Hertz - Hertz intentionally starting rentals early

I booked a premium car at the Austin Airport Hertz from April 24 - 25 (11pm - 11pm). My flight wasn't arriving until 12:15am, but for whatever reason, Hertz.com won't let you book a reservation past midnight even though the location is open until 1am.

Because it was late and I was tired, I didn't pay particularly close attention to my receipt (which was already on the dash in the car). Also, since I was using a Free Day coupon (which showed up on my online reservation), I didn't really care what the "estimated" value was.

The next day, I looked at the receipt a little closer and noticed Hertz had started the reservation early at 21:30, not at my reserved time of 23:00 or my arrival time of 00:15 (all of which was provided in my online booking). Apparently this 90 minute discrepancy amounts to an extra full day rental in Hertz math.

Rather than waste my time calling into a Hertz agent, I figured I'd just return the car before 21:30 and it'll all sort itself out. I returned the car to the Hertz location around 9pm and while they weren't processing returns, I filled out the drop-off slip and went about my way.

Then yesterday, I received an email from Hertz with a summary of the charges. Included were the incorrect pick-up time (April 24 at 21:30), the incorrect return time (April 25 at 23:00) and no use of free rental coupon.

Despite my conscious effort to remedy Hertz's mistake, they go 0/3 in the final tally. Now I get the pleasure of dealing with a Hertz CSR or initiating a dispute with my credit card company. All this for a day's rental. Maybe it's time to start looking at other rental companies.

At the very least, I'm going to start paying very close attention to the Charge Estimates they pre-place in Gold member's cars.

I can't speak to the incorrect return time that was entered into the system. That's either incompetent or negligent. However, you are wrong to assert that Hertz is "intentionally" starting rentals early. They don't. The time on the paperwork in your vehicle is the time it is prepared - usually a couple of hours before pick-up. The 24-hour/day clock doesn't start ticking until the vehicle is scanned out at the exit.

You did nothing to remedy the situation. Had you done even the slightest thing, like actually look at the receipt before taking the car, or looking at it once it was returned, there would be no issue, it probably could have been resolved in less time than typing out a rant.

What's the point of putting it in dispute with your credit card company until you at least try to work it out with Hertz? You missed several opportunities to get this resolved.

However, you are wrong to assert that Hertz is "intentionally" starting rentals early. They don't. The time on the paperwork in your vehicle is the time it is prepared - usually a couple of hours before pick-up. The 24-hour/day clock doesn't start ticking until the vehicle is scanned out at the exit.

This is the final receipt they emailed me:

http://i.imgur.com/TqQIO.png

While 21:20 might be the time they "prepared" the vehicle, the counter did not start at my correct time of rental. My flight did not arrive until 00:11am on April 25, yet my receipt still shows that the rental started on April 24.

You did nothing to remedy the situation. Had you done even the slightest thing, like actually look at the receipt before taking the car, or looking at it once it was returned, there would be no issue, it probably could have been resolved in less time than typing out a rant.

I'm sorry, it was late, dark and my online reservation was displaying the correct information. I did not anticipate Hertz starting the reservation early. I'm not sure how exactly you expect me to look at the receipt once it was returned, considering they weren't processing returns when I dropped the vehicle off.

Hertz gives you three pieces of information: your original online reservation, an estimate of charges when you pick up the vehicle and then a statement of charges when you return. The Estimate of Charges routinely lists higher prices than your actual statement and rarely includes Promotional Coupons (in this instance, it says that the coupon will be applied at return). Since they weren't processing returns, I had to fill out the return slip and put that in the drop box. The Statement of Charges was just sent to me via email.

If Hertz says you rented something four hours prior to actual rental and you make accommodations to return the vehicle according to their incorrect rental time, I'd say that's making an active attempt of remedy. Had there been someone processing returns to give me my Statement of Charges and the receipt showed an incorrect total, then yes, I could have disputed the charge then and there. I did not have that opportunity.

You missed several opportunities to get this resolved.

I had one opportunity, and that would have been on pick-up. Considering they also didn't process my promotional coupon, even if there wasn't an incorrect timing issue, I'd have to call in to Hertz to have the coupon applied (given that they were not processing returns when I dropped the car off).

Did you actually give the coupon?

After further investigation, I also see they charged me a $34.86 "Fuel and Service" fee.

I put 60 total miles on the car (although that seems terribly embellished considering my four day HLE rental only amounted to 75 total miles) and have a receipt from a gas station less than a mile away for 3.344 gallons. That receipt is dated ten minutes before my actual return.

I realize a gas receipt doesn't "prove" anything, but given the station's location and the timing of the pump, this just reeks of fraudulent charges by Hertz.

Did you actually give the coupon?

