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Eric Weiman rents a car from Enterprise in Germany. He is later accused of damaging the vehicle. When he disputes the charges, Enterprise threatens legal action. Can he get them to drop the claim?

Q: I recently rented a car from the Enterprise in Munich, Germany. When I returned the vehicle after several days, no one inspected it. A few days later, I received a message in my spam folder saying I had damaged the car.

Enterprise claims I scratched the car during my rental. The scratch is small, barely finger-length and thin. They sent me a bill for just over $1,800.

The photos they sent show no damage in one photo, and the other two photos that show the scratch don’t show the license plate or any indication that it is the same car. I took a video of the car when I returned it, and it shows no damage where they claim the scratch is.

I called Enterprise customer service. The U.S. representative couldn’t find any damage record and couldn’t help me. Three months later, Enterprise charged my credit card for the full damage. I disputed the charge with my credit card company, but they are siding with Enterprise.

How can I defend myself against this false claim? — Eric Weiman, San Diego

A: You shouldn’t have to pay for damage that didn’t exist when you returned the vehicle. You’re responsible for the car from when you pick it up to when you return it. But after you return it? That’s on the company.

You did the right thing by taking a video of the car when you returned it. That gives you some evidence to support your claim. I also recommend taking “before” photos and videos of the vehicle to establish a baseline.

The most confusing part of your case is that you showed the rental location a video of the car you rented, and it appears the car didn’t have a scratch. Meanwhile, the photos they showed you, allegedly proving you had damaged the vehicle, were not identifiable as the car you rented. In other words, it could have been any vehicle in the company’s fleet. And when you asked for clarification, Enterprise seemed to double down on its claim.

I think you had one more option: an appeal to an Enterprise executive. On my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org, I list Enterprise’s top customer service executives’ names, numbers, and email addresses.

I contacted Enterprise on your behalf.

“We take any concerns brought to us by customers seriously and investigate them thoroughly,” a representative told me. In this particular instance, damage to the vehicle was not present when the renter took possession of it, yet it was present when the vehicle was processed for return.

Enterprise says it has a photographic tunnel operated by a third party. Vehicles from all rental companies pass through the tunnel in and out of Munich airport and are photographed for damage. The photos suggest you returned your car with damage.

“Because of this, we do intend to stand by our charge in this case and pursue the renter for damages,” the Enterprise spokesman said.