I have used Hertz more than any other car hire firm and in the main I have been happy with their service. However my recent experiences have ruined this to the extent I no longer trust them. My issue is the way additions are added on point of sale to pre booked rentals which make the attractive headline figures much more expensive.
Scam 1 - Misrepresenting fuel prices. Turned up at Miami Airport and there was a large sign saying pay for fuel up front as it is cheaper than it can be bought locally. This turned out to be a lie with the Hertz rate being at least 10% more expensive that in the garages. Also bear in mind that any fuel left when the car is returned as empty is effectively a gift to Hertz for you. The answer is to ingnore the sign, not pay for the fuel up front and bring the car back full.
Scam 2 - Forcing you to pay for fuel up front. Hired a car in Cyprus. Was advised I had to pay for the fuel up front and bring the car back empty. This was more annoying and expensive as Cyprus is a small Island and to empty the tank of the Nissan Note supplied would take a number of laps of the Island. Thus I was forced to pay for a full tank at Hertz inflated prices and brought it back with half a tank which goes towards Hertz profits.
Scam 3 - Supercover. Hertz prebooked insurance includes a rather large excess of approx £250. I have always accepted this as the cost of Supercover to reduce this to zero is typically 60% of the total rental cost. Hired a car at Majorca and on arrival at the desk I was asked if “I wanted insurance?” I said that “I only wanted what I had booked”. The receptionist spoke excellent English so I had no reason to suspect any misunderstanding and no query was raised. There was no explanation provided of additional cover, what it provided or any additional costs involved. I assume their company policy is that additional services sold and associated charges should be explained?
I had been in fact charged for Supercover with the highlighted charge in the contract being buried within the prepaid charges and not broken out as an additional charge. This added 60% to my car rental. If I had been dealing with an unfamiliar rental company I may well of been on my guard more and gone through the contract line by line. As it was I was dealing with Hertz with who I have never had this type of problem in the past. Attempts to get this removed has been met with slow responses, stock answers and no offer or compromise. I now feel totally let down both in the unauthorised charges taken from my card and for the line taken with my complaint and will never use them again.
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It's a shame you haven't said more about the positives. Obviously there are some, since you've dealt with the company before. This would give your review a more rounded picture and better rating.
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Advantages: Excellent prepaid rates, nice car, helpful staff Disadvantages: Confusion over discount rates, high excess if you don't pay the waiver charge
sue.51 30.12.2004 (31.12.2004)
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Sep 26th, 2009
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