Questions about disputing damage claim

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BeakerKK

#1
Oct 31, 2018
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#1
Hi, I'm delighted to find this helpful forum as I am having a dispute with Hertz over damage I did not do. I am going to follow the advice given in the sticky post, but I was hoping someone could clarify some things for me:

- It says to contact the company "in writing". I received a letter from them (with no email listed), should I reply by post or try to find an email?
- The letter they sent me came from their claim center. Should I write back to them first and wait for a reply before starting the emails to customer service, or do both simultaneously?

Thanks for any help you can offer!
 
weihlac

weihlac

Verified Member
#3
Jun 30, 2017
1,772
1,768
113
Maui Hawaii
#3
BeakerKK said:
Hi, I'm delighted to find this helpful forum as I am having a dispute with Hertz over damage I did not do. I am going to follow the advice given in the sticky post, but I was hoping someone could clarify some things for me:

- It says to contact the company "in writing". I received a letter from them (with no email listed), should I reply by post or try to find an email?
- The letter they sent me came from their claim center. Should I write back to them first and wait for a reply before starting the emails to customer service, or do both simultaneously?

Thanks for any help you can offer!
Click to expand...
Use these contacts:

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/hertz/

Scan the letter you received and attach/paste into the email to Hertz. When we say "write" it reveals our age. Everything needs to be electronic email (not text) so they cannot claim they never received or lost the communication.

If you can email the claim center, do so, but do not send a paper letter. If you cannot email the claim center, use the CS contacts.
 
Likes: BeakerKK
Neil Maley

Neil Maley

Moderator
Staff Member
Advocate
#5
Dec 27, 2014
18,124
16,257
113
New York
www.promalvacations.com
#5
BeakerKK said:
Hi, I'm delighted to find this helpful forum as I am having a dispute with Hertz over damage I did not do. I am going to follow the advice given in the sticky post, but I was hoping someone could clarify some things for me:

- It says to contact the company "in writing". I received a letter from them (with no email listed), should I reply by post or try to find an email?
- The letter they sent me came from their claim center. Should I write back to them first and wait for a reply before starting the emails to customer service, or do both simultaneously?

Thanks for any help you can offer!
Click to expand...
Use our company contacts and use email. You need to deal with the Corporate offices- you won’t get anywhere with the claim center.

And no attachments now, it usually pushes your note to spam and no one sees it. You can add attachments in later correspondance.
 
Likes: BeakerKK and John Galbraith
jsn55

jsn55

Verified Member
#6
Dec 26, 2014
8,203
8,110
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San Francisco
#6
Regarding attachments ... by all means tell them in your email what you have and ask them if they want you to forward it. We've found that many companies and individuals routinely don't open emails with attachments unless they know the sender. "Cutting and pasting" directly into your email is just fine.
 
Likes: BeakerKK and John Galbraith
John Galbraith

John Galbraith

Staff Member
Advocate
Director
#8
Jan 22, 2017
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Poole
#8
That is very good advice re attachments and I can add another reason why they should not be sent straight away. I have found out that some emails are set up to reject external emails with attachments. It's a rule you can set with, for example, office 365. It is why sometimes I am contacted and told the email address is no longer valid when in fact it still is.
 
Likes: BeakerKK, ADM, Carrie Livingston and 1 other person
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rdwo

#9
Oct 24, 2018
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#9
I send an email re: my dispute with Thrifty Monday and as of late Thursday there has been no response. Their collections dept. said I only have until a week from Monday to pay or I will be sent to a collection agency and presumably blacklisted. What is the recommended next step and when?
 
Neil Maley

Neil Maley

Moderator
Staff Member
Advocate
#10
Dec 27, 2014
18,124
16,257
113
New York
www.promalvacations.com
#10
Our process is what we have told you- email once a week going up the Executive chain. Your next email should be Monday to the first executive we have on the company contacts page.

If you are concerned about being sent to collections or blacklisted before the process is finished you might want to contact an attorney.
 
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BeakerKK

#11
Oct 31, 2018
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#11
Hertz got back to me. They sent a report with photos supposedly taken on the morning of the day we picked up the car, and after - I've attached these, along with my own photo of what the damage looked like when we picked up the car. It looks way worse in their photo - almost like they made it worse on purpose.

