Damage charge after a rental or stay: what to do

Have this ready

• your photos at pickup and return
• rental agreement
• the damage claim

Steps for any company

1. Ask for the evidence in writing: photos, repair invoice and the vehicle or room history.

2. Tell your credit card benefit provider or insurer about the claim.

3. Dispute the charge with your card issuer if the company does not give evidence.

A company playbook below replaces these generic steps with the company’s own forms, phone numbers and deadlines.

Company playbooks (7)

Car rental

• Avis Budget Group (Avis and Budget)Avis and Budget damage claims are run by third-party administrators (Fleet Response and Viking); deal with them directly and ask for the evidence.
• Enterprise Mobility (Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National, Alamo)Damage recovery bills for Enterprise US rentals are paid or questioned through Consumer Collections Support; ask for the evidence in writing before paying.
• HertzReport damage on a Vehicle Incident Report at return; for a damage bill, ask Hertz Claim Management for the evidence and check the state limits on what you owe.
• SIXT (USA)Report damage by phone at once and confirm in writing; deal with SIXT claims management using the damage number.
• TuroTry to settle with the host first; escalate to Turo within 20 days of trip end, and answer the claims associate with photos.

Hotels and short-term rentals

• AirbnbA host must ask you to pay through the Resolution Center within 14 days of checkout; you are notified and can respond before Airbnb charges your card.
• VrboHosts have 14 days after checkout to file a damage deposit claim, limited to the deposit amount and one claim.

Guides

• Car rentals — how complaints work
• Hotels and vacation rentals — how complaints work