of all dents and scratches before driving off the lot, they will have a lot of trouble getting out of the obligation to pay for the unrecorded damage.
The bottom line is that consumers should always talk to the rental car employee and make sure they let them know that they have noticed preexisting damage to the car they want to rent. That way, they won’t have to deal with legal issues involved in trying to dispute a faulty claim and avoid paying hundreds of dollars for damage to a rental car that someone else has caused.