Bay Area couple accused of stealing rental car in Ohio in Thrifty mix-up
"They were thinking that we were criminals and we had stolen a vehicle and we could be dangerous."
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- A Scotts Valley resident says police banged on her hotel room door in Ohio accusing her and her partner of stealing a rental car. They reached out to 7 On Your Side. ABC7 News investigative reporter Melanie Woodrow obtained the police reports and body-worn camera video. It's the second rental car company mix-up 7 On Your Side Investigates has covered in recent months.
"I heard someone knocking on the door pretty loudly," said Nichole Brooks.
It was after midnight and Brooks and her partner are at the Mount Vernon Comfort Inn in Ohio, visiting for a music festival when police arrived at their door.
"They were really upset," Brooks explained.
"Of course we were sound asleep, so it was hard to really process what was happening," she continued.
"You rented a car that I'm gonna tell you right now as of 1 a.m. this morning was reported stolen," said an officer.
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"They were thinking that we were criminals and we had stolen a vehicle and we could be dangerous," Brooks told 7 On Your Side Investigates.
Nichole's partner took police outside and showed them the rental agreement.
They rented the vehicle from Byers, an airport Thrifty franchise which is owned by Hertz.
"I feel like it was really hard and really scary to not get them to accept that we had rented the car," said Brooks.
Several calls and minutes later, Byers confirms Nichole and her partner were the legitimate renters.
"I think your renter here is kind of innocent," said the officer on a call.
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But the car was previously reported stolen to Columbus PD.
In this bodycam video from Columbus PD, an officer arrives to take a report from a woman who says her boyfriend gave the rental, before it disappeared.
"He rented the car because my car is getting a motor in it," said the woman who reported the car stolen.
Thrifty tells 7 On Your Side Investigates, the woman who reported the vehicle stolen was not the renter or an authorized driver of the vehicle. Thrifty says when the actual renter of the vehicle didn't return it on time, Thrifty had a private towing company repossess the vehicle.
"I just can't believe they stole my little puppy is in the car," the woman told police.
While the officer was taking the report, the towing company was returning the vehicle to Byers, the Thrifty franchise, which then rents it out to Brooks and her partner.
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Bringing us back to Mount Vernon Police at the Comfort Inn questioning Brooks and her partner.
"The whole thing does not make sense at all," said Brooks.
"Everything looks like the rental company screwed up," said the officer.
But Thrifty tells 7 On Your Side Investigates the Thrifty franchise had no idea the car had been reported stolen.
No matter for the couple who would have been driving it all weekend with police on the lookout.
"If you're driving down the road you know you're gonna get taken out at gunpoint but you should be fine now," said the officer.
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Thrifty fully refunded the couple, but they had to drive the vehicle to another rental place to swap it out.
"We really didn't feel comfortable driving the vehicle anymore we didn't want to continue doing that because we didn't want to get pulled over again," said Brooks.
"It was really scary," she continued.
In an emailed Statement, a Thrifty Spokesperson writes, "Although this situation was not of our making and beyond our control, both we and our Thrifty franchise partner deeply empathize with what our customers experienced due to these unfortunate circumstances."
"I think that Thrifty and Hertz should take some accountability for this and they probably need to do a little more due diligence with the cars that they're renting," said Brooks.
Thrifty says its Corporate Customer Care team has been in touch with the couple to provide more insight and information into what happened.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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