Check your receipts! Refilled gas, yet charged for fuel!
 

I was in DEN last week and returned my car at the counter, as the Express people were gone for the evening. Told the agent I refueled the car. In fact, I told her that I had just paid the highest price I've ever paid for regular unleaded gas to date-$4.15/gal at the station down the street from Hertz. She told me that gas at that station was $3.89 earlier in the week. I got my rental receipt and caught the shuttle back to the airport.

It was not until I arrived home that I discovered that I was promptly charged for $31.22 for gas, at a whopping 7.99/gal!! :mad:

I called Hertz, spoke to billing and told them what happened and that I had a receipt to prove I refilled. In fact, I refilled not 3 minutes before returning the car!

Needless to say, I got it corrected and credited back to my credit card. :rolleyes: However, I can't help wondering if this was this an honest mistake or a malicious act by the agent at counter, trying to sneak a charge on my bill? Even moreso since we had short conversation about my refilling the car and how much gas was at the station down the street? :eek: Hmmmm....

I've been renting from Hertz for years and this is the first time this has ever happened. I usually check my receipt, but this time I was in a hurry to catch my flight-and didn't. :o

Take home message is-check your receipts, people!

I wonder how many miles you drove with the rental. With shorter rental, usually less than 100 miles, they sometimes charge for "Fuel & Service" on the mileage even if you topped off the fuel right before returning the car. They usually use an "average MPG" for each car to calculate per-mile cost that will roughly end up with $7.99/gal.

I too once had this exact incident and was a little bit upset but a complaint to the Customer Service set things right, even without a fuel receipt to prove my case.

Looks like an honest, though surely careless and sloppy mistake on Hertz' part but probably not something to get outraged. A quick call or even an online complaint will do the trick. Oh, and like you said, always check your receipts!

Hmm...the same thing happened to me at IAH on Friday!

The return attendant looked at the dash before producing my receipt and should have noticed that the gas tank was full. As I was reviewing the receipt on the way to the shuttle bus, I realized that I was charged $30 extra for gas!

Fortunately I was able to go to the Gold counter and get the charge removed without question (and without producing the gas station receipt, which I didn't have). But it makes me wonder if Hertz is doing the hotel minibar charge thing, slipping extra charges on the bill and hoping that customers won't notice.

I had the car for three days, but drove less than 100 miles.

Now that I've been thinking about it-this HAS happened to me once before at Hertz-a long time ago. I was also able to get it easily resolved at that time. But since this has not been an "isolated" occurrence-could it be that there may be an "unwritten policy" of some type??

Food for thought. :eek:

I posted a similar problem some months back... personally, I think it's being done intentionally, especially when you return it and there are no attendants (early AM, late PM). How many people don't check their receipts? I didn't always pay that close attention, but I sure do now.

This happened to me on Avis at RSW last fall, but, get this: they noticed it and corrected the charge, and emailed me a new receipt. Not bad!

I always collect a receipt for my last fillup on a trip (usually drive much more than 100 miles) just in case. But no, don't always check the receipt carefully, especially if I'm rushed for my flight. Good suggestion!

Most new mobile phones have a camera. I always take a snap of the dashboard guages when I park up - a useful bit of evidence in case of an argument about fuel levels.

i would always show a gas receipt upon return and take a picture of the dashboard or a short video just to be safe.

Theres an incentive for the CSR to collect gas if the customer forgets to put gas in the tank. I would never intentionally charge a customer for fuel if the tank is fuel, its not right or ethical plus its not worth having an upset customer or losing a customer.

Maybe being #1 Club Gold Member (I'm a Five Star member) has something to do with it. Consider that since #1 Club Gold members are typically frequent renters, they (Express checkout agents or counter agents) may think that they "slip" a charge in unnoticed....

The leisure renter would likely be more careful to check their receipt-as it is coming out of their own pockets, versus the biz traveller who may expense their rental on a Company corporate card....

Just a thought.

This happened to me at Hertz BDL last month. I drove about 80 miles and I filled the gas tank just down the road from Hertz. Even though the tank registered full, the attendant entered 7/8 and the receipt showed a charge of $16.50 for gas. When I asked what happened, the attendant said that he didn't know and that he couldn't fix it. I had to wait on a long line in the office to get the charge removed, which required me to show the gas receipt.

This happened to me EWR
 

I returned a Prius full to EWR and they charged me for gas, even though I topped it off a few blocks away. I am pretty sure the hybrid didn't burn a half a tank of gas going less than a mile

Seems to be common.

Same thing happened to me a few months ago and I forget where. But I noticed it as I was walking toward the shuttle bus and the attendant was able to correct it immediately on her hand held thingamig (or whatever the heck those things are called!)

Sounds liek its happening a little too often for it to be an "honest mistake."

It seems that our "shared experience" at different airports around the country suggests that this is not an "honest mistake." :eek:

I'd guess that this happens with other rental car companies as well-but I almost always rent with Hertz, so I wouldn't know about the others.

Something along the same lines happened at MKE today. I returned the car full and the printout showed almost $100 for the refueling. I thought she said it appeared that I had selected the return empty fuel option, but it is hard to see how that would have been $100 on a Pontiac G6. So, corrected on the spot.

Happened to me in Philadelphia. I was charged for a full tank, when the tank was full!

It was a long, expensive rental and I did not notice the change until later. When I called Hertz, they took off the charge and did not even want a copy of the gas receipt - I suspect they get these complaints frequently.