‘Insane,’ fumes Hertz customer after finding a hidden $118 charge – firm ‘deliberately’ make it hard to dispute fees

ONE Hertz customer was outraged on Sunday after it was revealed that the rental car agency had hidden a $118 charge.

The customer also claimed that the rental car company deliberately made it difficult for him to refute the massive charge.

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Taking his anger to X , Jon Holmquist slammed the car company in a long post.

“Rented a car from @Hertz,” the man’s statement began.

“Refueled rental 5m from drop off stop. Dropped off car full of fuel. Get told that they’d email me the receipt.”

However, Holmquist later states that he was not given a receipt.

“I go and check for the receipt manually on their site. Surprise, $118 extra charge for fuel and services,” he continues before adding that the charge was more than what he paid to fill up the vehicle’s tank.

“Go to phone support to dispute charge, get told by automated system to go dispute online, go dispute online using their online form, it doesn’t submit after filling it out, lol.”

The man then said that he managed to find another form, which he submitted, but it didn’t give him the option to upload images to support his dispute.

According to Holmquist, the lack of the option blocked him from giving “the insane amount of proof I kept that proved that I filled up the car.”

“Crooked experience,” he seethed, claiming that the company was “deliberately hiding dispute forms on the website, fake charges, absolutely insane. “

Speaking with the U.S. Sun, Holmquist said that he had returned the car, he was not told that he had to show the dealer a receipt.

“When I dropped off the car I specifically asked the employee there if I needed to do anything else, and he said nope you’re good to go,” he said.

“Did not specify that I needed to show a gas receipt. ”

According to the driver, he is still confused about the nature of the charge.

“I don’t understand in what world do they manage to add a fake gas in their process unless it is intentional,” he said.

“I figure you’d have the actual person filling up the gas add that charge, not someone sitting in the office calculating it off miles driven, as they must have done here.”

“If it was somehow a mix-up between different rental cars, that shows their internal process is even more flawed.”

The U.S. Sun reached out to Hertz for comment.

Shortly after the user posted his rant online, Hertz reached out to him.

“Hello, Jon. I would be happy to look into this for you. Can you please send me a DM with your rental information and full name so I can help out,” the reply on X read.

Jon later said that he managed to resolve the situation.

“They reached out over Twitter DM and issued a refund for the gas charge. Said it’ll process in a couple of days,” said Jon.

“This was satisfactory and I’m happy with this part of the process.”

Prior to being contacted on social media, Jon stated that he was contacted by the company and offered a $100 voucher.

Jon stated that the method didn’t “seem acceptable.”

“You don’t get to steal over a hundred dollars from me, and then say ‘oh it’s ok, you can just spend a $100 gift card only with us, that’ll fix it!'”

Another driver experienced the same sting of getting hit by a random fee last month.

Things to keep in mind when renting a car

According to The Boston Globe, every person renting a car should take a few minutes to check some boxes before committing to a rental car.

1. Keep in mind that rental companies are responsible for keeping cars mechanically sound. If you’re ever in a situation where you have to wait longer than 90 minutes for a tow truck, they advise to leave the keys in the rental and demand a refund as long as other transportation options are available (such as a ride from a friend, Uber, or Lyft)
2. Be cautious about roadside assistance packages. Most packages cover instances like leaving keys in the car or running out of gas, but any mechanical issues are on the company.
3. An accident, though, is the renter’s responsibility and will be charged to your insurance, not the company’s.
4. Certain memberships, like AAA or AARP, may get you a discount on rentals.
5. Some companies offer insurance for a small fee, though you’re already covered by your personal insurance. Before declining rental insurance, it may be wise to double-check that your insurance is covering the rental.
6. Perform a visual inspection of the car before leaving the lot to protect yourself from damage claims from the company.
7. When returning the car, make sure the gas level is as close to the same level as when you first drove off to avoid a refueling charge.
8. Research different rental companies before committing to one. Some may have better reviews or warranties than others.
9. Keep all contact via email or text in case a claim needs to be made later.
10. If you see any scratches or dents on the vehicle, be sure to take pictures with a time and date stamp to avoid damage claims.

Source: The Boston Globe

He revealed on a travel blog that he was hit with a $436 fee before he even laid eyes on the rental vehicle.

According to a blog post on FlyerTalk , Hertz had hit him with a fee for a road violation that occurred while he was still on the airplane.

In the post, the driver said that he was to pick up the vehicle at 10:30 pm from Canada ‘s Calgary airport.

However, the anonymous driver said that Hertz had accidentally switched his pick-up time to 10:30 am — while it was still in possession of another driver.

The fine came after police caught the vehicle running a red light at 2:33 pm.

The driver also claimed that the company charged him for an extra day and “various small charges.”

According to the driver, after sending the company the airline records, they removed the charge but not the $436 violation.

The driver claimed that they have received “no further response to my emails, and [I’m] unable to reach anyone by telephone.”

Hertz later told The U.S Sun that they have since issued the customer a full refund.

“We regret that we were unable to resolve this matter sooner,” a spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.

“We have apologized to the customer, issued a refund for the inaccurate charges, and provided points that can be used toward a future rental.”

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