Hertz Rental Germany Buyer Beware
 

Hi rented a car through Hertz in Germany for 2 weeks this past July. It was rented through the Dusseldorf airport. When I returned to the USA there was an extra 180EU charged to my credit card for damages. The car was not damaged! Hertz Customer Service told me that the only way to disupte this is via email to the German office that handles this. I sent the email on July 29 and have yet to receive any response from Hertz whatsoever. I have sent further emails and called Customer Service again, even spoken with my Credit Card company because I disputed the charge. However, they said that Hertz told them to email Germany also! They said they got no information from Hertz either, but can't prove the charge is in error so there is nothing they can do. This is VERY FRUSTRATING as there is no one to talk to about it at Hertz and no on can do anything. It seems that a damage charge can be applied to your credit card with no proof, documentation or explanation and you still have to pay it!

My next step is to call Hertz offices in Germany and the UK. Anyone have any other ideas?

Your only and first post, and it is to diss the highest rated car rental company in customer service.

I've rented from Hertz in Germany more than 10 times. Every single time there has been no problem or additional charges.

You should have done a walk around with the returning agent and gotten a final bill from him/her.

Did you not do this??

<i>You should have done a walk around with the returning agent and gotten a final bill from him/her.</i>

That is not always possible. More than once I've had to drop keys in a lock box, the last time when the office was open.

>>More than once I've had to drop keys in a lock box, the last time when the office was open<<

That is when you take photos . . . no need for an agent to check you out.

I assume you received a receipt when you returned the car, Unless the agent noted damage to te car = they ca.t charge you. send a copy of the receipt to whoever you reserved with - and then file a complaint with your credit card for the overcharge,

Credit card dispute.

It sounds like the OP has already tried to dispute it w/ his credit card

>>They said they got no information from Hertz either, but can't prove the charge is in error so there is nothing they can do.<<

I just had a dispute with Hertz in Italy because of a car that was returned early and they charged me more than the original amount - even though I had verified with the rental agent that this wouldn't happen. One week later and the difference was credited to my card and Hertz offered an apology. They never asked me to contact Hertz in Italy.

I've made several complaints through my credit card for different things and generally the response is to put the charge on hold until the dispute is sorted out.

Also - did you leave the car without getting an agent receipt or pictures of the car if an agent wasn't there?

First post - hmmm.

Can someone tell us if the fact that this is a first post mean that it is totally false????

<i>Credit card dispute.</i>

Bingo.

We rented a vehicle in Italy on a trip in 2007. We needed two vehicles and Hertz only had one available.((We just decided a few days before that a car would be nice to have for a few days) We were going to rent elsewhere. The agent said he had another car in the back, but it had a bit of damage. We made sure that all the damage was documented on the receipt and rented the vehicle. When we returned the car a different agent said there was more damage then when we left - which was not the case. We tried to explain and wait for the original agent to come back from lunch, but we had a train to catch. We later had a charge for damage from Hertz on our credit card. We disputed the charge with Hertz. We did not have to contact the Italian office, Hertz contacted the location to get their side of the story. Unfortunately they believed them and not us. We felt we had been scammed by the Italian location, There was no extra damage to the vehicle. Even though Hertz did not believe us, they reversed the charge in the spirit of good customer service. We have returned to Europe three times since then and we always rent with Hertz-they are usually the most economical. I did not let one location scar my thoughts about the company. (but we really check out any scratch or dent on the vehicle and have it noted and we get a completed inspection in writing when we return the vehicle)

Too bad you didn't have a camera to take pics of the car when you rented it.