This event had happened on February 18th this year.  I had rented a
car with Enterprise Rent-a-car, and had returned the car on February
15th and pay for the rental.  Later that weekend, I discovered my
checking balance showed $0.00 and it indicates a $1,000 charged which
overdrafted my account completely.  I immediately called my bank,
Wells Fargo, to find out what is going on.  They told me that
Enterprise Rent-a-car made the transaction on Friday (Feb 18th).  I
had waited several days, hoping it was a computer problem that they
had over the weekend and will be fixed soon.  So several days later,
the money was reimbursed to me, and the account showed up as if
nothing had happened.  Everything was fine since then until last
Tuesday, February 22nd, the amount of $1,000.00 was charged to my
checking account again, overdrafting my account.  This time I am
really furious, I called up my bank and disputed the charge.  The two
days later after I have gathered all the receipts and evidences of my
car rental and called up Enterprise Rent-a-car.  They said there is no
indication of a $1,000.00 charge shows on their system, and they had
to get back to me the next day to research on further into it.  So the
call came Friday, the reason they told for the charge, which is the
lamest excuse I have heard, is that supposely there is another
customer with the same last name with that balance, and his ticket
number is right above mine, so they went ahead and charge those amount
to me, it was a mistake.  They said they will refund the money back to
my account, which it still has not happened yet.  What I am looking
for is perhaps the company will pay me restitutions in return for the
damage, and I am not sure if that is possible.  First, my account was
overdrafted, I had gone on with no money on my checking account for at
least a week; secondly, with all this happening, my credit rating
might be affected; third, my time lost in haggling between my bank and
Enterprise.  So, my question is, do I have a right to ask for
restitution in my particular situation, if so, to what extent may I
ask for the restituion?

They do have to pay you back all of your money plus the bounced check
fees. A simple trip down to the court house will take care of this.
Small claims can useually be up to the amount of $5,000.00. Now for
your credit rating. You can haev them contact the creditors and tell
them that it was there mistake and to remove all of the bad ratings.
Make sure that you get something in writting. You can also report this
to the better buisness bureau. And you can ore than likley make them
pay any charges that you have recieved for this time. For instance if
you have to go borrow money for a cash loan or if you had to pay any
late charges on your bills do to their error. I do hope that you have
kept any and all proof of this. Also go ahead and take out a notebook
and write everything down weither it is waht happend or what was said.

http://bbb.org/

I am not sure what exactly you mean mean by restitution. The car
rental company has admitted to making an error. They should therefore
give you back any money they deducted from your account in error plus
any other money you
lost as a result of the Car Rental company's error. It would appear that from 
the details you have given they have in principle agreed to do this.

Despite the advice by the first comment, I believe it is premature at
this point to take legal action. I would suggest you call the Car
rental company. Explain that you have an issue with an incorrectly
charged amount and you wish to speak to someone senior to resolve the
issue. Be clear on exactly how much you think they owe you. If what
you ask for is reasonable and they are are reputable company, they
should have no problem doing this. Also be sure to ask them when you
will be refunded. I would also suggest at this stage to keep things
simple you ask only to be refunded for clearly quantifiable amounts.
(i.e. do not try to claim for time lost or stress) When you get the
issue resolved with the rental company , I would then call your bank
to insure your credit rating has not been affected.
Mongolia

Incase he he/she has occuried any extra expenses due to the fact that
the bank account was empty do to their neglagence then they will more
than lilkley have to be brought to court to gain the loss of the
money. Also if their credit report isn't cleared than they may have to
bring this up in court to get it resolved. Unless for some miraculas
reason they are more than willing to take care of any money issues
including late fees on the bills than going to court would be the only
recourse.

Rental Car companies and, less so, Hotels engage in a nasty practice
called "Blocking", "Pre-authorizing" or "Placing a hold".  Basically,
instead of charging your card for the amount you actually owe, they
charge you extra, usually several hundred extra, to cover any extra
expenses you might incur.  Wait a couple days and the amount will
correct itself, and the bank should waive any NSF charges caused as a
result.  Incidentally, the first time this happened to me was at a
strip club.  It made sense to me then, because they use it as an
indication of how much money you can potentially drop in the club. 
Shady as hell, but it's a strip club, so what do you expect?  However,
it's no less shady when any other company does it.  I wish they'd
knock it off.

Dear Williamgunn
The practice you refer to of Hotels and Car Rental companies pre-authorising
an amount on your credit card is a very common process that many
business's do simply to protect themselves. If you book into an hotel
for lets say 5 days and the cost of the entire stay is $500 then many
hotels will pre-authorise $500 from your credit card (They should also
do this with your permission)
By pre-authorising the $500 they are not actually taking this out of
your credit card but simply lowering your current limit by $500. This
simply means when you are ready to check-out, there will at least $500
which the hotel can
deduct from your credit card. Also if you decide to make an exit from
the hotel without informing them the can still deduct this amount from
your card. Rental car companies do the same thing because of insurance
where a deductable is involved. If you  have a deductable of lets say
$200 then the rental car company will pre-authorise this from your
account. If the car is damaged then they know they can deduct this
from your credit card. When you finalise your bill with the hotel or
Car rental company, any pre-authorised amount should be nullified. Why
a strip club needs to do this I am not so sure. Hotels may also
pre-authorise somewhat more than the cost of the room to account for
other charges (meals, drinks etc)
In the days before credit cards were widely used some hotels
(especially if they were located in city centres) would lose large
amounts on people exiting the hotel and not paying. These costs were
passed unto other paying guests who would have to pay more because of
the dishonest guests.
With respect to the original question, The car rental company may have
pre-authorised an amount for damage/insurance purposes and this would
further complicate the issue. Which is why the questioner simply needs
to discuss it with the car rental company in order to get it resolved.
Mongolia

I had worked out the issue with Enterprise Rent-a-car.  All relating
charges are refunded by my bank.  Although it took a lot of time, I am
glad it is over.  Thanks a lot for all of your responses, it has been
tremendously helpful.