Legal Question in Consumer Law in Kentucky

We rented a truck from a major corporation for our move. They did not have the size truck that we reserved, so they gave us a smaller truck and 'threw in the trailer for free.' They asked if we wanted insurance and we said yes and paid the extra $30. We were given forms to sign 'for the truck' and 'for the trailer'. The trailer came unhitched going uphill and slid down and hit a tree. The rental company's insurance company contacted us and wanted reimbursement. I told them no, that's what we had purchased the insurance for. Fast forward a year later, and they have turned us over to a collections agency. I filed a letter of dispute, and they responded with paperwork which included a waiver of insurance signed by my husband on the trailer. They claim only the truck was insured, not the trailer, and we are legally responsible. Nobody has time to read through all that rental paperwork on their moving day, for pete's sake, and when the guy at the desk said it was "for the trailer" after we had just told him we wanted insurance, we thought both were insured and never would have driven it off the lot if we had known! Do we have any recourse, or are we just up a creek?


Asked on 9/29/10, 6:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrea Welker Welker Law Office

Yeah, I wouldn't pay that either. I haven't come across this particular issue in the past, so I don't know for certain that there isn't some case law out there that says a trailer is a separate entity requiring its own insurance rider, but I can't even think how or why the trailer would be excluded from coverage. Also, even if it were excluded, if the rental agency attached the trailer to the truck and not you, then you definitely wouldn't be at fault.

If I were you, I'd hire an attorney to fight this for you.

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Answered on 10/11/10, 6:47 pm


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