I think it's time to quit Hertz

frfly172 said:
Hertz and enterprise seem to be in competition to see who can upset their customers more. Booking on the national booking service doesn’t guarantee a car will be there when you arrive.
Click to expand...
Hasn't for decades... Long enough for this joke to work in the 1900's.

 
Hertz has a strategy of reporting cars stolen and then never advising the PD when the car is recovered. Hertz rents those cars out to unsuspecting customers who are pulled over and detained for operating a stolen vehicle when a plate scan or plate check shows the car as stolen. In some cases it took hours to get it cleared up -- just the way you want to spend your vacation or business trip.
 
I just looked into renting a car from Hertz (I am in the middle of an overcharge dispute with Enterprise).
They want to add $4.99/day for roadside assistance. eg: changing a flat or remote door unlock.
IIRC, that was always included. At least, I was never asked to pay that and I never needed those services so I can't say for sure.
 
JOhnH said:
I just looked into renting a car from Hertz (I am in the middle of an overcharge dispute with Enterprise).
They want to add $4.99/day for roadside assistance. eg: changing a flat or remote door unlock.
IIRC, that was always included. At least, I was never asked to pay that and I never needed those services so I can't say for sure.
Click to expand...

It’s usually not included but if you have AAA or roadside assistance included with your own car insurance, it usually extends to rented vehicles.
 
Had a good experience with Budget yesterday.

The only slight negative is the counter is permanently closed at this airport (I asked neighboring counters) and you have to follow the counter sign instructions; go to Avis’s - which means a longer line.

And I was impressed with the number of add-ons to the bill which they offered, a cafeteria listing of over 10 items maybe 15? that you could purchase; I declined them all.
 
Every now and then I do something smart. Not often, but enough to keep life interesting. I rented a car for Oshkosh last year. I picked it up at KMKE parking garage, which is dark and dingy. On a whim, I decided to photograph every paint chip on the outside. The outside was remarkably clean. The inside was a different story. The cloth seats, all four, were deeply stained. Not dirty, but very stained. On another whim, I took some pictures of the seats. When you go through the exit, the last thing you want to do is stop to have the gate agent make a note of damage. There are people behind you, and besides, you have places to go. So I flashed my papers at him and went north.

Everything went fine. Car ran great. I turned it in and thought nothing about it. Until a month later when I got a letter from Budget saying I owed them $150 for cleaning the interion. That was an interesting amount. Not enough that it would really cause rage, but more than I wanted to pay. So, I uploaded my pictures to their website and waited. That was the end of it.

I wonder how many times they billed customers for cleaning those same seats. And clearly, they don't pay much attention to the cars when they come in or they would have seen the seats and billed the guy who actually made the mess.
 
LesGawlik said:
Every now and then I do something smart. Not often, but enough to keep life interesting. I rented a car for Oshkosh last year. I picked it up at KMKE parking garage, which is dark and dingy. On a whim, I decided to photograph every paint chip on the outside. The outside was remarkably clean. The inside was a different story. The cloth seats, all four, were deeply stained. Not dirty, but very stained. On another whim, I took some pictures of the seats. When you go through the exit, the last thing you want to do is stop to have the gate agent make a note of damage. There are people behind you, and besides, you have places to go. So I flashed my papers at him and went north.

Everything went fine. Car ran great. I turned it in and thought nothing about it. Until a month later when I got a letter from Budget saying I owed them $150 for cleaning the interion. That was an interesting amount. Not enough that it would really cause rage, but more than I wanted to pay. So, I uploaded my pictures to their website and waited. That was the end of it.

I wonder how many times they billed customers for cleaning those same seats. And clearly, they don't pay much attention to the cars when they come in or they would have seen the seats and billed the guy who actually made the mess.
Click to expand...
A customer finally complained about the stains, and they shot out bills to everyone who had rented it in the last couple of months to see who would pony up?
 
Oh, yes forgot to mention I inspected the car very closely before accepting, then video the entire car (glass and interior too) when returning. So crazy we have to do this. So wrong they have no one available to sign off as 'clean' at return.
Also, if you do have a problem (glass chip, 3/4 tank) upon pickup you have to walk back in a quarter mile round trip to notify them, no way Avis is going to answer the phone on a Budget car.
 
I've done oneway from local Enterprise office to local Enterprise office Culpeper to suburban Charlotte and back this year to get my plane up for annual and back. The only rough part was the idiots in the Mooresville, NC office who despite having my reservation for a car didn't think it was worth telling anybody that they didn't have any cars available the day I reserved it. I had to go to another office the next morning.

Note that they won't (or make it very expensive) to rent one-way from the "major" Airport locations (like trying to book CLT -> CJR).

Having status bumps at National, Avis and Hertz, I usually fire off reservation requests at each to see who's the cheapest. More often than not of late I end up at Avis, though they managed to **** me off at the last two rentals. They have this "great" system that tells you when you arrive at the destination what space your car is in and you can just go direct to the exit and scan a QR code on your phone. Yeah, this has never worked for me.

