In August, I rented a trailer from the U-Haul store on Marginal Way. My mother had let me use her credit card to secure the transaction (you can’t rent one without a credit card, or so I was told). The contract was in my name only. I had the trailer for a day. I returned it, and the transaction was charged to my mother’s credit card (as previously arranged with my mother). My husband then rented a truck. The contract was in his name only. He had asked if they could secure the truck with the credit card previously used. They said, no, because the numbers are not kept on file. They stated that they would, in fact, secure the transaction with a cash deposit of $100. Had we known this from the beginning, we would have used cash for the trailer as well.
So we rented the truck, with the intention of only having it for a day. It turned out we need it for four. We called and explained this to the manager, and returned his calls when he called our cell phones, because he was not happy. I empathized, but I needed the truck to move. We brought the truck back on Friday, August 24, at 7:45 PM. The store was closed (the sign said it closed at 8:00), so we left the truck.
We had moved all of our stuff into storage, because we hadn’t yet closed on our house. When we finally did (four weeks later), my mother received a credit card statement. I had completely numbed it about paying U-haul, because I was so wrapped up in the house-buying process. U-Haul had charged her card $478.82 for the truck rental. I called the store, asked them to refund her card the charge, as they were not authorized to use her card for that transaction. I explained that, when this was done, I would pay for the transaction. The manager refused, told me I just needed to pay my bills, called me a liar. It was a lovely conversation.
Here is my question: The card was attached to the contract in my name. Did U-haul have the right to use that credit card to cover a contract in someone else’s name, regardless of our relationship? For all he knew, we could be divorcing. Does this amount to credit card fraud? And, do I have the right to ask them to refund my mother before I will pay a dime?
2007-10-25 05:29:42 · 5 answers · asked by seevie8 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Paying my mother is not the issue. the issue is the unauthorized use of a credit card by a well-known corporation. THAT is the big deal.
2007-10-25 05:41:10 · update #1
Just pay the amount you owe to your mother. What's the big deal?
2007-10-25 05:39:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could have used the credit card in lieu of cash deposit for the trailer rental and paid the actual rental cost in cash instead of charging the card.
Your mother should dispute the charges with her credit card company. You should go to the U-Haul store and pay the additional rental fees due on the truck.
Returning the truck 3 days late, you knew you owed additional money. Since there wasn't anyone there when you brought the truck back, you should have called them or shown up the next morning to deal with the additional money you owed.
I am surprised they only required $100 as deposit for the truck rental. That didn't even cover one additional day. Normally they ask for $100 cash deposit for smaller items like tools with a daily rental fee of $10.
2007-10-25 07:15:21 · answer #2 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is still your bill to pay, as long as the charges are appropriate, which they might be, but to me, 4 days at around $120 a day is outrageous.
You could, especially if the charges are excessive or they never sent you a bill, ask your mom to reverse the charges. If they never had authorization for the second truck and in fact said their policy is to refuse the use of that credit card again, she would have perfectly legal grounds. U-Haul should admit the mistake of charging on your mother's card, send you a bill, and let you go over those charges and dispute the amount of gas, cleanliness, damage, or whatever they used to charge you so much. If there is a disputed amount and they will not negotiate, that is your call on how much you will pay and risk they will take you to small claims court.
2007-10-25 05:44:57 · answer #3 · answered by Frank 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If U-Haul did not have written authorization to use the card, you should dispute the charge to your credit card company.
2007-10-25 05:33:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They should have not charged the credit card. I wouldn't have your mom contact the credit card company and talk to them about it. They should be able to take the charges off. As to trying to get the money back from uhaul, it wouldn't be worth the time or expenses trying.
2007-10-25 05:35:06 · answer #5 · answered by Brian C 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