I will update the saga of the broken mirror on the Avis rental car:

Posted on my Visa bill on September 19th, was a charge of $445.09. I contacted Visa about their insurance: I needed copies of rental contracts and an estimated or final repair bill, plus pictures of damage. Visa must have the information within 90 days to pay the claim.

I e-mailed Avis. I was given a "Case Number". I was told to wait 15 days to receive the necessary documents. 15 days came and went. I contacted them again. This time they said it should have said "30 days" for international rentals.

The 30 days came and went. I called them on the phone. They said that these things take time. On November 16 I called again. The man I talked to said he would "expedite" the request for documentation.

Now for the surprise conclusion...

I pay my bills on-line, but I do still like to receive a paper copy of my Visa bill. And I almost never check my Visa bill on-line.

My Visa bill was there. And, surprise, surprise, there is a credit from Avis for $400.02! This credit was posted on October 19th. The repairs had to total more than $45.07! But that is all this mirror has cost us now.

Kerouac had mentioned earlier in this report that the rental companies debit a larger amount, and then may issue credit after being reminded a few times. Perhaps that is what happened here. In any case, it was a happy conclusion!

I was not too clear up above. The Visa bill was in yesterday's mail. That is when I saw the credit applied to my account!