Consumer complaint received 2022-02-18
Company: Viking Client Services
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
First let me say my husband and I rented from XXXX twice this year for a month each. We joined the XXXX XXXX program and had a lot of points. At first the person I spoke to told us I could use those since we are married, but since only one name can go on the card, and we had my husband 's name on the reservation, they would not honor the points even though we were both listed at drivers. OK, we accepted that. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I reserved and paid for a car rental through XXXX with the XXXX confirmation number XXXX for pickup at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - in terminal on XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I flew to XXXX for a few days with XXXX friends to visit a friend who moved to Washington. I booked the car through XXXX a month before- prepaid. All fees and taxes were supposed to be included. When we went to pick up the car I handed the girl at the desk the paperwork and she tried to sell us up on everything. I told her I did not want insurance because it was covered with the card I was using and she asked if I wanted the extra collision. I declined ( since it is already covered by my own auto insurance ) She tried to get us to purchase the gas through them saying it was much cheaper than at the gas stations. I declined that knowing from experience that was probably not the case. She told us to get the prepaid tolls for {$11.00} per day ( plus 17.8 % tax ) because there were tolls all over XXXX and they were {$20.00} each. We were driving out of XXXX to see our friend and knew we would be crossing the XXXX XXXX the next day, so thought maybe this was OK and ordered that. ( note, there aren't tolls all over XXXX, in fact none, and we took XXXX over the bridge, so never had a single toll. ) They charged {$130.00} ( + 17.8 % ) tax for insurance but the way it was explained it sounded like the charge for the car rental and that the insurance was " waived ''. The charge was called a " damage waiver '' and I had waived the coverage. I even checked with hotwire when I got back to find out why the charge was so different. XXXX also charged a {$20.00} ( + 17.8 % tax ) " concession fee recovery '' which should have been included in the hotwire reservation. The total upcharges on what was supposed to be {$310.00} all included, were an additional {$230.00}! When I realized they were charging me in addition to my hotwire payment, I called XXXX. But XXXX called back about the dispute and said since I had signed the paperwork they handed me at the counter they would do nothing. 
I filed a dispute with my credit card companyXXXX XXXX XXXX for the insurance only, because I was very clear about that with the girl at the desk. ( This credit card is the one that covers the rental car insurance. ) I paid the other charges even though they were misrepresented because I understood what those were for. 
I also sent a complaint to the FTC and the Washington State Attorney General office explaining this issue. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I spoke to XXXX at XXXX XXXX who said that the merchant had accepted the dispute and we do not owe anything more. She said XXXX XXXX would send a confirmation letter about this in the next 3 days. 
On XXXX I received a letter from stating that the dispute was now closed and that the tempory credit to my account was now permanent. XXXX XXXX credited back the amount I disputed for the insurance which was {$160.00} including tax. 
Aproximately XXXX I requested that XXXX XXXX email the letter that stated that the merchants bank had accepted my claim. I received in on XXXX XXXX We received another bill saying that {$160.00} was 60 days past due. I sent an explanation and the final paperwork from my bank. 
A few days later I received a call from a collection agency saying I owed this same amount. I explained the situation and the person I spoke to said they would note on my file that this was disputed and suggested I could pay half to settle it. I said I did not owe anything. 
On XXXX I received a letter from Viking Client Services , LLC ( a collection agency ) for this same amount again. I immediately sent them copies of my letters of explanation and the copy from XXXX XXXX that the Merchants bank had accepted my claim. I also filed a dispute of this charge on their website. 
After my credit card company canceled this part of the payment, I got a bill for that amount from XXXX. We have extremely good credit and I do not want this to affect that, so I would like to appeal to a higher level to get this resolved fairly. When I went on line to see what I could do, I noticed that others have had the same issue at this XXXX pickup location. 
( The girl at the desk had a strong accent, so maybe she had a language issue. ) At worst this was a scam, at best the girl did not understand XXXX which is doubtful ) I believe that the people at the desk receive financial incentives for all of these add ons, so that was probably the reason for all of this. 
Honestly, this business practice is not fair to consumers. Most of us dont look at reviews before reserving cars, so we would not see these problems until something like this happens. I have not had problems in the past when renting vehicles, so maybe it is mainly this location, however I was very disappointed that when calling their corporate offices, they still would not resolve this issue. 
All I can say is buyer beware!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation