So, I rent quite a bit from National, and never had a problem before, but ran into a major issue on the last rental, with a pretty unique situation. Was hoping to get your input:
Rented a car to go from LGA to PHL (1 day rental). Reserved a mid-size as usual being an Executive, and got an SUV from the Exec isle. The rental was done using one of the Free rental days in my account, so the actual cost was $0.00 (no taxes or any other fees). I have the Explorer card on my account, which provides primary insurance, but given that the cost of the rental was $0, nothing was charged to the card.
Now, I rented the vehicle at night, and it was a black SUV. I made the usual inspection and made sure there was no visible damage on the doors, front / back bumpers, and so forth. Car was parked in garage overnight, and midday was dropped off at PHL. Upon returning the vehicle, the agent made the usual checks, but then climbed on the roof of the car, and claimed that there was some denting on the roof. It was hard for me to notice in broad day light, so I would have never seen it at night.
Now I’m 100% positive that the damage was not caused during the time I rented the vehicle. In all likelihood, the damage was there before my rental, but they never noticed it as I bet 99/100 times they don’t even check the roof when someone returns the car.
I explained the situation to their damage recovery unit, but to no avail. They are determined to pursue the claim. The estimated the damage at $800.
My personal insurance has a $1,000 deductible so it won’t cover it. Now as to the Chase Explorer Card, am I out of luck because there was no actual charge on the card?
Many thanks