rental car damage claim: do i really have to pay?

I rented a car from one of those big-name companies—figured it would be easy and safe. When I dropped it off, nobody said a word about any damage. I even did a quick walk-around myself and didn’t see anything wrong. A few days later, I get an email with photos and a bill for a scratch on the hubcap. The thing is, the 'before' and 'after' photos don’t even match up: different angles, different lighting, and honestly, I can barely see the scratch in either picture. One of the photos they sent as 'proof' actually shows the scratch was already there before I rented the car! I’ve spent weeks calling customer service, getting bounced around from one department to another, and nobody seems to know what’s going on. Emails go unanswered. I feel like I’m shouting into the void. Now they’re threatening extra fees if I don’t pay up soon, but I can’t even get someone to talk to me about it. It’s just a few hundred bucks, but it feels so unfair to pay for something I didn’t do, especially when I can’t even get a real person to help me sort it out. Has anyone else run into this with rental car companies? Did refusing to pay mess up your credit or lead to more headaches? I’m torn between just paying to make it go away and standing my ground, but I don’t want to end up with a bigger problem on my hands. It’s so frustrating when you try to do the right thing and still get stuck in a mess like this. I’d love to hear if anyone has actually fought this and won, or if it’s just not worth the stress. #rentalcar #travelproblems #customerexperience #Travel