No. They didn't ask and I've never physically given them a coupon before. I always figured they were tied to your account/CDP #. That being said, I have a couple of them should they request a physical coupon.

definitely call hertz. be sure to have on hand, and offer to fax them, (1) your original reservation, showing the coupon code in the reservation; (2) your flight information, showing the late arrival (this may be the one instance where putting your arrival info in the hertz reservation makes sense); and (3) a copy of your receipt for gas.

the estimates you get when you pick up the car are worthless. they never include your coupon, and don't reflect your actual pick up time (how can they, since the car is prepared long before you get there, and you drive off without filling out any paperwork?).

the most troubling part of this story, at least to me, is that an airport location was not processing returns at 9.30 pm. i am VERY distrustful of using the drop-off box, and so i will go out of my way to return a car when the location is open. having someone process the return is often the only defense against bogus fuel charges.

I had one opportunity, and that would have been on pick-up. Considering they also didn't process my promotional coupon, even if there wasn't an incorrect timing issue, I'd have to call in to Hertz to have the coupon applied (given that they were not processing returns when I dropped the car off).

So what did Hertz say when you contacted them? Either at the location or after the rental?

Oh, that's right, you have not contacted Hertz. You don't have a clue if they will change it or not, as you have not bothered to even try. You have not even tried to resolve this with Hertz

So what did Hertz say when you contacted them? Either at the location or after the rental?

Oh, that's right, you have not contacted Hertz. You don't have a clue if they will change it or not, as you have not bothered to even try. You have not even tried to resolve this with Hertz

Hertz corporate removed the fuel charge, but they said everything else has to be completed through the location. I left the manager a voicemail earlier today, but haven't heard back.

You're acting like this was one simple error, whereas this is systematic negligence/incompetence and borderline fraud. Regardless, I think it's a positive move to openly document this situation in a public forum. At the very least, it alerts other travelers of some deceptive measures that this specific Hertz location employs.

Let's say this happens a handful more times at the Austin Airport location. A public record of false rental times and fraudulent fuel charges at a specific location sets precedent should these errors occur in the future. If and when Hertz remedies the situation, I'll update the thread, but that does not take away from the fact that I experienced a far from satisfactory rental and now have to spend my time contacting Hertz for an adjustment due to their multiple errors.

e: Further, it's been long documented that Hertz routinely bills for phantom fuel charges. Here's one from two months ago (http://www.flyertalk.com/the-gate/blog/9973-charged-for-3-71-gallons-of-fuel-ouch-%E2%80%94-that-hertz.html), but these complaints go back to 2008 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz/853645-hertz-charges-fuel-charge-every-time.html) and 2006 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz/518278-hertz-claims-i-didnt-fill-gas-tank-adds-fuel-charge-bill.html).

Because other travelers documented their experiences with Hertz, it adds more credibility to a renter's fill-up claims rather than a boy crying wolf story.

You're acting like this was one simple error, whereas this is systematic negligence/incompetence and borderline fraud.

I never said that. What I said was that you never contacted Hertz to resolve the issue. Not when you picked up the car, not when you returned it, not before you posted here. What I did way, quoting, was that

What's the point of putting it in dispute with your credit card company until you at least try to work it out with Hertz?

You believe it's some sort of conspiracy thing going on across all of Hertz. I believe it was a simple billing error you could have taken care of in less time you have devoted to bashing Hertz, without even trying to resolve it with them in public forums.

I believe a simple call to hertz would have resolved all of this. You don't, and have chosen to go a totally different route.

You believe it's some sort of conspiracy thing going on across all of Hertz. I believe it was a simple billing error you could have taken care of in less time you have devoted to bashing Hertz, without even trying to resolve it with them in public forums.

I believe a simple call to hertz would have resolved all of this. You don't, and have chosen to go a totally different route.

I already called Hertz, they said they can't do anything (aside from removing the fuel charge) and I need to talk to the location's manager. I've been waiting for a call-back from the manager for a couple hours now.

An incorrect rental time is a simple billing error. Not applying a coupon is an oversight. Including a fraudulent fuel charge is something done deliberately. All of these errors compounded together reeks of something fishy.

I'm not saying it's a "conspiracy," but it should be a strong caution to any renter who already has the rental agreement in their car to double check the rental dates/times. Doubly so if a location (especially an airport location) doesn't process returns during their normal business hours.

Even if this completely gets resolved, it wasn't a satisfactory renting experience. I'm documenting it should this problem ever occur in the future (either to myself or to other travelers). If that is not at least partially the point of this forum, I apologize.

This is one thing I absolutely can't stand about Hertz: they slam a bogus fuel charge on your bill, and even if you catch it immediately when you're handed the receipt, they can't or won't resolve it on the spot.

