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Hertz Hits Customer With $10,000 ‘Unlimited Miles’ Fee—Then Threatens Arrest When They Refuse To Pay
A Hertz customer rented a car for a month and drove it 25,000 miles or about 800 miles per day which is genuinely impressive and might be some sort of world record.
He had an unlimited miles rate – most rentals in the U.S. from major brands say they include unlimited miles, but not all rates do. 100 miles per day with specific charges for overage used to be more common. Unlimited miles seems lucky in this case!
Except that when he returned the car, Hertz was not happy – and said they were going to charge $10,000 miles for the excess driving. Here’s the interaction, as shown in video:
Customer: You’re going to charge this to $10,000 to my credit?”
Hertz: “Yes.”
Customer: “When this literally, that’s not even allowed. I never signed…”
Hertz: “You show me where it says I can’t charge it.”
Customer: “Right here, it literally says I won’t get charged anything, it says miles allowed, free miles, it literally says to refer to this if there’s anything extra. I’ve never signed anything saying I can only go 100 miles a day, or anything like that, or that I would have to pay more.”
Hertz: “But you also never signed anything saying you were going to be allowed to drive 25,000 miles in a month.”
Customer: “No, unlimited is 100,000 miles.”
Hertz: “No it is not.”
“Unlimited” is a weird word for limited, I think. The customer might as well tell this manager, “I demand you pay me $10,000 because you never signed a paper saying I can’t charge you $10,000.” The whole exchange is absurd. But it gets worse.
Hertz: “Dude, we’re done. Please leave. You can either leave or I will have you arrested.” (Dials phone.)
Customer: Wow. Now you’re going to call the cops on me, ok.
@lifeisfun3000 Unlimited means a reasonable amount? @Hertz #scam #rentalcar #hertz #fyp #viralvideo ♬ original sound – Life
In rental contracts, “unlimited mileage” generally allows renters to drive without mileage limits or charges. However, rental companies sometimes apply “reasonable use” policies or terms implying “excessive usage” could lead to additional fees. These aren’t always transparent and may only surface in cases with extreme mileage during a rental like 25,000 miles in a month. They may justify the fee by referencing maintenance or vehicle lifecycle concerns.
It seems to me that when specifying unlimited mileage is included in the rate, if unlimited does not mean unlimited then this,
- cannot be in a separate policy outside of the contract
- needs to be clearly disclosed up front to the customer
- needs to be in as prominent a placement as ‘unlimited’
As a result, I would love to see this litigated. Part of me wants to see Hertz out of business for their poor business processes, policies, and customer service.
One elite member chalked up 4 arrests spending 30 days in jail, where she suffered a miscarriage. And a father and daughter were held at gunpoint and arrested for renting from Hertz.
At the same time, I want Hertz to stick around because like competition in the segment of the market that purports to compete with Avis and National. Hertz regularly seems to have lower pricing. They have to, because smart consumers won’t rent from them. This helps to keep down pricing at the better alternatives.
Even better companies have shady practices, too. The rental car industry really does seem ripe for disruption. The problem seems to be that car rentals are almost an afterthought in trip planning, so they mostly get a pass for being awful.
And considering the Hertz toll scam, arrests, and Hertz refusing to admit its mistake lest the police stop believing them when they file false police reports, it’s probably best just to treat the $10,000 charge as prepaid bail?
(HT: One Mile at a Time)
