This morning, I received a call from a company called Sedgwick, which handles claims for the AVIS/Budget group. They claim that I had damaged a rental car that I returned on 6/13/23, 8 months ago. This is the very first time I’m hearing of this damage. They claim they sent an invoice on 6/23/23 but I never received it. I did not receive any calls, emails, or additional correspondence even though all the addresses and numbers are accurate.

After the call, they emailed me with the damage estimates and photographs. The damage amounted to over $1300, with $200 in admin and $200 in loss of use fees. Fortunately, I still had 2 minutes of video showing that the damage was preexisting. I emailed them the proof and I am waiting to hear back.

Lessons

• Take extensive videos of the car, inside and out, before leaving the lot. Inform the agent of any potential damage, no matter how minor. Include the mileage, gas level, location, and time in the video.
• Your credit card rental damage coverage doesn’t cover you if the rental company takes 8 months to report damage. Usually, they require claims to be filed within 45 days.
• Get confirmation and recording of the attendant inspecting your vehicle on return. If there are any issues, follow up as soon as possible.

I’ve rented with AVIS/Budget maybe 5 times in my life. Of those 5 times, I’ve gotten 1 charge for sand in the car (this was waived), one car key fob that broke off, a car that had a broken fuel meter, and this false claim for damage.