Can I recover impound and repair costs after a renter violates a car rental agreement?
Dolan Williams
LawyerThe short answer? Yes, you can escalate this to law enforcement, especially if you suspect fraud or that the renter is intentionally avoiding payment and communication. You’ve documented the texts and calls, and your rental agreement supports your right to recover damages, including legal fees. The police may or may not act on it depending on whether they see it as civil or criminal, but this documentation strengthens your position if you need to move forward with civil enforcement or arbitration.
So here is what you need to do: I would send a final written notice via text and email with a 48-hour deadline to remit the funds or make contact. Make it polite but firm. Say that if he doesn’t respond, you’ll proceed with legal recovery through civil court or arbitration, and potentially report the matter to law enforcement. Be specific about the fact that he failed to follow the agreement’s section on accidents (section 6) and that the contract allows you to recover legal costs if needed. I would help, but the site doesn't let me represent like that for this. You can even post a job on the site for this as well. Second, if there’s still no response, you can file a police report under a theft or fraud theory. This isn’t a slam dunk criminal case, but your recorded calls and documented texts show intent to defraud or mislead, and that may be enough to get an
if the amount isn’t resolved soon, you can file a small claims case or start arbitration as allowed under section 7 and section U of your agreement. You can also send him a demand letter, referencing his agreement number and citing the relevant sections of the contract. Arbitration would happen in [LOCATION], and your claim (likely under $10,000) fits perfectly into that forum.
Full Conversation
My friend has a private rental car business. He partners with other people and rents out their cars for them. He calls them joint ventures. A renter was in a Joint Venture’s car and got arrested. The car was impounded, and in order to get it back, he had to pay hefty legal fee for them to release the vehicle. The joint venture is [NAME] and he signed a notarized letter for my friend to handle everything on his behalf. A clerk at the court house told him that it’s possible to get the money back. He is currently waiting for a letter in the mail that will tell him when the court date is to fight potentially getting the money back. he wants to know what he needs to prepare for this court date as far as paperwork, what he should bring, what argument he might want to submit in court. Any consulting you can do that will help us get the money back is what I’m looking for. I was hoping you might have seen something similar before.
Hello! So there are a few things to consider: 1. It’s possible the court might suggest negotiating a settlement or working something out outside of court. If that happens, your friend should be ready to discuss a reasonable amount to be reimbursed, or at least devise a strategy for settling the matter before things go further. 2. If your friend has to argue, the court should consider finding in your friend's favor because the impoundment fees seem unreasonable, especially given that your friend acted on behalf of [NAME] in good faith as part of their joint venture agreement. They can also argue that since the notarized letter authorized your friend to handle everything, it's reasonable to argue that the responsibility for the impoundment costs should fall on the person whose car was involved in the incident, not on your friend, who was just managing the car rental process. They can also argue if any circumstances could have made the fees excessive or unnecessary; those should be pointed out. By demonstrating that the situation was a result of an event that could’ve been avoided or managed differently, it strengthens that case for reimbursement.
Good Afternoon, We have a small rental car company in [LOCATION]. One of our renters got into an accident. He called us to let us know. he didn't follow the protocol of filing a police report etc. When he explained what happened he said that a women was at fault and she did not speak English. This woman gave him $1000 in cash to settle the matter and that was it. He didn't not get any of the woman's information and had no details on the other car involved, just the $1000 in cash. We instructed the renter to take the vehicle to our mechanic so the repairs could begin. He did so. The renter wanted to meet us in person to give us the cash. We didn't think that was safe so we insisted on him putting it into a bank and sending it electronically. He agreed but said it would take some time. A day went by and he explained that he was out driving and was coming back into town and would have everything done shortly. At that point we offered to have someone meet him to give him more options. We didn't receive a response. We communicated with him that we could not start the repairs without the $1000. still no response. At this point we have called 4 more times and have not gotten any response from him. we would like to send him a text message about our plans to escalate the situation but want to know legally what our rights are. is this something we can call the police about? all our conversations are recorded. all the text messages are documented. Can you help with this?