You are presented with the "Morton's fork" - stand in line at the inside counter or call corporate customer service. They're betting, obviously correctly in many cases, that the cost of both of those choices is higher than the value of the bogus charge. A lot of people probably just walk away, knowing that their company makes them use Hertz, but that same company will probably reimburse the bogus fuel charge without hassle.

It's a dirty practice, but there's absolutely zero incentive for Hertz to stop doing it.

The "early start" one is new. I'll make sure to more closely look at receipts from now on. Since I've mostly switched to National, I worry less about it: because of the EA/ES process, the only possibility is for them to time-stamp your contract at the exit.

It's a dirty practice, but there's absolutely zero incentive for Hertz to stop doing it.

Exactly. I noticed when calling in to Hertz corporate, one of the touch-dial options was explicitly for Questions about Fuel Charges. It's like they acknowledge the prevalence of falsified charges and are quick to reverse the charges, but have no interest in actually resolving the underlying issue.

e: It's now end-of-day according to the Hertz office manager's hours (4pm CST) and I have not received a call back.

I already called Hertz, they said they can't do anything (aside from removing the fuel charge) and I need to talk to the location's manager.the instant hertz corporate tells you this, you have grounds to dispute the charge with you credit card, and can truthfully say that hertz is refusing to acknowledge you.

there is no reason to let them put you on the "local office" merry-go-round.

the instant hertz corporate tells you this, you have grounds to dispute the charge with you credit card, and can truthfully say that hertz is refusing to acknowledge you.

there is no reason to let them put you on the "local office" merry-go-round.

Thanks. I took this advice and have now filed a dispute through Chase.

I'm fortunate that I have documentation for everything; had I not been arriving by plane, paid cash for the gas and lost/thrown away the receipt (not terribly uncommon), I could realistically be out almost $200.

I've only disputing about 5 charges in my whole life, and my experience with Chase was pretty bad. They began the process with the presumption that the merchant was right and I could never overcome that. I ended up giving up with Chase, then finally calling the merchant directly one last time to negotiate before going to court, and we negotiated to a middle ground directly.

So I wouldn't get my hopes high with Chase in a battle between you and a major corporation. I was just battling a corrupt little plumbing company and they weren't much good there.

My other disputes were through Amex and Citi (Diner's Club). Those were handled more professionally and impartially, IMHO. A couple of those ended with the merchant not resisting the chargeback. One of these was a rental car - an off-airport location, not Hertz. One ended with the merchant and I eventually working something out directly and reasonably amicably.

To this day, I use Amex for all rental cars everywhere precisely because such a high percentage (comparatively) of the final bills have to get adjusted because of things like bogus charges. I'm always fearful that there simply won't be a human to talk to from the rental company and I'll need a CC that supports me.

We'll see. Apparently Chase has already credited me the disputed amount.

This is also a pretty clear black-and-white case of error on Hertz's part. There is no way I could have started the rental 3 hours before my flight arrived and both my online reservation and Estimate of Charges indicate that a coupon should be applied upon return.

They've already reversed the fuel charge (which I noted in my Chase dispute), but this further demonstrates Hertz's propensity for including incorrect charges.

Also, it's now less than 40 minutes away from EOD today and I still have not received a call back from the Hertz Austin Airport manager.

I always thought Hertz starts the rental when you leave the gate at a airport location or when the contract is prepared at a local edition or downtown location. I will ask the counter next time I rent, a week from now, at PHX, but the reps when you return, don't seem too smart. Always look at the receipt before you leave, the rep still can change the gas charge even after printing a first receipt.

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's PWP wondrousdevice3.0: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0.0.261 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

I did have a reasonable experience at HZ in AUS last month coming back from the AUS Mega Do. I did two OW rentals (to HLE and back) as this dropped the price and taxes. Picking up at the HLE it was under 1/4 of a tank but only marked as 1/2 full. Filled up the tank right then and returned with a full tank. The agent credited my bill at the Gold station with the initial fill up cost, so it worked out well ^ (Yes this was not automated and required diligence on my part). But was a satisfactory conclusion.

It's become de rigueur on FT to jump down the throat of an OP whenever they post even a legitimate complaint about a corporate entity. For reasons I don't understand, some posters chastise the OP for what he did/didn't do and completely ignore multiple failures by the service provider.

The way I see it, Hertz made at least a few errors here:
(1) Not properly reflecting the time the OP picked up the car. (The OP satisfactorily addressed this by returning the car within 24 hours of the time that Hertz arbitrarily chose.)
(2) Not properly reflecting the time the OP returned the car (which was only an issue because Hertz failed at #1 above).
(3) Charging the OP fuel charges when the OP returned the car with a full tank.
(4) Not properly applying the coupon that was specified in the OP's reservation.

