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Check here to get the details for any charges. If a mistake has been made, email [email protected] with a copy of your rental record from Hertz.

desi

Platepass rep said that charge was made 600-700 miles away about an hour before I returned the car.
She removed the charge as "one can not drive 700 miles in one hour".

She also slipped in that she and her collegues get a lot of angry renters because of high "administrative charges" imposed by rental agencies.

What horrible business practices.

What this country has come down to...

ijgordon

I think both Platepass and the agencies are to blame, although Hertz recently changed its policy so the fee is only per day used, which is more logical and palatable than the previous policy. But I do feel somewhat for the employees, so when I’ve had to dispute charges, I try to be extra nice in my written or verbal communications. Not too long ago I was charged the fee because my personal EZpass didn’t read for whatever reason. It was actually relatively easy getting the administrative fees reversed, over email.

One does have to wonder what is IT glitches vs. unscrupulous business practices, like if they’re trying to see if they can get away with lots of little charges that many people will ignore. I don’t know if it makes sense to forward complaints to the attorney general or something, even when they get resolved in your favor, because someone should be tracking this. And I’m not talking about high fees that are disclosed (in the fine—but I think usually bold—print).

FlyinHawaiian

I got nicked by PlatePass for a toll on the George Washington Bridge (GWB) that connects Manhattan to New Jersey; the toll is charged when you drive from NJ to NY. I drove from NY to NJ on the bridge. It took a while on hold to reach an agent at PlatePass/ATS, but once I did, I found it pretty easy to explain the above and get a dispute filed. It only took a day for them to reverse the charge.

FlyinHawaiian

Got nicked again for someone else's tolls for a rental on the same day as mine. PlatePass charged me for driving one way from NYC to Baltimore via Staten Island and the NJ Expressway. I called ATS but unlike before, the agent wasn't willing to waive the charges on the spot. I asked about an email dispute process and was given an email, which I have added as a wikipost to this thread. In my email, I attached a copy of my completed reservation and my statement from my personal EZ-Pass transponder showing I paid for tolls on the day in question. I think the main thing that helped was that my completed rental agreement showed I drove 74 miles and NYC to Baltimore is about 190 miles.

I was told it would take up to five business days for a response, but I received an email confirming the reversal of charges less than 24 hours later.

FlyinHawaiian

Updating this thread as I once again got dinged for someone else's activity. Last month, I picked up an Impala with NY Plates at the Jersey City HLE and noted that the normally-mounted grey transponder box was missing. I didn't think anything of it other than it was nice to be able to mount my own EZ-Pass under the mirror and not have the big box in the way.

A few days ago, I received an invoice for activity corresponding to my rental dates but obviously not mine. It basically looked like a rideshare driver going back and forth via the Queens midtown tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, and the GWB. I was able to use the email in the wikipost plus receipts from my own tolls and hotel stays to prove the activity wasn't mine. I wonder if the transponder was missing on purpose and someone has figured out how to run a scam...

In any case, the email still works and I received a response about two business days after I sent it.

master0000

I just wanted to share my recent experience with my Hertz rental because I was charge in error for multiple tolls that I was not responsible for.

I had rented a full-size vehicle but they were out when picked-up. Since I'm just your average Gold peasant, they gave me a Hyundai Kona instead.

I drove it for about 5 days before doing an exchange at SYR.

I traded the Kona for a Malibu and went on my way. I went through 1 toll on the thruway which I used a cash lane and paid in cash for.

However, about a week after my rental, I noticed that Plate Pass charged me $25 in tolls!

At first I thought that perhaps the pass was accidentally opened so it charged me by accident in the cash lane.

I called PlatePass and asked for dates, times, and locations of the charges. They were all places that I never traveled to! I then asked what vehicle they were billed to and they stated it was for the Malibu.

Yet, all the timestamps they provided were all from dates prior to when I did the exchange, meaning that they billed me for tolls that were incurred while someone else was renting the vehicle!

Apparently they have no record of the exchange so now they must contact Hertz and drag their feet for about a week before resolving anything.

