Consumer complaint received 2015-09-30
Company: Viking Client Services
State: IN
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
I would like to report that XXXX Rent A Car is attempting to collect on a debt which we do not owe, due to a false damage claim against us. They have been non-responsive to our communications, failed to provide any documentation over several months of requests, all while continuing to send repeated paper bills to us ( written as if we have n't responded to past letters ), and then sending the issue to a collection agency, Viking Client Services XXXX Inc. We dispute the debt entirely, because the premise of the original bill is entirely erroneous and has never been supported. 

XXXX claimed we caused damage to a car when we observed the damage was present before we rented it, and we said so in a signed form. 

This spring, my wife and I traveled XXXX for our wedding, and rented an XXXX car. We picked up the car at their XXXX airport location on XXXX/XXXX/2015, and returned it on XXXX/XXXX/2015. We booked on XXXX, and used my wife 's XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card for payment ; she was also the sole driver. 

We have the original receipt, where the car was listed as a Kia XXXX, with vehicle number XXXX, and the rental agreement number is XXXX. 

At no time during our trip did we get into an accident or cause any damage to the vehicle. We had observed some pre-existing scratches and dents on the car bumper after driving it off the lot, but XXXX did not inspect the vehicle with us, and we never signed off on the car 's condition. XXXX The lot at XXXX airport is physically separate from the counter. ) When we returned the car to XXXX, the XXXX agent noticed the damage and asked us to fill out an incident report. We disputed any liability, and only filled in the form to write that the dent on the bumper had been there when we received it. I have a copy of this signed incident report from the time of the rental disputing the damage. 

However, weeks later, XXXX sent a bill for damage. The damage claim number is XXXX, and the damage claimed was {$550.00}. After that date, I spent a month attempting to contact XXXX to resolve this. I called their main line, which directed me to their claims online contact form. Their claims agent responded to my query by directing me to call a XXXX office. The XXXX office never responded to my phone message. I sent XXXX more emails, on XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, and none were responded to. 

In my correspondence, I reiterated that we dispute the damage claim, and noted that we have a signed incident report from the time of the alleged damage disputing the damage was caused by us, and we asked for XXXX to provide documentation, including an itemized repair bill/estimate listing the nature of the damage and the actual work to be done, as well as timestamped supporting photos from before and after the rental to demonstrate the damage being alleged occurred during our usage. I believe they stopped responding because there was no such evidence from XXXX that we caused this damage. 

Instead, after not responding to my last email for several months, XXXX sent our claim to a collection agency. We received a letter from Viking Client Services this week stating that they were seeking to collect on this account, and that now the balance due {$800.00}. The Viking account number given was XXXX. 

We have made every attempt to resolve this dispute, but XXXX has been non-responsive to our communications, and failed to provide any proof of alleged damage. They and their collectors have continued to send us form letters and robo-calls, however. We believe XXXX and Viking are engaging in deceptive practices, attempting to collect a debt they must or should know we do not owe, since they evidently can not provide evidence for it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation