The Michigan Department of Attorney General has reached a consent judgment with a Detroit-area car rental company that allegedly breached an assurance agreement with the Department, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
In September 2019, Nessel filed a lawsuit against Executive Car Rental (ECR) seeking injunctive relief and damages after the department found the company was not complying with an assurance agreement reached in March of that year.
The agreement was the result of an investigation into ECR, which began in November 2018 after the department received dozens of complaints from Michigan and out-of-state consumers. The majority of those complaints related to damage deposits of at least $250 that were either not returned on a timely basis or withheld altogether.
As part of that settlement, ECR agreed it would no longer charge deposits beyond vehicle rental costs and that it would implement a process for the inspection of a car before the rental process was completed. Nessel responded with the lawsuit after determining ECR failed to comply with those terms.
The consent judgment reached between the department and ECR, which was entered by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge John A. Murphy on Tuesday, includes three key components:
• ECR must pay the Department $17,500 – $15,000 of which is available for consumer reimbursements.
• ECR is now bound through court order to meet its obligations under the March 2019 assurance agreement.
• Consumers specified in the judgment are protected from ECR coming after them for money based on purported damages or other issues.
“I’m proud of the work done over the course of the last few years to hold ECR accountable for its unfair tactics,” Nessel said. “Let this consent judgment serve as a reminder that my office remains committed to ensuring businesses follow our consumer protection laws if they want to operate in Michigan.”
Assistant attorneys general will be reaching out to those consumers who previously filed complaints with the department and who may now qualify for a distribution from the funds obtained under the consent judgment. Any consumer who rented a vehicle from one of ECR’s Michigan locations who wants to be considered for a reimbursement — and has not already done so – should file a consumer complaint no later than August 23. The attorney general’s consumer protection team will then reach out to those consumers for information and documentation substantiating such claims.
Consumer complaints can be filed online at the attorney general’s website at www.michigan.gov/ag or by calling 877-765-8388.
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