FRAUD
Complaint
Vincent Shrader
Country: France
In March 2011 I paid for a three day rental from Europcar CDG to Sarlat in SW France. When I dropped off the vehicle I told the agent there appeared to be a flat head nail in the tire but the tire was not flat. I did not know if the nail was already in the tire when I picked up the car because normally I wouldn't have noticed it but I wanted to point it out before the next person rented it to avoid a potentially life-threatening accident. The agent estimated the repair price to be 47 euros and noted this on the document that I signed.
When I received my bill from American Express it was $519. This was an additional charge to what I had already paid for the one-way rental! I immediately disputed the bill because I had already paid for the rental and since the estimate for the tire repair was 47 euros I thought this was either a mistake or fraud. To be sure, I called a local repair shop and was told they charge $18 to repair a tire with a nail in it.
Let me add that normally, my credit card would have covered the damage charge but when I arrived at CDG, the 7 passenger minivan I had reserved wasn't available so they gave me a larger van that I later learned was not covered by my credit card's CDW coverage.
American Express tried to get Europcar to substantiate the actual repair charges but they never would other than indicate it was for “damage surcharge” so AMEX reversed the charge less the 47 euros and local fees. They furthermore indicated Europcar would have until Aug 24, 2011 to dispute their decision, which they did not.
Then in October 2011, I received a letter from Europcar demanding payment because my credit card company didn't pay the bill. They threatened that if I didn't pay in 8 days, I would be put on a watch list and never be able to rent from Europcar again. Like I ever would anyway! On our last trip over in November 2011, we rented from Hertz. In doing some web research I found similar stories to my own from international travelers getting billed for false charges after returning home from their trip. Many were more egregious than mine: outrageous charges for tanks returned not full when the renters claim they were, made up damage charges billed weeks after the rental, etc. I believe that this is part of their standard operating procedure. It is fraudulent and they know that many people never notice it or try to fight it. I will NEVER rent from Europcar again.
When I received my bill from American Express it was $519. This was an additional charge to what I had already paid for the one-way rental! I immediately disputed the bill because I had already paid for the rental and since the estimate for the tire repair was 47 euros I thought this was either a mistake or fraud. To be sure, I called a local repair shop and was told they charge $18 to repair a tire with a nail in it.
Let me add that normally, my credit card would have covered the damage charge but when I arrived at CDG, the 7 passenger minivan I had reserved wasn't available so they gave me a larger van that I later learned was not covered by my credit card's CDW coverage.
American Express tried to get Europcar to substantiate the actual repair charges but they never would other than indicate it was for “damage surcharge” so AMEX reversed the charge less the 47 euros and local fees. They furthermore indicated Europcar would have until Aug 24, 2011 to dispute their decision, which they did not.
Then in October 2011, I received a letter from Europcar demanding payment because my credit card company didn't pay the bill. They threatened that if I didn't pay in 8 days, I would be put on a watch list and never be able to rent from Europcar again. Like I ever would anyway! On our last trip over in November 2011, we rented from Hertz. In doing some web research I found similar stories to my own from international travelers getting billed for false charges after returning home from their trip. Many were more egregious than mine: outrageous charges for tanks returned not full when the renters claim they were, made up damage charges billed weeks after the rental, etc. I believe that this is part of their standard operating procedure. It is fraudulent and they know that many people never notice it or try to fight it. I will NEVER rent from Europcar again.
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