Rental Contract
I'm so sorry about this situation! I want to address your situation with a detailed response, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! So I break it up in several parts to make it easy: As such: Here is how I understand it: This is a breach of the rental agreement due to the renter's failure to follow proper accident protocol (no police report, no information collected), and potentially a failure to remit payment as promised for vehicle damage. Legally, this could fall under breach of contract, conversion (wrongful possession or use of property), or even civil fraud if the renter misled you about turning over the cash. The contract requires the renter to report accidents, cooperate, and cover damage costs which he’s now avoiding. Because the agreement includes indemnification and legal remedies, you're likely within your rights to escalate this and seek recovery.
The short answer? Yes, you can escalate this to law enforcement, especially if you suspect fraud or that the renter is intentionally avoiding payment and communication. You’ve documented the texts and calls, and your rental agreement supports your right to recover damages, including legal fees. The police may or may not act on it depending on whether they see it as civil or criminal, but this documentation strengthens your position if you need to move forward with civil enforcement or arbitration.
So here is what you need to do: I would send a final written notice via text and email with a 48-hour deadline to remit the funds or make contact. Make it polite but firm. Say that if he doesn’t respond, you’ll proceed with legal recovery through civil court or arbitration, and potentially report the matter to law enforcement. Be specific about the fact that he failed to follow the agreement’s section on accidents (section 6) and that the contract allows you to recover legal costs if needed. I would help, but the site doesn't let me represent like that for this. You can even post a job on the site for this as well. Second, if there’s still no response, you can file a police report under a theft or fraud theory. This isn’t a slam dunk criminal case, but your recorded calls and documented texts show intent to defraud or mislead, and that may be enough to get an
if the amount isn’t resolved soon, you can file a small claims case or start arbitration as allowed under section 7 and section U of your agreement. You can also send him a demand letter, referencing his agreement number and citing the relevant sections of the contract. Arbitration would happen in [LOCATION], and your claim (likely under $10,000) fits perfectly into that forum.
We would like to send this message. Are you able to advise if this is a good first step? Hi [NAME], We’ve noticed a lack of communication, and it’s raising concern regarding the balance due of $1000.00. The vehicle remains unrepaired and is now accruing storage fees due to the delay. No police report was filed, as protocol wasn’t followed. The only documentation we have is your recorded communication confirming you received $1,000 intended to cover the repair deductible. We’ve offered to meet in person to collect the payment or accept it via Zelle. Despite multiple attempts to contact you, we’ve received no response. If we do not hear from you immediately, we will be forced to escalate this matter. Thank you, [COMPANY]
Yes, that's perfect, [NAME]!
So you can send this in any way want. It can be text, email, certified mail, or in person. I usually send letters via email because it’s faster and cheaper.
Ok great! We’ll let you know of any updates. Thank you!
You've got it and I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, but you're doing great.
Thank you for your words. We really appreciate it. We’ve given him 48 hours and will move on to the next steps. Do you have time to quickly help us with something else? Here is an explanation of the issue: I have a small rental car business here in [LOCATION]. Part of my business is managing cars for joint ventures. So the short of it is, we take a partner‘s car and we rent it out for them. The give us permission to completely manage and operate the vehicle. We had a renter in a joint venture’s car who got into an accident and subsequently got arrested because he had a firearm in his possession. In order to retrieve the car from the impound, we had to have the joint venture sign a power of attorney for [NAME] to retrieve the vehicle on his behalf. [NAME] works with our rental car company and is contracted to work with us. We also had to pay a $2500 legal fine. We later found out we could go to court to petition for getting the money back because the car was being rented by a person who committed a crime. No one from our company actually committed the crime. The court date and docket number is under [NAME]‘s name because he had power of attorney to represent the registered owner of the vehicle. Even though it seems simple, [NAME] did not commit a crime so [NAME] should be reimbursed for the fee, we were told that we should potentially seek council instead of having him represent himself but we couldn’t find someone in time. Are you familiar with what we can say to win this hearing?
Hearing
Hello! Yes that seems inaccurate here. Although [NAME] had power of attorney, he’s not the proper party here. It is whoever the party that enraged in the misconduct. I strongly advise [NAME] hire an attorney to address this and seek a dismissal on the grounds it was the driver. [NAME]’s lawyer may also explain that he was never in possession of the vehicle at the tilt the alleged crime occurred and therefore must be dismissed immediately. A local [LOCATION] criminal defense attorney would make sense.