Hertz...Hurts. If you're considering Hertz for a rental, I suggest reconsidering if you haven't already reserved the vehicle. If you do rent from them, my advice would be to consider acquiring their extra insurance endorsement. Our family left a Hertz rental vehicle at the Colorado Springs Airport rental lot early on the morning of September 29th. As has been our custom, our son took a slow walk around the Ford Expedition to identify any issues that should be reported; everything looked good to go. Three weeks later, I received a call out of the blue from a Hertz representative demanding $800 for alleged vehicle damage and over $400 in administrative fees. Talk about out of the blue.
Despite them completely blowing the chain of custody standards for the industry, they held to their position that I was responsible. Initially, the photos they shared only showed a "dot" of damage, but I later learned that additional photos were attached to the message. While none contained timestamping, they did show that damage had been done to the Expedition's trunk emblem. That struck me as odd, so I investigated a bit to see whether the area had seen other reports of vandalism. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. I ended up filing a police report with the Colorado Springs Police Department at the suggestion of a department employee.
For context, this isn't the first time Hertz has had troubles. Recently, they were sued for lying about one of their cars being stolen. It was hardly the first time either. The Clark Howard Show recently posted an article on the company as well. Hertz is apparently using AI now to help them locate billable dings on returned cars.
Meanwhile, I haven't decided which way to go on this. I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau (1.5 score, byt the way), Oregon Department of Justice (Consumer Protection) as well as Colorado's justice department, Clark Howard's site, and two local media outlets that do Consumer Protection stories, I am sharing some information below for contacting the company in case it might be helpful.
If you want to avoid a few weeks of your life going to the dogs over this nonesense, though, I suggest steering clear of Hertz.
CEO Email: gil.west@hertz.com
Lawanda HuffMichelle Hendrix, Michelle.Hendrix@hertz.com
Recovery Specialist’s Phone Number: (844)969-8951
Recovery Specialist’s Extension: 4088
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