Alamo Rent A Car Alamo VEHICLE DAMAGE SCAM Hanover, Maryland

I would like to clarify what exactly happened upon check-out, as my original description was vague and did not include the details, which are important.

I was inside the rental office requesting my reservation, and the employee rang-in the transaction. He said that I was picking up an economy car, and told me the costs. Initially he charged me more than what I had reserved, so he made the correction to the price. As I paid, he had me sign for the payment. This was the only time I signed anything, and as he explained it, it was a signature for the payment of the rental. At this point, I had not yet seen the car, and was not told anything about their policy or what I should do. He then said "OK you're good to go" and pointed out the doors toward 2 parked vehicles, and said to go pick one and that the keys would be inside. He did not walk with me outside. In the situation I was in, which was a new city, alone, very late at night, I did not have the mind to cross check the employee and demand we do an inspection together. I was not familiar with Alamo's procedure and simply went along with what the employee said - that I was good to go. It should have been the Alamo employee's responsibility to instruct me on inspecting the car, and as you stated assist me, but no one even went out to the car with me or said anything. I looked the car over, despite the dim light and difficulty to see, and did not notice any major damage. In our previous experiences with rental car companies, only major scratches, dents and damage was necessary to document. Minor scratches and normal wear and tear to a rental car are typically unnecessary to report. If it is Alamo's policy that every sign of wear on a car be reported, the customer should be instructed to perform a thorough and detailed inspection. No inspection document was even presented or signed, which means there is nothing that Alamo can fairly compare to upon return. As I drove out of the facility gates, an Alamo employee at the gate took from me a paper that was hanging on the mirror. All he said was that he needed those papers before I exited. I feel that because I was uninformed about what to do, I was tricked and taken advantage of. I know that while I had the vehicle, absolutely no damage beyond normal wear and tear occurred. It is Alamo's responsibility to instruct the customer to know what should be done and how to report damages prior to leaving the facility. Upon learning about Alamo after-the-fact, it is obvious they have so many problems with this, but they do not adjust their business practices, as it makes them good money. They take advantage of the consumer, as the person is almost always unable to be there in-person to dispute Alamo's claims.