Hello everyone,
Evelyn here,
but only for a brief time and with another “Buyers Beware!” message. As you know, I purchased my first new car last month. Well, in order to do make the purchase, I had to rent to car from what I thought for years to be an up stand rental outlet, Enterprise Car Rental here on the lower Southside of Saint Petersburg. All this occurred on January 28, 2006.
Let me say that I am very displeased at the treatment I have received from this company. When rented the car, I was asked to put down a $300.00 deposit or max out my credit card, which I did want to do. Therefore, in good faith I used my debit card for the amount. I had the car less than six hours because I was able to purchase my car and take it of the lot the same day.
Since the rental car was turned into the Enterprise rental lot on the same lot as the car company who sold my car, I believed that the cost of my having the rental car for such a short time would be subtracted from my deposit. I also believed in good faith that the Enterprise car rental would return the remainder of my deposit to my account on Monday and that it would be posted no later than Tuesday on my account. No such thing happened.
What actually happened is that the car rental company sat on my the balance of my deposit until I called and tried to make the attempt to inform them that not only has they not refund the balance but I had incurred a overdraft charge to which they are responsible for creating.
First, when I asked the manager where the car was received and checked in about the car, I was told that they had received the car on Saturday January 28, 2006; again, the car was received less than six hours after it was rented out to me. The latest I was to have the car checked in was Monday January 30, 2006 at 7:30 A. M. The receiving manager then told me that he rented the car out to someone else on that Monday. No mention of returning the balance of my deposit was mention by him.
Once I brought the subject up and told the receiving manager in Brandon that I have been waiting for the remainder of the deposit to credited back to my checking account, and that I, in not know that the money had not been refunded made some purchases on Tuesday, January 31, 2006. I informed him that I made those purchases with the thought that his company had refunded the funds no later than that previous Monday, January 30, 2006, since that was the original date set for the car return. He hung up on me.
Second, I then tried to contact the manager where I originally rented the car here in Saint Petersburg, and I got a someone other than the manger who informed me that they did not know have the car and that they were going hold onto my money until they received the car.
I no longer wanted to speak to this person. Because even after giving her all the information she needed to look up the where about of the car and see that by holding my the remained of my deposit they had cause me to have this overdraft, it came to me that she was not interested and that she had not even looked up anything. According to her, they (Enterprise) were going until to hold my money until they received the car and saw its condition.
I made certain that both the manger in Brandon and the Enterprise employee here in Saint Petersburg knew that I had purchased a car that Saturday which totally explain why the rental car was in Brandon and not here that Monday morning.
Third, I waited to speak to the manager of the Enterprise here in Saint Petersburg, and once she was on the line, I explain to her as I had to the manager in Brandon and her employee that I turned over possession of car with key and a copy of the paper when I purchased my car. I informed her that I had driven the car a purchased home with the notion that everything was fine and that the rental company would refund the balance of my deposit no later than that Monday.
I was told by the manager here that they were sorry and that they truly did not know the car was.
Now all this conversation with the two Enterprise managers and the employee occurred on the same day, Wednesday, February 01, 2006. The Same Day.
The manger at the Enterprise in lower Saint Petersburg informed me that she would return my deposit balance that same day. She made no mention of making good of the overdraft.
Finally, Thursday, February 02, 2006, I had a doctor’s appointment, which I kept. However, before going to the doctor’s office I called the car rental company and asked that a print out of the refund be made for me and that I would pick up after my appointment. A receipt showing that my refund was given to me on 02/01/2006 after my talk with the Saint Petersburg manager. However, when I again mentioned the overdraft, the manager said “I sorry about that”.
I concluded that either of the Enterprise personnel members was interested in making good on the overdraft when it was clear to me that they held deposit balance.
A lot of thing stands out in this situation.
1. I should never have trusted that that large amount of money would be refunded without my present. I took it on good faith that the refund would be done no later than that Monday because that was the latest date for the rental car’s return.
2. The rental car was in the possession of the rental company less than sin hour after my renting it and the computer print out of the receipt show that fact to be true. The branch here in Saint Petersburg seemed to overlook that fact, and made me wonder whether they had even looked at their computer for the trail of the car, which would have told them that I turned it in early in Brandon. The manager knew I was going to Brandon and that I was looking to buy a car. She knew because she asked me why I needed the rental car.
3. Not one person working at those two Enterprise branches care about the overdraft, or that they had held my deposit balance and not refunded that Monday. They held it a whole five days and did noting until I called.
4. On Tuesday February 07, 2006, a non-threatening letter was sent (I mailed the letter myself) politely asking the car rental company to make good on the overdraft. The data I have shows that they are responsible for the overdraft, and one employee had admitted that they were holding the refunding until they had the car back. To date, neither the attorney who sent the letter nor have I received a reply from the company or a check for the overdraft.
Unless Enterprise had drop the reimbursement in the mail, this is where the situation stands today.
I am in the right and I will not give up on this. In addition, I believe someone; I do know bywhom,someone had tried intimidate me from the time I brought my car home on the January 28, 2006. However, I have no idea as to whether it was related the refund and now my wish to be reimbursed for the overdraft. All I know is that I had problems using my bankcard. It was temper with in some way I do not understand. My balance was incorrectly posted, and I incurred more charges when there was money in the account. I believe someone or more than one person was trying to intimidate and/or control me over a matter as simple as a reimbursement of a $30.00 overdraft.
The bank had since made good of the charges and I feel better about it, but the car rental company, I totally have no understanding of their actions.
To say that I am unhappy about this turn of events would a great understatement, but I intend to see it cleared up.
Buyers Beware!
Evelyn out!
