tidy-crane-8875/14/2026

Hit TWICE in a rental — now the rental company wants ME to pay for their lost revenue??

I genuinely cannot believe this is happening and I need to know if anyone else has dealt with something like this.

So about six weeks ago a driver ran a red light and T-boned my car. Totally their fault, their insurance accepted liability, and they set me up with a rental while my car gets fixed. Fine, okay, dealing with it.

Then last week — LAST WEEK — some guy backs out of a parking space without looking and clips the rental pretty good. Again, not my fault. There's a police report, witnesses, everything. The other driver's insurance is already involved.

Here's where it gets wild. The rental company called me today and said that because the car has to go in for repairs, I'm personally on the hook for what they're calling a "loss of use" fee — basically compensation for every day the car sits in a shop and can't be rented out to someone else. We're talking potentially several hundred dollars per day.

I declined their damage waiver when I picked up the car (I know, I know). But both accidents were the OTHER drivers' fault. Why am I being squeezed here?

I asked the rental company if the at-fault driver's insurance from the parking lot incident could cover this and they were pretty vague about it. My own auto insurance covers some rental stuff but I honestly don't know if loss-of-use fees are included.

Has anyone actually fought one of these loss-of-use charges successfully? Is this even legal? Do I just suck it up or is there a path here where I'm not paying out of pocket for something that isn't my fault?

8 replies

Most helpful first

clever-heron-1015/14/2026
Oh man, this happened to me a couple years back. Not a double-accident situation, but I got hit in a rental and the rental company came after me for loss of use. What I didn't know at the time is that the at-fault driver's liability insurance can actually be responsible for those fees — not just your own policy. I ended up having the at-fault driver's insurer pay it directly once I pushed back and stopped letting the rental company talk only to me. Don't just accept that you owe this money without making some noise first.
gentle-sparrow-0825/14/2026
The rental company is going to try the path of least resistance, which is YOU. They don't want to chase down two different insurance companies. They'd much rather scare you into just paying. Don't fall for it. Get everything they're claiming in writing — the daily rate, the number of days, the total — and then forward that directly to the at-fault driver's insurer from the parking lot incident. Loss of use claims are legit charges, but that doesn't mean YOU are the one who has to pay them.
- calm-owl-3865/14/2026
  Former adjuster here. Loss-of-use fees from rental companies are real and we dealt with them all the time. Here's what most people don't know: when a third party (meaning someone other than you) causes damage to a vehicle, their liability coverage is generally what's supposed to make the rental company whole — not your collision coverage and definitely not your wallet directly.
  
  The issue you're running into is that rental companies often send the bill to whoever signed the rental agreement because it's easier. Your job right now is to formally notify the parking lot driver's insurance that the rental company has a loss-of-use claim, give them the rental company's contact info, and let them sort it out. Keep records of every conversation.
curious-grouse-5885/14/2026
A few practical things worth doing right now: 1) File a claim with the parking lot driver's insurance if you haven't already and specifically mention the rental company's loss-of-use demand. 2) Pull out your own auto insurance policy and look for anything mentioning "rental reimbursement" or "non-owned vehicle" coverage — sometimes loss of use is tucked in there. 3) Ask the rental company to provide a written breakdown of how they calculate their loss-of-use rate. Some of those numbers are negotiable or can be challenged if they can't show actual lost revenue. Not legal advice, just stuff that tends to move things forward.
keen-swan-6875/14/2026
Not legal advice, but this fact pattern — two separate at-fault parties, a rental agreement, and a loss-of-use demand — is exactly the kind of thing where a quick consult with a PI attorney could clarify who owes what to whom. Most won't charge for an initial conversation. The short version is that loss-of-use damages are generally recoverable from whoever caused the damage, and there may be arguments that the rental company's demand should be directed entirely to the second driver's insurer. Worth getting clarity before you pay anything.
clever-otter-9435/14/2026
Are you okay physically? You've been in two accidents in six weeks — even low-speed parking lot hits can cause soft tissue stuff that doesn't show up right away. Please don't let the financial stress of this make you ignore any aches or stiffness. Document everything with your doctor even if it feels minor.
quiet-tern-7545/14/2026
Stop talking to the rental company on the phone. Everything in writing from here on out. Email them asking for a full itemized breakdown of every charge. Then forward that to both at-fault insurers. Don't pay a dime until you've exhausted every other option — the moment you pay, you've implicitly accepted the debt and it gets much harder to recover it.
genuine-hare-6735/14/2026
This is so unfair and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. Two accidents that weren't your fault and somehow you're the one getting billed — that's incredibly frustrating. Please don't just pay this because they're pressuring you. At least talk to someone who knows this stuff before you hand over any money.