Rental Car Customer Refused To Return His Keys, So The Agent Reminded Him That He’d Be Charged And Blacklisted

Heather Hall

2 months ago

Man working in a call center, trying to explain the policy to a customer

Pexels/Reddit

The details are always in the fine print, but that doesn’t mean people read them.

So, what would you do if a customer openly admitted that they kept something that needed to be returned, and then refused to bring it back until they received special treatment?

Would you make an agreement with them? Or would you stick to the company policy?

In the following story, one call center employee finds himself in this situation and does not back down.

Here’s what happened.

Customer Doesn’t Want To Give The Keys Back

When you rent a vehicle, you HAVE to return the keys at the desk. This isn’t rocket science. It isn’t complicated.

So this customer calls me one day and says he wants to file a complaint. I ask him what it’s about and if maybe I can assist him so he doesn’t file a complaint at all.

C: I just wanted to say that I didn’t return the keys at the front desk because I didn’t think it was necessary, and I have received a message from the people there that they are giving me a warning and that I will be charged.

Basically, he just didn’t feel like it.

Me: Yes, sir. You have the obligation to return the keys to the desk, or you will be charged a (ridiculously high) fee for a copy of the key that the staff needs to make. If there was no one at the desk to attend to you, or the office was closed (it wasn’t), you should have left the keys in the box out front along with a copy of your rental agreement. Were you not informed of that?

C: I was, I just didn’t feel like it.

Me: What?

C: I didn’t feel like walking inside and handing the keys. I didn’t feel it was needed. So I took them with me.

He wanted a final invoice before returning the keys.

Me: Ok, well then I’m gonna need you to bring those back immediately, and maybe (MAYBE) we can avoid a charge.

C: No, I’m not doing that.

Me: What do you mean?

C: I’m not gonna bring the keys back. I will hold the keys hostage (he said that) until I receive my invoice with no extra charges.

The man was not happy with his answer.

Me: Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. If you refuse to bring the keys back, we will charge you for a copy and for any extra days the vehicle cannot be rented due to this.

C: Yeah, I’m not gonna pay that. As I said, I will hold the keys until I receive an invoice with a discount for the trouble you’re putting me through.

Me: Sir, this isn’t a discussion. You can bring the keys back to the station or send them by a messenger. If you do not wish to do that, you will be sent a bill and probably blacklisted for not following orders.

He started yelling at me after that, so I just repeated what he needed to do and hung up. Again, not rocket science.

Wow! That guy had some audacity.

Let’s see how the people over at Reddit feel about what happened.

This reader knew someone who tried something similar.