Will I be arrested at CDG?

It's a civil matter, not a criminal one. If the French arrested every person the car rental companies tried this scam on, it would fill up Switzerland.

As stated, it is a civil matter, I do not think you need to fear anything.

PS What a scam eh, I bet they have susceeded in conning and intimadating others though.

Thanks, all, for your opinions.

I have a little concern about National's assertion that I failed to fill out an accident report. Could that be a basis for a criminal charge of some sort, I wonder?

Lee, instead of stressing out about this car thing...which is nothing...stress more on where you're going to go for your first pastry.

This scam played on you is very common and has been written about on this board and the Grafitti wall.

And don't think it's just in Europe, Car Rental companies are starting to do it in the US as well.

Thanks, folks. I'll banish the thought.

I've read about this scam, and had it run on me 3 or 4 times, but never with the persistence and boldness of National/CITER at CDG. Next time, it'll be a Renault Eurodrive lease.

Oh no! Where WILL I get my first pastry? Or espresso? Or crepe? Or...

Gosh Lee, these rental car shenanigans are disruptive, worrisome and very aggravating espec when you are on a vacation. Hopefully this will be your last experience with rental car issues. I have had some minor hurdles in my many rentals in Europe. Try renting from autoeurope.com based in Maine next time as they are quite helpful.

Of the few scam attempts by rental companies I've encountered, 2 occurred renting in Europe (the ones I mentioned) and both were booked using Autoeurope. I agree that Autoeurope is helpful and offers some good rates, but they booked rentals through National in my experiences. (It seems like I read that they'd dropped National a year ago or so.)

A detail I omitted in the CDG story is that National/CITER tried to charge me for an extra day of rental, saying I had not returned the car on the promised date (well, when you're scamming, why stop at collecting on illicit damages?) Autoeurope did succeed in convincing National to drop the extra day, but insisted the other issues were my problem.

Lee's question isn't a bad one because we don't have the same rights as French citizens and each country has their own set of laws we must abide by when visiting.

I'm not a French lawyer (or an American one). My impression is that rental car damage scams are so common, the police probably won't chase down everyone who has a disagreement with an agency.

This should reinforce the importance of checking completely for damage before accepting a rental and making sure any damage is noted on your agreement and acknowledged by an employee of the agency. A couple of minutes before driving away can save months of hassle.

If you have to use night return, snap some shots of the car with imbedded date to show what it looked like when you dropped it off. The agency will drop their claim instantly if they know you can proove it's bogus.

I know it's amazing, but American news media often sensationalize stories (wasn't sure whether to use often or always, LOL).

Many impressions of life in America are based on how we are portrayed by our own media. Next time you watch the evening news, think about how it would be percieved by someone who didn't take it with a grain of salt.

Just for completeness' sake: I told National/CITER - in 2 letters and several emails - that I had dated color photos of the before-and-after vehicle condition, the testimony of 2 unrelated witnesses with respect to the vehicle's accident-free use, and the agent-signed rental agreement noting the pre-existing damage. These factors were of no consequence to National/CITER, they pursued this for 2 years plus...

When I rented a car in the U.K. last fall, I decided to go with the full CDW offered by the rental firm. This provided zero deductible for all hazards. As it turned out, someone backed into the car in a parking lot causing slight damage to the rear. On that occasion, the insurance was worth the cost and it also avoided the hassle and time to fill in a bunch of forms and pay a deductible when I was only had a short time to catch a flight to Dublin.

I've used my credit card for rental insurance in the past, but the terms for coverage on rental cars seems to change from time-to-time, and I haven't been able to get through the "legalese" yet to determine exactly what they cover?

I'm assuming that taking the full coverage from the rental firm will avoid problems like Lee experienced?

Lee,

They're probably doing what is common here, after their first unsuccessful contact with you they sell the debt to a collection agency. The collection agency gets a big percentage of anything they collect. Collectors rarely care about anything you tell them (or for that matter whether they ruin any relationship with the company that contracted them), they're just trying to get money from you. It's hard to know whether they are making idle threats or plan to follow up.

I've had a similar experience with a rental in the states. Existing damage wasn't properly signed off by an agency rep before I accepted the car (although it was noted on mine and, it turns out, their copy of the agreement). Thankfully they dropped it without taking me to court. Like you, I won't ever do business with them again (also National I hope coincidentally).

Fortunately, my business pays for the CDW now so any made-up damage claims are insurance fraud and don't involve me. My overseas vacations are either by rail or leased car, which includes CDW in the price.

Ken, you're absolutely right, I'd have been safer buying the CDW coverage from National. But it's really prohibitively expensive, and I had (note past tense) no reason to doubt the Visa CDW coverage. I called Visa prior to this trip, and was assured that full CDW coverage was provided to me as a cardholder.

When I contacted Visa after the attempt by National to charge my card, I suggested that maybe Visa should pay the trumped-up damages (about 450 euros) rather than go through the hassle. Their reply was that they needed to see an accident report or a claim from National. Of course there was no accident report, and National wouldn't communicate with Visa, except to try and charge my credit account. Interesting Catch-22.

Brad, I suppose this could have been a collection agency, but I doubt it as all the letterhead was National/CITER and the address matched the Paris National/CITER address. I think they must run their own collection department - the tactics are certainly similar!

Lee, while this post sparked some colorful remarks, I am glad you posted this. I'm heading to Paris and I was debating on getting the additional coverage. My AMEX covers me internationally (I paid extra for extra premium service) but I'm going to add the CDW in addition.

Once we leave American soil, we follow the rules of the country we are in. Unfortunately the rules can change, so we must always be prepared for the unexpected.

Michelle,

You have a lot of posts so you are likely aware of this, but I'll mention it anyway, just in case. Both Renault and Peugeot have a "lease" program offering very attractive rates on brand-new cars and vans, and 100% CDW (and all other needed insurance) is included - no deductibles! I've spent some time investigating it, and it looks like a winner. The catch seems to be that a 17-day minimum use period is required...

Hi Lee, To get back to the origional discussion about rental cars...you mentioned using Renault Eurodrive. I've used Renault Eurodrive many times and have had NO problems. The Renault people in NYC and in Paris are first class, as are the cars. Try the Clio Diesel and you will get 50+ miles per gallon.