Banned from Hertz (even after paying tolls/parking)
May 22, 2015, 11:14 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 1
Banned from Hertz (even after paying tolls/parking)
Hi -
Figured I'd post my outreach to Hertz execs here for public interest sake, since I never heard anything back from them. Not saying I was completely inculpable in this overall scenario, but not sure what else I could have reasonably done.
In any case was still banned in the end from Hertz and their affiliated rental clubs (*even though I had paid in full ultimately), though I'm not sure I would rent from them again considering their customer service aptitude.
================================================== =======
to: [email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
subject: Extremely problematic and disappointing experience with Hertz - will never rent again
mailed-by: gmail.com
Hello Shannon and Terry:
[ ]
I came across your emails in a Flyertalk forum, wherein another (unaffiliated) customer had shared their own disappointing experience with Hertz.
Last summer, I returned to the US after working with the State Department as a US embassy employee under very challenging conditions in Rangoon Burma, where I had been serving my country for the year as part of the PAS section as a modestly paid EFL instructor and youth club supervisor.
I hadn't been back to the US in some time, so I required a visit to LA to refresh some contacts and to undertake outreach to some folks at a government think-tank ( the Rand Corp) in Santa Monica.
Hence, I rented a car - from Hertz as it turned out - because the company seemed pretty user friendly and I hadn't rented from Hertz previously.
However, at one point during my rental, I received a parking citation for a sign that, in my view and according to photos that I took when disputing the citation, was obscured and not fully visible.
Kindly note that I submitted my dispute and took photos ** minutes ** after receiving the citation - I mention this because I am diligent about such things, and am detail-oriented in most areas.
Henceforth, I submitted my materials in dispute of that traffic sign right away, and before heading back to SE Asia.
I understand of course, that I'm responsible for the initial citation, even if it was given in error - but please hear me out because the story becomes rather ugly and disappointing
So, I submitted my materials to dispute the citation, then returned to SE Asia. I closely monitored the situation, checking in with the Santa Monica parking department on their website periodically:
Nothing came up. I assumed, reasonably, as all US law is based on that which is reasonable, that I had proven the citation was given in error.
What had ACTUALLY happened, however, was (as I learned in retrospect, after investing the situation with PayPal later), was that my dispute was declined by the SM parking department -
YET, instead of sending such am official notice to my home address, as it appears on my drivers license, they sent it to one of your subsidiary offices in Arizona.
And it sat there. And sat there. And the original fine was allowed to DOUBLE. Without ANYTHING being sent to my actual DMV registered address, which was certainly available to you via my rental records.
I guess this is your office that deals with parking citations, I don't know. In any case, the 'Arizona' address, with the charge given as 'tolls' , didn't correspond to my rental activity and I was advised by the PayPal agent (who agreed) to dispute the charge.
So, only later, after my official letter from the government of Santa Monica had been sent to your office in Arizona, and allowed to sit, and sit, and wait, and double, do I finally only learn about the decision of the SM parking department by way of a mysterious charge for 'tolls' that appeared on my PayPal transaction account.
Again, the PayPal agent herself encouraged me to dispute this mysterious charge - after all, through this point, I was still completely unaware that my citation had not been reversed, since my official US GOVERNMENT MAIL HAD NOT BEEN FORWARDED from your Arizona Tolls/Collection office.
Later, in the dispute process, that office lied and stated they had forwarded this mail.
They did not; my address in California, which appears on my licence, is duly monitored.
Nothing was forwarded.
Shannon and Terry, do you realize that it is an OBLIGATION to return to the postmaster ANY MAIL which arrives mistakenly or to another recipient?
Do you understand that Hertz was actually OBLIGED to return to the State of CA my citation letter, let alone to sit on it and not undertake the courtesy of forwarding it to my home address?
At the very least Hertz was legally obliged to return that letter to the postmaster, as it was intended for me as the claimant in that situation.
In so FAILING to follow due process and return my undeliverable mail to the postmaster, Hertz did so cause that original fine to double, as I was unable to address it or request another hearing.
And in that process, my livelihood was impacted and negatively affected.
