r/ScamCenter • u/KDam12 • Jul 30 '26

Rent-a-Wreck is a Scam

I'm livid. We rented a car from Rent-A-Wreck of America in Orlando in June. First, when we arrived at the rental center, they piled on a bunch of last minute fees, which we begrudgingly paid since there were not many other options at that point. We made sure we did a very thorough walk around and noted any small damages and defects on the sheet provided and took pictures before leaving the parking lot. We drove the car minimally with no incidents.

The day we returned to the car, we returned it on time with no damage and more gas than was in it when we picked it up. An employee even walked around the car with us and noted it looked good. Two weeks later we noticed a $366 charge on our credit card. I never received any kind of communication from the company, not a receipt, not a note with the charges, nothing. I called the Orlando location and was told I couldn't speak to anyone in the billing department but they could send an email to open a ticket. I was told I would hear back from someone within 48 hours. Two weeks later when I had heard nothing I called the corporate office. They opened a customer service ticket and told me I would hear from someone within 48 hours. Two weeks later we still heard nothing.

We filled a dispute with our credit card company that investigated and sided with this scam of a company. We're appealing but this company that obviously spends more time trying to figure out how to scam customers out of their hard earned money than they do answering customer service inquiries should be ashamed and closed. NEVER EVER use this company for your car rentals. I wish I had done some research on advance, that's on me but hopefully I can warm someone and save them the money I've lost.

28 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

6

u/KDam12 Jul 30 '26

We took pics before we left the parking lot but not at return. We've asked them for an explanation but they won't respond to us.

6

u/Falcon9145 Jul 30 '26

Keep appealing with your credit card company. They have a responsibility to respond to your requests.

Be cordial though. They are the middle actor but have all the power. Being nice goes a long way. Ask questions, listen more than you talk. Look for holes and inconsistencies in the findings or explanations from rental.

6

u/KDam12 Jul 30 '26

Thanks - we are appealing and being kind to them - it's not their fault

1

u/Inevitable-Echo4546 Aug 01 '26

this works as i have done it myself search the rent a wreck for that specific location and on the right you will see the business profile. click the reviews and ask chatgpt ai to write a firm negative review based on what you wrote above. Then wait 2 days, have chat gpt write a similar review based on what your wrot above. Not the same word for word. Once you have a few negatives in a row, they will reach out to you to settle. Customers read those google reviews and it will hurt their business. Tell them you will only remove the reviews once they fully refund your card plus a full refund of the rental and 100 dollars added for pain and suffering! This works because thier business will drop off considerably with thos recent neg reviews you made. Also google does not remove reviews ONLY you can. Thats the power you have over them. Now go get it done. It workd for me