A Hertz Presidents Circle customer was charged a fee of $277.39 for not filling up the gas on a Tesla model 3 in Los Angeles. This is an obvious, impossible claim because it’s a Tesla that doesn’t run on gas. But Hertz customer service is so bad, that they kept doubling down saying that there’s ‘nothing they can do’ about the charge.
- The customer even has the ‘skip the pump and save time’ prepaid fuel option selected for rentals. This is almost never a good idea, unless you’re literally returning a gas vehicle empty.
- But that fee on a gas vehicle would be less than what Hertz charged.
- And there is no fuel tank to fill on a Tesla EV. Prepaid fuel is based on the capacity of the gas tank being filled, and that amount here should be zero.
Here’s what Hertz customer service had to say though,
I am unable to provide an adjustment or refund since the service was provided and contract is closed. Your signed rental agreement will also be our basis that you are fully aware of the fuel option that was added on the contract. I hope I was able to clarify this with you. Thank you for allowing me to review and assist you with your concern.
Hertz charged for refueling of the Tesla. They doubled down that the refueling “service was provided.” Follow up phone calls couldn’t get Hertz to reverse these charges.
When I rented a Hertz Tesla, it had 50,000 miles on it and I picked it up with a 98% charge. Best practice is charging to 80% for everyday driving and 90% before long drives.
Hertz policy solved a key pain point where they were requiring customers to spend 25 minutes charging, after finding a charging station, on the way to the airport when they lowered fees for not charging prior to drop off – $35, or $25 for rewards members. This customer actually returned the car with a 96% charge, the same as they’d picked it up at.
Even at $9.99 per gallon, the charge would have represented more than a 27 gallon fill up. That would largely be possible only in a pickup truck or large SUV even if the rented vehicle had an internal combustion engine.
The driver is disputing the charge with his credit card company, however that is likely to get his descendants placed on the company’s No Rent list. It’s probably just a good idea to take not being arrested at gunpoint for renting from Hertz as a W and move on.
(HT: Paul H)
I heard of a female who purchased an EV , because her gas car once ran out of gas , and she did not want to run out of gas again .
Hertz prices are always bro high plus you add the arrest factor and now this.
In 30 plus years only rented from them once in Europe
I guess at some point they should change the name to Hurtz.
Someone at Hertz decided they hadn’t received enough bad press lately and decided to do this.
I’ve said it before, how is it that Hertz is still in business?
It’s interesting to see how much more sloppy car rental companies have become with charging customers than it used to be when things were more paper-oriented. And the sloppiness is generally working to the financial benefit of the car rental companies and at the expense of the rental car customers, the insurance companies and maybe even the bank card companies used for the rental car payments.
Another case of just how absurd customer service has become. Is there not one person at Hertz with a reasonable IQ that can remove the idiotic charge? Anyone still renting from Hertz is just asking for trouble.
I am not surprised, the last time I rented at Tuscon airport, when I returned everything seemed fine, but later I received a bill with an extra day. Writing to Customer Service was a pain in the (PITA) and I had to escalate the issue to BBB in order to finally settle the issue. It was not about the $$ but the principle.
I am not sure what Hertz wants to gain from such horrible Customer Service recovery situation. The only reason I am still loyal to Hertz is because at least in Europe they are still decent, but in the US, it can be quite a headache.
Cheers!
I rent from Hertz exclusively in Europe Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France and about 90% in the states. The only serious issue I ever had was when they charged me $12919.33 EUR for a cracked windshield. They later lowered it but I still disputed even though I had AmEx coverage. Then they wanted to charge for lost rental days, Amex wanted proof, heart would not provide, AmEx insurance would not cover. I refused to pay because I had AmEx coverage. The card side of AmEx finally decided to absorb the cost. Otherwise Hertz has been great.
Commercial blacklists are not the only thing that seem to get expanded.
There is also an effort to massively expand the aviation-related blacklist to hit travelers.