At BDL, I go to the space, hop in the car and I can't check out. Turns out the wrong car was in the space. The guy says to look around for the car I'm supposed to have. Can't find it. Go inside to the counter and waste time getting a new car issued.

Avis at DCA is an unmitigated nightmare. They're not in the rental car center but in a tiny parking lot off Route 1 next to a Holiday Inn. The app gives me no useful information on where this is or how to get there (you have to find the off airport bus which picks up in roughly the Uber pick up area). It tells me to go to the "Preferred Counter" or the "Zone 2 booth." Neither of which appear to exist when I get to the lot. They give me an SUV (not what I rented) that reeks of cigarette smoke and has one tire low on air. Despite all the stuff that is supposed to be in my profile and automatically applied, they play twenty questions with me on insurance and fuel plans. THe lot is so tight my wife said she wouldn't have attempted to navigate out of it.

Of course, nothing equates the the Hertz meltdown I had at LAX once. Apparently, Priceline spazzed out and sold several hundred highly discounted rentals and they couldn't deal with the crush of people trying to get cars as a result.
 
Avis at PHL. I photographed a dent with paint chip before I left the lot. I returned it 3 days later. One month later I get a letter that I damaged the car during my rental period. Oddly, the rental period stated was a few days BEFORE I picked the car up. I sent them my receipt and a pic of the dent and pointed out the RUST where the paint used to be. I said I took the pic when I started the rental and commented how could rust have progressed that fast if it happened during my rental?! Zero logic. Never heard back.
 
I'm hoping the next bogus charge I get from a rental company will be successfully challenged, and charged reversed as I will have photo and video evidence of the vehicle's condition. Amex has been very very good to me about challenges I've made in past.
One thing about videos...how to prove when it was captured? With photos I can swipe up to see metadata but not sure about videos (iphone). A screenshot of photo & metadata would be helpful. With video all I can screenshot is very first image of the video (and metadata).
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
One thing about videos...how to prove when it was captured? With photos I can swipe up to see metadata but not sure about videos (iphone). A screenshot of photo & metadata would be helpful. With video all I can screenshot is very first image of the video (and metadata).
Click to expand...
Email it to yourself with the subject line “**** <insert rental company name here>”?
 
Another Steve Lehto vid on Hurts.

They admit the renter did not have possession of the vehicle during the time of a traffic violation (red light camera) but refuse to waive the fee. So they can get you for fees before you actually rent a car!
He shares other ludicrous stories too.
(did not see posted already, apologies if so)

 
I just that Tom Brady is hawking for Hertz. Considering their last go-around with an NFL player one would think.... I know, coat, hat, and close the door when I leave..
 
A new one from Hertz!
Steve Lehto is also impressed with how they can keep coming up with new ways to deceive and aggravate their customers!

 
I rented from Hertz on Sunday at SJC (after arriving from PDX). No problem and I wound up renting whatever I wanted from President's Circle. I'll drop it off there after our meetings end on Friday. No problem with Hertz anywhere I've rented from them in the world.
 
That's what the consuming public won't hear or understand; 99% of Hertz rentals go flawlessly.
If however, you are in that 1% where it doesn't go well - major pain.
And the other companies don't seem to have that (horrendous) 1% problem.

I'm so damn unlucky, I ain't takin no chances with Hurtz!
 
The worst Hertz experience I ever had was at LAX a few years back. Somewhere between Hertz and Priceline something slipped a cog and they managed to book a ton of $15/day or something rentals. It was two hours in the Hertz building either standing in line or on their video phone to corporate to get processed and even after that it took another 30 minutes for them to get a car turned around from a return to give me.

Of course, there was the recent escapade in Syracuse where the entire employee cadre walked off the job well before closing and people just gave up and looked in the lot for cars with keys in them and drove off.
 
Racerx said:
They all suck. And to add almost any service industry interaction I've had lately has sucked. Ever since the lockdown I've talked to more managers at restaurants about service than the previous 15 years combined.

I have had good luck with turo for rentals however.
Click to expand...
Restaurant service has gotten so bad since the "Deadly Pandemic" wife and me bring picnic baskets when eating away from home. Her packed meals are better anyway. I tip her later
 
And uber eats is 70$ and invariably ice cold by the time it arrives. i would rather cook
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
I know we have several car rental woe threats on here but my previous four experiences with Hertz just became more and more bizarre so here is another one.

First, I have been a Gold member with them for over a decade, usually had no issues with Hertz, renting cars from them once a month on average (more in the summer, less in the winter). But this has changed recently.

