seagreen

I have received letters/phone calls from Hertz recently alleging that I damaged a car that I rented almost a year ago. I remember the rental, and I know that I didn't do damage. They want me to give them $650, or they will turn me over to collections and put me on the "international do-not-rent list" (LOL). I asked for a supervisor, and they claim to have none. I called regular customer service and they claim to have no interest in these affairs. I'm Presidents Circle and do 50+ rentals a year from Hertz! Any suggestions on someone else to contact?

Often1

Ask for documentation and a breakdown of the damage. Hertz should be able to provide you a list of what the damage was and typically photos as well.

Take this step at a time.

seagreen

Thanks for the reply. I probably should ask for pictures. They told me it was for damage to the front bumper. The car was a Malibu with 29.5k miles on it. I'm sure there was damage all over that car, but not caused by me. They said I need to prove I didn't damage it (hard to prove a negative). I would think they would afford a bit more respect to someone who rents so frequently.

MojaveFlyer

Where was this? Corporate or franchise?

If what you say is true (I have no reason to doubt of course) then of course it is a crock to try to come back at you a year!! later for some alleged damage. Sounds like a scam to me.

seagreen

It was at OKC (corporate). I told them a year was way too long to wait, and they replied that "sometimes it takes a while to process these claims". A bunch of pros.

MojaveFlyer

If you rented a car with 29.5K miles a year ago.. it better not even still be in their fleet. Jerks.

HLEWorker

Your best bet would be to find out who the area manager or even general manager for your region is.

Get their email address, send them a brief but concise email with your problem (maybe even total up your spend at Hertz over the last year to show them how much revenue they stand to lose over a baseless $650 claim).

They may or may not respond to you directly but typically they will roll heads and forward your email to the appropriate person because they're annoyed with having to deal with it.

Often1

You say that you are sure that there was damage to the car when you picked it up. How was that noted? Usually there is a damage inspection slip which you initial. Realize it's a year later, but do you still have that? It would show the damage when you picked it up and presumably Hertz has a report showing the damage when you returned the car.

AndDee

As far as I am concerned (and I was told this is the case by a Hertz rep in Sydney) if I get a receipt from an agent the car is returned and I will not be charged for anything else in the future.

1 year later is pathetic, no doubt they are now trying to sell the car and want to get all the damage fixed. They will try to charge "easy targets" generally just put a fee on your credit card and hope you will never see it. Surprised they are bothering a PC member with letters/calls. On the other hand they probably think you have too much money and/or will just pay the fee as you won't remember the rental.

There should also be a max time period for car rental companies to chase up damages, such as 30 days from last rental. Then again, as far as I an concerned, when I have a receipt given by an agent who has looked at the car my rental is returned and it's not my problem.

I currently have a truck out on rent from a Franchisee location, where the staff member doesn't have a clue

Arrived and the paperwork wasn't ready, yes it's not a corporate location but hey, a PC member is coming in and I was the only rental of the day, you would think they would look after me.

Took ages to get the paperwork ready. Asked him to change my FFlyer membership to another program as Hertz always defaults to the wrong airline. He claimed Hertz can only credit points to one airline partner...... Argued for a bit and he just said "I am not going to argue, it can't be done, think what you want"

Mentioned my CVI score and he claimed it didn't apply to non-corporate locations

Eventually got him to change my FF program to what I wanted, but he kept saying it woudn't work, even though the computer accepted it

Claimed that franchisee locations are different to corporate for FF points.... LOL

Gave me a truck with a half flat tyre.....

Gave me another truck with so many scratches and dints. Every single dint/mark was marked on the paperwork perfectly.. I was worried as I had given him a hard time so marked heaps more locations on the paperwork and signed it, and got him to sign it

Yes it's a truck, about 2 years old I don't mind the scratches but the way every single one was marked out was beyond hilarious!

Took about 20 photos and casually mentioned I do this to prove all damage was there before I rented the vehicle. He didn't seem too impressed..


Anyways I'll expect him to try to charge me for something when I return it, as he didn't know how to do his job and I gave him a hard time to get what I was entitled to.


I will remind him of my photos when I return the car so that should turn him off


Point of my rant, photos of the vehicle are your friend and keep them forever I guess

Axey

Airport locations rarely have these.

Often1

My experience is exactly the reverse. And, it makes no sense to ever accept a car without having done your own walk-around.

JimLtravels

Typical hertz money grab. Hertz did this to me. I won't rent from them again.

jbdear

Unfortunately, it appears I am the latest target of a cash grab.

My problem rental is a little more recent - in early March - but - my car was inspected when I returned it (undamaged) - and just last week got a call demanding $500.00 for damage to a fender that I did not cause. I literally had the car 3 hours and drove it to/from one location and the airport.

I'm still fuming that I have to waste time on this.

Does anyone have a good number to call at corporate where they have had success reaching an actual human to discuss. I am a multi-year President's Circle if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance.

Djlawman

These perpetual stories are the reason why I always do a cell phone camera walkaround when I pick it up, and when I return it to them. Take about 8 pics per car, at pickup and delivery. Takes me about a minute and a half at start and finish of the rental.

Doesn't hurt when the rental car employees see you doing it when you are returning the car either.

danville 1K

Check out the Rental Pics app on the iPhone. Its quite handy and gives you a dated record you can email to yourself before you ever set foot in the car. I use it on everyone one of my rentals.