We rented a car and were travelling in Colorado when we came to a stop at a red light and another car racing to turn left hit us, knocking off our driver's side mirror. It turns out, the other car was a rental being driven by a women from London which freely admitted it was her fault to the police. However, time passes, and the rental car company is trying to charge us for the damage to the car that was not covered by our credit card because the other driver did not pay for insurance from her rental car company. And it is clear that our rental company has no interest in sueing anyone, even us, just slapping the bill as unpaid, might this harm our credit?

Now, the questions:
Is it improbable to sue someone in England?
As the other rental car company owns the car, can we not sue them because the car at fault is in their name?

5/30/2009 2:13:12 AM

Yes it can harm your credit if they send it to a collection agency and I would be shocked if they didn't.

I would think the other rental car company would be the ones picking up the charges. You're more likely to have success with them than tracking down the woman in London and getting her to pay for it.

5/30/2009 4:07:35 AM

just call a lawyer and get them to write a letter to the rental car company. They are just trying to bully you into paying. Include the fact that you have a police report citing the cause of the accident as being the other driver.

5/30/2009 4:43:28 AM

Quote :

"You're more likely to have success with them than tracking down the woman in London and getting her to pay for it."

Yeah, you'd have little chance of economically suing someone from another state, let alone another country...

[Edited on May 30, 2009 at 8:05 AM. Reason : m]

5/30/2009 8:03:33 AM

This has got to be wrong. You should get a copy of the contract you signed and read it very thoroughly. Does it say you are responsible for all damages regardless of fault? I'd be surprised if it does.

Also, in NC every car on the road has to be insured. The ladies from London might have opted out of the "extra insurance" (full coverage) that they offer, but it would be illegal for the other car company to put a car on the road without insurance. Most other states have a similar law. Your rental car company should be able to collect from the other rental car company.

I'd call the Attorney General's office in the state where you rented the car. You'd be surprised how quickly these things get fixed sometimes when they get a call from the Attorney General's office.

5/30/2009 9:31:31 AM

Almost all states require liability coverage and especially a rental car company would need to have it as well. Call the police that handled the accident and they should be able to tell you who the rental car's insurance is with (if they take to long you can always call that states tag office and tell them what happened then get that info). Then take your police report and the other rentals insurance information to where you rented the car. Explain to them that her rental cars insurance will take care of all damages. If they do not agree then refer to the comments at the top attorney/etc.

5/30/2009 10:31:50 AM

Quote :

"car was a rental being driven by a women from London which freely admitted it was her fault to the police. However, time passes, and the rental car company is trying to charge us for the damage to the car that was not covered by our credit card because the other driver did not pay for insurance from her rental car company."

fuck em

5/30/2009 12:42:50 PM

tips@consumerist.com

This is something they would probably love to write an article on.

5/30/2009 1:46:58 PM

assuming the lady rented her car in colorado (since that is where you were driving), the rental company has to have liability insurance.

reread your rental contract to make sure you aren't missing something, verify the insurance on the other car and bring them a copy of the police report. if they persist, see a lawyer, it sounds like they're really just trying to jerk you around for more money.

5/30/2009 5:21:01 PM

Did you rent your car with a credit card or a debit card?

If it was a debit card, that sucks, but rental car repair bills are generally cheap (wholesale prices for parts/labor). If it's still a lot of money, you can file a claim with your own car insurance (you pay your deductible). They may try to collect from the other agency through subrogation (this doesn't affect you, they just try and collect the money that they paid out back from the other party).

If it was on a credit card, call the customer service number on the back and tell them what happened. If you have "enhanced services" (most credit cards do), they will get you over to that organization to make a claim. You'll have to complete an affidavit and send in a bunch of documents, but they'll cover it and you won't be out of pocket.

I have been through this twice already this year. First time was in January, when someone hit my rental while it was parked (they took off). The second time occurred in march when someone lost control of their car an crashed into me on an interstate. Both times the enhanced services took care of everything.

I travel a lot for business and I rent cars pretty often. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any more questions.

Good luck.

5/30/2009 5:52:00 PM

i once drove a rental car into the hudson just to practice escaping.

5/30/2009 6:00:26 PM

Its a rental, don't worry about it

5/30/2009 6:09:49 PM