Help with extra car rental charges

[jsk]

Hi
I rented a car from Woodland Hills, LA but returned it in Bay Area. When i returned the car, the san jose car rental couldn't connect to the LA office nor were they get them on the phone. The associate didn't tell me that i will be charged 1500$ for this(i was under the impression i will be charged 100 or 200).Same day i rented a car from different car rental and drove back to woodland hills. Had i known that the car rental will charge 1500, i would have drove the car back and returned back in woodland hills.
I called the rental agency in LA and San jose, both of them ask me to contact the other office. LA office is really ride and unresponsive. Disputed the charges with american express; they didn't even call and ask for details.
What are my choices now -- can i go to small claims court (my company won't reimburse the extra charges..)?

[greenskeeper]

why didn't you just rent the same car for the round trip?

[disneysteve]

I also wonder why you would do 2 one-way rentals.

That said, what did your rental contract say about one-way drop-off fees? You say you expected the fee to be "100 or 200" which tells me you were just guessing and really had no idea what the fee would be. Did you ask? Did anyone from the company actually tell you what the fee would be?

If it is stated in the contract, I don't see where you would have any legal case. You signed the contract. If it is not stated in the contract and you were never informed of the charge, I would continue to contest the charge through the credit card company and through written contact with the rental company (not phone calls). Write to their corporate office and copy the CEO.

[jsk]

greenskeeper, disneysteve, appreciate your response:
First time I took flight and reached woodland hills. For regular commute to work, i had to rent a call in woodland hills. The work got extended and extended so had to stay back in woodland hills. Since the car was rented for almost a month and car was displaying passenger airbag warning, I returned the car when i came to san jose. Nobody told about that i will be charged 1500$. I had to go back to work again to woodland hills, so instead of flying and again renting a car, decided to drive back from san jose. Thats why 2 car rentals..
The contract just says extra charges will apply. There is no quantity specified. My point is if i was aware of the charge i would drove the same car back and returned in burbank.
Budget claims that their burbank office is a franchise and a separate system of its own

[JohnPhillips]

Off course ,you should go to small claim court or if you want to settle it at initial stage ,hire a lawyer and send him to contact them. It will work.

[MonkeyMama]

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself (court). I would send a letter to the company (to management) detailing the issues and asking for it to get resolved. Maybe try calling again (someone else).

OF course, if you can not get this resolved, small claims court is maybe the next step. But it seems to me if you can communicate to the right person, this should be resolved. Threatening to sue may certainly help.

[snafu]

Small claims court is a simple procedure. The forms are available on-line. [oops this may be in the community that issued the charge] The neat thing about small claims court is that the company usually doesn't bother to attend so the judge will find on your behalf since you showed up!