I picked up a rental car on Dec 23 from Surprice Car Rental in Madeira in Portugal. On Dec 25, the check engine light came on this car so I called the rental car company and they exchanged the car for the only automatic car they had left which was a white Lexus. We were 4 people and had 4 phones and we took pictures of the existing damage on the car. When we returned the car on Dec 27, there was a very faint scratch on the back side of the car for which the agent working there asked us to show pictures since he was saying it was new and happened on our clock. We did not hit the car anywhere. I did have a picture of the scratch on my phone but the agent said that was not it as the angle was different. We were going back and forth and so I agreed to pay for the damage even though I knew it was existing as we were arguing and thus getting late for our flight. My friend has specifically pointed to that scratch that day because it was raining and hard to see and if they have a video camera on site, they can see my friend and I talking about it.
The following day, my friend found a very clear picture of that scratch on her phone from Dec 25 and I called the rental car company to explain the situation and they said to text them the pictures which I did. There was no response after a few days so I called and then was told the phone # does not accept text messages so I should email them the pictures so I emailed them, and since then have had to follow up several times. Surpice Car Rental keep denying the claim. I have shown a picture of the scratch from Dec 25 and from 27 (since I took that thinking I would need to file a claim with the insurance company as I had purchased insurance on the car) so there is undeniable proof. I have the picture of the scratch, a picture of the gas tank since the agent marked half full on the paperwork and it wasn't, banana trees outside the car rental office in Maderia all in a sequence and dated Dec 25 when the car was picked up on one of the phones. And this is an iphone so it shows the time and date of the pictures yet the car rental company keeps denying the claim that the scratch was existing.
It is a very faint scratch to begin with but I was charged 503.20 euros for it because the rental company claims that is the price. The scratch is smooth and I have pictures to prove it was existing at the time of pick up but the customer service just says no and keeps denying the claim. They have asked me to email them over and over again and the Maderia office has a caller id so they do not pick my calls as they can recognize my US phone # and it seems I am just been shoved in circles for no reason.
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Incident date: 27 December 2022
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