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rental company claiming damage 7 months after rental

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mi2k

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

In June/July last year I rented a car from Alamo at Bozeman, Montana. Few days ago Alamo sent me a letter claiming that there was windshield damage during my rental for which they want me to pay $355. I had not purchased any insurance from them.

I had picked up the car at 10PM one evening, and returned it at 9AM 2 days later. I did not notice any chip on the windshield (it was dark when I picked up), and I did not notice one later either. At the time of returning I just returned the keys after saying that there was no damage during my rental. No customer service rep verified that or informed me otherwise at the time.

Do I have grounds for contesting this claim?

Even if there was a small chip that I did not notice, their claim amount sounds excessive. My auto insurance company, Erie, repairs windshield chips smaller than a quarter for free -- it takes less than an hour to do so. Here is Alamo's breakdown of $355:
Damage repair: $185
Loss of use 2 days: $120 (compact)
Admin fee: $ 50

My auto deductible is $500, and I had rented the car using American Express that offers some kind of secondary protection.

Thanks for reading this.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
Have you called them and requested their evidence that the chip happened while the vehicle was in your care?
 

mi2k

Junior Member
They have sent me a copy of "Vehicle Damage Incident Report" filled in by someone on 6/30/09. In it there is a sketch of the windshield with an X for the chip location.
 

mi2k

Junior Member
Yes, I did just that few moments ago. I have never had to do this before -- I was pleasantly surprised that Amex took over dealing with them. Thanks!
 

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