TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Car rental scam alert

With permission of Debbie Jacobsen Korotkin, I am sharing a post that she made on another site concerning a car rental she made in SXM. I thought it would be good info for everyone on this board. I only know what she posted so cannot answer any questions. This is FYI.

"I feel it is necessary to warn you about a scam/extortion. We went to return our rental car (Budget) and were informed we were involved in a hit and run in Philipsburg the day before. We were not even there. They said witnesses came forward with our license plate. They said they had pictures. We said "fine- show us, because we weren't there." The picture was of a SUV with the side pushed in. We had a tiny Toyota Yaris, and we had not a scratch on it. They said the guy we hit was an important man and he was coming over with his car. Meanwhile, we had to catch our plane. The guy, XXXXXXXXX, came over, and low and behold the dent in the SUV didn't even line up with the bumper of our car. They said they would not call the police if we paid. We told them to call the police. We then googled XXXXXXXX and found XXXXXXXXXXXX (edit as the information was incorrect). We called our attorney who told us to call Budget US Headquarters and the St. Maarten Police. The former is investigating. The latter said this scam is not uncommon, but they would not take a complaint over the phone- we had to come in! We took tons of photos, so we have that. Please watch out and be aware of this!"

The original information was incorrect and has been removed.

We had trouble with budget years ago. said we had broken a tail light...we protested and they finally relented. never went to them again.

Why do any of the major carriers allow these scams to go on
Bad business

They are not the same as the "major carriers" as in the US. This is why so many long-time visitors use local rental guys.

We have used Lesley (Kennys) and Michael (Unity) numerous times with nothing but good results. In January I backed over something and ruined a tire (totally my fault). I was expecting a couple of hundred bucks - Michael got the tire for $69. Not sure if I could have gotten it that cheap at home.

They are not really the same. Hertz for instance is locally owned but is called Hertz SXM and is not part pf Hertz in the USA. Budget is probably the same but not really sure.

We are using Kenny's in April. Thanks for the good news

If I recall correctly Thrifty was charging for "excess sand" in the car, seriously! I took the advise of this board and only rent from local companies and have never had a problem, thanks for the heads up about Budget.

I'm surprised the major companies allow stuff like this to happen. As Franchisees of these companies, they should do more to protect their brands and reputations.

This is indeed useful info.

its called messing in their nests.

If you cannot rent a vehicle from the Company website, it's probably no affiliated, as in, St Martin Budget is probably simply infringing on Budgets copyright. I call National a number of years ago to rent a car - was told they do not have cars in st Martin - surprised when I walked out of the airport and saw a National booth - not affiliated with the Company. If a business will steal a name, would you expect the run their business honestly?

We are rented from them on Thursday .. this concerns me and I called budget they said they have no record of it...Keep me posted.

Is totally the norm on Sint Maarten. Kay's Jewelers is not the US Kay's, Starbucks was not Starbucks (closed by litigation from Starbucks), and many similar name rip-offs like "Office World", Seven-Alive (also renamed after litigation from Seven-11), lot's of gray market goods in electronics and the list goes on and on.

And don't forget the poster child for island name misappropriation - anyone remember Midass Muffler? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

First, we should all thank the OP for posting a warning. It really helps to know what to watch out for.
A long time ago I learned that the local brand name car rental companies are not affiliated with the US companies. In my case, I was quoted a good price and when we arrived the company had no cars. Had to go to another company and paid through the nose. In fairness to Hertz/USA, they rebated the difference I paid only because their good name was used (or abused) by a SXM company.

In most cases, they are NOT franchises of what you deal with in the US. You are NOT in the US and sadly, this stuff happens. It doesn't make it right but people need to understand (just like with some of the timeshare mess), you don't have the same protections you do at home.

Thanks for this info. It is very sad to hear that some car rental agencies are stooping so low.Hopefully there will not be any more businesses pulling scams like that.

I would think this warrants a letter to the editor of the Daily Herald!

My car rental site lists seven local companies. I've heard nothing but good news about Michael at Unity and Alain at Triple A.

Correct, deal with local and reputable companies that get mention on here and other good newsletters.

Sometimes what is perceived as the "best" price comes with a high price tag in the end.

Exactly!
10 years ago my daughter was victim of a scam pulled by the so-called Budget franchisee in Guatemala and Budget US told her that they had nothing to do with them so they couldn't help.
Luckily, her CC Company reversed the charge amounting to close to $3,000 corresponding to the repairs for an accident she never had, and for which the crooks there forged her rental contract by unchecking the boxes and removed her initials where she took all the insurances.

To all, make sure you keep a copy of the contract you signed with the rental company. Without it, my daughter had no way of proving that the rental contract she signed had been forged.

Just a thought == when you get your rental car, take pictures, or even a video, with your cellphone of the entire outside of the car. That way you'll have proof of any "damage" done. It may not help if someone claims you damaged their car, but could help if the car rental place claims you did damage to their car.

If they are not franchisees, then how can one go to (for instance) Hertz.com and book a car in SXM? All the major car rental websites let you book a car in SXM, which tells me they are franchisees and should help you in situations where the locals are trying to rip you off.

Some of the information in the original post was incorrect.

The original post about who the individual was and their business was not correct.

We have also been contacted by the other party in the accident and a police report was made/requested. The police contacted the person who left the note, who changed their statement. The individual states that they were not trying to scam anybody but was following up on the note left about the accident. The situation has been resolved as far as the other party is concerned.

As a result of this new information we are closing this thread.