RandyASteinberg

Our son didn’t do the right thing and returned his car (on time – no damages) at a different Hertz facility 65 miles away from where he should have.
Upon drop off, Hertz provided him no receipt – stated everything was okay – and then took an additional $2,036 out of his credit card account with no word or warning.
While a drop off fee between the same two locations is typically $100 extra, Hertz charged him $2,036 since his rental agreement was for 2 months. Since the length of the rental contract has nothing to do with the location of drop off, Hertz seems to be using this as an excuse to vastly inflate the drop off fees.
None of this is stated in the rental contract, web site, emails, FAQs or any communications that Hertz provides when renting a car.
The bill submitted by Hertz (only received when we forced this through a bank action) does not align to the rental contract, and provides no indication that charges were changed due to the drop-off location - essentially doctored to hide an audit trail of what really took place.
His copy of the estimate has a forged signature on it.

Our claim is that this vendor is operating in a highly dishonest manner and hiding audit trails of their billing practices. The BBB has them with an F+ rating, another consumer agency has them flagged as “consumers warned not to do business with”.

At minimum, we would hope you would warn other travelers. Corporate travel agencies and businesses that use Hertz may want to examine for inflated billings and charges – the amounts may be significant. Having personally traveled for decades in my business using all kinds of car rental agencies to get around, we were extremely appalled not only at this deceptive practice, but the total lack of response and treatment for a customer that rented a car in good faith for a an extended period and then had that used against them to vastly inflate rental charges.

We can provide copies of Hertz estimate, actual bill highlighting fraudulent charges to anyone interested.

Often1

Two things:

1. Can you restate exactly what happened on perhaps 4-5 short sentences. Your post has a number of inconsistencies which likely make sense to you, but not to someone not familiar with the incident.

2. Edit your post to delete the contract #. This is a public and anonymous internet board and that # can be linked back to all kinds of information about your son.

jackal

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

First, the bad news.

The way Hertz (as well as about half of the other rental car agencies) calculates one-way rentals is by raising the base rate. They do this so they can advertise "No drop fee!" But in reality, the drop fee is bundled into the base rate.

Conversely, the way Dollar and the other half of the rental agencies do one-way rentals is by charging the same base rate as for a round-trip rental but adding on a drop fee that varies based on market and distance.

The net of it is, Hertz's method is good for short rentals and Dollar's method is good for long rentals. Since your son's rental was a long rental, I can understand why Hertz's drop charge ended up being so vastly inflated. I disagree with it, and I think it's horrible that it's that much of a difference, but I at least understand why their system did it. It may or may not have been anything malicious or intentional on the part of anyone--the computer system automatically converts it to a one-way rate if the vehicle is dropped off at a different location, and since the rental was so long, it makes sense that the computer would charge such a big difference.

That said, they should have notified your son of the new total upon return before closing out the contract. That way, he would have had the opportunity to cancel the return process and return the car to the originally-agreed location. The agent at the return location clearly is at fault there.

Also, I'm fairly sure I've seen verbiage in the Hertz rental agreement T&C that state that failing to return the vehicle to the agreed-upon return location will result in changes to the rate. That gives them a pretty big legal basis for doing what they did.

Now, for the potential resolution:

I see where you said you reported this to the FTC and four states' attorneys general, but I don't see where you said you appealed this directly to Hertz corporate customer care. You can complain to any number of outlets you want, but there are only two complaints that will result in a potential adjustment or refund:

1. Complaining directly to the corporate office
2. Disputing the charge on your credit card

I don't see a reference that you've done either of those. (Although a complaint to the BBB should route through to Hertz corporate, and they may take action on that.) At this point, if you haven't already, I would suggest contacting Hertz corporate customer service in writing and maintain copies of all correspondence you engage in with them. If they fail to resolve the issue, escalate as necessary to the executives on this page. If that fails within a reasonable timeframe, proceed with disputing the charge on your credit card.

Last, while we appreciate you joining our community and reaching out for assistance, there isn't much anyone here on FlyerTalk can do for you--we're just other consumers. I would be especially wary of sending copies of your documentation to other strangers here on the forums. The right avenues of contact are the two I mentioned plus the ones you've already engaged in.

Also, as a community service, would you mind letting us know which location is giving you the issue? That way, we'll know to avoid using it if they really do have such a bad rating.