It seems a bit suspect to me that every error that Hertz made was in their favor (i.e., was a mistake that would increase the amount the charges to the consumer). If Hertz had done either (1) or (2) correctly, the rental period would have been under the 24 hours actually reserved/rented, but instead, Hertz failed to do both!

I don't think it's acceptable for a customer to have to constantly fix Hertz' multiple errors. I always appreciate when someone posts about companies' improper handling of these issues, so I know what to watch out for. Thank you OP for letting us know what happens.

It's become de rigueur on FT to jump down the throat of an OP whenever they post even a legitimate complaint about a corporate entity. For reasons I don't understand, some posters chastise the OP for what he did/didn't do and completely ignore multiple failures by the service provider.

The way I see it, Hertz made at least a few errors here:
(1) Not properly reflecting the time the OP picked up the car. (The OP satisfactorily addressed this by returning the car within 24 hours of the time that Hertz arbitrarily chose.)
(2) Not properly reflecting the time the OP returned the car (which was only an issue because Hertz failed at #1 above).
(3) Charging the OP fuel charges when the OP returned the car with a full tank.
(4) Not properly applying the coupon that was specified in the OP's reservation.

It seems a bit suspect to me that every error that Hertz made was in their favor (i.e., was a mistake that would increase the amount the charges to the consumer). If Hertz had done either (1) or (2) correctly, the rental period would have been under the 24 hours actually reserved/rented, but instead, Hertz failed to do both!

I don't think it's acceptable for a customer to have to constantly fix Hertz' multiple errors. I always appreciate when someone posts about companies' improper handling of these issues, so I know what to watch out for. Thank you OP for letting us know what happens.

^

At some of the HLE where I rent cars, the counter rep often has the contract printed out and waiting for me behind the counter with the keys. Often, they have printed it out at least an hour ahead of my scheduled pick up time, but at least once it was printed out when they opened at 8 a.m., even though my reservation was for a noon pick up. I have to ask them to reprint the contract in order to reflect the accurate pick up time. Otherwise, I supposed I'd be dinged with extra hour charges.

^

+1

+1

Agreed

I don't think it's acceptable for a customer to have to constantly fix Hertz' multiple errors. I always appreciate when someone posts about companies' improper handling of these issues, so I know what to watch out for. Thank you OP for letting us know what happens.

Thanks for this response. I'd be lying if I wasn't surprised by the initial push-back in my thread.

I think most of the problem was due to the location not processing returns at 9:30pm at night, despite being open for business. This is the first (and will be the last) time I use a lock-box for a location that's open.

And to update, I still have not heard back from the manager at the Austin Airport Hertz location. I'll update again when I find out the result of my Chase dispute.

Yes, Hertz screwed up in this instance, but I wouldn't call the fuel charge a conspiracy (I have 1500+ rental days I've had two bogus fuel charges both were removed once I alerted them).
I think in general Hertz has gone down hill in the past five years and location mgrs are now more focused on bottom line than service. That said if I have problem with rental I always talk to mgr on duty or city mgr if possible. I won't stand in line either I will ask for one and explain I am in hurry to catch flight or need to be somewhere. Mgrs are much less likely to turn you down in person. If you are unable to wait call location first, not 1-800 use the local number. Locations get reports from corporate when somebody calls with a complaint or error form that location. These reports weigh against their overall customer service score, something that Mgrs are evaluated on. So if you give the location an opportunity to fix it you usually fare batter then calling 1-800.
Also, mgrs can modify almost everything post-rent and they have authority to issues credits up to a certain $$$ amount (it varies by mgr level and type of location HLE vs AP vs Franchise ) to off set anything they cant change post-rent. .

Yes, Hertz screwed up in this instance, but I wouldn't call the fuel charge a conspiracy (I have 1500+ rental days I've had two bogus fuel charges both were removed once I alerted them).
I think in general Hertz has gone down hill in the past five years and location mgrs are now more focused on bottom line than service. That said if I have problem with rental I always talk to mgr on duty or city mgr if possible. I won't stand in line either I will ask for one and explain I am in hurry to catch flight or need to be somewhere. Mgrs are much less likely to turn you down in person. If you are unable to wait call location first, not 1-800 use the local number. Locations get reports from corporate when somebody calls with a complaint or error form that location. These reports weigh against their overall customer service score, something that Mgrs are evaluated on. So if you give the location an opportunity to fix it you usually fare batter then calling 1-800.
Also, mgrs can modify almost everything post-rent and they have authority to issues credits up to a certain $$$ amount (it varies by mgr level and type of location HLE vs AP vs Franchise ) to off set anything they cant change post-rent. .
Nothing above is meant to be condescending or mean to the OP. I am just giving an example of how I would handle the situation that has been successful for me. I don't think the OP is out of line for being upset.