edge

I was very surprised to get the notice today regarding the new auto charge without a receipt. In the past, Hertz did not ask for a receipt to differentiate itself from the other companies. Not sure who is running the place these days but most likely who ever made this decision has never managed a location.
I suspect this policy is the result of too many renters not refilling the tank on short rentals when the needle does not move much. Hertz requires locations with pumps to top off every tank when the car is turned around and keeps track of gallons pumped vs gallons charged. The difference must now be too large to ignore.

My advice, if you find yourself without a receipt, is to be extremely nice to the return person and plead your case giving the name of the station and its location.

TerryK

I think this is good policy provided that Hertz top up tank if fee is charged. I have receive cars showing full on gauge while not really full. I found out by refueling 3 gallons after driving less than 30 miles.

Cymro

This doesn't bother me. I'm far more likely to be paying for the last renter's fuel than I am to be driving less than 75 miles during a rental anyway.

Cymro

Aren't they wind powered?

pinniped

General observation: there was a time and place (say, up through the early 00's) when I considered Hertz to be the *only* customer-centric firm in an industry known for otherwise horrific customer service on its best day and outright deception and fraud on its worst. I was okay with National and Avis, but I only really trusted Hertz to (a) not engage in trickery around fuel or phantom damage and (b) make it right immediately on the rare case that a return agent tried to hit you with a bogus charge. Add in the fact that #1 Club Gold always worked as designed, the cars were always in good condition (even if they were pretty much all rather bland Tauruses), and their shuttle buses operated more frequently than anyone else's. They were a premium product and I was more than happy to pay their premium rates vs. dealing with the Paylesses of the world.

Now that's all changed. The quality across the board has slipped. I lost trust in Hertz in 2006 when their #1 Club Gold processes completely broke down and were failing me 3 or 4 times more than they were working. And then came a wave of wholly-anti-consumer measures that basically made Hertz just as bad as any other rental agency. I still think Payless deserves its own special place in hell, but I will no longer spend extra money to rent Hertz over Avis, Alamo, Budget, Dollar, or Thrifty. I'll spend an extra buck or two for National, because they are now the new leader IMHO.

In the former "I trust Hertz" world, a letter explaining the new policy and the rationale that it's to protect the next renter from undue fuel charges might have been accepted by me. Now I just think it'll open the door to scamminess on Hertz's part.

That's my biggest question, as HLE is where I'm most likely to have a sub-75 mile rental. I have yet to run into a gas station where the pump can easily print two receipts. I could probably take a phone pic of the receipt and go print that later, but basically Hertz is creating more work for me than existed before for the exact same type of transaction. That's not the direction a client-centric firm should be heading.

The only problem is that all of the other agencies are already down there at the bottom of the barrel. This whole industry is full of shady practices.

Mine's somewhere in the middle. Closer to 5% if I know the area and know which stations are kept up well. If I'm in a city with a Quiktrip, I know the pump will print. Same goes for most of the major brand, large well-lit modern convenience store gas stations. But it's closer to 50% if I'm pulling into some nasty old 7/11 that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in 20 years.

It took me a few minutes...I had to reread closely. /facepalm

Silver Fox

You don't have to give them the receipt do you ? Granted out of hours key-drop you may have to, but they are not expecting me to give them the receipt are they ?

travelismylife

I have never understood such a policy. I can go to a gas station and put 10 cents worth, I can take someone else's receipt from their trip to a gas station... the possibilities are endless. Having a receipt is not the least bit indicative of having put gas or how much gas in your car. This is super annoying as so many gas stations have malfunctioning machines to produce a receipt and now I got to go inside and wait in line.

SFO_UGS

No one should be surprised by this, but I am disappointed. My issue is the paper receipt itself. I thought the goal (ultimately) was to go paperless in the modern world. I NEVER, EVER, get a gas receipt; even with my own car.

We're essentially doing Hertz's job because they're too lazy to do it. If the previous renter failed to fill the gas tank, that's Hertz's issue and the previous renter. Considering the way Hertz (and all rental car companies) nickel and dime the customers, this is a cost of business they should bear. I'm fairly sure it doesn't take $13.99 to top off a car. Oh, that's right: they need to attach "administrative charges" on top of additional profit.

I really dislike Hertz. In the last several years, I've moved around in terms of rental car companies. Frankly, all I need is efficient and reliable transportation. Whether it's Hertz or [insert any name], I could not care less these days (along with my Presidential status - it's not important anymore).

pinniped

You just have to show it to them, as far as I know.

Will they question you if you didn't fill up at the *closest* station to the airport? (We all know some near-airport stations engage in price-gouging.)

bhomburg

No, they don't really care about where you filled up. In my experience, any receipt is OK.

After getting screwed with having to pay for the previous renter's gas on too many rentals across pretty much all agencies, I have taken to visit a gas station right after pickup and top off the tank as a matter of principle. I complain when I can put more than a gallon in there, especially in Europe with its expensive fuel.
My last eight rentals this year, only a single time was I given a vehicle with a fuel tank that rightfully can be described as "full", and that was a brand-new Ford Explorer with four miles on the clock where I was the first ever renter.

JLewisinSyr

This could be a nice benefit on some of the exotics, at around $3.20 a gallon for premium, that means about 4 gallons of gas. If I take a GL, SLS or similar at a measly 10 MPG (lets be honest, I'm going to beat one of those cars and fuel economy is not going to be on my mind at all), I'll make out quite well.

Overall, I get the purpose of this initiative, but it's really not a customer centric policy which is what really bothers me.

Sant

I like the cars which allow me to reset the MPG. Before I leave the lot, I reset both the trip odometer and the MPG.

COSPILOT

For off hours return, Hertz could offer the ability to take a photo of the receipt to add to the record. Would seem like a simple thing, but what do I know...

azepine00

Whether tank was absolutely full before or short a gallon or two never bothered hertz before - i mentioned a couple times and got "well, tough luck" response - ultimately it evens out across all renters.

What they did here is found a way to introduce scam charges to add to their revenue flow - there will be countless uninformed or absent-minded folks who will be caught in this trap (as well as business folks who dont care about minor travel expenses and who simply will not refill a gallon or two).

Nothing in my recent experience with Hertz suggests that they care about customers.

Dave Noble

It is not a scam from Hertz at all from what I see. For short distance rentals, provide receipt to prove that petrol was purchased and there is no charge

Deals with the scammers trying to get away without paying for fuel on short rentals and especially those that get found out, charged for fuel and then throw a hissy fit on grounds that the needle showed as full ( as if the vehicle runs on air for the 1st 50 miles )

Those who don't care about small expenses and are happy to pay a few $ extra and not have to refuel are getting a reasonably low refuelling charge