Here is the entertaining Faux News spin on this situation:
https://us.yahoo.com/news/hamas-sympathizers-could-added-list-170939471.html
I used to exclusively rent from Hertz. The past few years have been brutal and I stopped. Articles like this don’t make me miss them one bit!
Hertz fell to the bottom of the car rental chain more than a few years ago with the false charges of auto theft and the arrests. Even more so, their Customer Service is the worst in the industry. The last time I rented from them I had to wait well over an hour for the car to be delivered to the rental location and then they tried to charge me for an extra day saying I returned the car the day after I actually did. I said goodbye 6 years ago to Hertz.
Sue them. When a Judge sees this ridiculous charge for gas on an all-electric vehicle they’re going to award the Plaintiff the money and depending on the State it might be triple damages.
This is right up there with the dead parrot routine on Monty Python. Maybe somebody at Hertz has a wicked sense of humor and enjoys creating ridiculous situations. It’s usually big clumsy organizations like national governments that fall on their faces, and even then there are decent people trying to do what’s right. But I guess any company can lose track of what makes sense…until they lose their customers and go under.
In our area the choices are Hertz with almost no customer service, or Enterprise who almost never has cars, but will call you one hour before you pick up a car for something important like an international flight.
Anymore if traveling in America, I prefer not even to deal with American companies.
When possible.
Why anyone uses Hertz and/or flies American Airlines I will never comprehend. How many times must one literally eat shit before they realize it is shit?
lol things like this why probably better that the Hertz “perk” was dropped from the Venture X
Pivoting towards Teslas themselves, great point about bringing up the optimal charge levels. I always leave mine at 80 except on long road trips per recommendation, so it’s interesting how rental companies are handling it and potentially lowering the battery life long term
First, having customers arrested for theft of cars, which they had turned in. Now charging customers for not gassing up electric vehicles and refusing to reverse the charge. Seems Hertz should be the one on the do not rent list. It surely is on mine.
I hit a deer last fall driving a Hertz car. After letting them know to handle the claim through my insurance carrier, which they did and were paid in full, I was put on the naughty list and no longer can rent a Hertz vehicle (and affiliated companies).
Great way to do business.
I have never seen or heard anything about a hybrid Tesla and if they are talking about battery charge is it that much of an issue they can charge the battery just by plugging it so why are they being asses about it only thing they need is electricity which they have anyway if they are so much worried about the price of the electricity get some solar
Hertz try to pull that shenanigans on me. An email to the CEO and customer service director got that corrected within 15 minutes. First time and last time I ever used Hertz.
I would never rent from Hertz. Dishonest company. Just dispute the charge and all is good.
Always take pictures of every surface of car. They will get you if you dont.
And this is why they ate selling their EV fleet.
Hertz Hurts. They are a Scamming company. They even accused people of Stealing the rented car and have them arrested by the police.
Something is missing in this article. So he brought it back charged and they still want to charge him? So what the “refill” for?
I can get leisure travelers still booking Hertz, but how does any corporate travel department or independent business traveler still book Hertz? It’s downright irresponsible at this point. And why doesn’t a state attorney general step in and go after Hertz?
“Update May 9, 12:45 p.m. ET: After this story was published, Hertz informed The Drive that its Customer Care team would be “reaching out to Mr. Lee to apologize and will refund this erroneous charge.”
This happened to me the other day – I rented a Model 3 at SNA and they first charged me for the fuel purchase option, then charged me $12/gal to “refuel”. Ultimately got them to refund that but what a headache.
Well the customer has a Federal and California Fair Debt Collection claim. When Avis charged me for 5 extra days on a returned one day rental (with photographic evidence of the time and date of return they ended up removing the charge and paying $3,000 on a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act demand (no lawsuit filed). I wonder if I am now banned from renting from Avis…
Hertz Hurts. Stay away from the company.