Finally [putting my moderator hat on], since this topic is primarily about Hertz, I'll go ahead and move it to the Hertz forum, where the Hertz experts may be able to provide additional advice and assistance. Please continue to follow this thread there. I've also redacted your rental agreement and BBB case numbers, as it's best not to provide such identifiable information in a public place.

Members are reminded that this thread originated in the flame-free Information Desk forum.

jackal
Moderator, Information Desk

Adam1222

There are no two points in Boston 65 miles away from one another. perhaps the Hertz employee would have assumed that someone renting a car would know that you cannot simply return a car at any Hertz in America of your choosing.

Unfortunately a one way rental costs more with most car rental agencies. Here, approximately $30 a day, which is not so exorbitant.

When you make a reservation for Hertz, you indicate where you are returning the car. So there is no need for special warning language. Did the email from Hertz not include the return location? (It generally does.) If it did, Hertz has no obligation to tell you how much it will cost for you to do something entirely different.

Dave Noble

From what you describe, Hertz seems to have done nothing wrong.

You have proven that the rate is higher for a rental returned to the other location - for 1 day this extra is $100

If you do a check for a 2 month rental one way between the 2 locations, is the rate in line with what was charged?

On rental agreements which I have received, they do state that returning to a location other than that to which is noted on the agreement can result in additional charges

RandyASteinberg

Update to above responses (Appreciate the quick feedback!):
Yes - we have had many conversations with Hertz.
Our bank (Chase) only sent Hertz a letter of our disagreement on the charges and when Hertz responded with no other explanation other than "charges are valid" stopped their assistance.
Nothing in the Hertz contract or other sources of information states their charging policies for this - "can result in additional charges" is nebulous and says nothing about changing the base rental rate - in addition the doctoring of the bill is done to hide this entire situation - why not show the drop off fees as actually charged?
There is no correlation to additional costs to Hertz for the drop off and the length of the rental time other than as an excuse to vastly inflate charges.
In the United States, you cannot simply break a contract and start charging whatever you want - especially with virtually no communication to the contracting party that you did this.
The actions taken by Hertz are in violation of Oklahoma City Consumer Protection Act specifically Section 753 - Under unlawful practices: (25) Knowingly causes a charge to be made by any billing method to a consumer for services which the person knows was not authorized in advance by the consumer and (26) Knowingly causes a charge to be made by any billing method to a consumer for a product or products which the person knows was not authorized in advance by the consumer.
The car was rented in Manchester New Hampshire and dropped off at Boston Logan Airport.

Dave Noble

Did you check in advance what the fee would be?

What Hertz is charging seems to be in line with their published rates for that itinerary. Doing a random booking

From Manchester Airport , returning MAnchester Airport for 1 month

CCAR $599
ICAR $695
SCAR 696

Returning to Boston Airport

CCAR $2929
ICAR $2555
SCAR $2590

Extra cost being $2330, $1860 and $1894

The contact agreement was that you would return the car to the agreed location for an agreed rate. That agreement was broken by not returning to that location and Hertz simply sems to have recalculated based on the the undertaken itinerary and seems to be lower than what would have been the cost if 2 months had been booked up front

Adam1222

There is absolutely no requirement that Hertz only charge you fees commensurate with its costs. Invoking irrelevant laws is not going to change the fact that your son ended up purchasing a different rental than what he reserved. Every single rental company will charge you more if you unilaterally change your reservation after you pick up the car, which is what happened here.
Had you approached this error of your son's with a bit more grace and less indignance, it is possible you would have gotten a conciliatory response from Hertz. But once you start shouting about laws you don't quite understand, you guarantee you will not get a friendly resolution.
'Let this be a lesson that a one way rental is different from a roundtrip rental.

UAPremExecflyer

Excellent point. Basically, a little humility can go a long way.

Auto Enthusiast

Nothing in the Hertz contract or other sources of information states their charging policies for this - "can result in additional charges" is nebulous and says nothing about changing the base rental rate - in addition the doctoring of the bill is done to hide this entire situation - why not show the drop off fees as actually charged?

The premium brands do not charge a separate, taxable, European-style drop fee that is the same regardless of rental duration, and primarily based on distance. You might think it would be to your advantage to do so, and for long rentals you might be right. But many customers do much shorter rentals. For that, a higher daily rate that changes for each new booking, because it depends not only on distance but also short-run changes in demand, is more cost effective.

