Originally Posted by winebug

It's been a while flyertalk! Can anyone advise on the following?
A rental location is open until 17:00, and then opens again the next morning at 08:00. The car is picked up at 16:30.
A president Circle member has 2 extra hours, meaning a return at 18:30 during the time the rental location is closed.
An Amex Plat customer has 4 extra hours, meaning a return at 20:30 during the time the rental location is closed.
The T&C are clear in stating the car remains the responsibility of the customer until the time a Hertz employee can locate and examine the car for damages, it being fueled if need be, etc. This is at the earliest the next day at 08:00. I've had times when the invoice was not generated before lunch, it all depends on how busy the hertz location is when they open, on when they have the time to look at the car.
The T&C state fees for picking up a car outside office hours, but do not state any fees for returning a car outside office hours. The T&C do not state returning a car outside office hours means you will outdo the 2 or 4 hours extra, and that as a consequence you will be charged an extra day.
For almost 20 years I've never had extra fees for returning the car outside office hours. It has happened on more then one occasion the car was returned personally when the rental location opens the next morning. I was never charged any additional fee, and as far as I understand the T&C this is the way it is supposed to be since the rental location is closed at time the car needs to be returned.
On my last rental, contrary to the praxis experienced for almost 2 decades, I was charged an extra day because the car was returned outside office hours, during the evening, leaving the key in the keybox.
Anyone else experienced this at Hertz? Is this legit and so 20 years of luck or has something recently changed at Hertz that I am unaware of?
Thanks for your frequent renter experiences in this !