nictalope

I am looking for insight into this situation.
I had a rental car with a contract for 3 days - rented with Amex Plat and using AMEX Premium Car Rental Protection (I am President Circle with Hertz). On the third day the car broke down (GM product with 2,000 miles) a couple of hours before I needed to go to the airport.
Called Road Service and they sent a tow truck, truck picked up the car and then I called for confirmation that it was received by Hertz.

The week after, I get the E-Return statement with 5 additional days billed. Customer service says it is because they did not get the car back to the same location (airport location) until that day, and that I would get no break on the bill.

If anyone has been on a similar situation, let me know. It seems strange they would just tack on whatever days they feel like to the rental, without me having control of the timeline.

Thx

Auto Enthusiast

So where did the car actually go in that time? To the dealer for repairs? If it's a mechanical defect, you shouldn't be charged. Have you tried asking Hertz customer service on Twitter? Airing their dirty laundry seems to help a lot of others here.

AutoSlash

Agree that you should not have to pay. Start with Twitter as @Auto Enthusiast suggested and keep escalating from there. The problem is that the computer system doesn't know how to handle this situation. Someone at the manager or higher level at Hertz needs to intervene to make a manual adjustment. If all else fails, you can try contacting Chris Elliott, but I wouldn't think it would come to that.

Dave Noble

As long as it was a mechanical issue and so not your responsibility, there is no reason for you to be charged

I would suspect that the charging is an error based on when the location marked the car as returned and closed it

Have you spoken to customer relations to get the charge cancelled?

Often1

Forget about the phone. Use the webform. Make your submission clear & concise on the point that there was a mechanical defect on a brand new vehicle.

At the same time, make sure that you don't have a time deadline to at least notify your travel insurance of the possible claim in the event that Hertz persists and will not issue a refund.

This also seems to be an easy chargeback dispute, but you do need to recognize that Hertz has a habit of placing customers with what amount to unpaid debts on its DNR list.

nictalope

I did speak with someone on the main customer service number before I posted and she indicated that they closed the contract when the car made it back to the originating location. She could not explain where it was the extra days.
Thanks all for the advice.

MSPeconomist

nictalope

I called from the plane and talked to Road Service and they confirmed they had picked it up (before my original due back time). Repairs could have taken that long (transmission would not change out of first, followed by check engine light), but they did not provide any detail - very, very unhelpful people, this as been the first time I have needed to call in along time. I rent about 75 days per year.

Mwenenzi

Was the 5 days over a weekend?
And repairs on new cars can take days and days.

Dave Noble

Given that it seems to be mechanical issues and so not your responsibility, if customer service has not agreed to refund those extra days, I would suggest disputing the charge with the credit card company