How I Beat a Rental Car Scam: Fight Back and Win Edition
This summer, my family and I are spending a month in Miami, which meant we needed to rent a car to get around. My wife usually handles the rental car bookings and she has her go to rental car company. However, this year, rental prices were higher than usual, so my wife decided to try a different company she found through Priceline: Economy Rent A Car. As the saying goes—live and learn. This was a lesson learned in dealing with an atrocious rental car company and how to avoid getting scammed.
Not having previously paid too much attention to the rental car booking, about two hours before we landed at the airport, I asked my wife which rental car company we were using. When she told me, I decided to check out the reviews — and that’s when the red flags started flying. I found the company’s Yelp page, and to my surprise (and growing concern), it was flooded with one-star reviews.
The complaints were eerily consistent. The most common issues? It refused to accept customers’ personal insurance for dubious reasons like: (1) customers not having the proper proof of insurance, (2) insurance documents lacking “loss of use” language, and/or (3) unwarranted charges and fees. At first, I thought “[n]o big deal.” I was prepared for all this as I always have a copy of my certificate of liability insurance with me when renting a car. However, as I read more reviews, something just didn’t seem right – I had a bad feeling about this company.
While still on the plane, I decided to dig deeper and look up the company’s official insurance policy. Here’s what I found on Economy Rent A Car’s website:
Insurance is not included but available for purchase at the counter, if customers are using their own insurance the declaration page must be valid for a minimum of 45 days from pick up date for it to be accepted. All information in the declaration page must match with Driver’s license from main driver on rental. Any insurance from outside of the USA will not be accepted. Insurance must cover third party liability and collision damage waiver for recreational rentals to insure the vehicle along with meeting the state requirements
As I mentioned earlier, I have learned to always travel with an up-to-date certificate of liability that outline’s coverage — including proof of rental car insurance and loss of use protection (some companies refuse outside insurance if your policy doesn’t cover loss of use — income the rental company loses while the car is out of service). I thought it was odd the car rental company was asking for a declaration page –a declaration page and certificate of liability are not the same. But, just to be safe, with about an hour left before landing, I emailed my State Farm broker’s office and asked for an updated declaration page and certificate of liability – specifically requesting that the documents include all the terms outlined in the rental car company’s insurance policy requirements. Within 15 minutes I had everything I needed…or at least I thought.
We landed and made our way to Economy Rent A Car office. As we approached the rental office, I started getting angry — I had a gut feeling things were about to go sideways. Always trust your gut. My wife noticed I was visibly agitated and asked me to stay calm and not cause a scene.
There was one person ahead of us in line, and as we waited, I overheard him arguing with the representative about the same issue I had read so much about: proof of loss of use. The customer was questioning why it was necessary, and the rep kept insisting that it was a requirement. Annoyed, I stepped in and suggested to the customer that he call his insurance company and ask them to add “loss of use” coverage to his declaration page — then have the insurer email him an updated copy right away.
Soon another representative called us up. I handed over my ID. Without even asking if we had our own insurance, the representative immediately told us that insurance would be $30 per day. I responded, “No need—we have our own,” and showed him the certificate of liability on my phone.
He stared at it for a while, then said he couldn’t “see” where it mentioned loss of use. I zoomed in and pointed it out. He just kept staring at the screen. Then he asked where I got the document from. At that point, I asked, “[c]an you read?” and told him to look again. He then said this won’t work, “I need your declaration page.” I informed him a certificate of liability is used to prove insurance coverage to 3rd parties, and then I produced my declaration page. He just kept staring down at the document and kept looking at his computer screen. At that point, I raised my voice and stated I’m an attorney from California who handles insurance disputes for a living, and that I knew exactly what insurance documents are required to prove coverage. He did a double take and then stalled.
After a brief wait he said, “We can’t accept this insurance because the car is being rented for more than 25 days.” I asked him to show me where his company’s policy states that. He paused. So, I pulled up Economy Rent a Car’s insurance policy from its website and showed it to him. He glanced at it, said nothing, and looked back at his computer. At this point, my wife was now angry and no longer thought I should control myself.
After about 30 seconds of silence, he finally said, “I can’t accept your documents—my system won’t allow it.”
I asked again, to be absolutely clear: “You won’t let me rent the car I reserved and paid unless I purchase your insurance despite having showed you proof of my insurance.”
He replied, “Yes.”
I said, “Great.”
I had what I needed. That was a breach of contract.
So, standing right there in front of the rental car company rep, I called Priceline to cancel the reservation. There was a 50-minute hold time, so I opted for a callback. Immediately after, I contacted my credit card company—we had booked the car with our Chase Sapphire card—and immediately filed a dispute. I explained the situation in detail, citing it as a breach of contract. This resulted with me being credited back the rental car charge while the dispute process is worked out.
I then asked the Chase representative to transfer me to their travel department, so I could get help with finding a rental car. A travel representative provided several quotes from more reputable companies at the Miami airport. The quotes were only about $200 dollars more than the current reservation we had. I let the rep know I would call back after talking with my wife.
While I was on the phone with Priceline and Chase, my wife quickly searched for rental options at Fox Rent a Car, which was conveniently just a two-minute walk away. Yes, I know Fox Rent a Car’s reviews are not great. However, we have used them three times in the past and have never had an issue – the main grievances customers have is that the rental office is not located inside the airport and people get charged for using tolls on the highways (you have to use a sunpass while driving on the highways). She found a mid-size SUV for only slightly more than what we would have paid at Economy Rent A Car — and significantly less once you factored in the unnecessary insurance it was trying to force on us.
Before leaving Economy Rent a Car, I let the representative—and his two coworkers — know exactly what I thought of their operation. Then we walked out.
Guess who came with us. The customer we first encountered that was having an issue with renting a car due to not having loss of use listed on his insurance documents. Turns out he was an oncologist from Houston here on vacation with his wife and two daughters. He had not prepaid his reservation, so he was able to cancel his reservation without penalty. We had some nice company on our walk over to Fox and while we waited in line.
Within 20 minutes, we were in a new Jeep Cherokee from Fox, keys in hand—no hassle, no shady upsells, and no need to show any proof of insurance. Just how a rental should be.
As soon as we arrived to my in-laws’ home, I checked my Chase account and confirmed that the Priceline charge had been credited back to me while the dispute was still pending. About 10 minutes later, I received a call from an unknown number—it was a representative from Priceline.
I explained the situation, and she told me she would issue a refund once she confirmed that the rental car from Economy Rent A Car had, in fact, not been picked up. I was a bit surprised I did not get any pushback, especially after reading the Priceline cancellation policy. I stayed on the line for about 10 minutes as she periodically checked in, letting me know she was trying to get through to the rental company. Then she gave me the good news, my money was refunded. Subsequently, I received a confirmation email from Priceline stating that the rental car charge had been refunded.
This all ended exceptionally well.
Be Prepared Before You Rent a Car
If you are not using a well-known rental car company you should do the following:
- Start by reading the yelp and google reviews.
- Review the company’s policies – that includes insurance, payment, cancellations, etc.
- Download or have your insurer provide you with an updated declaration page (not just your insurance card) and make sure it shows, at the least:
Liability coverage meeting state requirements
Collision and comprehensive coverage meeting state requirements
Loss of use coverage
4. Check you credit card company’s auto rental coverage. Some company’s offer amazing coverage.
5. Most important. Don’t tell your wife she made a mistake booking the car rental with a bad company.
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