Jack K
Puritan Board Doctor
Here's the scenario:
- This week I travelled with my family out of state to visit my dad. We needed a rental car from Tuesday evening through Friday afternoon (3-day rental). When I went online to book a reservation, the rental company's computer quoted a rate of $130/day, for a total of $390. That was in line with what competitors were quoting, but looked awfully steep.
-Knowing that weekly rates (usually quoted on rentals of 5 days or more) and rentals that span weekends are often cheaper, I revised the reservation parameters to Tuesday through Monday... and the computer gave me a rate of $285 for the week for the same car. I booked a reservation based on that.
- When I arrived with my family in tow to pick up the car, I asked the rental agent, "What if I have to return the car early?" She told me I could bring it back anytime and they would prorate the charges. Sure enough, when I returned the car on Friday the charges were adjusted to $171, or 60% percent of the weekly (5-day) rate.
Did I lie? Did I steal? Am I obligated to give the rental company a good-faith statement about when I really expect to return the car? Or did I merely do what the rental company expects a cost-sensitive customer like myself to do—find and use a loophole they expect me to find so that they can capture my business while simultaneously charging high prices to business travellers, and effectively negotiate with their agent for a reasonable deal?
- This week I travelled with my family out of state to visit my dad. We needed a rental car from Tuesday evening through Friday afternoon (3-day rental). When I went online to book a reservation, the rental company's computer quoted a rate of $130/day, for a total of $390. That was in line with what competitors were quoting, but looked awfully steep.
-Knowing that weekly rates (usually quoted on rentals of 5 days or more) and rentals that span weekends are often cheaper, I revised the reservation parameters to Tuesday through Monday... and the computer gave me a rate of $285 for the week for the same car. I booked a reservation based on that.
- When I arrived with my family in tow to pick up the car, I asked the rental agent, "What if I have to return the car early?" She told me I could bring it back anytime and they would prorate the charges. Sure enough, when I returned the car on Friday the charges were adjusted to $171, or 60% percent of the weekly (5-day) rate.
Did I lie? Did I steal? Am I obligated to give the rental company a good-faith statement about when I really expect to return the car? Or did I merely do what the rental company expects a cost-sensitive customer like myself to do—find and use a loophole they expect me to find so that they can capture my business while simultaneously charging high prices to business travellers, and effectively negotiate with their agent for a reasonable deal?