So the customer selected the prepaid option for fuel and then complains afterwards about the charge.
Always use Hertz and when I get an issue I get it sorted before returning the car.
The only person to blame is the customer.
Hertz (Thrifty) is the worst. The people at the counter flat out lie, and try to pressure you to upgrade, quite aggressively too. I needed to drive up to Leadville, and the man that I was dealing with basically said I wouldn’t make it up there in a car. He’s either a moron, or he’s instructed to do this to customers. I ignored him, and drove around just fine.
When I got home, I was surprised to have a bill for driving in the express lane, that didn’t happen. And there was a nearly $300 charge for additional insurance that they insisted I requested and signed for. Again, that is completely false.
I booked through Amex travel. My CSR contacted them directly to see what the hell was happening since I had paid in full at the time of booking. He said they insisted they had a signed document for the upgrade. He removed the charge. Months later, a bill arrived outside of Amex’s system, so I could not ask them for help. I spent hours trying to speak with someone about this false charge. The people that work for Thrifty are aggressive, rude, and arrogant. More than one acted like this, so I think it was intentional. They said a manager would get back to me. That never happened.
More months go by. The keep sending fake bills. Eventually they sent me the infamous you are forever banned letter. Yeah, like I would ever rent from them again. I hope they banned my children and future grandchildren as well.
I had a similar issue.. contract closed can’t do anything. But I lucky and rented the same car from the same Hertz location and drive the same miles.
Upon return I ask for a manager to deal with the first rental problems and he saw the obvious faulty charges..
The best solution was he discounted my new rental that I had just returned to make up for the previous rental extra charges.
Seems there is no good solution but if you have a new rental and a good manager maybe you can get done proper resolution
I avoid Hertz at all costs and this latest episode of terrible customer service is the reason I’ll never rent from them again. There should be some kind of class action lawsuit against Hertz for all the crap they do to customers.
Hey @GUWonder: Posting the Fox News link to the story about the No Flights for Terrorists Act (which would put individuals on the Transportation Security Administration’s no-fly list if they have encouraged violence against Jews, pledged support for terrorist groups, or have been disciplined by higher education institutions for such conduct) was legitimate travel news. Calling Fox News the slur Faux News and taking your usual cheap shot at the Right was not. Is this kindergarten conduct really necessary ?
I do everything I can to avoid renting cars but I was recently given president club status on Avis and I was taking a family vacation which might call for some driving. Got a nice upgrade to a compact SUV with great gas mileage, Android auto, etc. Day 3 it has check engine light, oil change light, and tire is down to 20 psi. They tell me to take it to another location I am near. I get a shitty sedan that smelled of cigarette smoke and urine with cigarette burn marks. I went back in and said I hate to be “that guy” but I can’t take this car. Took them 15 mins to find another vehicle and they gave me a giant Dodge Ram with no Android Auto or Apple Car Play. As they handed me the keys, they told me this was the last exchange they were allowed to do.
I think having electric cars in a rental pool is ridiculous to begin with. I ran into this issue in San Antonio. Guess what, I don’t know if my hotel has a charging station, I don’t want to park blocks away and I have no idea where I’ll be going or what I’ll be seeing, I’m on VACATION. To make mattwrs worse, I hadn’t reserved electric, they forced me to take it as they had nothing else. Just plain stupid, there should be an option to opt out of electric cars on your profile.
Why would anyone NOT rent from Hertz? I rent every day in the hope they will have me arrested. Multiple times…. The average payout from lawsuits against the, was pretty high!
$277 certainly buys a good bit of bad press, no? Seems like a bargain for Hurtz.
Reach out to your State’s Attorney’s office and file a fraud and deceptive practices claim. You “refueled” the vehicle to its fuel type (charging). Hertz is committing fraud and theft by deception in charging you for petroleum refueling abuse. A comparable would be a hospital charging your insurance company for a services of the Intensive Care Unit when you were never in ICU.
