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Hertz - Delayed Returns

Hertz • International rentals • What's mid-size? • Late returns • Disputed charges • Abrupt repossession

Sergey of Frederick MD (2/18/03):
On December 13 I made a reservation with the Frederick (Md.) Hertz office to rent a car to go to New York City and back. Only on the spot I found out that 4-door cars are not available. I complained but was not suggested anything but a more expensive (full size) car. On the way back from NY we got caught by the huge snow storm of December 16-17. It is worth noting that being in NY we had no idea about the exact timing of the storm (the weather forecast was vague). Moreover, in the morning, when we were about to head to Frederick just after we learnt about the snowfall from our friend, I called the Hertz office and informed them about my plan to return the same day. I got no special instructions what to do in the case of emergency caused by the snow storm.

Fortunately, my family and I were able to made it safely to Frederick but had to dig about an hour through the snow to get on the driveway. At this time from the radio announcement it became clear that it was not safe to get on the road anymore. Many of Frederick�s roads, including our Morrow Way got completely blocked by piles of snow. I telephoned the Hertz office the same day to let them know that I'm here and the car got blocked by snow but it was closed. The next morning it turned out that Mr. J. Doll wants me to pay for the extra day and disregards the circumstances. He insisted the car should be delivered on time and was not concerned about safety. My attempts to explain were burried in a fruitless discussion. I am deeply dissatisfied with such a service that I find dishonest and disrespectable to its customers.

It is not clear yet how much I am supposed to pay extra since the car is still blocked. Minimally, I am obliged to pay an extra one-day rent, which is ~ $48. It could be up to three times more than that.

Bill of Ferndale CA (9/19/02):
I am reporting this problem for my acquaintance, Judy. Judy is disabled and unable to work due to an on the job injury 7 years ago. Judy has now moved away due to a family emergency and is unable to access this website. Judy's personal car was stolen and burned in July. She lost nearly everything as she had the car packed for a trip.

She was referred to Hertz by her car insurance California State Auto Assn. Hertz folks seemed very nice initially. Because the settlement for her stolen car took some time, Judy had the rental car for 30 days, of which CSAA paid for 10. During the time Judy had the rental car it was vandalized and the driver's side mirror broken off. She reported this to Hertz and they simply gave her another car. Judy told me that no one informed her that she would be charged for an "upgrade".

Finally, at the 30th day, about September 12, Judy took a plane to Colorado to live near her two sons who work in Pueblo. She was so upset by all the events and stressed by her economic situation that she left the car at the airport in McKinleyville, CA in pay parking and flew to Colorado without turning the car in to the Hertz desk or giving them the keys. When she arrived at Colorado Springs she went to the Hertz desk, explained what had happened, where the car was and gave them the keys. The assured her that they would take care of it.

A day later I received a call from the local Hertz manager wanting to know where the car was. Finally it was found in the airport pay parking. I told her that the Colorado Springs Hertz folks had been told about the car and given the keys. The manager advised me that the Hertz offices do not talk to each other and that the office in Colorado Springs had simply thrown away the keys and called no one. She said that was standard and that this type of thing sometimes happened.

Now, Judy has been charged $860 for the rental car. The charges apparently include an "upgrade" fee of nearly $100 for the change of cars during the contract. They also, I understand, include charges for a locksmith to make new keys for the car, since the Colorado Springs office did not return them or notify the local office. While I am faily sure that the fine print in the contract specifies that these charges may be made, under all the circumstances I feel that Judy has been treated very poorly due to Hertz company policies. This outcome has worked a very serious financial hardship on Judy.

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