JUST SAY NO! First of all, I think the major SeaTac rental facilities must be getting a kickback from each referral to this scam company since the common thread was a recommendation from an employee (or in my case the manager at Avis) at a the original intended company where a customer was to rent a car but turned down. I am trying to do my part to halt this practice by reporting this company to WA Dept of Revenue, the city of SeaTac, the WA Sate AG and the Port of Seattle this company and also mentioning the individual's name and company of the car rental agency who referred me to this scam of a car rental business. This might be a fruitless effort but eventually this fly by night company will likely be scrutinized and owners potentially barred from doing business in this city and state.
I am in a divorce and the credit cards happen to be joint account and are off limits. Debit card and driving record are no issue and I rent cars all over the country at least once a month for over 10 years (with last local car rental with my debit card being in December 2011) but apparently in the past 4 months all policies are changed and subject to tight restrictions for locals. I have 2 cars with less than stellar mpg so I was opting to get a benefit of miles and use on someone else’s car. Luckily for me but horribly for others, I was not in a dire need of a car (which Seattle is notorious for inefficient, expensive and confusing public transportation). And also, most people won’t find out about this rip-off place until it’s too late!
I was highly skeptical of the referral to this agency but since the address the manager at Avis gave me for this place was a block from my home I decided to see what they were up to. Took the supposed "paid for" taxi ride from SeaTac. I didn't bother to ask for reimbursement because I knew without signing the supposed rental contract I would be told no way. Met at the curb by "Kay". She told me Avis sent her my original rental agreement and she would complete the process for me through her company. I gave her my license and debit card in exchange as I was handed their car rental form for me to fill out. I stopped to ask her specifically for an itemized list of what I would be charged for deposit, daily rate, miles allotted, surcharges, all fees and taxes. She was vague with the total and then said repeatedly I had a 7 day rental requirement but I would be refunded for any unused rental time, even though she knew I was only needed a 3 day rental. Yes, just as I thought this was indeed an agency designed to be a desperate consumer rip-off. I also noticed on the contract she presented to me that it was a Toyota Corolla with a daily rate of $69 and I told her no thank you and I needed my card and license back. She said she already ran the $400 deposit and she did appear to reverse the hold right then.
As I expected when checking my bank account, there were unauthorized charges for $40 on my card resulting from that "reversal". I immediately reached my bank to cancel my debit card and fill out an affidavit for an unauthorized use of my card. When I called "May" to tell her that she had not properly reversed the transaction, she explained it was a fee for declining the card transaction and blamed it on their card processor. Umm hmmm. Well May, I just happen to work very closely with merchant agreements with card processors and I know this is false due to standard merchant terms agreed to with Visa and Mastercard. I also have 13 years in the commercial lending industry so I didn't just fall off the turnip truck when recognizing this type of organization. I also would not be surprised to see further compromising of my debit card after dealing with this company.
I would strongly suggest if you presented your credit or debit card to this company to report this to your bank and request a new card. The initial hassle may be a minor one compared to future fraud this company may be associated with. Furthermore, in my case it's not worth an attorney or spending more time chasing but as I read these stories before mine, I suggest you all look into recouping your damages through civil legal means.
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