While Renting cars on Enterprise can seem easy and self-explanatory, you need proper knowledge to get started, especially when you’re doing it for the first time.
We’ve seen people get surprised at the extra charges added to their rental bill, as a result, deny these charges. But have you thought about what this can result in? What Happens If I don’t Pay Enterprise?
Well, here’s an article covering that as well as the possible actions Enterprise could take if you fail to pay your rental bill.
What happens if I don’t pay Enterprise?
If you don’t pay Enterprise, you’d be reported to a collection agency which could get your credit score tarnished, and eventually get the money you owe back, since you signed the rental agreement.
Now, this depends on a number of factors and your actual intentions.
Firstly, it’s worth making mention that if you’re thinking about renting a car and never returning it to Enterprise, that’s a criminal case and could end you up in jail.
From a large view, below are what happens when you refuse to pay Enterprise:
- You risk owing the total cost of the rental car
- You’ll be flagged “Do not rent.”
- You’ll be charged extra fees such as late fees, loss recovery fees, and collection fees.
- You risk tarnishing your credit score
- You can be jailed with a Class 3 Felony charge
As we said earlier, what happens when you can’t pay for Enterprise, depends on a number of factors.
So, for the sake of everyone, we’ll distinguish this article into two sections, covering what happens If you return the rental car and don’t pay Enterprise and if you’ve returned their car and not yet paid completely.
What happens If you return the rental car and don’t pay Enterprise?
Maybe it’s your first time renting a car on Enterprise and you have no idea of how extra charges and hidden charges all accumulate.
And for this reason, you had to deny all extra charges made by the company or charge it back, and probably run.
Well, there are only a few consequences of this action, if you’re in this shoes. Let’s take a quick look at them.
Read also: Enterprise stolen car policy
The first step Enterprise would take in such a scenario is to put in their database of DNR (Do not rent) list, so as to ban you from renting from them.
Note that this ban would be shared across all their network of companies, which includes; Alamo, and National car rental.
Afterward, Enterprise would try charging your card again, using pre-hold permission, a kind of authorization that they usually leave open when they have access to your account.
If the transaction is denied, The company would subsequently contest for a chargeback, a process called arbitration, with proof as to why you were charged and whether or not you agreed with the terms initially sent to you.
It gets even more tricky when “terms” is mentioned.
Because as a matter of fact, you confirmed or signed that you’ve read, understood, and would abide by the Enterprise car rental agreement, before you’re being rented a car.
Note that whether you understand the rental agreement or not doesn’t nullify the evidence. As long as you had agreed to the initial agreement, nothing can be done about that.
If this route is being followed, you’ll eventually get charged for the extra bills, based on the fact that you initially agreed to their rental agreements.
In some cases, they could also sue you for allegedly owing a rental bill.
Generally, the point here’s that you’re either going to be forced to pay or get charged by the court.
What happens if you don’t pay Enterprise and don’t return the rental car?
If you’ve not completely paid for a rental car and have also refused to return the car within the allocated rental period, any car rental company including Enterprise would take strict action against you, when discovered.
Firstly, If this is your situation, you stand a chance of getting the rental car to be reported stolen by the police.
Alongside, depending on how long you have not returned the car, you could be charged for “embezzlement of a rental vehicle,” a law that applies to people who try to steal a rental car.
Read also: If you don’t return a rental car, what happens?
According to the law, “if a person who rents a car fails to give it back to the rental company within 3 days of the rental agreement’s period, they are liable to pay a fine, provided the rental company has proof.”
In simple terms, after a period of 3 days from the scheduled rental period, you’re liable to pay a fine for embezzling the rental car, as long as Enterprise car rental has proof of this.
Of course, Enterprise would always have proof, to validate a theft.
| Felony Levels | Worth of theft | Convictions |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | $1, 000, 000 + | 1½ years in prison |
| Class 3 | $100, 000 - $999, 999 | 3 Years in prison |
| Class 4 | $20,000 - $99,999 | 6 Years in prison |
| Class 5 | $5,000 - $19,999 | 12 Years in prison |
| Class 6 | $2,000 - $4,999 | 24 Years in prison |
Due to the worth of the car in question, you risk being charged with a class 3 felony.
However, this doesn’t happen too fast as this.
Firstly, Enterprise would try debiting your credit or debit card for the extra days spent, as they usually leave an open authorization for future charges after the initial charge.
If the charge isn’t that much, they could just go straight away to deduct the fee from the initial hold they made from the security deposit.
Now If all of this doesn’t work, the company contacts you either via a phone call or an email.
Generally, when you haven’t returned and can’t pay for an Enterprise rental car, they would get you reported to the police, charge you for embezzlement of a rental vehicle, and immediately place you on a Do not rent list across all of its sister companies
Alongside, you now owe the company:
- Cost of the rental with the default rate
- Late return fee
- Loss prevention fees
- Collections fees (as a result, your credit score gets trashed).
Final Thoughts
Generally, the truth is that you can’t trick a car rental company and avoid paying. Even though it takes time, you’ll eventually either have to pay the rental bill or get charged.
