Today my car stopped starting. Given my vast mechanical knowledge, I’m 5% certain that it is the battery. Or maybe a fuse, but probably the battery. Tomorrow I’m going to see if jumping it will help. If that’s not the problem, I think it’s time to get rid of it. I mean, honestly, I’ve been saying that for a while, but I’m not putting any more money into it.
Speaking of cars, I rented one to go to Illinois this past weekend. Given the above, this seems to have been a good idea. Problem? It had some dog hair in the back seat. Ok, it had quite a bit of dog hair in the back seat. I don’t have any idea how it got there, either…
Anyway… Enterprise called today to tell me they were going to charge me $75.00 because they had to vacuum out the dog hair (the horror!). The manager told me that it didn’t matter if I agreed to that in the rental agreement or not… I owed the money because he said so. I asked him to humor me, and find in the rental agreement which clause gives them the right to arbitrarily tack on charges. After 10 minutes on hold, he said he’d have to call me back. This ought to be interesting. My complaint is two-fold:
- He claims that there are no pets allowed in cars, and that “everyone” is told that. I never was. Not in the half-dozen or so times that I’ve rented from them. Never. (And it appears not to be in the rental agreement)
- $75? Really? His justification was that they “had to take it somewhere.” Oh yeah? Because I could’ve taken it down the street and had the thing washed, dried, and detailed for a fifth of that price. I’m not going to pay a 500% mark-up on that, it’s absurd. (Unless, of course, the fee is delineated in the rental agreement)
Finally… I was locked out of my own apartment today for a while. I had to walk back to the school, but not before I tried (and failed) to break in.
Yeah, it was a pretty awesome day.
Tags: Enterprise
February 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I love your Lab. Is he full blooded? Where did you get him, from a breeder near Bloomington? I am looking to get a Yellow Lab myself (female), and am looking for a good breeder near the Bloomington area.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Snort. If no pets are allowed in Enterprise cars–and it’s in the contract–then I’ve unknowingly breached a contract with them about eight times in the last year. I have NEVER been told by an Enterprise agent that no pets are allowed. I’ve even been on the phone with Enterprise asking about an extension to our reservation WHILE MY DOG WAS BARKING and not had them say anything.
I call bogus.
February 19th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Wow, men suck at life.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Sounds like a Monday.
Enterprise tries to markup every little thing. If you don’t fill up the tank to where it needs to be and they have to do it, they charge about $5-6 per gallon. I can’t remember the exat amount, but I know it was absolutely ridiculous.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Oh man.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I don’t have so much of a problem with the fuel refill because they are EXTREMELY clear about it. When you take the vehicle, they give you three options: (refill yourself, buy a full tank for their preset amount, or allow them to refill it). This is a case of “making it up as you go along.” Rental car companies do that though.
I had a tire blowout on a vehicle a couple months ago and was told it was my responsibility since it was in my possession. I had an equally futile discussion with Dollar about proper maintenance of their vehicles and the danger their policy puts their customers in because of their lack of incentive to actually maintain their cars (just let them break and have the customers foot the bill for repair). They didn’t buy it and I ended up (by way of my firm) footing the $300 bill. Certainly won’t rent from them again.
Just as a sidenote, as somebody who rents a car an average of once a week, I’ve NEVER been told anything about their policy on pets.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I noticed when I went back in that they had started writing “No Pets” on the rental agreement form. As much as they argued about it, they must have realized they were screwing up by not making that policy known.
I also think that they’d have a hard time supporting their “detailing fee” in small claims court… but the extra $40 wasn’t worth the time to file it.