Auto Insurance Claims: Rental Truck agreement & damage claim, mail return receipt, certified mail

Question
I rented a truck, and was naive enough to trust the guy that rented it to me to check it over. I  skimmed over the truck with him and didn't scrutinize everything meticulously. Of course, after I dropped the truck off, they mailed me a letter claiming I owe them $1,394 in damages for a dinked windshield and a dented upper guard rail. Both are minor, and I assume they were there before I rented the truck. Another possible scenario is that after I dropped the truck off at night, someone else could have pulled in with another truck and scraped up against mine, causing the damage. Either way, I am confident that I did not scrape up against anything, but have no real way of proving it.

I read a previous post stating that I should request a copy of all previous rental agreements and damage reports for that truck. I have called and left a message to this effect, and am waiting on a response.

So, my question is this: assuming they ignore my request for previous rental info, or they send it and there is no prior history, what is my best course of action? They have already sent it to a collections agency. Is the burden on them to prove that I caused the damage to the truck? Or is the burden on me to prove that I did not?

If I claim that someone else damaged the truck after I dropped it off, would I have to prove that? I think it is an unlikely scenario, but I am trying to consider all my options to avoid having to pay these vultures.

Answer
Hi Eric,

At this point you need to stop all phone conversation with the rental company. You need to send a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, demanding that they provide all prior rental contracts and damage reports for this truck ( They will not provide this to you). You may want to talk to an attorney, but this is not a case that anyone will get excited about. Because you have no proof you will likely end up having to pay for the damage. If you signed the walk around sheet that indicated there was no prior damage then there will not be much you can do.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh