I was asleep at 5:30am when my parked car was struck by another driver. His insurance company agreed to pay for the body work and a rental car from the Hermiston, Oregon Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a satellite branch under the Walla Walla, Washington office.
When my car was kept by the auto body repair shop longer than allowed by their original estimate, the auto body stated they would pick up the rental car charges where the insurance company left off.
On January 15th Enterprise charged my check card in the amount of $427.32, taking these funds directly from my checking account. I had declined the $16 per day additional insurance coverage but had to use my check card to pay the $50 deposit.
I called the Walla Walla office and was told that the auto body had failed to pay the outstanding charges and therefore it was my responsibility. I stated that I was surprised by the charge, that the auto body was supposed to pay it, that I would be contacting them to take care of this and afterwards I would expect my account to be credited. The reply i received was, "We don't care, as long as we get paid."
On February 9th the auto body indicated that they had received a fax in January from Enterprise Walla Walla asking them to take care of the bill by the end of the month. They stated this was the only billing they had received. They also stated that they had paid the $427.32 in full.
I spoke with Enterprise Walla Walla several times after February 9th, including February 20th and March 3rd. I was told each time that Enterprise had no record of having been paid by the auto body.
On March 3rd I was notified by the auto body that payment had been made in full to the Hermiston branch on February 4. I called the Hermiston branch and was told I needed to call the Pendleton branch to speak with the individual who had received the payment.
I called the Pendleton Enterprise and asked the individual if he had in fact received payment from the auto body. He put me on hold for a while and then came back to the phone and asked, "What exactly is your question?" I repeated the question and he stated that he remembers receiving the payment but does not have a record of that with him in Pendleton and that I needed to call the Hermiston branch.
I called back to the Hermiston branch and was told that these records would have been sent to the Spokane branch.
Today is March 5th. I went to the auto body and they gave me a copy of a signed receipt of payment in full in the amount of $427.32 on February 4 at Hermiston Enterprise Rent-A-Car #4561. It is 31 days later and I still have not received a credit to my account.
It is now my intention to file against Enterprise Walla Walla for an unauthorized charge to my check card. I will be opening a case with the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Comission. I will also be forwarding a copy of this complaint to the Enterprise Corporate Office in St. Louis, Missouri.
0 comments