DNR
I’ve heard
of the do not fly list, have you ever heard of the ‘Do Not Rent’ list? Apparently rent-a-car companies have such a
list.
We landed in
Orlando Friday at 1 am for the start of my annual Fraternity Brothers (and
wives) reunion. We ambled over to the
Hertz rent station where we expected to pick up our reserved car to drive to
Daytona Beach, the reunion venue. We
were second in line behind a lady that for some reason was pulling out birth
certificates, vaccination shot verification, baptismal proof and I don’t know
what else. After about 15 minutes the
agent sent those waiting behind her to the gold star desk as he said “This would take a while.”
We trudged across
the street to the gold star check-in and resumed the same line order that we
were in behind the lady who was taking so long, we are not animals you know.
The man in
front of us, who looked as if he drank a lot of beer or perhaps was in his
eight month, also had reservations so check-in should go fast…it didn’t.
After about
five minutes.
“I’m sorry sir, but you are on the ‘Do Not Rent’ list. You need to call at
1-800-were-not-there to straighten
this out.”
“But I have a reservation.”
“I’m sorry.”
“But I confirmed just two days ago.”
“I’m sorry, you need to call the
number.”
The possibly
pregnant man called the number several times and did in fact get a busy signal every
time.
After the
third try he stepped aside and we were allowed to confirm we were not on the ‘Do Not Rent’ list and we got our
rental car.
We left
without finding out the fate of the bulbous bellied stranger, but feeling quite
superior for not being on the ‘Do Not
Rent’ list. I did feel a twinge of
empathy for someone stranded at an airport at 1 am in the morning with no way
to get to his destination because he was on a ‘Do Not Rent’ list. But
mostly I felt a Seinfeldian “That’s a
shame” kind of regret.
I have since
Googled the ‘Do Not Rent ‘List and
it does exist. You can land on this list
by not paying all of your bill, like perhaps after not topping off the tank, or
having a problem with your license, like a DWI, or being rude or belligerent
with the rental agent. There is always
the chance of a clerical error, but they do match names with driver’s licenses,
so that would be rare.
More than
likely the denied renter had done something that warranted inclusion on this
dreaded list, but why would they take his reservation in the first place? Perhaps there was a delay on his making the
list between his reservation and the time of his denial.
I do feel
sorry for him. I have been turned down
several times when my credit card was denied (apparently you need to notify
some banks when you will be out of the country) and it is very embarrassing, but being
denied because you are on a ‘Do Not Rent’
list…
“That’s a shame.”
In this case, it looks like they know how to TAKE a reservation, but not how to GIVE people their reservation. Or maybe that guy got a compact car one time instead of a mid-size, so then he took the insurance, and beat the NOT-HEAVEN out of that car!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of the Do Not Rent to list before, but it makes sense, but it does seem that if someone is on that list then their reservations should be declined too...I guess that depends on why they are on the list in the first place, maybe being stranded at the airport at 1am by the do not rent list is some sort of payback for past rental car abuse.
ReplyDeleteThis is why i'm glad we make our reservations through a local Hertz person that we've known for years. If we ever did anything that would put us in danger of that list, he'd tell us so we could take care of it.
ReplyDeleteSome of the longest lines I've ever waited in have been at the airport car rental. There has to be a better way to verify all this info in advance. Gosh, if only they had access to the worldwide web!
ReplyDeleteDo not rent. Definitely a new one for me. But then I haven't rented a car in many years. He must have done something they didn't like.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was this kind of list, but it's a good thing. Some people think they can get away with stuff and it's time to show them they can't. I'm guessing he's earned his place on that list.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
I would guess you would have to do something pretty seriously bad to get on the DNR list.
ReplyDeleteI always thought DNR meant Do Not Resuscitate!!
ReplyDeleteSign of the times. This bureaucratic watching is not going away. I don't blame them if it is an unpaid bill, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was same as Fran's but actually am glad that they have such a list at car rentals. People really do abuse rentals. Still they should have never taken the reservation.
ReplyDeleteI always contact our credit card company when we're leaving the country and so far haven't had any problems.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine many reasons a rental car company might not want your business again. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteGlad that finally the pregnant man got his side and you got the ride Joe!
ReplyDeletehere since some years online taxi service made internal journey in cities quite easy for people .
until now there are there huge companies throughout the country operating the system and we people are feeling free to go on time ,in comfortable cars with reasonable fares when we go on summer vacations to Islamabad!
old private taxies were ugly ,uncomfortable and expensive .best part you go out and sit in the car no looking for taxi and waiting anymore
I wasn't aware of this, until my brother-in-law was arrested in Texas, in a car he had rented, for transporting 113 pounds of marijuana. My sister told me, they would never be able to rent a vehicle again because of that.
ReplyDeleteI thought he would really get busted for his illegal behavior especially in Texas but apparently he was fined and let go. He never served any prison time. His real punishment now is, he can never rent a vehicle - not even a U-Haul.
I can't even imagine if you're going somewhere for, oh, say a week or so, and you ended up without a rental car - AFTER they accepted your reservation. I understand the DNR - but that really should mean DO NOT RESERVE a car for this person.
ReplyDelete