I booked a Hertz rental car for a weekend getaway with friends, excited to escape the city and explore some scenic routes. My reservation was straightforward--an SUV, picked up on a Friday afternoon and returned by Sunday evening. With everything confirmed and paid in advance, I expected a smooth experience. But from the moment I walked into the rental office, things went downhill.
The problems started with a long wait. I arrived at the Hertz location a little early to ensure I'd have time to go over the rental details, but when I walked in, there was already a line of frustrated customers. Only one employee was working the desk, and she seemed overwhelmed. After waiting for nearly an hour, it was finally my turn. The employee seemed visibly exhausted and barely looked at me as she went through the paperwork. When she handed over the keys, she said my SUV would be ready "soon," as it was currently being cleaned. I thought this would take 10 or 15 minutes, but I ended up waiting another hour.
When the car was finally ready, I headed out to the lot, relieved to start my trip. But as I inspected the SUV, I noticed several problems right away. The exterior was scratched in multiple places, and the rear bumper had a noticeable dent. The interior wasn't much better--crumbs in the backseat and a strange smell. I went back to the desk to report the damages, but the staff brushed it off, saying, "It's fine; just make sure to take photos." Though I felt uneasy, I took the photos as proof and reluctantly accepted the car, not wanting to lose more time.
Driving out of the lot, I noticed something strange with the car's handling. The brakes felt slightly unresponsive, and the alignment was off. I wasn't a mechanic, but I knew this wasn't normal. Unfortunately, by the time I realized how uncomfortable the car was to drive, I was already on the freeway. We decided to push through and just be cautious, as we didn't want to risk losing our trip altogether.
As we continued our journey, the car's problems worsened. The brakes made odd noises, especially when we were going downhill, and at times, it felt like the car struggled to accelerate. We tried calling Hertz's roadside assistance line for help, hoping they could advise us on how to proceed, but we were kept on hold for almost 30 minutes. When we finally reached someone, they told us to return to the rental location, which would have meant turning back for an hour. Frustrated, we decided to continue with our trip and just drive carefully, reasoning that we could handle it as long as nothing else went wrong.
But the challenges with Hertz didn't end there. When I returned the car, I explained the issues I had encountered, expecting some level of understanding or at least an apology. Instead, the staff inspected the car thoroughly and then claimed that the scratches and dents were my responsibility. I showed them the photos I had taken when I first picked up the car, proving the damage was there beforehand, but the employee was dismissive. She mentioned that the photos "could be from any car" and refused to acknowledge them as proof. To make matters worse, they noted a "smell" in the car, which had clearly been there when I picked it up, and claimed it would require a cleaning fee. I was shocked. Not only were they ignoring the car's pre-existing damage, but they were also charging me for a cleaning issue that was there from the start.
At that point, I asked to speak with a manager, hoping they could resolve this misunderstanding. But after waiting for nearly half an hour, I was told the manager was "unavailable." I was charged over $200 in additional fees for the supposed damage and cleaning. When I argued the charges, the employee became defensive and said if I had an issue, I could "take it up with corporate."
Frustrated, I did just that. I spent hours trying to reach Hertz's customer service team over the next few days. When I finally got through, I explained my experience in detail, sharing the timeline, the photos, and the interactions I had with staff. Yet every response I received seemed automated and generic. Each representative I spoke with promised to "look into it," only to eventually say there was nothing they could do because the rental location had already processed the charges.
Days later, I received an email from Hertz stating that they had found "additional damage" to the car that wasn't noted during the initial inspection. This damage was supposedly enough to warrant another $500 charge on my credit card. Furious, I disputed the charge with my credit card company, but they informed me that Hertz had already provided documentation, so I'd need more evidence to proceed with a formal dispute. read more