Beware of Contract - Charge for Insurance despite denial

Complaint

0
DeDe
Country: United States
BEWARE THE SCAM - EZ Rent A Car

I made a car reservation through CheapOair & was booked with EZ Rent A Car in Orlando.  At the time of the reservation I declined the insurance & was charged for car rental & check-in fees only. Because I am HANDICAPPED & cannot drive I booked the car in my daughter’s name as well as mine.

Upon arriving in Orlando (Dec 16), since there was a large queue & I was in a wheelchair my daughter had to sign for the car. The counter was too tall & not designed for handicapped individuals. Additionally, my daughters each have a toddler less than 2 years. The car agent recommended a Minivan since I needed a mobile scooter & to accommodate the infant car seats. At this point the children were tired and crying after the plane trip & I had an assistant waiting with me to wheel me the car. I agreed at this point to the upgrade in cars – which was my mistake!!  My daughters declined the insurance – making it clear we did not want any insurance!!!!

BEWARE THE SCAM ARTISTS:  On Line 3 of the EZ Rent A Car contract you decline the Supplemental Rental Liability Insurance & write your insurance company.  

***IMPORTANT:  Hidden on line 4 the contract states that you agree to accept the Collision Damage Waver at $24.99 per day.

The Rental Agent circled the lines stating that my daughter needed to initial these lines – knowing we did not want insurance. They count on the fact that you are tired from the trip; the kids are cranky –etc.

At the end of our trip (Dec 21- after the huge snow storm), when we checked in the car we asked the EZ Rental attendant in the garage to call the airport for assistance -- since we had luggage, two screaming toddlers in strollers and me in a wheel chair! After 45 minutes we realized no one was coming & started struggling in the airport. Luckily a good distance later an attendant reentering the airport asked if we needed aid. He was shocked to find that the EZ Rental employee never called for help!

Additionally, I questioned the charges and was sent back to the main desk. When we protested the charges the EZ Rental attendant refused to assist us – stating we’d need to talk to the manager. It took the manager an hour to come to the desk and of course he refused to reverse the charges.  Because of EZ Rental’s lack of service and delays we almost missed our plane (over 1 ¾ hours total).  

****While we were waiting for the manager we tried to inform customers of the contract provisions & were told to shut-up since it was the way they made their money.

Bottom line: We were told that we would have to discuss the charges with corporate. I also contacted CheapOair and they confirmed I declined insurance.

Naturally, when I talked to the EZ Rental corporate service representative he refused to refund the money.

As stated previously by many others -- this company is only concerned with SCAMING their customers to increase their profit margin. Being retired military – I’ve rented cars all over the world from numerous reputable, honest, trustworthy, reliable car rental companies and have NEVER experienced this situation!  

I agree that there should be a class action law suit against them. No other business could get away with this appalling method of illegally taking customers money – especially when they know they are HANDICAPPED!!!!!!!!

Comments

  • 0
    mark
    | 1 reply
    Returned the car in orlando, the attendant smiled and said everything is fine.I recieved a letter demanding payment for accident damage a week latter.There was also a pedler in the airport who approached me and said he had cars available.I will be reporting them to the better business, and att general.I hope no one is paying these scams, because I'm not!
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  • 0
    Maureen
    | 1 reply
    BEWARE of THIS COMPANY.  When I dropped off my rental in March the attendant said everything was fine. One month later I get a bill for $895 in damages. The risk managers are working together to lie and misrepresent each other. One manager told me my car was reported damaged two days after I dropped it off and told me he would resolve the matter. One month later after receving another bill another manager denied those facts were told to me!!!  I'll will have to pay this under a recurring threat to send me to a collections agency. Extortion at its best !!!!
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  • 0
    Harby
    | 1 reply
    Just received a collection notice for over $1000.  Last rental was 1-2010!     I think they are trying to bill me again for a tiny chip in the windshield.  They reversed the charge on my CC after I complained several times to HQ that I gave my Ins info.  Don't know why,  but I still have my emails.
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  • 0
    Dana
    | 1 reply
    I rented a car from them in Los Angeles in May, 2011.  When I returned the car the attendant said there was a tiny dent in the side and they "probably wouldn't charge" me for it. In July I got a letter from them saying they had tried to contact me - a complete lie - and were sending their charge of $1300 to a collection agency. They wouldn't answer phone calls or emails. I got tired of fighting with them and had my insurance company pay for the damages, and my credit card paid for the deductible.  I thought it was settled but a few days ago I got another letter from another collection agency for $360.00!!  The company has never tried to contact me before sending the account to a collection agency.

    Picking up the car at LAX was a nightmare.  You have to take a parking lot bus, which I was never told.  After waiting a long time, I tried to call them and no-one answered the phone.  I finally called my brother who looked up on his computer how to get to their office.  The "office" is a trailer in a corner of a parking lot with very poor lighting and at night it is very hard to see the cars and determine if there is any damage to them.