Hertz was given multiple opportunities to rectify their “error”. Now they must be held accountable.
Mind you, most if not all, car rental companies run on ‘Mafia policies’ so be careful.
BS – Just had a similar issue (and am also Presidents Circle). Wait on the phone was too long so I filled out a form on the site. Took a couple of weeks but they eventually responded before I was about to call them again and notified me via email that the gas portion would be refunded and post in 7-10 days. Issue is that the folks who close out the contracts are not properly trained .. been happening for a couple of years now.
@Rich Rinchich sounds like good plan that will work but sure way to get into Hertz blacklist
@Lee so your justifying a fuel charge for a EV with customer at fault? With no basis for how the charge came to $270 there should be a receipt of what constitutes it
I rented from hertz a while back and that would be my first and last time every renting from them. Customer service is a poop show. Their on my do-not-rent-from list
This same exact thing happened to me. I disputed the charge, successfully, but ended up on the “do not rent” list. The annoying thing about being on that list is they will still let you book a reservation, and only at the exit gate do they inform you that you’re unable to rent from Hertz.
Why is anybody still using Hertz anyway? Things like this are the norm with them instead of it being the exception. This is the type of thing where if an audit was being done 3 years later and they found that they charge someone a gas fee for an electric car, they would refund it automatically. Not Hertz. They double down and say there’s nothing they can do. I’d be the farm that if they realized that he owed them $50 10 years later they’d take him to court to collect. Hertz is a horrible company with even worse customer service.
So my experience is slightly different. I rolled into a hertz return location right at the end of the hour – where another hour would be charged ( low on charge).
Was willing to take a fuel charge. Nobody informed me Tesla charging was not available at that particular and smaller hertz location, they wanted to charge me $500. I laughed when realizing it is less than road side pick up and tried to reach a charger ( but the Tesla stopped dead .After the drive out, had road service pick it up, then called to explain and asked for addtl points . Which hertz added to their credit.
I expensed the road charge pick up. And providing my company a free rental in upcoming trip once the points post ( nobody wins) or loses ; the experience dissuaded me from buying an electric car, til I see a charger everywhere. I was mapping and on way saw just not many available and one that was occupied, as it often is.
Also often at early hours some Tesla chargers are mapped at locations behind gates – guarded by apt or hotel gates ( installed for safety – I get it).
Hertz managed to get me more excited about electric and then let me down with one experience that changed my attitude to buy electric. Total disaster of a program not to mention the time that the adapter was not in the trunk, during a rental. I love the concept of saving on gas or bettering the environment; but won’t bear unexpected events outside of my control, poorly managed by hertz
(President circle member – )
And this is why I rent through Turo… I don’t have time…smh
I rented a Tesla in Waikiki. I spent 20 minutes in line to charge it before returning it to the airport. They still charged me the charging fee. I put in a complaint and they ignored it. My next rental with Hertz was a replacement rental and I had mechanical issues with it and wasn’t able to use it for two days. Customer service would do nothing to compensate me, not even offering a free day on my next rental. Their customer service is the worst in the industry. It basically is nonexistent. They ignore every customer complaint.
Same thing happened to me. Hertz, lax, tesla 3. They just kept saying there is nothing they can do.
This isn’t an honest mistake or even incompetence, rather fraud. The customer should press charges with the local police, the state Attorney General and the FBI.
Hertz has a long track record of cheating customers. I don’t know how they stay in business.
Hertz is a criminal enterprise – files false police reports and commits fraud by charging customers for services that it knows were not provided. As I have repeatedly said, DOJ needs to arrest Hertz executives and then you would see this behavior cease very quickly. Maybe Merrick Garland can spare a few agents from the RICO squad.
Similar with Budget.
So I left a Google review to that end.
Screenshot it.
Posted on Twitter and tagged them.
Less than an hour and it’s all fixed…
Almost all of that hour was them saying they could only fix it in DM.
