Originally Posted by
voweffekt
Yes, the Airport Hertz at FRA (edited for clarification)
It's a scam. They don't actually replace the tires, alloy wheels, etc. They just bill the departing customer since the have a US CC on file, provide documentation and tell the person to charge it to their CC company or insurance.
As others have posted, they can't even prove that they do the repairs and if you get a German lawyer, you can fight it in Germany.
The path of least resistance is to just file a claim with the CC company or insurance, and that is what they are counting on.
There is no requirement they have to do the repairs. Same as you having an accident in US; one option is insurer cuts you a check and you do what you want with it.
Originally Posted by
voweffekt
Just BEWARE if you rent there. I rent in the US all the time and have never seen anything like this, but cross into Germany and our ability to fight it is diminished.
This sums it up. This is classic US renter encountering German auto rental industry practices having more stringent damage tolerances than what renter is used to.
Originally Posted by
blitzen
The airport station?
What are “scratches to tires” anyway? Tires get scratches as the roll on the road etc.
But $1500 for new tires is a lot of money for 4 tires and I would assume they didn’t pro-rate old vs new.
I’m guessing it is scratches to a wheel/rim not the tires.