Dollar Rent A Car Scam Artist Disguised as Rental Car Company in Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas

As I wright this I am literally shaking with anger.  

Rented a car from this shady operation on July 5 2010 and returned it one week later on July 11 2010.  Did not purchase the optional insurance.  Drove to my destination, Corpus Christi to San Antonio 200 miles away, and parked the car.  It remained parked for one week.

When I got ready to Corpus Christi I noticed the front right tire was flat.  The wrench provided with the jack was inadequate (too small) to loosen one of the lugs.  I called Dollar and asked for roadside assistance - they had an office 15 minutes away at the San Antonio Airport.  They unemphatically refused - I was amazed.  I was forced to call AAA who, by stark contrast, provided rapid and super courteous service.  Because the spare was one of the compact (dangerous) types, I drove to the nearest Dollar office and exchanged cars without incident.  A service manager inspected the tire and found no obvious damage.  Apparently it was just a slow leak that became apparent after the car sat for a week - no problem according to the agent.

Drove back to Corpus Christi and waited at the desk for one hour to return my keys and make sure the agent understood that the car was exchanged in San Antonio.  The agent seemed nice, but appeared hopelessly over her head due a lack of training - I suppose.  

That was the end of it until today (Sept 24 2010).  I received a letter from the collections department at Dollar with "Final Notice" in red and bold on the envelope.  Odd since I never received a first notice.  Inside, a claim for $200.28 and a threat to turn my claim (no. 864940) over to a collection agency if I did not pay immediately.  Obviously I have to pay the extortionists rather than suffer a ding to my credit rating.  And of course, this is their nefarious strategy.

Please tell me how a "company" like this stays in business in the United States.  I would gladly spend a lot of time doing my part to run this company out of business, but I don't how to best proceed - yet.  Something new to occupy my time.  $200.00 is not much money today, but I would be just as upset, and feel just as violated, if I had been mugged on the street. 

Mad as a hornet in Texas.