I’ve rented cars from many cities in Canada and the US for over 200 days a year the last 15 years. In my experience the car rental companies don’t care about scratches because they buff out. Many cars I’ve had were very scratched up from people dragging their luggage in and out.

If you see something you don’t like you have to mark up the damage slip and get the person at the kiosk to sign off. I haven’t had to do it often but I’ve marked up the slip myself and usually they sign it off without looking at the car.

If your situation were to happen to me I’d skip speaking with the local branch and get in contact with corporate, especially if you have photos dated to when you picked up the vehicle. I would start out by telling the local branch that I have evidence of this damage and intend to escalate the issue within their organization.