Alamo Rent a Car Phoenix Deception

To whom it may concern: November 30, 2006

I travel frequently on business. In the last 25 years, I have rented hundreds of cars at airports around the U.S. Most of my rentals have been with Alamo.

On August 13, 2006 I rented a white Mercury Marquis from Alamo in Phoenix, AZ, RA# 409921661 and Contract ID 640789. The car had white vinyl bumpers. I walked around the car and noted no damage. There were black scuff marks on the front and rear bumpers, but I did not note those as damage. In the 25 years I have been renting cars at airports, no one from any rental company has ever considered scuff marks on bumpers as damage. Scuff marks on vinyl bumpers can be easily cleaned off, and a certain percentage of cars in rental fleets have scuff marks on their bumpers.

When I returned the car to Alamo in Phoenix on August 15, 2006, Mr. Melku Mengesha, an Alamo employee, noted the black marks on the bumpers and accused me of causing damage to the vehicle. I replied that scuff marks on bumpers are not generally considered damage. Mr. Mengesha then got down on his hands and knees and began probing the black marks with the blade of a pen knife. On the rear bumper he found a small perforation in the bumper. The slit, suspiciously, was small enough to have been caused by Mr. Mengesha’s knife. The slit was invisible to the naked eye when one was standing up, looking down at the bumper. One had to get down on hands and knees in order to see it.

I repeated that I had not caused the damage and began to leave for the shuttle bus. Mr. Mengesha threatened me and insisted that I fill out an “accident report.” Under protest, I filled out an Alamo Damage/Loss form. My comments read: “When I rented this car, there were black marks on the bumpers. When I returned this car, there were still black marks. There was no accident, only marks from previous renters.” On the reverse of the form, I wrote a note to myself. My note reads: “8/15/06. Melku Mengesha thinks I need to report black marks on the front and rear bumpers. These were not reported at time of rental on 8/13/06 & now he is giving me a hassle on 8/15/06 when I return the car.”

Alamo has now filed a claim against me for over $600 for replacing the bumpers and I am being hounded by an insolent and accusatory collection agent. I deny Alamo’s claim and intend to fight this false accusation vigorously. I have been victimized by Alamo’s deceptive and discriminatory business practices.

Kirk Magleby

President, Nuvek, LLC

CC: Nuvek Legal, Alamo Customer Service, Phoenix Better Business Bureau, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, complaints.com