Hertz - Ripped off

I have never had such a bad renting experience, first of all my reservation at Nice Airport, France, was not honored after waiting 2 hours (and numerous phone calls), then they gave me the same care for 3.5 times the price, when returning the car they said I drove 1800 km, although I put in only 38 liters of gasoline in the car, and my own estimation is 400 km (based on Google maps). I have called Hertz customer service, but they told me that the mileage of the car was consistent with the previous rental, therefore they could not do anything with my complaint. I wrote an e-mail but have not heard anything. What a nightmare!
After money phone calls and e-mails, I got my money back, and the initial reservation with unlimited miles was honored. I am very happy. Although I still feel ripped off because I never drove the miles they claimed. But still my compliments to broker (priceline.com) and Hertz

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Whenever you have a rate that does not include unlimited mileage, it is essential that you check the car's odometer at the beginning of the rental to make sure that the reading agrees with what is stated on your rental agreement.

I'm afraid that you just learned a very expensive lesson.

What explanation did the rental location give for failing to honor the price on your reservation? And what did Hertz customer service tell you when you complained about the failure to honor the price in your reservation?

If the mileage listed on the paperwork was wrong when you picked up the car and you did not notice it, there is little you can do after the fact about it. As already mentioned, you need to confirm it on all rentals so you don't run into problems at the end.

If the mileage listed on the paperwork was wrong when you picked up the car and you did not notice it, there is little you can do after the fact about it. As already mentioned, you need to confirm it on all rentals so you don't run into problems at the end.

I learned that through a one way rental from Binghampton NY airport to Syracuse. Flight cancelled out of Binghamton and drove to Syracuse in my bare bones Toyota Yaris. Mileage was wrong on contract. I checked in car 82 minutes after picking it up. At that time, they said I drove 320 miles. Common sense prevailed when I pointed out that I would have had to average about 235 miles an hour in the Yaris to drive that many miles in the time I had the car.

Pickup mileage can certainly be wrong. It wasn't a big problem because I had unlimited mileage, I once got a car with 15,000 miles, but the contract was missing a digit and it said 1,500 miles. The return agent did a double take and realized there was probably a mistake before even mentioning it to me and said the previous return agent had problem typo'ed the mileage. She was also able to look at the history for the car and see that it had way more than 1500 miles when I got it.

Unfortunately, if they supposedly check the rental history for the car and find the starting mileage on your contract was consistent with the car's history, you are probably going to have a hard time fighting it.

Does the milage on the rental paperwork match what they said on return?

I had a rental recently from a HLE to LAX. Mileage on the rental paperwork was correct at time of rental, but on return the paperwork claimed I'd done about 500 miles (impressive given that I had the car for about 5-6 hours). When I checked, the starting mileage on the return paperwork didn't match the starting mileage on the contract.

It was an unlimited mileage rental so I didn't bother doing anything about it, but it's something else to check if you're on a per-mile rate.

Does the milage on the rental paperwork match what they said on return?

I had a rental recently from a HLE to LAX. Mileage on the rental paperwork was correct at time of rental, but on return the paperwork claimed I'd done about 500 miles (impressive given that I had the car for about 5-6 hours). When I checked, the starting mileage on the return paperwork didn't match the starting mileage on the contract.

It was an unlimited mileage rental so I didn't bother doing anything about it, but it's something else to check if you're on a per-mile rate.

Yes the paper work is correct, but they kept me busy for a couple hours, after I received the car I was already too late for an appointment, I drove off without checking the mileage. I just checked dents etc. I have got 7 witnesses who can verify my activities during my rental, and the whereabouts of the car during that time, which can be a max of 400 km, also I paid everything on my Amex during my visit. Also 1 fill up of gasoline

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Whenever you have a rate that does not include unlimited mileage, it is essential that you check the car's odometer at the beginning of the rental to make sure that the reading agrees with what is stated on your rental agreement.

I'm afraid that you just learned a very expensive lesson.

What explanation did the rental location give for failing to honor the price on your reservation? And what did Hertz customer service tell you when you complained about the failure to honor the price in your reservation?

I am afraid you are right, but Hertz will never get my business, if this is not straighten out, also my company will cancel their contract, but I think that also those actions do not mean a thing for Hertz.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Whenever you have a rate that does not include unlimited mileage, it is essential that you check the car's odometer at the beginning of the rental to make sure that the reading agrees with what is stated on your rental agreement.

I'm afraid that you just learned a very expensive lesson.

What explanation did the rental location give for failing to honor the price on your reservation? And what did Hertz customer service tell you when you complained about the failure to honor the price in your reservation?