Case 1: Booked a car at the Hertz airport location several weeks in advance. When I get to the counter, I was informed that they had no cars available, despite my booking. They didn't even bother calling to let me know earlier that day. They offered that I could wait around the airport and MAYBE someone will bring back a car that night and I could have it. They also started educating me about how I should book a pre-paid rate, that way my car is 100% guaranteed since it's paid for. I was mad, obviously, and told them that since I haven't paid for the reservation in advance, I'll first check other agencies at the airport. The manager told me to not bother, the entire airport is booked out, even other agencies. I didn't believe him. I walked to the next counter, which was AVIS and sure enough, they had a car available and I drove off with an AVIS rental instead.

Case 2: Arrived at an airport where I didn't have a reservation in the late evening hours (10PM). Went to the Hertz counter asking for a car and was told they had nothing available but would have one in the morning. I said I will ask other agencies first and was told the same thing as in Case 1, not to bother because the airport is booked out. Didn't believe them, went to Enterprise and they had a car for me.

Case 3: Remember Case 1, I had to go back to that same location. Well, since they told me to book a pre-paid rate to guarantee my booking, I booked and pre-paid with Hertz three weeks in advance. I arrive at the Hertz counter to once again find out that they had no cars available. Similar to last time, they told me to stick around and MAYBE another car comes back in later in the evening but four people are in front of me already waiting. I told them to refund my pre-paid car and I'll go elsewhere. They said since it's pre-paid, they can't do it. I would have to wait and only if no car becomes available in the next 6 hours (it was 4PM and they wanted me to wait until they close at 10PM), I could call the customer service line and request a refund, plus, as usual, they told me to not bother with other agencies because they're also booked out. So, I asked them if the FBO had a Hertz car, as I know they usually have 1-2 Hertz cars on standby. Although I flew in commercially that day, I did have my plane parked at the FBO as I flew in with my plane to catch the commercial plane a few days prior, which I explained to the Hertz manager. He said that the FBO also doesn't have any cars (I think he didn't believe my story about having a plane sitting at the FBO to be honest). I didn't believe him, so I called the FBO and they told me that they have a car (same class I booked) in the lot and I could have it if I wanted it. They call the Hertz manager, telling him that I will get the car. So, I go back to the counter, call out the manager, mildly cursing at him and calling him a lier. He then instructs his staff to put together the contract, he went into the back room to hide, the staff gives me the paperwork and the FBO staff picked me up at the terminal.

I wish the story was over here, but it isn't. A few days later, I returned the car about 10 minutes prior to the deadline. Later that day, I get the receipt from Hertz showing I returned the car an hour late and they charged me for an extra hour. Luckily, I didn't actually depart that day due to weather and smoke so I just took an Uber back to the hotel. I had the Uber receipt showing the time the Uber driver picked me up, which was more than hour earlier than what the Hertz staff claimed I returned the car at. I wrote to some executives at Hertz (found their email addresses via LinkedIn), telling the above story, included the Uber receipt and a few days later, although no comment from anyone, I received a refund for the late return fee.

Case 4: I booked a Tesla (never drove one so wanted to try it out) with Hertz a few days in advance at an airport I had to go to for my Transponder and Altimeter recert. Pre-paid once again. I get to the counter and was informed that they don't have the Tesla available. The staff was nice enough, explained they only have one Tesla which was due that morning but the customer didn't return it. She upgraded me to a large SUV and all was good, so I thought.

I refuelled the car before I got back to the airport. However, as I arrived at the airport, there was a thunderstorm brewing up just west of the airport in my flight path so I decided to wait it out. Since the car wasn't due yet (actually it wasn't until the next morning), I took the car to Starbucks and then drove back to the Airport again. It was a grand total of 14 miles. The needle went from full to in between full and the first tick (7/8 full) so essentially I used 1/16th of the full tank.

When I get to the counter to return the car, another staff member was at the counter. Nobody was in front of me, but the employee was on the phone so I stayed back two steps from the counter, thinking he's on the phone with a client. Well, I quickly noticed that he is on his cell phone, speaking in Indian (or whatever their language is called). I step forward, he kept ignoring me for 5 full minutes while finishing up his personal call. When he hung up, no "sorry" or anything.

The staff went outside with me to check in the car and looked at the fuel level saying since I didn't fill it up, they will have to charge me $3.50 per liter to fill it up. I said that's fine. Later that day, I get my receipt with nearly $70 in fuel.

When I filled the car earlier that day, it was at the 7/8 full mark and all it took was less than 10 liters. In between the full and 7/8 mark, it should logically be even less than that. I once again wrote to the same executives at Hertz, telling the above story and once again, no comment from anyone, just today receiving a refund for the fuel.

So, long story short, I think Hertz lost me as their customer, at least until one of the other rental companies **** me off enough.
Click to expand...
Baseball only gives one three strikes for a reason.
 
Since the FBO didn’t have any cars I got a Hertz at the Airline rental agency. Just drove it to and from the hotel for the night and returned it with the fuel gauge on full. Hertz charged me for fuel as I drove it for less than 15 miles
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top