What happens if I, Canadian, don't pay for my US car rental damage?

October 12, 2024 11:18 AM

I live in Canada but recently rented a car on a visit to the US. I caused $963 worth of damage to the car by stupidly reversing into a rock, which the US-based rental company is demanding I pay. What happens if I ignore them? I have a US bank account and credit score from having lived in the States, but I don't plan ever to return so don't care if my credit score takes a ding. Are any other consequences likely?
posted by anonymous to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

It’s possible you could be sued in the US by a collection agency for the unpaid amount and a judgment could be entered against you for the amount in whichever state you rented the car. Maybe not a huge deal, but to the extent a US court judgement would mess you up in Canada, it’s something to consider. (Sure there could be jurisdictional or service of process issues over someone who lives in Canada, but if you don’t show up in court, a default judgement can get entered without too much fuss.). I suppose a really aggressive collection agency could sue you in Canada, too.
posted by Mid at 12:52 PM on October 12

That said, it is also possible this will go nowhere and the rental car company will do nothing. One strategy would be to do nothing for a few months and see if they pursue it. If they do, you can pay it later if you choose.
posted by Mid at 12:55 PM on October 12

the US-based rental company is demanding I pay

This sounds unusual to me?

My assumption would be: the rental company has a credit card on file for you, they would charge you the $963, probably without asking in advance. It would then be up to you to dispute that charge if you wanted to challenge it.
posted by gimonca at 12:55 PM on October 12 [8 favorites]

Corporations are not people I don't care what the SC says. To actually answer the question, assuming you didn't buy a damage waiver, you probably you can ask your auto insurance or credit card company to resolve the dispute. Especially since the $963 figure they're quoting you probably was sourced directly from someone's ass.

I suppose they could sue you and you would automatically lose in absentia. This would result in a civil judgment against you. Probably that would be the end of it presuming you stay out of the US forever. $963 plus court costs etc. isn't enough to pay for much lawyer time to engage in an international legal dispute by filing in Canadian court. You might also want to avoid the car rental company for the rest of time.
posted by axiom at 12:55 PM on October 12

Mod note: Comment removed. Please just stick to answering the question and avoid judging the OP, thanks.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 1:04 PM on October 12 [2 favorites]

Was it one of the major car rental chains? They could blacklist you, and that could be worldwide.
posted by kickingtheground at 4:43 PM on October 12 [3 favorites]

I rented from Enterprise in Canada, they made up damage that never happened, I didn't pay for that, and then I booked a car in the States, also through Enterprise. Which is how I know that yes, if it's one of the chains, they could put you on their Do Not Rent list, but they may not tell you about this until you show up at the airport expecting a car. (I slid one counter over and rented from a less expensive competitor.)
posted by fruitslinger at 5:02 PM on October 12 [1 favorite]

Agreeing that this is something you should run by your own car insurance, and if you paid with a quality credit card run it by them -- both may have hidden benefits that cover this sort of thing in whole or in part, that you'd only know about if you asked or read that booklet with the super tiny text that you threw out as soon as you got it. The worst they can say is no, but you won't know until you ask.

Edit: Sorry if I didn't answer the direct question, but I'm of the opinion that they'll get you somehow. Companies in the US are very good at extracting money from people regardless of any obstacles.
posted by AzraelBrown at 3:48 AM on October 13 [1 favorite]

If your financial luck is anything like mine, this will end up biting you in the ass for like 3x the original amount if you delay paying it (late fees etc). If at all possible, I'd just pay this to be able to erase it from my mind. Get on a payment plan if the full amount is untenable.

What a pain in the ass -- sorry you're dealing with it.
posted by nixxon at 10:49 PM on October 13

Sell debt to US collection agency with canadian subsidiary. Transfer debt to canadian branch. canadian branch comes after you.

This happened to me in the US with medical debt from switzerland; large corps absolutely have the means to cross borders.
posted by lalochezia at 10:28 AM on October 14