Tl;DR: rented a truck with mechanical problems. Was stranded for 6 hours on the freeway and was not able to return it due to issues beyond my control that were the fault of the originating dealer. I was charged for an additional day of rental ($225) and would prefer not to pay that.

Recently I rented a truck from a well known national moving truck company in the US. As soon as I entered the truck, I noted a message on the dash that it had low tire pressure on one of the rear tires. I obviously should have noted this to the dealer in person immediately, but due to schedules and enthusiasm, I did not. I filled it with air and it seemed alright.

2 days later when I had loaded the truck and was set to travel, I once more filled the tire. Unfortunately, as I drove with the loaded truck, it started slowly and steadily losing air. I stopped to fill it about every 60 miles before I noted, at 1 am at a remote outpost dozens of miles from civilization, air coming from the section of the tire near the fill valve. I decided further travel was ill advised. I made it to a nearby interstate rest stop and called the trucking company’s roadside assistance people.

They determined that there was nobody within 60 miles available to come and change the tire. The representative suggested I should just drive on the leaky tire and see what happened. I felt that wasn’t a very good idea. We ended up deciding that I would sleep at the rest stop and help would come in the morning. I was fine with that. However, I was due to return the truck in the morning, so I called them back. I was then told someone was arranging to have the entire truck towed to my destination, over 100 miles away. This seemed somewhat unnecessary, but sure. So next, that did occur. The truck was towed to where I was going, on a flatbed, at 6 am.

We still had to unload the truck, and wait for someone else to come change the tire before it could be driven to the local dealer to be returned. I called customer service to let them know we were returning the truck later than scheduled due to these problems. Somehow it turned out to be a Kafkaesque customer service archipelago- I talked to 18 different people and I still have no idea why since I wasn’t even asking for anything. Someone came and replaced the tire about 2 hours after I was originally scheduled to return the truck.

The local dealer closed at noon that day, 30 minutes after the tire was finally replaced, so we took it back the next day. We were told by some very stoned young man that he had no control over charging us $225 for the additional day of rental, and I’d have to talk to national customer service. I probably at that point should have just left, but instead I actually gave them my debit card. It was unclear whether I’d ever be charged, but finally 4 days later, they processed the payment.

I called the national customer service and they told me how sorry they were for my traumatizing experience, which was not why I was calling. They offered to refund 80 out of the 225, and I said I didn’t consider that sufficient. I was told someone would call me in 1-3 days. So, I called my bank and reported that wished to start the process of disputing the charge.

Any suggestions? The original payment was $575 and I haven’t even complained about that.

  • kiwifoxtrot@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The second you do a charge back, the company can no longer refund/ work with you on the charges. A charge back is only for fraudulent activity and you’ve effectively accused them of that.

    • ZeppoOP
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      1 year ago

      I appreciate the input, but that is not quite accurate. I agree probably they can’t refund it now, but I haven’t accused them of fraud and that is not all a chargeback is for.

      My bank has a page where they explain “What is the difference between a fraud case and a dispute case?”

      Fraud is defined as third party unauthorized use of a card. Common fraud situations include:

      • Swiped transactions after the card is lost or stolen
      • Internet charges at sites where the cardholder has not made a purchase or waiting for an order
      • A swiped transaction appearing out of the cardholder’s home area and the cardholder still has their card (counterfeiting).

      Dispute situations are defined as a disagreement between the merchant and the cardholder where the cardholder is asking for their Issuer’s assistance. Visa and MasterCard regulations offer assistance with a variety of dispute reasons. Some of the more common reasons are:

      • Merchandise or service not received: The card has been charged for a transaction(s), but the merchandise or service has not been received
      • Merchandise returned: The card has been charged for a transaction(s), but the merchandise has been returned and there has been no credit given by the merchant.
      • Duplicate processing: The card has been charged for a transaction twice, when only one charge was authorized.
      • Unrecognized: The card has been charged for a transaction that is not recognized. A copy of the documentation received from the merchant to certify the charge (sales draft) will be sent to the cardholder for review

      There are additional dispute types not listed above. Please contact Cardmember Service for more information on specific scenarios.

      So this is a dispute, not a claim of fraud. It’s a situation where I disagree that a charge or amount is proper, feel I’d like a refund or am unwilling to pay, and they’re being difficult/inattentive about it. Fraud is criminal conduct, but the problem a dispute is meant to solve is errors or shitty business practices.