They said my reservation was canceled, but when I went on the internet reservation system it was still confirmed. As I booked through a broker, I had to contact the broker, which off course I already did.

I am afraid you are right, but Hertz will never get my business, if this is not straighten out, also my company will cancel their contract, but I think that also those actions do not mean a thing for Hertz.

A wise FlyerTalker once said that if everyone followed through on their threat to never do business with a car rental company after a dispute, we'd all be walking. :)

The same thing can happen at any rental agency. The lesson here is not to never do business with Hertz (since the same thing can and will happen to you at Avis, National, Dollar, Enterprise, or wherever); it's to double-check the odometer when picking up and again when returning. Same thing with the physical condition of the car: always look for damage, regardless of how much of a hurry you are in. (Check the fuel level, too, while you're at it.) It is never worth a large penalty to save what amounts to at most about 60 seconds.

That said, maybe get some sworn affidavits from your seven witnesses along with your credit card statement showing only one fill-up and send them to Hertz. It's worth a shot.

You learned the hard way..... And you were stupid both with the original reservation and with the mileage.

But only 400km's on 38liters also seems a little hard to believe, just like not knowing how many km's you traveled when paying a rate that's not unlimited. Must have been some car....

But only 400km's on 38liters also seems a little hard to believe, just like not knowing how many km's you traveled when paying a rate that's not unlimited. Must have been some car....

That sounds pretty reasonable; 9.5L per 100Km sounds not far off a reasonable consumption; my Camry's listed consumption rate is 8.8 l/100k for example

If you booked this through a third party, it is the broker, not Hertz which owes you the difference between the rate you booked and the rate Hertz offered.

On the mileage issue, go ahead and get clear, concise and short statements from your seven witnesses. Make sure that the statements are just facts and make absolutely no conclusions. You can try sending them in. I give it a 5% chance, but why not.

The real lesson learned here is to never deal with third parties for airfare, hotels or car rentals. When everything goes right, this doesn't matter. But, when things go wrong, nobody takes responsibility. If you had booked through Hertz, you would have had a rate locked in and if it wasn't honored, a CC chargeback to fall back on.

That sounds pretty reasonable; 9.5L per 100Km sounds not far off a reasonable consumption; my Camry's listed consumption rate is 8.8 l/100k for example

Most rentals will be fairly new and will get you 13-15km on 1L easily, except when you drive only in towns....

Good luck proving a different mileage though. Mistakes happen, but the combination of a mistake in the outgoing mileage and somebody who doesn't check. Really rare....

I've taken up the practice of photographing the outside of the car and the dash with my phone when I take possession of a car that is not fully covered by insurance so I have some proof. Takes about 2 minutes.

I have never had such a bad renting experience, first of all my reservation at Nice Airport, France, was not honored after waiting 2 hours (and numerous phone calls), then they gave me the same care for 3.5 times the price, when returning the car they said I drove 1800 km, although I put in only 38 liters of gasoline in the car, and my own estimation is 400 km (based on Google maps). I have called Hertz customer service, but they told me that the mileage of the car was consistent with the previous rental, therefore they could not do anything with my complaint. I wrote an e-mail but have not heard anything. What a nightmare!

Had it happen twice in Thailand. Very pissed with Hertz Thailand.

Most rentals will be fairly new and will get you 13-15km on 1L easily, except when you drive only in towns....

I am going based on manufacturers specs and my experiences with Camrys and Falcons

The size of car and fuel used will make a big difference too; if it is a small diesel car, the consumption would be a lot lower than a large petrol; the OP hasnt indicated what type of car it was, but the consumption rate quoted is not unreasonable depending on the car; most of my Europe rentals are diesel vehicles and with those I would be expecting a much better consumption rate

As far as proving anything though, I agree that there would no way to prove it

It happened once at Brussels Midi station.

I had a meeting only 40 km to the central station. I was charged something like 60 liters of gasoil. When I received the bill, I declined it and sent an email to the customer relations service, by taking the maximum consumption based on the car manufacturer information and google maps distance. I was then billed the right amount with apologies.

Still, I hate having to check bills to make sure everything is correct. I do hope it is only a mistake, and not the willing to overcharge customers (or staff driving the car at your expense).

That's probably their legalized way of ripping you of. Most car rental companies charge you for a whole tank if you forget to fill it up... Not just what has been used.

Same with the pre-paid price for them filling it for you. They charge the max capacity of the tank knowing nobody will succeed in emptying the whole tank.

That's probably their legalized way of ripping you of. Most car rental companies charge you for a whole tank if you forget to fill it up... Not just what has been used.

