I'm trying to resolve an issue with Alamo and have not been able to communicate directly with anyone at the claims department. Now they're threatening collections and legal action.

I rented a car from Alamo in San Francisco for three days recently. It was parked most of that time and the vehicle was definitely not damaged during my rental.

When I arrived in San Francisco, I checked in at the Alamo rental desk. I was directed to select any of the cars in a certain row in the dimly lighted, multilevel parking lot. There was no attendant to assist me. The keys were in the car.

I walked around the car for a visual inspection, noticed that it was slightly dirty in front, but I saw no dents or dings.

I drove the car 81 miles during the weekend rental period. I parked carefully. No one could have impacted the car from the front during the time it was parked.

When I returned it to the airport, the agent walked toward the car from the front and said to me as he approached, "What did you hit with the car?" He pointed out what appeared to be a crack in the lower portion of the front grill. I didn't see it right away – I had to get down low to view it. It would have been easily missed in the parking garage where I picked it up.

I disputed the damage on the spot, telling him I didn't hit a thing and that this damage had to have been pre-existing. But I received a letter from Alamo's damage recovery unit for $481. Can you help?

– Mary Dampier, Coronado

Alamo should have given you the keys to a clean car and offered to inspect it before you left the airport. But you could have also prevented this with a few easy steps.

Always take a picture of your rental car with a cellphone or digital camera. If possible, ask an employee to walk around the vehicle, noting even minor damage. If no one is available, then make notation of the damage and ask an employee to acknowledge the car's condition before you leave.

I reviewed the correspondence with Alamo and the photos of the car you were alleged to have damaged. I posted the pictures, along with the letters, on my website and asked readers for their feedback. They noted several problems with your rental, including the amount of the damage claim (which was suspiciously close to your $500 insurance deductible) and evidence that the damage it showed you in the photographs weren't from your vehicle.

If Alamo was really concerned about the state of its cars, it would vigilantly photograph the vehicles before every rental and conduct a thorough inspection – not wait until the end to point out every little ding, dent and scratch. Alamo eventually dropped its claim.

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