Enterprise charges customer more than $3,300 for damage incurred after truck returned

Monday, October 25, 2021 – by John McHutchion

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Enterprise charges customer more than $3,300 for damage incurred after truck returned

Samuel Wardlaw expected to pay $200 for his truck rental. Instead, Enterprise Rent-A-Car added more than $3,300 to his bill — for damage that occurred after he dropped it off.

He'd used the truck for only five hours, to move some belongings to his new apartment.

But a week later, an unexpected email from the rental giant said he was responsible for damage that occurred on the Enterprise lot after hours. The email didn't explain what had happened or why he was responsible — but it struck fear in Wardlaw, 29, a delivery driver for a lumber company.

Enterprise said later that, after Wardlaw parked the truck and put the keys in a secure drop box, as instructed by an employee, someone stole its catalytic converter, a part of the exhaust system that contains valuable metals.

Enterprise pointed to a clause on page 7 of its rental contract that says drivers who drop off a vehicle after hours are responsible for any damage or theft until it's checked in by an employee.

"It's their truck, their lot, their catalytic converter. Everything about it is within Enterprise's control," said Wardlaw. "For them to say it's my liability is pretty ridiculous."

After Go Public got involved, Enterprise said in an email it had "decided not to pursue the claim." The company did not explain why and said no one was available for an interview.

A consumer advocate and lawyer says Enterprise and other car rental giants give the impression there's no downside to dropping off a vehicle after hours.

"We've all been there — the car company says, 'No problem, stick the keys through the slot in the door,'" said Jennifer Marston, who works with the free legal clinic Pro Bono Ontario. "But how many times do they say to you, 'If anything happens when the car is parked on the lot, you're responsible?' That's never happened to me."

More on this issue

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Watch: Man charged $3,300 for damage after rental truck returned.

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Military in Sudan detain prime minister, government officials in apparent coup

(AFP/Getty Images)

Sudanese protesters lift national flags as they rally in the capital Khartoum today to denounce overnight detentions of government members by the country's army. Armed forces detained Sudan's prime minister over his refusal to support their "coup," the information ministry said. Read more on the developments in Sudan here.

In brief

Edward Rogers, the ousted chairman of Rogers Communications Inc., says he’ll take his fight to regain control of the company to the B.C. Supreme Court. He made that assertion yesterday following a meeting that included five hand-picked directors, meant to replace members of the board that on Thursday removed him as its chair. He was removed as chair after he tried to push out Joe Natale, the CEO of Rogers Communications. Meanwhile, Rogers’ mother, Loretta Rogers, called Sunday’s meeting invalid. "Edward unfortunately continues to proceed down a misguided and miscalculated path which leads nowhere productive and puts his own interests ahead of those of Rogers employees, customers and shareholders," she said in a statement. Read more on the ongoing family fight at Rogers.

Two provinces are set to ease restrictions on Monday as Canada's top doctor says nearly 90 per cent of eligible residents in the country have been administered at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. "Nevertheless, since no vaccine is perfect, post-vaccination cases can be expected," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Sunday on Twitter. "This is why it is important that vaccines are part of a comprehensive, layered protection strategy that includes other practices and precautions." Tam's comments come as British Columbia and Ontario are set to lift some public health measures starting Monday. Read more on this story here.

The Canadian Coast Guard says the container fire that broke out Saturday on a cargo ship off Victoria is "smouldering" and mostly under control, and an investigation will be soon be underway to assess damage. During a media briefing yesterday, the federal incident commander with the Coast Guard said the fire aboard Zim Kingston has burned the affected containers down to their shell. Emergency tow vessels, tugs and the Coast Guard were to monitor the ship overnight to ensure the five crew members on the ship are safe, and that the ship remains secure. Read more about the fire on the cargo ship.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will unveil a cabinet Tuesday that he promises will have gender parity and "proper regional distribution." Like all prime ministers, he's expected to make appointments that reflect the diversity of the country. There are many reasons MPs covet a spot around the cabinet table — such as the opportunity for more power and influence. Ministers are also paid $88,700 on top of the current annual base MP salary of $185,800 and are entitled to an official car and driver. As we wait to learn who's in and who's out, CBC’s Ryan Maloney, editor of the Minority Report newsletter, shares a few interesting facts about cabinets and the act of choosing one.

