CLAIM

Did she wait too long to file a damage claim?

fast carQuestion: I recently rented a car from Budget in Ontario, Calif. When I returned the vehicle, a representative claimed that I scraped the bottom of the front bumper on the passenger side of the car.

I did not cause this damage and told him I wanted to dispute the claim. He gave me a form to complete and told me not to do anything — including notifying my insurance company — until I heard back from Budget.

I received a letter from Budget in February, stating that I would be held responsible for the damage. I immediately notified my credit card insurance company, through which my rental was covered.

To make a long story short, my credit card company is denying the claim because it was filed on the 46th day after the incident, even though I filed the claim the same day that I was notified I was being held responsible.
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78 comments

Kicked off my cruise for getting sick

carnival ecstasyQuestion: We were recently scheduled to sail on a seven-day Carnival cruise to Mexico. A few minutes after we boarded in Long Beach, Calif., I had horrible kidney pains. I couldn’t walk, and felt as if I was going to pass out.

My husband immediately took me to the medical doctor on board. He performed an ultrasound and I asked for something for the pain. All of a sudden he said you need to get off the ship because you have a kidney infection. Within two minutes we had three Carnival employees rushing us to get our bags and they escorted us off the ship.

All the while, I could barely walk. One of the employees told me not to worry, that I could cruise at a “later date.” Everything happened so fast. I was never given a choice of whether to stay on board or not.
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101 comments

I rented a damaged car from Dollar — why should I have to pay?

accidentQuestion: I’m having a problem with Dollar Rent A Car. When I picked up my car at Southwest Florida International Airport, they did not inspect the car with me, but told me to just go “pick one out.”

The car had some minor paint damage on the rear bumper, but a sticker was attached indicating that the damage was previously identified, so I didn’t give it any further thought. Prior to leaving for the airport on my return trip, I walked around the car to make sure that there was no damage to the vehicle. There was none.

When I returned the car to Dollar at the airport, the guy didn’t bother to inspect the car, so I pointed out the sticker and damage on the rear bumper, and he said, “Yeah that’s previous damage.”
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Budget threatens customer with lawsuit, garnishment after he questions damage claim

Just in case you thought my recent critique of the car rental industry’s damage claims practices was over the top — and I assure you, it wasn’t — let me introduce you to Jonathan Kiluk.

He rented a late-model, four-door Toyota Camry from Budget Rent-A-Car in Ontario, Calif., earlier this year and is now being pursued by the company in a way that you might find a little troubling.
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112 comments

Is this fair? They saved $74, but they lost $10,074

They missed Italy and lost their vacation. / Photo by Ryan Wood - Flickr.
Question: I’m writing on behalf of two friends who booked a trip of a lifetime to Italy recently. They also purchased trip insurance through Access America. A couple days after paying for the insurance, they found out that the husband had to have hip replacement surgery. It was a situation that became chronic within a couple of days.
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113 comments