Gadling

Great article, but I have one more thing to add on the digital photos. If you're overseas, like in Thailand or Cambodia, the people with enough money to own a car rental joint may also own the local police. Even if you have time left at the end of your trip (which the rental outfit knows is when you will be returning the car), if you complain about this scam to them, you may not get very far.

If you get billed for damage to, say, a white Ford that has the same license plate as the one you returned in one piece, it would help to have a picture of the VIN number from near the windscreen or under the hood in addition to the rest. You need to be able to demand proof that the repairs were done to the white Ford you drove., and not another. Repairers, by default, note the VIN on repair bills, and if you can show that the ol' switcheroonie was done on the license plate, then your credit card company can do something about it.

If the VIN is mysteriously absent from the invoice for the repairs, the insurance company may still be suspicious enough that they'll reverse the charge for you, and require the VIN on all future repair claims from that rental agency.

Reply