After immigrating to Canada from Afghanistan in 2014, Nazaneen Qauomi recently visited her home country to create a social entrepreneurship program with a group of women farmers meant to provide them with microloans to eventually launch their own businesses. But everything changed when the Taliban swiftly took over the country in August. Afghans who escaped their rule decades earlier watched as the country seemed to be plunged back in time virtually overnight. "It was a shared pain that we all felt and a repeated history that we all saw," said Qauomi. "Especially for my mom, it wasn't easy watching the news, and again repeating all their history of how we used to escape from city to city, how we were afraid of the bombs." Now, Afghans like Qauomi fear that as the international community threatens to sideline the Taliban for human rights violations, ordinary Afghans, including women and minorities, will suffer in the process. They are pleading with the world and Canada in particular not to allow their country and their loved ones still there to be forgotten. Read the full story here.

Despite a growing income from his own business, Daryl Wier and his spouse have been trying and failing to spend their money on new kitchen appliances that now face a back order delay of many months. Wier's income and his inability to spend it may be connected. For Wier, who runs 49th Apparel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., his business of making nightshirts and selling them by mail order has never been better. Because his labour supply is local and his stockpile of imported cloth is enough to see him through his busiest season, Wier can keep making and selling his product while many others who are waiting for goods or essential components trapped in a container far away have no product to offer. According to supply chain experts, the bright side of the current breakdown in the exchange of labour, components and ingredients is that it comes as a warning to Canadian businesses to become more supply-resilient. Read more analysis of the supply chain crunch from CBC business columnist Don Pittis.

Now for some good news to start your Monday: After two of Brandon Topple's puppies were stolen in June, animal lovers across Nova Scotia pitched in to help find them. The days-old miniature pinschers were taken from Topple's home in Tantallon, N.S., while he was in Alberta caring for his ailing father. Unable to do anything from provinces away, he made a Facebook post about the missing puppies that was shared more than 60,000 times. The puppies were never located, but the tattoo artist was inspired to give back to the strangers who were willing to search for his dogs while he couldn't. After returning home, he parked his mobile tattoo shop outside the Tantallon Veterinary Hospital. He offered to tattoo small paw prints for the low price of $25 and a donation of pet food, with all proceeds going to the Nova Scotia SPCA. In two days, more than 70 people got tattooed. He has since tattooed about 130 people, raising $3,300 in donations and collecting more than 136 kilograms of pet food. Read more about Topple's fundraiser.

FIRST PERSON

On election day, I greeted people who voted for parties that hate people like me

Elections amplify the growing fear and anxiety among visible minorities in Canada because they provide numerical evidence of the rising conservatism in the country, writes Zeahaa Rehman. Read her column here.

The rhetoric and reality of the anti-Alberta energy campaigns report

Two years, four delays and $3.5 million later, the inquiry into alleged anti-Alberta energy campaigns found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The final report, released Thursday, also couldn't say exactly how much foreign money was used in advocating against the oil and gas industry, or what role that money played in the cancellation of energy projects.

Meanwhile, Premier Jason Kenney claims that anti-energy campaigns do contain misinformation that have harmed the energy sector, and Energy Minister Sonya Savage says such campaigns were a "pretty darn big cause" of delays and cancellations.

Today on Front Burner, CBC investigative reporter Jennie Russell walks us through what's in the inquiry's final report and how it differs from the province's rhetoric — past and present.
Listen to today's episode

Today in history: October 25

1923: Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. J.J.R. Macleod of the University of Toronto are awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the hormone insulin, and become the first Canadians to win a Nobel.

1971: The UN General Assembly votes 76 to 35, with 17 abstentions, to give a seat to the People’s Republic of China and expel Taiwan, ending a 22-year battle over China's UN representation.

1982: The House of Commons passes the bill to rename the July 1st holiday as Canada Day. The Senate passed legislation the next day, and royal assent the day after that made the change official.

2010: Rob Ford is elected mayor in Toronto.