Problem With Rental Charges

bdog1234

I rented a machine from a large contractor that cost $1000/day for a project we were doing. It had to be hauled on a 18 wheeler across the state (10 hr drive) to get to the jobsite. We had it for a month.

The rental agreement was very brief and was basically I pay $1000/day from "door-to-door" plus trucking fees. Essentially rent started when it left and ended when it was brought back.

We finished using the unit on a Friday. The trucker came and picked it up on Saturday morning and was loaded and ready to roll at 8AM. He called the people we rented it from to tell them it would be there at 6PM and they said sorry we close at noon, bring it on Monday.

The driver took Saturday off, drove to the location Sunday, and was at their shop first thing monday morning.

I get the bill from them and they charged me rent for Sunday and Monday. I don't think we should have to pay for these two days because we tried to return it on Saturday, but they say no you pay these days becasue we did not get it back until Monday.

Thoughts?

Chris Johnson

Find a new rental company, 1k a day, you call them and they keep charging you...tell them nice doing business with you for the last time

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Chris

DavidC

Ditto that. Our rental outfit doesn't charge us for days they are closed unless we don't return it the next morning they are open. There must be another that would like your business.

Good Luck
Dave

bdog1234

It was not rented from a rental company. It was rented from another contractor who happened to have it and was not using it. I will likely never have the need to rent from them again anyway.

I am upset about it and do not plan any future business with them, but what about the current business? Are these charges legit? There was no mention of return duirning business hours, etc in the rental contract.

I could understand them saying come back later if I tried to return it at midnight or something but 6PM on a Saturday does not seem unreasonable to me for someone just to open a gate so we can unload.

Chris Johnson

Well since you did not have specifics by the sounds of it, like the amount of detail in a rental contract from a regular rental company I would say you will loose and you must pay for the two days since they accepted return on the Monday.

You can try and negotiate but I'd look for new friends and people to do business with.

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Chris

gregj

I would send them a check that doesn't include the Sunday and Monday charge with a note explaining that your check is payment in full since you attempted to return it on saturday but they refused the return at that time.

Then consider it a done deal unless they take legal actions.

TimNJ

They wouldn't let you unload the machine, that you paid $1000 a day to rent and had it for a month, on a Saturday after dark?? You ought to be glad that let you use the thing to begin with.
Think this through...1)You couldn't do the job with out the machine. 2) This machine must be worth a big chunk of change to justify a $1000 day charge otherwise you would have your own and wouldn't have to rent one. 3) Either this machine is hard to come by and that's why you paid to have transported 10 hrs away or $1000 a day was a really cheap rental rate.
Transporting a machine from 10 hrs away is like me in NJ, needing a machine for a job and having to get it from NC.
If the machine is costing that much I hope it was making you money on the job you did!
You should gladly pay the extra $3000 grand and thank the guy for helping you out by letting you use HIS equipment.

bdog1234

1) True. I needed the machine but I could have rented elsewhere if need be.
2) Machine is about 200k. The rent I paid amounts to 15% of the cost of the machine.
3) We are in Texas. 10hrs is not far. The $1000/day is a fair rate - not cheap or expensive.

I was under the understanding that the whole rental deal was to be mutually beneficial. The guy I rented it from did not have any work lined up for a whole month. In fact, I returned this 3 weeks ago and it has not been used since. I essence I got this guy 30 grand he would not have otherwise had as he obviously does not have any work for the machine.

It is not like the guy did me a favor. I paid 30k for the unit, which is more than what I will profit on the job. It was a business deal. At the rental rates of 15% of the cost of the unit that would be like someone paying you $7500 to rent your new pickup for a month. This machine probably has a life expectency of 10-15 years, so getting 15% of the cost of it in one month is not bad.

TimNJ

Sorry, bdog, but I still respectfully disagree.
It was his 200 grand investment that bought the machine. Investment is the key word. He put out that money in order to make money. Years and years ago I rented a drywall lift for a job. As is the nature of "rental" the charge for having the thing for a month was almost half what one cost new. Needless to say I bought one. After you had this thing for a month what kind of servicing, and at what cost, does the owner have to do it? If it was my $200,000 piece of equipment I would want it brought back during daylight hours on a normal "open" workday so I could inspect it for damage.
I was in an accident last year and had to rent a pickup in order to work. I paid $1000 for two weeks. That pickup was only about a $20,000 truck so you figure the rental company gets 10% back in a months time.

TimNJ

PS. I give up. What is this piece of equipment and what was the job you needed it for??

Celtic

Right or wrong, these seem to be the terms you guys agreed to.

You can chose not to do business with him again, but you shouldn't be sore with that business.

If the terms were vague, you either ask for clarification or accept them as is.
Would you finance/buy an object with a value of 30k with payments of $700/month? Of course not, you don't know the term nor the APR....in the end, you have no idea how much you are paying.
In my example above, who is to blame: The seller or the buyer?

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Cashking63

We have a small rental place here that is like that. If you rent something on Saturday you pay saturday and sunday. The bigger rental company here give you the day.