Over the years I have heard rental car nightmares but …thankfully…have dodged any significant problem….well that changed big time in Portugal!

Truthfully, I have had several unpleasant rental car experiences with some off-brand companies.  Things like mandatory car insurance, denying to rent me a car if I drive to Ohio or sorry we have no cars.  I had been rented cars with air leaks in the tires, cars that smelled like smoke (tobacco and marijuana) and cars with cracked windshields.  I even had one car (that I refused to rent) that had a completely crushed front end.  Thinking about it, generally rental cars are a pain in the ass but not lingering nightmares.

In this case, instead of renting from off-brand inexpensive company, I decided to go with one of the larger car rental compamies…SIXT.  What a big mistake!

We rented the car in Downtown Lisbon and had it for three days.  Primary insurance on the car was provided by my Capital One Venture X credit card.  I like the Venture X since it provides “primary” insurance for rental car damages.  (Most cards provide “secondary” insurance which means you must file damage claims with your personal insurance first.)

Before and after we rent a car, Reva always takes a video to document the condition of the car.  In this case, we were traveling with friends and rented a nice mid-size SUV.  We were only driving a few hundred miles to visit a few small towns in the countryside.  The car was in great condition, and we had no issues with it.  I returned it with no damage, full of gas and expected a quick and uneventful return.

When I returned the car, the agent went over it in more detail than I had every witnessed.  He actually took pictures each tire and hubcap looking for anything possible.  There was none.  After about 10 minutes, he informed me in his broken English, that the luggage cover in the back was missing and that he would have to report that.  I informed him that the car never had a luggage cover. 

I never considered taking photos of the car interior.  It was obvious that we were not stealing a luggage cover to take back to the USA, but he was insistent that he would have to report it.  However, he also indicated that it wasn’t a big deal and that we would get our deposit back in a few days.  He required me to sign a form to complete the return.  I should have taken the time to fight with the agent and demanded to see photos of the cover that was supposed to be in the car, but I didn’t.  That came back to bite me.

Just in case, I put a freeze on my credit card and we went on with our travels.  About a week later an attempt was made by SIXT to charge 200 Euro to my card which was blocked.  However, the following day, Capital One notified me of a 200 Euro charge that they processed.  (I guess since they had previously charged the card, they had ways to work around the block I had placed.)   I immediately disputed the charge as fraud and was issued a new card. 

A few weeks later, I was notified by Capital One that they had determined that this was indeed a fraudulent charge but advised me SIXT would have 60 days to challenge the decision.  They did not challenge it. 

I did try to contact SIXT, and I posted reviews on their webpage and Facebook page.  I never got any response other than a comment on my Facebook post telling me to contact their customer service department.  Also, forget trying to call them.  You wait forever just to get disconnected or passed on to someone else.

A few months later, I received an invoice in Florida from SIXT for 200 Euro.  No info whatsoever …just an invoice.  I had already found out that SIXT had lost a class-action lawsuit for their questionable damage claim assessments and I joined a Facebook group of customers experiencing similar false charges….most much worse than my situation!  I started getting aggressive with my complaints.  Always, the response from SIXT was the same….no response at all…..crickets. 

Over the next two weeks, I received multiple invoices from SIXT demanding 200-euro.  I also received a letter from Germany, informing that this had been turned over to a collection agency and I now needed to pay 350-euro!

Even though I had insurance to cover the fraudulent charge, I was not going to give in to extortion or make a false claim.  I posted my experience with SIXT extensively and considered what other actions I could take.  The Facebook group provided very helpful advice.   I was advised to open up a consumer fraud complaint with my State Attorney General.  In case they damaged my credit, I would have grounds to dispute it with the Credit Agencies. Even though this was an international rental, others had had their credit severely damaged by SIXT collections.   Turns out, that in Florida, it’s a very easy process to initiate a Consumer Fraud case on-line.  I also, learned that in Florida, there are enhanced penalties for companies that try to take advantage of citizens over 60 and veterans.  I do like Florida!

I notified SIXT Customer service that they had not responded to my complaints and that the following week, I was filing a formal complaint with our State Attorney General. 

The following day, I received a response from SIXT…my first one.  They cancelled the damage claim.  No apology, just a short email.  I verified on the collection agency webpage that the collections activity had been terminated.  This was a good ending to a stressful and time-consuming process!  I had spent hours working to resolve this fraud.  It is frustrating when the company completely ignores you.  Either you pay or they trash your credit.  No reason to listen the customer. 

I did learn a few things and here are a few recommendations I have regarding rental cars and companies that rent them.

1.  Do your research before you rent so you are aware how the company operates.  If I had read more about SIXT Portugal, I would never would have rented a car from them.
2. Take photos of the car before and after you rent it and keep them for a few months.  Make sure you take pictures of the inside as well as the outside.
3. Never leave the car rental return location until you are sure the car has been inspected and that they have no issue.  (They still may bring something up later, but at least you have some defense.)
4. Understand what the consumer complaint process is with your State Attorney General.  I had never considered that before.
5. Don’t give in to extortion or bogas rental car company demands.  Stand your ground.  SIXT has forever tarnished its brand name …. at lease in my case.

I was pleased last week when I was at the car rental facility in Miami (picking up a car from Budget), the whole facility was busy.  Lots of people are traveling these days.  The lines were long but manageable.  Everyone seemed to be doing a good business…..except SIXT.  There was only one customer there….that did make me smile.  (FYI, one of my reviews on SIXT has had over 5,000 views.)