Editor: Rental Car Scam
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:55 am
Given that it’s the second time I have heard these reports, I feel that I must pass on the following warning.
A friend who visited Tobago recently had booked a rental car with a well-known agency. On leaving the airport departure hall, he was approached by a lady in red who said she had his car. He was surprised, because she was not his normal contact. He questioned the lady in red and asked which agency she was from. She did not reply directly but continued to insist that his car was waiting and tried to take him to it. At that moment his normal contact appeared. It was a scam; an attempt to get him to take a rental car from a different agency.
We have already issued warnings about this lady in red’s firm. As I said, it is not the first time that I’ve heard reports of tricks like this.
The moral of the story is that if you are collecting a rental vehicle at the airport and are met by someone you do not know, be sure to ask and be assured that both they and the car they are providing you with are from the rental firm you made the reservation with.
A friend who visited Tobago recently had booked a rental car with a well-known agency. On leaving the airport departure hall, he was approached by a lady in red who said she had his car. He was surprised, because she was not his normal contact. He questioned the lady in red and asked which agency she was from. She did not reply directly but continued to insist that his car was waiting and tried to take him to it. At that moment his normal contact appeared. It was a scam; an attempt to get him to take a rental car from a different agency.
We have already issued warnings about this lady in red’s firm. As I said, it is not the first time that I’ve heard reports of tricks like this.
The moral of the story is that if you are collecting a rental vehicle at the airport and are met by someone you do not know, be sure to ask and be assured that both they and the car they are providing you with are from the rental firm you made the reservation with.