We noticed the damage when w picked up the car, but (very stupidly) figured it was ok since there had been no walk-around inspection with an agent, as we had always had done before. So we didn't take our own photo of the damage until the day after we picked the car up. The only thing I can think is that it got bumped in the airport parking lot in between Hertz taking their photo in the morning, and us picking up the car in the afternoon. Do I have any recourse here?
 

Attachments

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BeakerKK

#12
Oct 31, 2018
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#12
Any opinions on this? Am I just screwed because my photo wasn't taken the day we picked up the car? Any thoughts appreciated. :)
 
weihlac

weihlac

Verified Member
#13
Jun 30, 2017
1,772
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Maui Hawaii
#13
The damage in the Hertz after pic is clearly worse, not just "looks worse". If you did not document the damage similar to this on pick up it would appear that this occurred while you had the car. And yes, it could have been hit in a parking lot when you were not present. Do you have a picture of the car when you returned it?
 
Likes: BeakerKK
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M42

#14
Jul 2, 2018
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#14
BeakerKK said:
Any opinions on this? Am I just screwed because my photo wasn't taken the day we picked up the car? Any thoughts appreciated. :)
Click to expand...
Sorry - just to confirm, the one labelled "Pre-rental" is the one that Hertz took before your drove off the lot with it?

If that is the case, I think that the damage in the picture you took is the same as it was when you picked it up. The difference is in the angle that it is taken at. The angle of the photo they took pre-rental is from several feet away, while you took yours looking down on it. Your photo definitely shows that the bumper isn't attached correctly, but so does the pre-rental one that they took. If you look at the top where the bumper meets the back tail light, it looks to me like the crack is wider at the top than down toward the bottom of the bumper.

And it wouldn't have take much to get it from your photo to the "much worse" photo they sent you - even a person bumping up against it could cause that fissure to get much worse if it wasn't on correctly in the first place.
 
Likes: BeakerKK
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Riroon

#15
Sep 27, 2017
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#15
Collection departments are no fun, BUT federal law requires the collection agency to give you 30 days to dispute the amount owed. When you write Hertz, request they refrain from sending you to collections until this is resolved, THEN have a rough draft ready in case a collection agency contacts you, disputing the charges.
 
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BeakerKK

#16
Oct 31, 2018
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#16
Thanks to all; I really appreciate the replies. weihlac/M42, yes, the pre-rental photo was taken by Hertz before the car was rented to me. The "Damage" one was what the car looked like the entire time I had it, including when I returned it. But I only have the one photo...I (stupidly) did not take another one the day it was returned. I think M42 is right, it was loose and they pulled at it to have it a look, which is why it looks worse in their Hertz after photo.

I only have one of my own photos, and it was taken the day after we picked up, and weeks before we returned it, so it's my word against theirs. I am kicking myself for believing the return agent when she said she checked the system and agreed the damage was already there, but too late now. Do you think it's worth keeping going up the email chain when it's just my word vs theirs?
 
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BeakerKK

#19
Oct 31, 2018
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#19
Thanks. I sent this today. Will keep ye updated.

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for your reply. I have looked through the information provided.
  • The damage was present on the car before I rented it. I have zoomed in on the image you provided it and compared it to my own (see attached). There is slight separation of the bumper in both.
  • Your post-rental picture of the damage appears as if someone has pulled on the bumper, probably to inspect the separation further. This is not what the car looked like when I returned it. Instead, it looked like my own photo and your pre-rental one.
  • When I picked up the car, no walk-around or visual inspection was done - the agent simply handed me the keys. I noticed some damage on the back bumper and took my photo. When I went to return the car, the agent inspected it and noted the damage. I said it had been there already and showed her the photo. She looked up the record in the computer and said the record concurred that it had already been there before I rented the car.
 
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BeakerKK

#20
Oct 31, 2018
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#20
Went all the way up the chain and finally got this reply:

Dear ,

Thank you for your patience while the office New York in reviewed your inquiry.

I am responding on behalf of the Hertz Senior Leadership Team.


The pre-rental inspection gives you a record of the vehicle's condition at the start of the rental, which is beneficial when the vehicle is returned. If there is any pre-existing damage, it is noted on the form and then when you return, you won't be held responsible for that damage.

Please see the attached documents associated with rental agreement .


According to our records, there was no damage documented prior to renting. Therefore, the charges are valid, and no compensation is warranted.


After a thorough review of this matter, we stand by our original decision. Although the resolution is not what you preferred, no additional action is warranted. We regret we are unable to fulfill your expectations in this instance.



Sincerely,
 
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