Invoice from a car rental company alleging "traffic infraction" 9 MONTHS LATER!

[Aerides]

I'm not so sure a single retail $90 thingy going to collections would have any serious impact on your credit, assuming all else is stellar.

But I would probably write back (not call: write and email and keep everything documented). Ask for details of the charge including evidence and proof it was incurred during your rental period (include the dates and times), and advise you will not be making payment until the charges are substantiated.

And then wait and see.

 

[Walt34]

I'm not so sure a single retail $90 thingy going to collections would have any serious impact on your credit, assuming all else is stellar.

But I would probably write back (not call: write and email and keep everything documented). Ask for details of the charge including evidence and proof it was incurred during your rental period (include the dates and times), and advise you will not be making payment until the charges are substantiated.

And then wait and see.

If you're unwilling to tell them off that would be my second option. I'm a fan of writing old-school hard-copy physical letters. They're harder to ignore than phone calls or email, and if you send it registered there is proof that they received it, which makes it harder still to ignore. They also take time and attention to deal with, and that costs the scoundrels money in employee time. I like that part.

 

[rk911]

...Should I demand to see a copy of the alleged citation? Should I refuse to pay the bogus "administrative fee"

How do I word any email I send this place? BTW, Googling them shows that they do this frequently and BBB is full of complaints about their various "practices" so I have no doubt I'm dealing with professional (scammers masquerading as car rentals) here. Too bad I didn't "Google" them before I went to get the car!

Please help!

Demand a copy of the ticket/citation. Do nothing including paying anything until you see the citation. While you're at it demand to know what the $180 was for.

 

[Al18]

Agree - they owe you a copy of the citation. If it was a red light camera ticket, the citation should include a picture of you driving.

 

[Sunset]

Write them: Demand to know why they are sending you this. Ask for proof it was incurred by you, and when did they get the notice (if they sat on it for months, then the late charges are for them to pay).
Also ask about the previous payments, as perhaps this was already paid for in the 'extra' charges they presented.
Don't pay until they answer.

 

[Texas Proud]

Lots of post I did not read...

Yes, a infraction can come that late... I have gotten some from my kids running red lights or driving on a toll road LONG after it happened...

I also got charged extra when returning... but I was an hour late and an hour means and extra day...

As for gas... my DW was scammed recently.... they tried to sell her on the return it empty and we will fill for $X... she declined but did not look at the rental when she signed and it was on it... she returned it full.. I had to call and get over $75 returned to us on that...

 

[Koolau]

I wouldn't doubt that car-rental companies are adding on charges they hope we will pay and not question.

Get documentation of everything and pay if you owe but fight it if you don't.

I had a retirement home threaten to turn me into a collection agency because they said my deceased mom owed them money and I was her POA during her life. I explained that POAs expire upon death. They would need to go after her estate - which I explained had no money left. This "debt" was over 9 months old and this was the first I had heard of it. In any case, there was no situation under which I would be required to pay for someone else's debt. When they threatened to turn me in to a collection agency I told them that I'd always wanted to own a nursing home and that I would own theirs if they ruined my credit. That was the last I heard of the issue. YMMV

 

[Aerides]

How do I word any email I send this place?

Like a smart business person with an ounce of legal knowledge, and no emotion:

- I received your request for payment dated....
- I require documentation of the alleged citation, to establish that it was incurred during my rental from MM/DD/HH/MM to xyx
- I require full itemization of costs and explanation of the delay for billing, and removal of any late penalties due to the time lapse between the alleged incident and your attempt to collect...
- Until such documentation is provided, I expect no further collection attempts from your company

(CC a lawyer if you know one, on the written letter anyway, they won't know you don't really have a lawyer lol).

blah blah, etc...

 

[Koolau]

cc: Dewey, Cheetum and Howe

 

[ivinsfan]

So is it a traffic infraction or a parking ticket..judging by the price I'd say it's a parking ticket. It's just a fact of life that this stuff get complicated when 3 different parties are involved. Yes the rental company is going to charge you a fee for taking care of this, that's the way it works. . You can probably do as you wish cause if it's a parking ticket it really doesn't get back to you in person.

 

[Willers]

This reminds me of a car I rented in the Midwest a while back. Months later I got a bill from the rental car company for a toll in New Jersey. I, of course, explained that I wasn't in NJ and nice try. They said they would "check on my claim" and finally admitted that the distance in miles to NJ far exceeded the miles I put on the car during the rental. I actually keep my travel receipts for a year because of these types of issues. I as able to detail the exact mileage out and back in from their receipt. I think that helped "convince" them.

 

[Montecfo]

Even a small charge will damage your credit if the charge appears to be legitimate.

The OP probably already agreed to pay this at the outset. Failing to do so just due to passage of time (if the charge is valid) is not something I would do. The psychic benefit of sticking it to the Man will pass but the credit blemish endures.

A nickel's worth of free advice .

 

[FIREd_2015]

I would find out where and when the infraction occurred. I rented a car in Seattle a couple of years ago and about a month after I returned the car I got a bill for a toll road. I found out where and when I was supposedly on that toll road. It turns out I was nowhere near that road the entire time I had the rental car. I responded to the rental car company stating that I was nowhere near the toll road at the time and explained where I actually was. I also explained that the toll road is in the opposite direction of where I was and given the total number of miles driven I could not have used the toll road. I never heard from the rental car company again.

 

[RetMD21]

Sounds like Hurts They charged somebody a fee for failing to gas up a rented Tesla. To be fair there was no gas in it when returned https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/hertz-charges-tesla-ev-customer-a-277-gas-fee-19459610.php