Wrongly billed for car damage

Q: I recently had my car repaired at my dealership, which paid for a rental car from Enterprise. I drove the rental home and did not use it again until the next day, when I picked up my repaired vehicle. The rental remained at the dealership until the next morning, when Enterprise picked up the car and called me to say that it was damaged. At no time while I had it was there the possibility of damage. The dealership had the car for about 18 hours after I returned it. I’d like to have the charges dismissed. Can you help?

A: You shouldn’t be charged for car damage that you didn’t cause, or that didn’t happen while you rented the car.

There were 18 hours between the time you returned the car and when Enterprise took control, so it’s possible you returned the vehicle in working order and it was damaged on the lot. Your responsibility for the car ended when you dropped it off.

Oddly, Enterprise, which has one of the most effective damage claim units in the car rental industry, limited its contact with you to phone calls, by your account. I asked for correspondence between you and the car rental company, and the only thing you could show me was an e-mail you sent, disputing the claim. No photo, no repair bill — I find that a little suspicious. Then, Enterprise sent you photos of alleged damage and charged your credit card $317. The resolution of this was a little strange. You skipped the paper trail and went straight to a credit-card dispute. I don’t normally recommend card disputes, except as a last resort, but it worked for you. Your creditcard company reversed the charges.