We all remember the Seinfeld episode with the car reservation, I would say ok no worries keep the charge and rent it again, and just like the rental agent asked Seinfeld if he wanted insurance he said sure because he was going to beat the hell out of the car.
@GUWonder, re: fox story… As annoying it is to watch wealthy college students protesting about issues they are completely ignorant about, it’s a bit insane to think that warrants putting them on the no fly list. It’s an added insult that House Republicans would take up this cause, politicize it for their gain in an election year, while doing nothing for the real jabronees who cause trouble on flights, attack crews and passengers, and cause delays and diversions. No national no-fly list for those bozos. They’re free to hop on the next willing carrier.
Me and my gf did the ‘skip the pump and save time’ when we had our rental car. We had just gotten back from a cruise in TX and had decided to drive back home to CA instead of flying. When I returned the car, I swear to you that it was running on fumes
I had a similar issue with budget and a key. I forgot to return the key after dropping the car early but within an hour came back and dropped it back, which was before the original return time.
When I returned the key the manager said don’t worry I’ll take care of it.
Then when i saw the charge I called the airport office, sent in some information/proof I came back and they said they would get back to me which they did from customer support saying I need to speak to the airport again.
I called general customer support and they said they would get back to me within 2 days but never did.
So I filed a charge back on the cc.
The fee was $450 .
I should have gotten proof that I returned the key but the manager said no need and she wasn’t interested in giving me any.
The major car rental companies – with the exception of Enterprise – seem to be doing their very best to tell customers to bug off and use Uber. Even when it would be significantly cheaper to rent a car, I use rideshare services to avoid horrible customer service and bogus upcharges. Enterprise seems to be the only one that realizes customers have choices and you have to earn their business.
What a weird thing to say in regards to the customer disputing a charge on their credit card. What’s up with gen-Z being so fearful of using credit card charge backs? Cudos to the customer for taking a stand and not rolling over like a wet noodle.
While it may be true that the customer was charged 277 for fuel let’s consider the reality. Electricity is the fuel for EV’s. Electricity doea have a real cost. Driving an EV until it is empty, depleted of power, is an act of irresponsibility at the very least.
The vehicle will have to get towed to a charging sation, you cannot bring a gallon of electricity to the vehicle. One cannot gain entry to the vehicle (Tesla models) if the batteries are depleted. Now someone has to be called to enter the vehicle. The 12v low voltage battery is charged by the large high voltage battery banks. When these are depleted the low voltage battery is no longer charged. Why is this important ? Because the low voltage battery controls ALL of the vehicle’s computer systems. Inclusive of those required for charging the large battery banks. Yes, multitudes of EV’s with depleted batteries are rented and returned depleted. Yes, I do charge individuals and rental companies for my expertise in dealing with the multitude of issues being experienced by these depleted vehicles. Yes, igorance and entitlement do have a cost.
I rented a Tesla 3 from Hertz while my gas car was in the shop for 6 weeks due to parts shortages last August. Hertz took my credit card and explained that the “gas bill” will come later and this will cover those charges. The agent even told me what “full” was. I kept track of each charge for the six weeks. I used the Tesla super chargers around my hometown and, for grins, plugged it in at a Hampton Inn to see how that worked. I monitor my Acura’s gas consumption the same way. I’m in the airline business and I learned no NEVER trust your butt to a $5.00 gas gauge. I didn’t know the dollar amount but I knew the KW/hrs. and a rough calculation as to my usage. I my guesstimate was way higher than actual. I stopped at a super charger near the house and topped it off. No problems. I also take pictures of the entire car and instrument panel with my iPhone and my watch in view before I drive out and when I drive in. The meta data proves when the photo was taken, too. I’m beginning to think that this “fraud” committed to this particular renter was the entire “fuel bill” and NOT just not failure to “topping it off”.
