There is nothing worse than paying for something that you didn’t do. A few car rental companies have a reputation of charging innocent customers for vehicular damage that they are not responsible for. A few of these companies have even been caught invoicing the same damage twice. How low can they go? After a huge backlash of consumer outrage the car rental companies appeared to have cleaned up their act. However, looks were deceiving. During this down time they revamped their internal systems which made it easier to chase down claims. These revamped systems didn’t differentiate between the innocent and the guilty. The real shame is that the car rental companies didn’t even care just as long as someone paid for the damage.
There are a couple of things that you can do to help protect yourself against such malicious practices. Number one is to take pictures of the vehicle you are renting before you even leave the car rental lot, and take pictures again when you return the vehicle. Also do a thorough inspection of the vehicle, documenting any damage on the rental form. These two suggestions will provide photographic and written documentation of your innocence while protecting you from any wrongful charges.