Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Hertz Rental Car Nightmare

This past weekend I went to San Diego and Los Angeles on vacation and rented an Audi A6. Everything at the check-in was fine except they now have to do a credit check if you are using a credit card linked to a bank account. Regardless, I signed my rental agreement for 4 days of the A6 for a total of $304.09.

The next day, I was in Hollywood and noticed my bank account was short $300. I figured I got charged for the car upfront and that was that, although I did go to my brother "I hope they don't charge me twice." I was sorely mistaken.

I dropped the car off a little earlier than expected and took my flights home.

I didnt think anything was wrong until last night when I went to the ATM at Ram. I was going to get money to pay for the meal of some clients who were in town. My bank statement Friday had my account balance in the $2,300 range. The hotel was already paid for, I spent $100 on gas, $150 at the ATM and the rental car so I was figuring I would have atleast $1900 in the account, again dead wrong. I tried taking out $100, no dice, says insufficient funds. I tried $40, same thing. Im like, what the hell is going on here!!! I check the account balance...says I have $39.59 in the account!!!

I called the bank this morning to find out what the hell was going on. I asked what the transactions were for the last week. Said there was a $423.75 hold this morning, $423.00 yesterday, $423.75, $234 on the CC, $118 on the account, $112 Monday, $118 and $354 Friday. I had no CLUE where any of these holds came from. I knew I didnt use the card and it was in my possession the entire time, I was thinking identity fraud. The manager asked if I used it for any large purchases and the only thing that came to mind was Hertz. She suggested it may be them that is currently holding the $2,206.50 missing from my account. Bingo.

I called the location I rented the car from and told them the situation. He suggested I look up my bill online as it should have been posted this morning. Sure enough, the bill was for $423.75 (I got charged $111.50 for gas which I shouldn't have) along with 2 other "Misc Charges" of $354 and $234.

I called Hertz billing and explained the situation she said they would have to remove the holds on the account. I obviously asked why they needed to hold $2200 for a rental? No response. I told them their policy is there must be $200 over what the rental is for to cover losses, why another $1700? No response. She said she would remove the holds on the account immediately, this was at 2:30PM

I called the customer service line at 4PM when I got out of work early to go to the bank and contest all this. Told them the situation again, and the young woman I spoke to said the holds would be removed right now. I asked wasn't that supposed to be done almost 2 hours ago? No response. I proceed to file a very large complaint. I told them I could understand getting double billed or slightly over billed, but I cannot understand how 8 separate mistakes were made. She informed me that I would receive a response in 5-7 days. I told her I would call back in 5 regardless.

I get to my bank to see all the transactions and she informs me that all the transactions still have holds on them as of 5PM today. ( I would call back at 6PM, still holds) I got a copy of my all transactions for the last week and there are 5 other charges from when I was on vacation that I KNOW I didn't do which I have to find out where they are from tomorrow morning.

In addition, my credit card bill is due this coming Tuesday. How am I supposed to pay a credit card bill when all my funds are being held? I get to call my credit card company in the morning.

The current line:
1 Rental Agreement for $304.09
8 Holds on bank account for $2206.50
Current available bank account balance $29.41
Pissed off individuals: ONE

Please post/link this story to other forums so people know what Hertz is really like.

that sucks. if i were in your shoes, id go back and rent that A6 again with fulllll insurance!

this is why you should always pay for rental cars with a credit card(most will even allow you to put the charges at the close of the rental on your debit card)... I worked for a rental car company for almost 6yrs and I have heard even worse stories than that.... It is also alot easier to dispute charges with a card that doesn't tie up your actual available funds...

I know there are alot of people that try not to get/use credit cards, but this is a reason you should have one, for emergency and rental car purposes....

but yeah, you need to talk to the regional manager for that location and con him out of a free weekend rental or something and buy the full coverage ins. and rally the sh!t outta that car and take your aggresion out on them there..

Paying w/ a good credit card would allow you to just call the CC company and have them block the transactions.

On a positive note, I went to Vegas 2 years ago and scheduled a Taurus rental from Hertz for a week at $125 plus taxes. I flew in, picked up a 4.2L S-Type with 700 miles on it. Very nice vehicle to put a thousand miles on for $125.

I've been renting and will continue renting from Hertz. I always *always* use a credit card rather than a debit card. The only recourse I can think of is to get your bank involved, moreso than you already have. Good luck.

This is exactly why you don't use a debit card (or anything like it) for travel...

For future reference, get an AMEX and they'll watch your back like no other card agency out there.

Quit screwing around with the peons; ask for the regional manager and start mentioning the term "fraudulent charges" once they get on the phone.

I've had worse experiences with Avis (someone cliped the passenger door of my rental and Avis damn-well near tried to total the car off on my credit-card), but some royal screwups with Hertz as well. If you've got a camera-phone, USE IT; take pics off all sides of the car after drop-off and keep documentation a few weeks. You'd be surprised how handy doing both can come in at times...

I've found Discover to also be extraordinarly protective of their customers. I can dispute anything and the charge will be wiped away immediately. I've never waited even a minute to talk to a CSR. If my purchases go even slightly out of whatever they deem "ordinary" I get a call within 5 minutes. My bank and some of my other cards do the same, but it takes them as much as 2 days to get around to calling. Best creditor I've ever had, although I have no complaints about AMEX either.

On the subject of rental cars I think Avis might well have you beat. I rent frequently and I've tried them all numerous times. But Avis screws something up about 25% of the time. I've been charged for renting cars in places I've never even been to. The latest screw-up was them charging for $1200 per day to rent a Crown Victoria. But the worst part was when they tried to say I authorized it because I requested an upgrade at the counter (I usually get them for free or for a very negligible amount if they have something available).