| That Explains It |
[Apr. 10th, 2008|10:01 pm] |
I've been trying to figure out how I ended up in such a financial pickle recently; I ended up overdrawn... A lot overdrawn.
Thinking I might have been subject to some identity theft, I started to do research, starting at the top of my online bank statement, comparing them to my receipts and check stubs, and working my way down -- quite a ways down, in fact. It turns out that Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Edison charged me $505.01 way back on my birthday for my trip to Virginia. Which is fine, except my company gave them their credit card info so they'd charge them directly. They didn't. As a result, I've racked up $245 in overdraft charges.
This is not the first time Enterprise Rent-a-Car has screwed me. They flat-out lied to me last year when I got into an accident and had to use a rental for a week -- they told me my insurance didn't give me any car insurance on the rental, when in fact it's covered under my own policy. And they were over an hour late picking me up from the office when I desperately needed to get started on one of my business trips to Massachusetts, even though they were right-freakin'-around-the-corner.
These were three completely different locations, so the problem is not confined to any one. I would highly recommend giving Enterprise Rent-a-Car a wide berth, or you will end up feeling as frustrated, humiliated, and poor as I am right now. I had to wait two hours to post this because I was so mad, and if you know me, you know how rare that is. |
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| Comments: |
That really sucks. How did they even get access to your bank account to take all your money?
I gave the agent who spoke to me my debit card since he said he needed one on-file for the "driver of the vehicle." When he handed it back to me, I was very specific in asking, "So, you didn't charge me, right?" He assured me he didn't. So, really, that's two times they lied to me straight to my face.
The administrative assistant at my company got wind of it (from a voice mail I left her so she'd know what I was doing) and didn't wait for me to call Enterprise -- she called him herself and gave him a piece of her mind. She said he was mildly apologetic ("Well, we have a new employee. I guess these things happen.") to which she replied, "And I'm supposed to be happy with that?" She's good at working over companies that try to play games with us.
Anyway, this is just a humongous pain in the ass. I got no sleep last night, I was so angry.
Ah. I guess next time use a credit card so they can't screw your bank account. Doesn't help now, though.
True. It would have been easier to void, as well.
Car rental places and hotels take out a huge chunk of your credit line when you check in, then they release it after they calculate your bill. Which works fine for a credit card, but I don't think debit cards handle it so well. (BofA, I'm sure, has also figured out a way to book those charges to maximize overdraft fees, too)
I hope they're reimbursing your overdraft fees, since it was their fault you got hit with them, and it's not your job to beg the bank to waive them. (A threat of no future business from you company might be persuasive)
Sorry you got screwed by them, though. I used all of the major rentals when I used to travel for work, and found screw-ups at all of them. I've used Enterprise pretty exclusively over the past couple years because they've been better than most for me. Back in Denver last month, they took the car back at a different location that was closer to the train station.
The assistant manager called me back to tell me she had taken care of both the original charge and the overdraft fees (which hit $315). I'm watching my account like a hawk to see it when it clears.
For what it's worth... (((HUGS))) | |
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ishldgetoutmore's journal
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