If you've never been in an accident before, then you should thank your lucky stars (and insurance rates). However, if you do incidentally get into your first car accident with a rental car, here are the most important things to do:
- Make sure any involved parties are ok. Any injuries should be taken care of ASAP.
- Call the police and/or ambulance (if necessary), and then call the car rental agency. Be as cooperative as possible. The car rental agency will have its own policies regarding accidents.
- Exchange information with the affected parties.
- Try to record everything on the scene. Your notes should include details of the accident, identification of the autos and people involved, and the names and badge numbers of all emergency personnel. Take pictures if possible. If you are on vacation, you will probably have a camera handy already.
- File an accident report with the police, and report the claim to your own credit card company or insurance company.
Who Is Responsible For The Damage? Will I Have To Dip Into Little Johnny's College Fund?
The amount of damage you are responsible for depends on what you already have covered by your existing auto/health/personal insurance policy and/or credit card and/or what you optioned to buy from the car rental agency.
Can I Get A Replacement Car?
In some cases, you might be able to get a replacement car for a fee. If the accident is small, and there is no major damage, the the agency might allow you to continue driving the car. What if the agency tell you to keep driving the car after a small accident? Then be very careful. Ensure that you will have a lot of time to return the car.
Having A Breakdown
Most major companies usually provide roadside assistance. Look at your rental contract — it should include instructions and a toll-free number. If you are renting from an independent agency, then check the policy on breakdowns.
I Can't Get No Satisfaction
Offer solutions or suggestions that might have made the situation better. Don't give them the tone that you'll never rent from them again. Giving such an absolute ultimatum will just make the employees and managers discard you in the "Non-returning Customer" pile. It won't open any avenues for resolution. Good things to write down are the names of the employees you dealt with (and any present employees), dates and times of encounters, car rental locations, witnesses and the situation at hand. If you're really unhappy, you might want to contact the Better Business Bureau with your incident. In any case, let the cat out of the bag so the same thing doesn't happen again.
