[NAGDU] car rental question

[Melissa Allman]

Hi Paula. You shouldn't be charged for a little bit of dog hair on the floor of the rental car. Charging fees or deposits to someone because they are accompanied by a service animal is illegal under the ADA. The only situation where you should be charged is if your dog causes damage and the company has a policy of charging for damage in other circumstances. I'd suggest reaching out to the company and letting them know you want to file a discrimination complaint due to the illegally charged fees. We've seen this situation before and often the fees can be dealt with this way. I think it's worth mentioning that it was clear to the agent that your dog was a service animal. If this doesn't work, maybe you could talk to your state Protection and Advocacy Agency since they represent people with disabilities where the legal issue is related to the disability. Perhaps a strongly worded letter from them would resolve it but Hope you don't' even have to go that far. Good luck.

Elissa Allman

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Paula Jordan via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 5:26 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Paula Jordan <paujor at roadrunner.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] car rental question

Hi all.  I've just run into a situation and am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so, how it was solved.  During my recent trip my son rented a car from Avis for us using my credit card with my permission.  They have a no pets policy, but we had to take Charlie to the airport to get us back home.  We explained to the woman who took the car back that Charlie is a guide dog and she got to meet him.She seemed to understand and said not to worry.  I just got a letter stating that we were being charged $250 since there was dog hair in the car.  I had a shirt on Charlie to minimize the hair and he was in the very back of the car behind the seats.  Has anyone had any similar experience and any thoughts on how to resolve it are appreciated.  Since our son's name was on the rental agreement they wouldn't
talk to me.    Do we have any recourse?

Thanks for reading this rather long post.

God bless!

Paula and the pups

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