bait and switch - what's my recourse?
 

I called the #1 Club Gold line about 4 weeks ago to rent a Class D sports car at RNO airport. I made a reservation for that class of car for $50/day plus taxes. When I arrived at the airport to pick up my car, I was told that Hertz in RNO does not keep any Class D sports cars in inventory (not a matter of no availability, they just don't have them there period). When I asked the attendant why was I allowed to make a reservation, all he said was, "I don't know. They know we don't have any sports cars here".

So I asked him what my options were. He said he could either give me a Mercury Sable or I could pay an extra $25/day for a convertible sports car (that's 50% more than my original price, in order to get the car that most closely matched what I originally reserved).

In the end, I opted for the convertible. But nonetheless, I am ticked off that Hertz would offer me the Class D car when they don't even keep any at that location. Seems like a bait and switch to me. Had I known in advance, I could have reserved with Avis, Budget, etc.

Just to add insult to injury, in my original reservation my dropoff time was 11:45pm (as I have a flight at 1:00am). When I picked up the car, they said no dropoffs past 11:00pm, which means I have to waste 45 minutes of my time in order to accomodate Hertz. Again, this is something they should have told me about when reserving the car.

So my question is, what recourse do you think I am entitled to, and how do I go about receiving this recourse?

Thanks.

It sounds like a mistake was made not bait and switch. You had the option of using another company. I would make my concerns known to Hertz at the corporate level and see what happens.

How does Hertz teach their counter people to offer a Sable as a "wonderful car" and do it with a straight face?????

don't get me wrong -- a Sable is a nice car, but that's about it -- it's a nice car.