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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Default Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collections

    My dad rented a boom lift for a month for about $2000. He rented it in CT from a national chain who also rents cars. It had a refurbished sticker on it. The fuel tank had a big diesel sticker on it and was half empty. After a couple of days and small number of hours use he filled it it up. Unfortunately the machine was designed for gasoline and propane so it didnt work after that. They sent a mechanic who couldnt fix it so he gave him a small propane tank which had the wrong type of connection and would freeze up after 5 minutes of use. They also couldnt fix the controls which were adjusted wrong and made if difficult to use safely.

    He called them a dozen times for them to take care of it only to be transferred a several times each and then hung up on with a promise theyd call back. They picked up the useless machine after a month.

    He got a sucessful chargeback from his credit card company. But they still are trying to get their money. They called him and are trying to get at least most of the money which he doesnt owe. The little use he got out of the machine was less than the time on the phone and the diesel he put in not to even mention lost production. They said they're going to send the bill to collections now!

    What can he do? Does he have to wait till its in collections?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    98,846

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    So... you're saying the machine worked fine until he put in the wrong fuel?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    No and yes.

    Was he supposed to put in the fuel listed on the fuel tank or was he supposed to investigate to find out what type of engine was installed instead? He cant be blamed for putting in diesel on a machine with a diesel sticker. He didnt label the machine.

    It worked for a small number of hours of use during the first couple of days of the rented month.

    The refurbisher whoever that was, put the wrong type of tank or tank sticker on the rental machine and the rental company sent that tank only half full of gasoline which they're not supposed to!

    Also the controls were messed up from the get go. Some knobs violenty fast and some slow so it was diffuicult to use normally and not hit things.

    The mechanic brought a small propane tank, because he tried but coulnt get it to work on gasoline again after draining the diesel. Instead of a liquid feed propane it had a vapor feed connection installed like a bbq instead of like a forklift like it was supposed to and it couldnt keep up with the machine for more than 5 minutes. Even it if did it was so much smaller than the gasoline tank he would have been constantly driving a long distance from the job and spending lots more money to refill with propane instead of gasoline.

    They're response so so unprofessional its disgusting. They're a bunch of theives. I'm never going to rent a car from them anywhere in the world.

  4. #4
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    I can't see the equipment or its labels from here. Basically, if he broke the equipment (whether or not his actions were somehow explained by bad labeling) and the company could not fix the equipment, he should have returned it. If he chose to keep the equipment at the agreed rental rate, but was not able to use the equipment (or fully use it), it's not surprising that the rental company is saying, "You owe us what you agreed to pay, because you chose to keep renting the equipment." Also, if you're telling us that he successfully disputed the entire debt, including the rental costs incurred before he used the wrong fuel, it's far from surprising that the rental company wants to be paid for that period of the rental.

    A lot of rental companies offer poorly maintained equipment. Often that's pretty obvious when you walk in the front door, and it's a situation of "you get what you pay for".

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    9

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    Boom lifts are delivered to the job site by the rental company usally. He called them and asked them to send another mechanic or to take the machine back and send him another machine for the month. Or to take the machine back and give him his money.

    He called a dozen times and each time they ignored him. It was contant let me transfer you to someone else and then sorry we''ll call you back but they never did.

    If he could have returned the machine himself he would have.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    We only know what you tell us, and you have chosen not to share a time line or what portion of the rental cost is in dispute.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    I hope he has pictures of the diesel sticker on the machine. If they later argue there was no such sticker and your father put diesel in the machine it is going to be a mess.




    can you give a timeline of the events?

    rented it when:

    refueled it when:

    called the company when:\
    and:
    and:
    etc:



    they worked on it when:

    and:

    etc:


    Father used it:

    and:

    and:

    etc:



    company picked it up:



    father told them to pick up their machine:

    and:

    etc:

    and any other events you believe are pertinent to the situation.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    We have pictures of the tank. The machine also had a new refurbished sticker and a brand new paint job. It looked new and had a dozen hours.

    He rented it for the month of september. The whole cost was in dispute. It was delivered to the job. Its a 60ft boom lift. It requires a big flatbed to transport. He used it for a few hours each the first 3 days then it stopped working. It was a painting job. At that point he was still preping the job.

    He called and they then sent a mechanic but he couldnt fix it so then they ignored us when we kept calling again. Maybe the mechanic lied to them and said it was fixed completely, maybe the manager was on vacation, i dont know but it wasnt very usable. The many hours over several days on the phone waiting to be transferred only to be politely hung up on by several different people, and the cost of diesel for which we were not reimbursed are roughly equal to the very small percentage of time we actually were actually used it. If we add all the production time that was lost then they would owe us money.

    After the chargbeck they sent him letters, he emailed them back, they sent more, recently they started calling, They tried saying dont you owe a lot of the money and he said no, they said fine we'll send it to collections! I only wish they would have been this responsive then the machine was sitting on the job site!

    Anyways i didnt start this post for you to grill me but to find out what actions i can take to fight threatened collections over a charge for service he ordered but didntt get.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    he owes for at least 1/10 of the contract. If he used it, he is expected to pay for it.


    Anyways i didnt start this post for you to grill me but to find out what actions i can take to fight threatened collections over a charge for service he ordered but didntt get.
    grill you? It's called an attempt to gain information so your questions can be answered. Since you have a problem with disclosing information, I'll simply answer your question based on what you have posted.


    YOU cannot take any action, none, nada, zip, zero, nothing.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: Rented Defective Boom Lift, Got a Chargback, but Company is Sending to Collection

    Am i allowed to say the name of the company he rented from?

    He did not get even 1/10 of use out of it, mabye 1/30 or 1/50, he was planning on using it full time towards the second half of the month, at least the days with good weather of and much less time during the beggining. Theres not a huge diffence in price for a whole month vs a week and a half. If it was proportional he probably would have rented it for less time. He signed the contract expecting a months use.

    I dont believe he cant take any action. Companies cant just make up bills, and send you to collections and you have no recourse.

    The singe usefull answer from all those posts was why didnt he return it which i had to explain, working with these thing you just know that you need it delivered from the rental compnay on their large commercial flatbed, but i can see how you could not know that.

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