After decades of renting with Hertz Gold, I had a similar experience with them last year. They overcharged me for the rental and admitted it, but refused to give the refund. Then overcharged for toll usage by upgrading me to their unlimited plan which tripled the bill when I hadn’t signed up for it. Ended up having to dispute both charges with my CC, which sided with me from the clear documentation. Hertz sent me to collections for both and put me on their DNR list. Honestly that part is fantastic because I’ve switched to Avis which has been a great company so far. Like Hertz was before the pandemic. I get nice low mileage cars unlike the beaters that Hertz gives out now. Hertz is a fraudulent company and i reported them to the NC attorney general with proof, but they said it was a civil matter and refused to get involved. It’s a shame what these frauds can get away with.
Boycott Hertz and Theifty!! If the executive choose to defraud the public then the public should feel obligated to drive them out of business. We had a similar situation in San Diego a couple of weeks ago and my company will never rent from Hertz!Thrifty ever again. We will pay twice as much from a different company before we will use them again!
I rented from them in LAX. Prepaid rental and they wouldn’t let me leave until I bought their insurance which they say is required in Cali. No insurance, no rental and no refund. Not according to their T&C. Then I filled up and dropped off they said I didn’t return full. Gave the guy my receipt (paid cash, my mistake) but took picture of pump for my records, proceeded with metadata showing time and location. Refused, disputes with AMEX & they respond to them with accusations of fraud and will sue me if I attempt to challenge. Filed formal complaint with Cali AG office and within 2 weeks received response from corporate saying it is a teachable moment and reversed the charges and refunded me for the rental. Car rentals are the most stressful part of the trip when personal.
Just to be flip side of all these comments. I have been renting from Hertz for over 30 years business travel. Some time in the presidents circle but mostly just a gold member. I have had a few issues at Hertz, but without fail, they always make it right. I love Hertz. My company switched the preferred vendor to Enterprise, but I still use Hertz for all my personal travel.
There’s really only one question here. Did he return it with a full fuel tank or not?
Customer says there’s no tank? OK. That’s a $3,500 charge for not returning the vehicle with major parts, because he obviously modified the vehicle prior to returning it.
Excerpt….
Update May 9, 12:45 p.m. ET: After this story was published, Hertz informed The Drive that its Customer Care team would be “reaching out to Mr. Lee to apologize and will refund this erroneous charge.”
Hertz employees are total scum. I had a rental where I got charged for gas (despite just filling up before drop off) and damage (small scratch on the back bumper). I didn’t hit anything, but maybe the car was hit while parked, so I filed an insurance claim. Hertz would not respond to Amex and when I would request in plain English for a document they would either ignore it or send the wrong thing, causing me to be unable to recoup my money. The kicker here is their pre-rental pictures do not show the back bumper clearly and they refuse to check CCTV of the return lot (car was there two hours between drop off and them checking it in, so could’ve been hit), so they can’t even prove the damage wasn’t pre-existing or happened later. Every single interaction I had with a Hertz employee (when I wasn’t straight up ignored) was them in CYA mode for Hertz, zero desire to help me (even when I was just trying to file a claim). I even had a Hertz employee tell me their German team took a month to respond to an email because of timezones – I’m unsure if she thought I was too stupid to understand how timezones work or if she didn’t quite grasp them.
The sooner Hertz goes out of business and their workforce ends up flipping burgers, the better. Although I’m not sure I’d trust them with food.
I bought a car from Hertz car sales. It turned out the brrajs gad to be replaced within six weeks. There was a smell of exaust in the cabin and it then turned out, the car had been off the road for 12 months.
NEVER buy a car from these people.
Fraudulent billing by Hertz on a car I did not even rent. Despite many rounds of letters, emails, and calls, the issue was only resolved after taking them to small claims court. Forget customer service. Hertz seems only responsive to litigation.