Even so, I digress a bit - so, only after PayPal suggests I initiate a dispute into this mysterious charge (I rented a car in CA, not AZ, for instance; and 'tolls' - I had never paid or owed any) does it finally come out later that my citation letter had been sent to your fulfillment / tolls office in Arizona; that my letter was not returned to the postmaster as is required under law
(* even your agent in AZ claims in writing to have sent this to my address in CA and not to the postmaster as would be required; in other words, your agent in AZ confirms in writing that my mail was not returned to the postmaster. Although, in fact that letter was not forwarded at all, as this was verifiably a lie.... NOTHING from Hertz or your affiliates arrived until a recently dated March 25th letter which declares me 'persona non grata in your various Gold clubs, etc)
Thus: I was forced to pay DOUBLE the fine I would have had I not even disputed the bogus citation, all because of the non-diligent staff at your Arizona field office.
I'd been working hard overseas to serve the interests of the US government and our country...I came back to reconnect with America, no to get slapped in the face by some morons from the Hertz AZ field office who can't even forward a letter to the PO for proper mailing.
Then, on top of all this, I get a letter (after all this, magically sent to my CA address - the first such letter in fact - but only after this issue was raised during the dispute coordinated by PayPal), from your lackey Robert Clark at the 'Back Office Services' in Oklahoma City (wow: I rent in CA; 'tolls' paid in AZ; a moron in OK following up with a threat letter).
Yes, after the entire disputed amount is deducted from my PayPal account - including a $75 'doubling fee' which I never would have had to pay if only your field/collection office had forwarded my mail back to the PO rather than sitting on it - that is, after I had effectively paid the entire amount, verifiably.... get this letter from your staffer Robert Clark telling me I've been banished from your moronic Gold and #1 clubs, etc because, according to him - even with his own letter dated March 25, 2015, well after PayPal had reversed the dispute and I had sent the entire, full amount back to Hertz! (this is verifiable, if in doubt, contact PayPal your selves to check the dates) - I get this letter from that loser stating that 1) I hadn't paid (untrue) and 2) I'd been banished from your retarded clubs.
THUS: I appeal to your good senses to sift through this utterly moronic situation and try to understand why I would never WANT to belong to your lame clubs after all this, and why I would furthermore never, ever encourage any of my international colleagues, in State or elsewhere, to utilize your cryptic, dysfunctional services again upon returning to the US after a long and challenging tour.
If you care to reply with any substantial remedy, I am willing to listen; but I hope you can gather from what I've listed above that my dealings with Hertz and your uncoordinated, retarded affiliates in AZ have been a strikingly disappointing.
Regards
Figured I'd post my outreach to Hertz execs here for public interest sake, since I never heard anything back from them. Not saying I was completely inculpable in this overall scenario, but not sure what else I could have reasonably done.
In any case was still banned in the end from Hertz and their affiliated rental clubs (*even though I had paid in full ultimately), though I'm not sure I would rent from them again considering their customer service aptitude.
================================================== =======
to: [email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
subject: Extremely problematic and disappointing experience with Hertz - will never rent again
mailed-by: gmail.com
Hello Shannon and Terry:
[ ]
I came across your emails in a Flyertalk forum, wherein another (unaffiliated) customer had shared their own disappointing experience with Hertz.
Last summer, I returned to the US after working with the State Department as a US embassy employee under very challenging conditions in Rangoon Burma, where I had been serving my country for the year as part of the PAS section as a modestly paid EFL instructor and youth club supervisor.
I hadn't been back to the US in some time, so I required a visit to LA to refresh some contacts and to undertake outreach to some folks at a government think-tank ( the Rand Corp) in Santa Monica.
Hence, I rented a car - from Hertz as it turned out - because the company seemed pretty user friendly and I hadn't rented from Hertz previously.
However, at one point during my rental, I received a parking citation for a sign that, in my view and according to photos that I took when disputing the citation, was obscured and not fully visible.
Kindly note that I submitted my dispute and took photos ** minutes ** after receiving the citation - I mention this because I am diligent about such things, and am detail-oriented in most areas.
Henceforth, I submitted my materials in dispute of that traffic sign right away, and before heading back to SE Asia.
I understand of course, that I'm responsible for the initial citation, even if it was given in error - but please hear me out because the story becomes rather ugly and disappointing
So, I submitted my materials to dispute the citation, then returned to SE Asia. I closely monitored the situation, checking in with the Santa Monica parking department on their website periodically:
Nothing came up. I assumed, reasonably, as all US law is based on that which is reasonable, that I had proven the citation was given in error.
