Replies

We did not require them to do so, but we would inform them that they were fully responsible *regardless of fault*. I was not an aggressive seller, so if the customer snapped at me that I was “scamming them”, I would shrug and remind them that they were fully responsible. Regardless. Of. Fault.

Nine times out of ten, when I found damage doing a walk around inspection on return of the car, the customer would scream “I didn’t do it - it must have happened when it was parked somewhere. It’s not my fault. I’m not paying for that damage”. Mind, this was during operating hours - I never signed off on a contract but made the customer wait at the counter while I did the return inspection so no one ever got a “surprise” bill in the mail. And in some cases, perhaps the customer was right. But should the company eat that? No, that’s exactly what *regardless of fault* means. But people still expected the company to take the hit, even when the policy was clearly explained beforehand. (And for the record, I live in a blue state, hence my surprise at some of the anti-business comments here). Enterprise isn’t the renter’s mom lending her a car; it’s a business that exists to make money.

A common thing was to have a girl rent for her boyfriend who did not qualify. She would claim to be the only driver. Then he’d take off in the car (frequently with his new squeeze) and she’d report it “stolen” even though she gave him the keys and didn’t think she should be responsible for the damage he caused due to her foolishness and violation of the terms of rental. Should she be off the hook for that too? It’s a rhetorical question (and I’m making a broader point here) directed to FReepers at large here. Suffice it to say that if one of us owned a rental company with our own fleet paid for with own money, we’d probably feel very differently about the situation at hand.

I imagine Enterprise does not want to set a precedent by just rolling over because it will invite more thefts - the cost of which will ultimately be passed on to the customer, a point we should all keep in mind. I suspect they might want to work out a payment plan to minimize the publicity, but we are not being well served by having rental companies forgive customers of their responsibilities. My company was willing to work out payment plans, but if the customer let it go to collections, it would hurt their credit rating. Which, btw, is why people’s credit scores are checked now. The lost business from people who do not qualify has been proven to be less revenue lost than the savings in the reduction of uncollectibles.