Some other commenters in other threads have returned to a different city without notifying Hertz, and were charged an "unauthorized return" fee. Perhaps you expected to see an itemized fee like this for returning to a different location, separate from the original contract rate. Perhaps you also expected this fee to be only a token amount, rather than a way for Hertz to enforce its contracts, by dissuading future random returns that mess up its fleet and reservations processes.

There is no correlation to additional costs to Hertz for the drop off and the length of the rental time other than as an excuse to vastly inflate charges.

As previously stated, in the US, the difference in price is not just related to distance, but also trends in regional demand. Maybe MHT has a special event that week and doesn't want to lose cars to other cities. Maybe BOS had a lot of inbound one-ways because of people visiting for the Marathon and doesn't have room to park more cars. Changing the rental terms at the last minute automatically re-rates based on the demand at that exact point in time, which is likely to have changed from when the reservation was first made several months ago.

In the United States, you cannot simply break a contract and start charging whatever you want - especially with virtually no communication to the contracting party that you did this.

Your son is the one who broke the contract, not Hertz, because he did not return to the location specified at the time of reservation. As with any business contract, change orders, early termination fees, etc., are penalties for the customer who thinks it's ok to unilaterally change their mind.

Often1

OP's son entered an agreement with Hertz to pickup and return a vehicle at MHT. Apparently without notice to Hertz, he broke that contract. Nonetheless, Hertz apparently charged OP's son the rate applicable to the usage, e.g. pickup @ MHT and drop off at BOS.

OP thinks that Hertz should charge a single drop off fee of $100. But, that is not how Hertz chooses to price its product. (Nor, do most American car rental outlets, but that is irrelevant).

When OP's son chose to breach his contract with Hertz, it would have been smart to call Hertz to find out what the new rate would be. OP's son could then have made an informed decision and presumably would have dropped his vehicle at MHT and done a one-way one-day rental to BOS, or taken a car service for a heck of a lot less.

But, OP's son chose not to call Hertz, turned out that he was wrong and as OP's son found out when he disputed the charge through his CC issuer, he doesn't have a leg to stand on. A waste of a stamp to send complaints to anybody.

It may be that OP's son has poisoned the relationship with Hertz and that his conduct to date is carefully noted in the record. In that case, he won't get anywhere. But, if the record isn't clear, maybe a new attitude involving the son directly admitting his error and asking what might be done, will generate a better deal than he has now.

hearna

Often1 nailed it on the head; and this is the reason why you always get a receipt, or ask the question before the contract is closed. If they refuse to provide a receipt then ask them to return the keys and take the care else wheres.

If consumers did what they wanted with cars how could hertz know where their fleet would be and be able to 'guarantee' future rentals?

Should the FEE be 100$, sounds reasonable; should you have confirmed before assuming and dropping; sounds reasonable!

RTW1

And for such a small price your son has now learned the valuable lesson that a contract needs to be respected and you always get a receipt when returning a rental.... might save quite a bit for the future.

RandyASteinberg

Appreciate all the responses back - but here is the situation:
We have not been arrogant or rude - this issue has been going on for over 6 months with Hertz and they have had plenty of opportunity to respond, explain their side, etc. but did not do so until we finally submitted a BBB complaint last month. As it stands now:
1) We have a bill with charges for all kinds of things that never took place (extra days, fuel charges, different base rate, etc.) that is considerably higher and nothing documented to show why.
2) We have a rental contract that states nothing about changing base rates, applying rates retroactively to the contract length, etc.
We reject that this is a normal way of doing business by some rental car companies - this is outright fraud designed to take advantage of less experienced consumers. Bring a car back with an empty gas tank and you get a fair bill showing the reason and additional costs - not so in this case.
In dealing with Hertz on this we have not asked for a monetary settlement and even rejected one such offer during prior communications - this is an issue of consumer protection. Hertz can settle this by stopping this practice and providing transparency in their billings (as well as informing customers at drop off so at least an informed decision could be made). They were asked multiple times politely to do this - they have declined to do so - therefore we see it as our duty to warn other consumers.

RTW1

I couldn't stop laughing..... don't be ridiculous, you only want one thing. And that is not having to pay the extra charges.