Renting from Hertz is like banking at Wells Fargo….. just asking to be abused, tricked, and scammed…
What do you expect from a car rental company whose claim to fame is OJ Simpson?
Hertz charged me on an ICE car that I refilled prior to returning it. I sent in the info via Hertz’s website stating that I could send the refill receipt AND a picture of the dashboard before returning the car if they provided me the instructions. Within 3 days, I got an email stating all refill expenses would be refunded. When I get that credit card bill, I will check. But Hertz has been great for this rental (assuming the refund is posted as promised).
Someone should contact the justice dept.
They will be delighted to F. Hertz .
I have stopped renting from Hertz. I am a Gold Member, while renting once on my phone I barely touched the screen and the pay fuel I advance ticked itself. Every time I try to in tick it, I get an ERROR MESSAGE
Years ago at LAX the car class I reserved “wasn’t available” and they wouldn’t give me an upgrade without paying for it. I complained afterwards to corporate, who basically told me to pound sand. That was in December and the next month I switched all my rentals – about 20 a year – and went over to National.
Hertz send me an email that my points would expire 3/15 they removed them 1/1 and refuse to put them back. After 20yrs and top tier renter. I am letting then AG deal with it. Till my points are returned i no longer rent from them nor will my company.
I rented a Tesla from Hertz. They bill your credit card every time you use a Tesla charger. You have to check the rates of the charger that you use. Depending on the amount of time that the vehicle was rented and how often it was driven, it can’t easily rack up to 200 bucks.
Hertz is part of the Healthcare system
Thought Leader continues to tout the perks of Hertz elite status, no matter how many times Hertz screws over customers
I have not rented with Hertz in close to a decade. They get people arrested for no reason, over charge deposits if you are black and live in the Detroit area but a caucasion person from Germany does not have that same deposit required in DTW??? I rent probably 4 times a month all ovwr the World Hertz is the worst.
Jay,
It’s long been the case that the rules applicable at some car rental locations provide more flexible and or even favorable terms for drivers who flow in from abroad and are to fly back/onward than it is for locals trying to rent a car. This kind of thing is something I would see quite a bit more for local people who tried to rent with a debit card than for foreigners who tried to rent with a debit card. Also there are different risks sometimes applicable based on whether a renter is using a credit card instead of a debit card. Also the card-provided insurance coverage or even home insurance coverage for rental car isn’t uniform and that can mean something in terms of what kind of authorization a rental location may try to charge. This isn’t to say that there isn’t probably also a racial discrepancy in the practices of some rental car locations.
Lawyer, for a bundle of Hertz’s money!
This is outrageous if true. I will add my experiences, which were good. I only rent Teslas via Hertz. In the beginning, there was a rule to bring it back with the same amount of charge as you received it. They were always at 50 to 80%. I always did, so I never knew what the “fine” would be. Now it is posted online that if you fail to do that, there is an $8 “convenience fee”. To charge a Tesla costs about $12. The last two times I rented, including 3 days ago, the check out charge was at 98%. It takes 15 minutes to charge a Tesla from 10% to 80%. It takes an hour to get it to 98%. So it is a no-brainer to just pay the fee and not waste time. Obvious to me, they are charging them to 98% so that you wont have time to bring it back with 98%, wont be able to, and they make a few extra bucks. I did this, and the fee was added. No problem.
There is no situation where it should be $277. Furthermore, any company that rents electric vehicles should have charging stations on site and should be able to replenish the battery seamlessly. Customers should be encouraged not to waste time charging before they return the vehicle. A nominal charge to top up should be all that’s required. Trying to maximize revenue and rip off customers is the strategy a lot of places use, but they should instead provide a good service for a reasonable price.
Same thing happened to me but my was truck I put 26 gallons it looked filled they charge me over$150
They said it wasn’t full
And it’s a small truck 1500 Silverado
Simply fill the teslas passenger or battery pack with gasoline as the contract calls for! Any issues from this is hertz’s problem then!