Moral of the story is always check your statements and always keep records of your exchanges and cash toll receipts.

PlatePass is a total scam and Hertz shouldn't even put them in their vehicles as they clearly are incapable of properly tracking the toll records.

If you've been charged for tolls in the past, it may not have even been your toll...


FUN FACTS ABOUT THE EXCHANGE

I went to SYR to do an exchange and the lady behind the counter told me that they have absolutely no full-size vehicles available and that I should come back in an hour. The airport was completely dead and there was no mad rush for cars so I was a bit confused.

Regardless, I returned to the lot to wait. About 45 minutes of sitting there one of the Hertz employees comes up and says "Hey, you're still here?". I said "Yes, the lady told me there were no cars available and to come back in an hour.".

He then laughs and says "I don't know what she's talking about, all those cars in those 3 rows have been ready since you got here".

So, I go back inside and the woman tells me "Oh, well, we have one available now". I said "That's interesting because the nice gentlemen in the parking lot just showed me all the full-size vehicles that have been available since I arrived.".

Never believe those agents behind the counter when they tell you nothing is available. They are full of it and get kicks out of making people wait an hour when their fleet is stocked to the damn gills.

FlyinHawaiian

Welcome to FlyerTalk and sorry you had such a negative experience. Unfortunately, I have had some experience with such errors and have found that emailing PlatePass leads to quicker and more favorable results than via phone. I'd encourage you to type a brief email to the address provided in this thread; keep it short and basically just share why the charges you were billed for are in error; hopefully, Hertz can give evidence that your vehicle was switched and assigned to another renter. If you can get Hertz to confirm that in writing, you can provide it to PlatePass as supporting evidence to your claim.

Very sage advice; sad that it is needed.

Dave Noble

I am not sure how Plate Pass is at fault with charging. It will be sending bills based on the information provided to it by Hertz. If Hertz is providing details of the incorrect person, it doesn't seem to be something that is the fault of Plate Pass - I also cannot see how it is a scam

master0000

So, you're saying that if a company unjustifiably bills the wrong customer then it's not that company's fault...?

That's pretty skewed logic.

Any business that has a track record of charging the wrong person's credit card incorrectly should be required do verify the information they receive is correct. That clearly was not done prior or it would have been obvious that I'm not responsible for those charges.

Hertz has all the vehicle exchange information correct on my electronic receipts so I have no idea how they could have possibly sent the wrong information as you are alluding.

Dave Noble

Hertz owns the vehicles
Hertz will have informed Plate Pass who was the person renting vehicle at that time
It isn't Plate Pass's fault that Hertz gave it the wrong information - it is Hertz's fault

Not sure how that logic is at all skewed

master0000

1.) Hertz didn't bill me incorrectly, PlatePass did.

2.) PlatePass links all billings to the rental record. Hertz provides the rental records. It's PlatePass' responsibility to verify that they are billing the correct person. Therefore, it's their fault and subsequently your logic is skewed.

sbrower

Because you don't understand the system. Hertz told PlatePass that you were still driving the Malibu because, when you did the exchange, Hertz didn't correctly update the records. So PlatePass billed the "right" person - you, the driver of the Malibu (even though you were not driving the Malibu - but that was the fault of Hertz).

master0000

Actually, I inquired with both Hertz and PlatePass in great depth regarding how their system works in order to get to the bottom of what occurred and why. Ironically, it's you that is misunderstanding what information is relayed between them. That information that is provided is the actual rental record.

Hertz did indeed correctly update their records as I get e-receipts every time it updates.

The liability for the mistake rests entirely on PlatePass.

I disputed the charge with my credit card company based on the electronic receipts provided by Hertz and was successful in receiving a credit for the charge.

sbrower

You were the one who had the conversation, so I will assume that you understood what was explained to you, but I won't assume that the person who was speaking to you knew what THEY were talking about. You were absolutely entitled to your credit based on the facts you have relayed. But I still strongly suspect that the error was by Hertz, not by PlatePass, in this circumstance.