A Nova Scotia woman says a rental car company has charged her $47,000 after the vehicle she rented was stolen from the company lot after it had been returned.

Kristen Cockerill says she rented a Ford Mustang from a Dartmouth, N.S., Enterprise Rent-A-Car for two days in early October.

She says that when her partner returned the car on a Sunday evening, the location was closed, so he put the keys in a secure drop box situated on the Enterprise property, as the contract instructed her to do so.

Cockerill says the next day she got a call from the company informing her that while employees had found the keys in the drop box, the car was not on the lot. Cockerill says she found out later that day that the company had reported the as car as stolen to police.

And then this past Monday, nearly four months after she rented the sports car, Cockerill received a letter from Enterprise informing her that she was on the hook for the cost of the stolen Mustang.

“It came as a really big shock,” she told CTVNews.ca. “I was never told that we might be held accountable for this.”

Cockerill says the company informed her that the car was technically in her possession when it was stolen, and that the company only regains possession of the car when it is able to inspect it.

Enterprise confirmed the company’s policy in a statement emailed to CTVNews.ca on Friday.

“Please keep in mind that a sign prominently displayed on the key drop-box reminds customers that the vehicle remains their responsibility until it can be checked in by an employee,” said the statement from Enterprise spokesperson Laura Bryant.

“Customers are financially responsible for any damage or theft that occurs during a rental transaction, regardless of fault or negligence – just as if they owned the rental vehicle themselves.”

The company says that it is continuing to review the case and it “is our intention to work with the customer and her (Cockerill’s) insurance company to achieve a fair and reasonable outcome.”

Cockerill says that her partner, who dropped off the car to the Enterprise location that Sunday evening, likely didn’t see the sign. And while Cockerill says that she has also seen the sign in recent media reports about her issue with the company, she says she believes many customers might not take notice of it since it is often dark when they are returning vehicles.

“People have already made the decision, as was in their contract, to drop off the car at that point,” she added.

Cockerill said Enterprise has not contacted her since she received the bill on Monday.

She says when she rented the car she did not purchase an Enterprise insurance package because she was already covered by another provider. She says that provider plans on investigating.

Cockerill, however, says that she is worried about financial strain if the issue is forced to go to court.

“If there is some small print in the contract that says that customers are liable until it (the vehicle) is received by the company the next business day, then I think rental car companies need to make customers aware of that very clearly from the beginning so we can make an informed decision,” she said, adding that she got rid of her contract after she believed the matter had been put to rest.

Cockerill says if she had known she was still liable for the car when it was returned that Sunday night, she would have considered keeping it for another day, even if she would have been charged. She says she also would have considered purchasing an Enterprise insurance package if it covered the car while it sat in the lot before an employee could inspect it.

“This is the first time I have ever rented a car to be quite honest,” she said. “But what I’m hearing from people is the same shock: ‘Oh my god I had no idea that that’s the case.’ It’s not a nice way to start the New Year.”