car rental

Category Archives for car rental.

Warning: Hertz Keeps Taking Reservations When They Don’t Have Cars Or Staff

by Gary Leff on September 19, 2023

Sep 19 2023

A reader shared his experience Monday night renting from Hertz at Dallas – Fort Worth. He’d reserved an SUV but was happy to take any car. They had none they’d rent. He’s a Presidents Circle member and was behind 15 others in that top public elite tier line waiting for a car. He reports about 20 people deep in line for Five Star elite. I feel sorry for those without status.

Worse, they actually had cars they wouldn’t give out to customers who’d reserved them. They were premium vehicles available for additional upgrade.

Hertz Is Selling EV Rentals All Wrong

by Gary Leff on August 25, 2023

Aug 25 2023

Hertz got huge publicity announcing an order two years ago for 100,000 Teslas. Since then they’ve taken on other electric vehicles as well. The problem, though, is that people aren’t reserving them.

I regularly search car rentals and find that Hertz electric vehicles are often my cheapest option among the big rental companies. Hertz also has a special deal on EVs currently going on.

Hertz Calls Cops On Customer Who Gets Threatened With Deportation For Being.. Puerto Rican?

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2023

May 15 2023

Hertz in New Orleans refused to rent to a car to a law enforcement officer of 25 years because he’s from Puerto Rico – and only presented a driver’s license and not a passport – because “he was from a foreign country.”

When the man insisted that no, he’s an American, the rental car giant called law enforcement to remove him. That’s when he was threatened to bring over immigration authorities.

Hertz To Pay $168 Million To Customers Arrested Due To Their False Police Reports

by Gary Leff on December 5, 2022

Dec 05 2022

Hertz announced a $168 million settlement covering 364 claims against them, at an average of just over $460,000 per customer.

There are perhaps a dozen more customers who are suing Hertz, that are not a part of the settlement. I have to think that in many of those cases the customers believe the egregiousness of their experience warrants a greater cash payout and that it makes sense to get closer to trial.

Hertz Rented Cars To President Biden’s Secret Service – That Burst Into Flames

by Gary Leff on November 29, 2022

Nov 29 2022

At approximately 5:22 a.m. on Tuesday, Hertz-owned vehicles that had been rented by President Biden’s Secret Service burst into flames in a lot at the Nantucket airport after they were returned.

A Ford Expedition had reportedly been under a battery recall, but hadn’t yet had the battery replaced. It appears to have caught fire, taking four other vehicles with it.

FlyerTalk Member Arrested After Hertz Files False Police Report

by Gary Leff on November 3, 2022

Nov 03 2022

A member of frequent flyer community FlyerTalk reports being arrested because they rented a car from Hertz that the company had previously reported stolen

The Scammiest Fees In Travel That The Biden Administration Is Ignoring: Rental Cars

by Gary Leff on October 29, 2022

Oct 29 2022

Junk fees often add 50% – 100% to the cost of a car rental. The good news is that many of them are specific to airport car rentals, and in particular to rentals you pick up at the airport.

You can avoid most of them by taking an Uber or cab (or have someone pick you up and drive you) to a car rental location away from the airport, and you can still return the car to the airport if you wish. For a one day rental this often doesn’t make sense, but for a longer rental it certainly can.

Avis: 25,000 Miles Per 3 Day Rental, Earn Up To 3 Times [Up to 75,000 Miles]

by Gary Leff on October 29, 2022

Oct 29 2022

You can earn 25,000 Etihad Guest miles per 3+ day Avis rental. This is in addition to the usual base miles earned renting cars.

Don’t let the fact that the offer is for Etihad Guest miles stop you. Etihad miles are easy to get since the program is a transfer partner of American Express, Capital One and Citibank.

Video: Father And Daughter Held At Gunpoint After Renting From Hertz

by Gary Leff on October 23, 2022

Oct 23 2022

Hertz has a problem keeping track of its fleet of cars. Customers return the cars, but staff fail to check in the vehicles. And report them stolen. Sometimes the person who returned it gets arrested, sometimes the next person who rents the car gets arrested for the theft. There are horror stories of cops with guns drawn, and long stays in jail. And Hertz, which has acknowledged the issues, doesn’t withdraw false police reports – saying that to do so would undermine their credibility with police (!).

These stories usually involve either extending a rental or swapping a car, and usually happen at the main Hertz brand, rather than at Dollar or Thrifty which they also own. So the story of a traffic stop of a father and 13 year old daughter – complete with guns and police body cam footage – is just as notable for happening on a Thrifty rental as for coming mere minutes after driving off the rental lot with contract in hand.

Hertz Still Hasn’t Made Changes To Prevent Customers From Being Arrested, Sent To Jail

by Gary Leff on October 2, 2022

Oct 02 2022

There are currently 40 active prosecutions of Hertz customers. Hertz has not announced any actual changes to policy, technology, or procedures. Hertz’s CEO has acknowledged problems, and claims they’re fixed, but we keep getting new stories about it still happening.