What had ACTUALLY happened, however, was (as I learned in retrospect, after investing the situation with PayPal later), was that my dispute was declined by the SM parking department -
YET, instead of sending such am official notice to my home address, as it appears on my drivers license, they sent it to one of your subsidiary offices in Arizona.
And it sat there. And sat there. And the original fine was allowed to DOUBLE. Without ANYTHING being sent to my actual DMV registered address, which was certainly available to you via my rental records.
I guess this is your office that deals with parking citations, I don't know. In any case, the 'Arizona' address, with the charge given as 'tolls' , didn't correspond to my rental activity and I was advised by the PayPal agent (who agreed) to dispute the charge.
So, only later, after my official letter from the government of Santa Monica had been sent to your office in Arizona, and allowed to sit, and sit, and wait, and double, do I finally only learn about the decision of the SM parking department by way of a mysterious charge for 'tolls' that appeared on my PayPal transaction account.
Again, the PayPal agent herself encouraged me to dispute this mysterious charge - after all, through this point, I was still completely unaware that my citation had not been reversed, since my official US GOVERNMENT MAIL HAD NOT BEEN FORWARDED from your Arizona Tolls/Collection office.
Later, in the dispute process, that office lied and stated they had forwarded this mail.
They did not; my address in California, which appears on my licence, is duly monitored.
Nothing was forwarded.
Shannon and Terry, do you realize that it is an OBLIGATION to return to the postmaster ANY MAIL which arrives mistakenly or to another recipient?
Do you understand that Hertz was actually OBLIGED to return to the State of CA my citation letter, let alone to sit on it and not undertake the courtesy of forwarding it to my home address?
At the very least Hertz was legally obliged to return that letter to the postmaster, as it was intended for me as the claimant in that situation.
In so FAILING to follow due process and return my undeliverable mail to the postmaster, Hertz did so cause that original fine to double, as I was unable to address it or request another hearing.
And in that process, my livelihood was impacted and negatively affected.
Even so, I digress a bit - so, only after PayPal suggests I initiate a dispute into this mysterious charge (I rented a car in CA, not AZ, for instance; and 'tolls' - I had never paid or owed any) does it finally come out later that my citation letter had been sent to your fulfillment / tolls office in Arizona; that my letter was not returned to the postmaster as is required under law
(* even your agent in AZ claims in writing to have sent this to my address in CA and not to the postmaster as would be required; in other words, your agent in AZ confirms in writing that my mail was not returned to the postmaster. Although, in fact that letter was not forwarded at all, as this was verifiably a lie.... NOTHING from Hertz or your affiliates arrived until a recently dated March 25th letter which declares me 'persona non grata in your various Gold clubs, etc)
Thus: I was forced to pay DOUBLE the fine I would have had I not even disputed the bogus citation, all because of the non-diligent staff at your Arizona field office.
I'd been working hard overseas to serve the interests of the US government and our country...I came back to reconnect with America, no to get slapped in the face by some morons from the Hertz AZ field office who can't even forward a letter to the PO for proper mailing.
Then, on top of all this, I get a letter (after all this, magically sent to my CA address - the first such letter in fact - but only after this issue was raised during the dispute coordinated by PayPal), from your lackey Robert Clark at the 'Back Office Services' in Oklahoma City (wow: I rent in CA; 'tolls' paid in AZ; a moron in OK following up with a threat letter).
Yes, after the entire disputed amount is deducted from my PayPal account - including a $75 'doubling fee' which I never would have had to pay if only your field/collection office had forwarded my mail back to the PO rather than sitting on it - that is, after I had effectively paid the entire amount, verifiably.... get this letter from your staffer Robert Clark telling me I've been banished from your moronic Gold and #1 clubs, etc because, according to him - even with his own letter dated March 25, 2015, well after PayPal had reversed the dispute and I had sent the entire, full amount back to Hertz! (this is verifiable, if in doubt, contact PayPal your selves to check the dates) - I get this letter from that loser stating that 1) I hadn't paid (untrue) and 2) I'd been banished from your retarded clubs.
THUS: I appeal to your good senses to sift through this utterly moronic situation and try to understand why I would never WANT to belong to your lame clubs after all this, and why I would furthermore never, ever encourage any of my international colleagues, in State or elsewhere, to utilize your cryptic, dysfunctional services again upon returning to the US after a long and challenging tour.
If you care to reply with any substantial remedy, I am willing to listen; but I hope you can gather from what I've listed above that my dealings with Hertz and your uncoordinated, retarded affiliates in AZ have been a strikingly disappointing.
