Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron man interrupts armed burglar
Fan in LeBron's Heat jersey draws ire in Cleveland
Father Sam revelations are painful
Police: Ohio baby who died had adult bite marks
Store apologizes for treatment of Ohio nursing mom
Police in Ohio find woman and 2 kids out naked
Drivers give Fairlawn roundabout thumbs-up
Three Kenmore Blvd. buildings get energy-wise renovation
Blogs:
The330:
Akron Zoo’s $500,000 Conservation Carousel opens to public Saturday
Akron Docs in Haiti:
Orphans in Fondwa
First Bell - On Education:
Busing, sports fees and class size on table if Copley-Fairlawn schools levy fails
Pets:
Paws & Pitches at Canal Park
The Heldenfiles:
"So You Think You Can Dance" Notes
Akron Zips:
Poll: What season are you anticipating most?
Tribe Matters:
Thursday’s Indians lineup
Cleveland Browns:
Links to Browns coverage: July 30, 2010
Kent State Sports:
Key MAC Games Of 2010 Season
Cleveland Cavaliers:
LeBron still has at least one fan in Cleveland
Buckeye Blogging:
10 Hurdles Standing Between Ohio State and Another National Championship
Varsity Letters:
Important Dates for Upcoming High School Football Season
All Da King's Men:
Arizona Immigration Law Blocked, Drug Cartels Rejoice
Blog of Mass Destruction:
"Muslims Hate Jews, Christians &…Dogs"
Akron Law Café:
Is BP Cornering the Market on Oil Spill Research?
Car Chase:
Sunday – or Anyday Drives
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Brangelina to Buy in Santorini?
Sound Check:
Ohio alt-rock stars weigh in on Lebron….John Mayer too..
HRLite House:
From the White House – New Federal Approach to Hiring
He asks customer if she had an accident, or was driving drunk. She denies both. Company silent
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Sunday, Mar 07, 2010
A week ago, a friend sent me a message asking my opinion about a situation that had her infuriated.
She had received a message at her house from a man saying he was from a department of Thrifty Car Rental. He was calling her about the ''significant damage'' on the passenger side of the vehicle she had rented for less than 24 hours a month earlier.
The caller tried to pacify my friend by saying she had purchased the Collision Damage Waiver, so there would be no financial burden for her, but he needed more information.
My friend said she was shocked and annoyed that she got this phone call. She knows there was no damage on the car. When she turned it in at the Florida airport, she was checked in by the rental car attendant, who said nothing about any damages. She also said she had a passenger who was in the car, and who would have mentioned if there was something wrong.
The next day, she received another phone call from the same person.
The message, she said, was ''very condescending, patronizing, snippy in his implication that while he believed I did not realize there was damage to the car, it is his responsibility to verify it did not occur while I was doing something 'illegal, for example drinking and driving.' I almost went through the roof when I listened to it!'' she said.
''I was in my hotel room watching TV and Facebooking. I wasn't out clubbing,'' she said. ''Accusing me of drinking and driving? That's a low blow.''
The man said in the message that he was closing the file and charging the accident against the Collision Damage Waiver that she had purchased for $27.
(A fact sheet I found said they can range from $9 to $19 a day, but obviously they can be more.) While my friend's employer encourages staffers to purchase the waiver to protect themselves, she is angry at the implication that she damaged the car and that she was drinking and driving. She's also angry for being blamed for something she didn't do.
''I get irked when I get accused of something I didn't do,'' she said. ''I'm the youngest of a large family, so I have a scrappy mentality.''
While she's not sure, she wonders whether the significant damage occurred after she rented the car and perhaps she was the last one to purchase the waiver and that's why she was being called.
She has left messages for the branch manager to call her back and has received no return calls.
''This is just shady,'' she said. ''The fact that I never got a call back from the branch manager just seems weird to me. Not even the next day [after calling back the original person], did he call me and say, 'We noticed the passenger door was missing,' '' she said tongue-in-cheek. ''How significant could the damage have been if no one decided to call me for a month?''
She also worries whether she'll be put on some ''do not rent'' or ''troublemakers'' list for rental car companies, if one exists. My friend said her husband has been telling her to let it go since she is not financially responsible for anything, but she's rightly upset enough to want to get to the
bottom of the situation.
Thrifty officials did not return calls seeking comment on the situation or to talk in general about the Collision Damage Waiver.
When I phoned Mitch Wilson, spokesman for the Ohio Insurance Institute, the trade association for the property and casualty insurance industry, he actually told me something surprising: the Collision Damage Waiver in Ohio and most likely in other states is not considered insurance, nor regulated by the insurance department in Ohio.
Wilson's national counterpart, Jeanne Salvatore with the Insurance Information Institute, said she can't say with 100 percent certainty because every state has its own regulations, but that it is the institute's understanding that it is an instrument to waive responsibility, but not insurance.
Collision Damage Waivers are ''a very misunderstood coverage,'' Wilson said. ''Most rental car companies almost sell it like insurance. It is not in any way, shape or form insurance. We always recommend if people are renting cars, check with your insurance agent so you can understand what type of coverage or limitations there might be.''
In general, most Ohio insurance companies extend a consumer's personal insurance to a rented car, but it is important for the person to first check with the insurer. Things such as the type of coverage you have will depend and sometimes renting for business instead of pleasure might have different coverages.
I asked Wilson whether there's a disadvantage to extending your own insurance to a rental car instead of purchasing their own. Would a person be subject to their own deductible if it's on their own insurance or have it count against their claims?
Wilson acknowledged that the terms of a person's own insurance would apply, but said if a person is in any type of accident with significant damage and is cited, it's not going to matter whether you're using your own insurance or a rental car company's insurance — it will still get reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles under your driver's license.
Salvatore also suggests checking with the credit-card company of the card you will use because many of those have some type of rental car insurance, too. When you do check with your credit-card company, ask if those protections nullify any other coverage you might have. Wilson said in a personal experience, he purchased the Collision Damage Waiver and the coverages on his credit card didn't come through.
Salvatore said the rental car companies do offer insurance such as liability and comprehensive and collision damage coverage. But typically, you won't want to pay to duplicate your services, unless, for instance, you have a clunker car and don't carry comprehensive and collision damage on your own vehicle. In that instance, you would not have the insurance on the rental car and if something happens, you would be held liable.
According to a fact sheet from the Insurance Information Institute, a Collision Damage Waiver is sometimes also referred to as a loss damage waiver. While it is technically not insurance, it ''waives'' renters of financial responsibility if the rental car is damaged or stolen. However, the waiver might become void if the accident was caused by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated.
That must have been why the Thrifty caller asked my friend if she was driving drunk — but there certainly could have been a better way to ask her.
A week later, my friend still has not heard back from the branch manager. Salvatore and Wilson suggested she file a complaint with the attorney general, and Salvatore said she also suggests going straight to the top and writing a letter to the president of the rental car company.
Wilson also said it might be worthwhile for renters to take a photo with their cell phone of the rental car before they turn it in, to protect themselves if a question could ever come up.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
A week ago, a friend sent me a message asking my opinion about a situation that had her infuriated.
Get the full article here.
Most Commented Stories
- 125
- 53
- 51
- 44
- 43
- 42
- 34
- 25
- 22
- 16
