*** Western Clave 2004 Fallout ****

Almost four months after the Western Clave I recvd a call letting me know
that I owed $1900 for damages to the rental car (actually truck) I had while
I was attending the Western Clave this past year. There was no damage to
the truck, I am sure of that, but having a tough problem disputing the
claim. Seems as though Alamo wants to "pursue the claim" despite my dispute,
and if I don't pay they will report it to the credit agencies.

I'm really at a loss of what to do, my insurance company will cover it minus
the $250 deductible, but I really don't want to pay a cent since I did not
damage the car. I don't understand how they could file a claim against
my credit if I am disputing their claim, and that they would have to take me
to court before that.

Where is the requirement for proof here? Do they have to prove I did it, or
do I have to prove I didn't?

I'm thinking that I could pay the claim for now, and initiate a civil case
against them, but it would be a hardship for me to prove I didn't do
anything, as I don't have any confirmation from Alamo when I dropped the car
that it was damage free. Their process, at least in Jackson Hole, is to do
that evaluation after it is dropped off and the customer is sent on their
way. They say they discovered the damage at this point, when they took the
car back for this evaluation and routine prep for the next customer. All of
their documentation is handwritten, so I don't know if they have manipulated
the documentation, of if the damage occurred in the short time between when
I dropped it off, and it was serviced (those are the only two possibilities
I have thought of). I would hope it is the latter, that it's a honest
mistake by the company, but I beginning to think otherwise as I get no where
with them. It may just be easier to pin some damage on someone from out of
town, since it would be very difficult from them to challenge the claim
remotely.

There is some other stuff that just doesn't add up either, like that they
waited almost 4 months to inform me of the damage (why wouldn't they do it
immediately?), and just as significant, that the car wasn't fixed until
September, 2 months after my rental.

Any advice would be welcome, but if nothing else, always make sure you have
some kind of coverage on your rental care (which I did but would be totally
screwed if not). Also, as a favor, next time you rent from Alamo, take
special care of that company's cars.

The only possible good to come out of this may be that if I do need to show
up for court to win this dispute, I would much rather spend my money on the
trip out there, then to give it to the low life scumbags at Alamo in Jackson
Hole. This would mean I could get some more fishing time in the area. Who
knows, maybe the case could time out for the Western Clave in 2005.

Mike