Travel Troubleshooter: Enterprise charged me $515 for allegedly taking the car headrest

Q: Enterprise Rental Car in Munich has charged me for damage to the car I rented last year. But I returned the car exactly as I rented it.

Enterprise sent me a letter with a claim more than a month after I returned the car. I wasn’t expecting this email and didn’t read it. A month later, Enterprise charged my credit card $515. Not knowing what the charge was for, I called Chase to dispute it. I then reached out to Enterprise, and a representative informed me that there was a claim for my last rental.

Enterprise claims I took a head restraint and a hat shelf from the car. That’s entirely untrue and must be a mistake.

The company sent photos of a car with a missing head restraint but no identifying information like a license plate or the date. How can I defend myself against a false claim?

A: If you removed a head restraint and hat shelf from your rental vehicle, then you should have to pay for it. But was that your rental car?

Here’s the right way to handle a claim: First, Enterprise should have contacted you to let you know some items were missing from your car and given you the opportunity to return them. If you didn’t, it should have sent you a bill — not charged your credit card. And the claim should have contained pictures of the car, the license plate and an invoice.

Instead, Enterprise charged you and then sent a claim with insufficient information to substantiate it.

I think if you get an email from Enterprise, or any other company, you should consider reading it. You might have had time to fight this claim if you had responded to the first message.

I would like to think this was one of those “lost in translation” issues — a misunderstanding that was the result of translating your claim from German into English.

I think your credit card dispute might have gone your way. Enterprise charged your card without permission, and it sent you insufficient evidence. But, more importantly, the claim is implausible. What would you do with a head restraint and a hat shelf? Were you going to carry those on a plane with you and take them back to New Jersey?

I’m not taking sides here. If Enterprise could prove the items disappeared while you rented the car, then you are responsible. But based on the documentation it provided you, it couldn’t.

What a strange case. I contacted Enterprise on your behalf. A representative called you and apologized for the erroneous bill.

Enterprise returned your $515 as promised.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or elliottadvocacy.org/help.