Not in my experience; they charge based on an estimate on manufacturers consumption rate and number of kilometres driven when less than a tank is used and the price to fill up otherwise. I have never come across a charge for an entire tank regardless


Same with the pre-paid price for them filling it for you. They charge the max capacity of the tank knowing nobody will succeed in emptying the whole tank.

Prepaid rate is different; depending on how far planning to travel depends on whether it may be worth considering; you may not empty the tank entirely but depending on the rate difference for petrol on pre-purchase vs petrol stations, can come out ahead if doing enough travel

Prepaid rate is different; depending on how far planning to travel depends on whether it may be worth considering; you may not empty the tank entirely but depending on the rate difference for petrol on pre-purchase vs petrol stations, can come out ahead if doing enough travel

I used to hold to this view until I found that some companies and some locations were charging the rental taxes on the prepaid fuel, thus not only negating any discount on the per-gallon price but actually making it significantly more expensive.

I do not know if taxing prepaid fuel is a glitch in the way they have programmed the computer to calculate the charges, a mistake in the way they are interpreting the local tax code, or if it actually is correct and legally required to tax the fuel, but either way, until it is standardized to not tax fuel, I won't consider it.

Common sense prevailed when I pointed out that I would have had to average about 235 miles an hour in the Yaris to drive that many miles in the time I had the car.

I'll take that Yaris on my next rental please :D

Common sense prevailed when I pointed out that I would have had to average about 235 miles an hour in the Yaris to drive that many miles in the time I had the car.

You were lucky not to have to pay additional charges for this stunning sport car category :D:D

I used to hold to this view until I found that some companies and some locations were charging the rental taxes on the prepaid fuel, thus not only negating any discount on the per-gallon price but actually making it significantly more expensive.

I do not know if taxing prepaid fuel is a glitch in the way they have programmed the computer to calculate the charges, a mistake in the way they are interpreting the local tax code, or if it actually is correct and legally required to tax the fuel, but either way, until it is standardized to not tax fuel, I won't consider it.

Most Airport locations are REQUIRED by law/contract with authority to tax on the GROSS amount of the bill. This can make the prepaid fuel option up to 26% higher than shown. That is why it is never a bargain.

Most Airport locations are REQUIRED by law/contract with authority to tax on the GROSS amount of the bill. This can make the prepaid fuel option up to 26% higher than shown. That is why it is never a bargain.
Some excerpts from the various tax codes for rentals in Alaska:


Fees and costs means the value of all charges incurred by the renter, other than the tax prescribed by this chapter, for the use of a motor vehicle, regardless of whether paid in the form of money, property, or services, except for only the following items if separately stated on the rental contract or other document invoicing payment:
1. Fees from the sale of automobile liability insurance, loss damage waiver insurance, and personal accident insurance;
2. Parking tickets;
3. The amount of any sales tax, so-called "luxury tax", consumer excise tax, gross receipts tax, or other similar tax imposed by the United States, the State of Alaska, or the Municipality;
4. Payments received by the rental agency from the renter or the renter's insurance provided for damage to a motor vehicle when the damage was incurred during the rental period;
5. Personal property other than items that are permanently affixed to the motor vehicle. Personal property does not include pickup truck shells or campers mounted on the motor vehicle, or trailers designed, constructed, or used primarily for dwelling;
6. The amount of the concession fee paid to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport; and
7. Fueling charges.

In AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.099,
(1) "fees and costs" means all charges incurred by the renter before the tax imposed
under AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.099 except
(A) fees from the sale of automobile liability insurance, loss damage waiver
insurance, and personal accident insurance;
(B) parking tickets;
(C) sales or excise taxes;
(D) payment for damages to the vehicle during the rental period;
(E) concession fees paid to an airport;
(F) customer facility charges set by the commissioner of transportation and public facilities under AS 02.15.090 ; and
(G) customer facility maintenance charges set by the commissioner of transportation
and public facilities under AS 02.15.090 ;

Note the first specifically excludes fuel, while the second doesn't. (Both exclude the coverage products and other taxes and concession fees.)

Most Airport locations are REQUIRED by law/contract with authority to tax on the GROSS amount of the bill. This can make the prepaid fuel option up to 26% higher than shown. That is why it is never a bargain.

Hertz is a worldwide company and things are not the same as US everywhere. Where I tend to rent, the displayed amount on counter of the pre-purchase fuel rate is the price including taxes since it is a requirement that prices displayed include any taxes.

Depending on rate of the day , it can be worth it if knowing that will def use a whole tank

Stating that it is "never a bargain" is untrue