DENVER — A Denver woman reached out to Contact Denver7 saying Enterprise Rent-A-Car was charging her thousands of dollars for hail repairs on her rental car after telling her the car had no damage.
"I was told there's no damage, 'I can now process your receipt,' and pay it, which I did," said Erin Bierwirth. "Almost two-and-a-half hours later, after I dropped it off and long been home, I got a call from Enterprise. He just kept telling me there's hail damage that we see now."
Beirwirth said she was told she would be responsible for $5,000-$12,000 for repairs.
"So it hit me really, really hard. I don't have that money," she said. "They can claim anything they want to. I just felt so helpless."
She started searching and found Contact Denver7 has reported multiple timessince 2019 on issues with Enterprise finding damage after customers returned a car.
While Enterprise declined a request for an interview, in a statement, a spokesman emailed: "It’s important to remember that customers are financially responsible for damage that occurs during a rental transaction, regardless of fault or negligence – just as if they owned the rental vehicle themselves."
In Beirwirth's case, Enterprise stated that they reviewed hail activity maps and can confirm there was damaging hail on the night she picked up the car, but as a gesture of goodwill, the company had decided to waive her repair fees.
"First of all, you know, I'm so appreciative. I can't even figure out how to say it," said Bierwirth. "But also, if there's something I can do to make it not happen to somebody else, I would absolutely do that. Just make sure you have it written out: No damage."
Enterprise stated that it does offer optional coverage to protect customers from liability, but consumers should also check to see if their credit card offers secondary coverage.
Editor's note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need we can address or have a story idea for our consumer investigates team to pursue, please email us at contact7@denver7.com or or call (303) 832-7777. Find more Contact Denver7 stories here. You can also use the form below to request help from Jaclyn Allen and the Contact Denver7 Team.