Regards
May 23, 2015, 5:47 am
#2
In memoriam
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Danville, CA
Programs: AA EXP - UA *G MM - HH Diamond - Hertz PC
Posts: 3,242
You start off by saying you're never going to rent from them again, then finish it off by calling them morons. In a diatribe that's 10 times longer than it should be. I wouldn't respond to you either.
Last edited by Rut Dog; May 31, 2015 at 7:47 am
May 23, 2015, 6:08 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 948
As for OP he is a disgrace to the US government and should be duly fired. He's part of the diplomatic corps? I suddenly understand why american influence abroad is decreasing.
May 23, 2015, 6:23 am
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Hopefully the State Dept.'s Inspector General can figure out who this guy is based on the information he has provided and deal with his inappropriate bandying about of his official position as a reason for deserving special treatment for a personal matter.
On the broader point, it's fine to sit down an write an insulting and lengthy rant to blow off steam, file it and not send it. Then sit down the next day and put into 2-3 short declarative sentences the issue and the resolution you request.
This thing is all about process and nothing about the underlying substantive issue. Bottom line is that if you are issued legal process, whether it's a parking ticket or something more serious, it is 100% on you to make certain that it is dealt with. When OP didn't hear back from SM, it was on him to track it down. It's not dealt with until it's dealt with.
On the broader point, it's fine to sit down an write an insulting and lengthy rant to blow off steam, file it and not send it. Then sit down the next day and put into 2-3 short declarative sentences the issue and the resolution you request.
This thing is all about process and nothing about the underlying substantive issue. Bottom line is that if you are issued legal process, whether it's a parking ticket or something more serious, it is 100% on you to make certain that it is dealt with. When OP didn't hear back from SM, it was on him to track it down. It's not dealt with until it's dealt with.
May 23, 2015, 7:24 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: GYD
Programs: Azerbaijan Airlines Gold, Turkish Miles and Smiles, IHG Plat
Posts: 663
Potentially, the only moron here is the OP. You may have a legitimate grievance but your over-long diatribe does you no favours and neither do you insults aimed at Hertz employees. This post does you no favours Jackro nor does it put the US 'diplomatic' service in a good light. You'd 'serve' your country better by being a bit more diplomatic yourself.
May 23, 2015, 11:44 am
#6
Moderator: Alaska Mileage Plan
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,316
The moron is the person who assumes that a legal matter is resolved without confirmation.
As to lack of professionalism and inappropriate tone and writing style, perhaps the House Select Committee should be investigating these emails.
As to lack of professionalism and inappropriate tone and writing style, perhaps the House Select Committee should be investigating these emails.
May 23, 2015, 5:36 pm
#8
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,587
He never wants to rent from Hertz plus Hertz has banned him
Seems a perfect situation and no need for a mail
Based on the information provided then if the person the post was dealing with was a moron, then I think I can deduce that the OP is an idiot and that would not reach the dizzy intellectual heights of a 51 IQ
Seems a perfect situation and no need for a mail
Based on the information provided then if the person the post was dealing with was a moron, then I think I can deduce that the OP is an idiot and that would not reach the dizzy intellectual heights of a 51 IQ
May 23, 2015, 7:40 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,156
The process for contesting a parking ticket in Santa Monica is clearly described on their website, and includes :
A detail-oriented person like yourself should have known to follow that process. You didn't. Man up and take the blame.
And if anyone ever makes a movie of this story please let me know - I simply couldn't get into the book version enough to make it to the end...
If you do not hear back from us within 2-3 weeks, it is your responsibility to follow up on your request. To check the status of your citation call 1 (800) 214-1526.
And if anyone ever makes a movie of this story please let me know - I simply couldn't get into the book version enough to make it to the end...
May 26, 2015, 8:09 pm
#10
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,636
Banned from Hertz (even after paying tolls/parking)
I find it interesting for someone who works for the State Department to not know that the mail from local government of Santa Monica is not official U.S. GOVERNMENT MAIL.
Love the last sentence. Not exactly diplomatic in use of language.
Love the last sentence. Not exactly diplomatic in use of language.
May 26, 2015, 8:19 pm
#11
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Oklahoma
Programs: Southwest A-List Preferred/Companion Pass, Amtrak Select, Priority Club Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 453
Yeah. Good luck with that. If nothing else, I'm just glad I won't be behind you in any Hertz line going forward.