Budget charges a customer $250 for calibrating a camera

Q: I rented a car from Budget last summer in Jacksonville, Florida. I noticed several dents and scratches, which w I planned to point out during the e walk-around inspection. But the atte endant told me that they“don’t do innspections”because they keep recor rds of any damage that happens to the eir vehicles. That didn’t seem right, sso I took photos of the damage.

Whe en I returned the vehicle, there was alsso no inspection. The next month h, I received a letter from Budget telling g me it would charge my credit card $$250 for damages. They claim that tthe damage involved a windshiel ld camera — not any of the dents or sscratches I had photos of.

I assured Budget that nothing had happenedh to the vehicle while I had possession of it, and I asked for paperwork on the damage. Budget never produced any evidence of the damage.

My credit card company told me that the time for a dispute had expired and there was nothing they could do. Can you help?

— Tony Parise, St. Louis

imporortant? The leading cause off damage to car rentals is a chchipped windshield. You needd prproof that youu returned youyour cacar with an intact windshield.

I’m not saying your camera-calibration bill was fraudulent. But I had questions. You can buy a decent windshield camera for about $100. How can you justify a $250 charge just to calibrate a windshield camera? Also, where’s the bill from the repair shop for the calibration? And why didn’t Budget tell you about the problem, instead of just billing your credit card?

By the way, you need a new credit card company. If you notified your card about the questionable charge within 60 days, then it didn’t comply with the Fair Credit Billing Act. (I have more details about this in my free guide on credit card disputes.)

A brief, polite email to one of the Budget executives I publish on my consumer advocacy website might have also resolved this problem.

I contacted Budget on your behalf. A representative responded and promised to fix the problem. But Budget only refunded $166, shortchanging you by $84. I contacted Budget again, and it finally refunded the rest.

That’s a lesson learned for the rest of us: Watch those windshield cams on your rental cars.

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers resolve their problems. Elliott’s latest book is “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Contact him at elliott.org/ help or chris@elliott.org.