    EZ Rent-A-Car is just a scam of a company.  Pass the word not to rent from them.
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  • 0
    Dana
    | 1 reply
    I rented a car from them in Los Angeles in May, 2011.  When I returned the car the attendant said there was a tiny dent in the side and they "probably wouldn't charge" me for it. In July I got a letter from them saying they had tried to contact me - a complete lie - and were sending their charge of $1300 to a collection agency. They wouldn't answer phone calls or emails. I got tired of fighting with them and had my insurance company pay for the damages, and my credit card paid for the deductible.  I thought it was settled but a few days ago I got another letter from another collection agency for $360.00!!  The company has never tried to contact me before sending the account to a collection agency.

    Picking up the car at LAX was a nightmare.  You have to take a parking lot bus, which I was never told.  After waiting a long time, I tried to call them and no-one answered the phone.  I finally called my brother who looked up on his computer how to get to their office.  The "office" is a trailer in a corner of a parking lot with very poor lighting and at night it is very hard to see the cars and determine if there is any damage to them.

    EZ Rent-A-Car is just a scam of a company.  Pass the word not to rent from them.
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  • 0
    Tony
    | 1 reply
    Just got a letter from a collection agency claiming I owed 225 dollars for a 2 and a half year old claim that was resolved with customer service at ez at that time . Claimed bubble gum in rear seat belt, no kids or passengers . Collection agency , hk craig said auditing was going through back claims and has 7 years to pursue, by lease contract  .


    I will not do business with ez car rental company ever  again!
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  • 0
    DJ
    | 2 replies
    Renters Beware!  Worst rental car experience ever!  Rented a car in Seattle in October, 2011.  Upon returning the car after a weekend rental, they blamed us for putting a tiny, insignificant scuff mark very low on the front corner bumper of the car, which we know did not happen while it was in our possession. My husband was the only driver and there were absolutely no incidents. It was the kind of mark that other companies consider regular wear and tear and was so far down on the bumper, it looked like a small dirt mark; the kind of mark you don't notice unless it's pointed out to you and since these cars are kept in a dimly lit garage, we did not see it.  You had to get on the ground to see it.  The clerk at check-in was extremely rude and disrespectful and told us we would be charged for the damage.  She actually yelled at us as we were leaving the counter.  Two weeks later we received a bill for nearly $800, complete with language promising legal action if we did not pay.  We appealed to them in writing at their corporate offices in Florida, but only received a response saying that someone would call us, which they never did.  We felt trapped and so paid them to avoid their imposing further legal charges, but we feel cheated and scammed.  Regardless of where the mark came from, the cost they claimed to repair it was outrageous.  I wonder how many other unsuspecting customers have paid or will pay to "repair" that same mark. Check out the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida for complaints about EZ Rent A Car and you'll find numerous complaints, many of which are from customers with very similar experiences.  Buyer Beware! These guys ought to be stopped.
    • 0
      Roberta replies to DJ
      You are actually lucky. Returned the car last night at the airport at 09:00pm and there was nobody to receive it. The car was intact with the exception of the damage we had already seen before we got the car. They called me today saying I had to contact my insurance about a HUGE damage to the front of the car that was not there when I dropped the car off. And guess what? Instead of waiting for us to care for the possible damage and call our insurance company, they decided to go ahead and remove $1500 out of our debit account without our authorization. These people should go to jail. We already got in contact with our lawyer and our bank! Big Scam!
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  • 0
    Ingrid
    | 1 reply
    They charged me 107.00 dollars for administrative cost for Florida tolls. The tolls were 7.00 dollars. Ez car rentals are the worst I have ever dealt with 30 years of traveling business and personal.
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  • 0
    Figaro5
    | 1 reply
    I just rented from E-Z in Dallas this past weekend. I had a very early AM flight out of Dallas on Sunday, and was told to drop the car off at the 2nd level return area and simply lock the keys in the car and leave it since E-Z car rental wasn't open at 4AM. I received a phone call tonight (Monday PM) from a rep asking me when I plan to return the car so I explained that I had returned it to the 2nd floor return area and locked the keys in the car as instructed. After a few phone calls back and forth I was told that they were unable to locate the car, but after I pressed the issue the rep acknowledged that he knew the car had been returned, but it was in Enterprises posession and they were unable to locate it. He then stated that Enterprise most likely rented the car out to someone else because they have done this in the past several other times. Huhhhh???? I asked for the manager, but was told that he's out of the office until Thursday, and in the mean time they wont be taking the car out of my name until Enterprise returns it to them. I was able to speak to a rep from Enterprise who admitted that one of their "new guys" made a "little mistake" and rented the car out. :( Ugghh!
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