Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Rental Car Problem
I rented a car from a business that specilizes in renting older model cars. Car was 10 years old with over 80,000 miles on it. I used it for 1 month until an electrical fire broke out under the hood. Fortunately, we were not on the freeway when the passenger compartment filled with smoke. Fortunately we were not injured during the event. Owner sent me a letter claiming I'm responsible for damage & liability to vehicle, even though it was never involved in a collision. My contract states that my liability is limited to a collision. I responded to his letter addressing my concerns about the event. I provided a check for the rental period of 30 days. There has been no response from the business after sending my letter. The business has never discussed nor sent me a bill for the damage. However, today, I received a bill from a collection agency for over $7000 regarding this situation.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Rental Car Problem
Contact the Collection Agency and tell them that it is a disputed bill and why and that they are not allowed to report non-payment to any credit agencies as it will damage your credit as to a debt you do not owe.
Contadt the car owner and find out what baissi he has to claim you are liable. In what way did you not use the car in a normal fashion and how is the fire related to yor driving the car in a unusal way? How is a ten year old car worth $7,000? Does your own insurance cover the matter? The burden is on the owner to show you did something wrong. Tell him he is defaming your reputation by turning it over to a collect agency when he has no evidence that you are at fault. You probably wil need a sharp follow up letter from an attorney to get him to back off.
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