Hello Everyone,

I just received my Credit Card booking and just found out that Hertz has decided to book additional 1'694.00 CHF without any notice or contact...

When contacted they claimed that the car was damaged and that I have signed a contract allowing them to proceed in this way...

I was the only driver of this car and I'm completely sure that when I left the car on the airport parking, the car was on the same condition from when I have picked up...

I'm really pissed off!

Does anyone here have faced this situation?

Do you think is possible to try to obtain airport camera footages from the time when I picked up the car and from when I delivered it?
Do you know any organization in Switzerland that can support me with this topic like Consumer Protection or something?
Can we contact the credit card company and complain about this incorrect debit?

Thank you for your support.
Kind Regards,
Vivo

a very warm welcome to you also...



didnt you have the car inspected when you returned it and have the contract sheet signed by hertz that no damage was on car at time of return ?

Ouch. That Hertz.


What? What? too soon..?

Does your credit card provide damage waiver insurance for hiring a rental car? If it does then you may be able to pursue claiming on the insurance otherwise unless you are able to compare the report you had for collection with the return then you are unlikely ro be able to avoid this.

Even if you try the CCTV footage this wont help since it would not be detailed enough to find any scratches etc that is likely to be the cause of the charge which even if someone else scratched you or caused this then youmare liable.

If you have damage waiver coverage then this should address the situation.

Moral of story. Always check the car yourself on the way out get any damage noted, and on the way back in get a final invoice that reflects the condition check. Daniel

ask them for a copy of the rental contract and start from there. my parents had the same issue with Avis when they visited last summer (they accused my parents of putting in the wrong gas and causing the engine to malfunction), it took about a week of hassle over the phone and in person but eventually we cleared it up.

In addition to what others have stated, I recommend blocking/disputing the charge with your credit card company right away. It is then up to Hertz to prove to your CC that you were responsible for the damage. We've had to do this more than once in the past. Sometimes they mess up and charge the wrong person for damage to a car, and sometimes it seems like they're just trying how far they can push the limit. You might be able to request camera footage, but I am not sure how much it would help. Good luck!

Unfortunately this is a common trick from even well established rental companies... they basically rely on the fact that you will not thoroughly inspect the car before you take it, and then claim that you dented or damaged the car on the way back. Obviously that's not "company policy", it's down to the individuals, but it certainly seems to be common here, and both times I have rented a van they have tried to pull a fast one.

Make sure you challenge this, go to the rental company and play merry hell, ask to see the latest recorded service check that they did on the van on the van, and ask them to point out exactly what damage is supposed to be new. Do not give up, and make them feel as uncomfortable as you damn well like. Ask to speak to management, and write a letter to the company HQ. Basically make as much fuss as you can possibly make until whoever is being an arse decides that the potential pressure from above means that it's just not worth the hassle of trying to pull a fast one. They rely on people being meek and just bowing down and taking it. Don't bow down and take it.

I am renting one tomorrow and I will be taking a point and shoot camera with me and photographing every inch of the thing before we drive it out of the yard.

Although this advice isn't so helpful after-the-fact, next time you should consider documenting the condition of the car on pick-up as well as drop off. Rules of the game:

1. Do a full inspection of the car at pick-up, and find a place with good-enough lighting that you can see everything well. Be sure to also check the spare tyre is present.

2. Take pictures from all sides of the car upon pick-up. Especially take pictures of any damage that already exists.

3. Get the attendant to mark down any damage. Don't just take his word for it -- walk around the car and point out every scratch, no matter how small.

4. Upon return, never simply drop off the car. Take pictures again of the condition of the car upon return. An make sure you drop off with a real person -- leave enough time so that you can do the walk-around together.

5. Insist on a final receipt, which acknowledges the condition of the car when you returned it.

Different branches of the rental agency have different standards. When I pick up a car in the US, they typically pay no notice to minor scratches and dings; they're looking for serious damage. When I picked up a car in Nice, however, they went over the car with a fine-toothed comb and wanted to accuse me of putting every hairline scratch and swirl into the paintwork of a car with 50k km on the clock. Same company, different franchises, different standards.

If, after all of this, you are still accused of damaging the car, you will have much more solid evidence to dispute the charges. My experience is that some of the regional franchises like to try their luck, accusing renters of damage -- but head office usually capitulates when challenged in cases where you are genuinely not responsible for the damage.

At this stage, it is worth calling your credit card company and disputing the charges, and taking the matter up with the Hertz head office. You should also ask for a photograph of the damage, to see what you're being accused of.

Depending on where you picked up the car, the rental company may have entry & exit footage. At many locations, the rental car companies have a video camera set up to record the condition of the cars as you enter/exit the lot, just for disputes like this. It's worth asking the question.

Also, I wouldn't waste too much time with the local franchise. If they are not willing to reverse the charges, go back to Hertz corporate headquarters. They are much more likely to be sympathetic and resolve the case in your favour.

what i dont get why it is 1700 chuffs? deductible with hertz/any other retal company was never more than 700 chf for me? i think this proves why i always take the extra insurance. yes, challenge this! get the whole issue send over: pictures of the damage and all that!

http://konsumentenschutz.ch/
this is a page for consumer protection, also has a forum. all in german.
if you need help or translation etc: pm me!

get a lawyer in asap.

I would just challenge them as previously said.

I would also strongly recommend getting a "Hire car excess insurance" policy. You can never predict really what could happen and these rental companies are trying all sorts of tricks to force people to pay more and blackmail them into paying high daily premiums for extra insurance that can be obtained for a lot less elsewhere and often it doesn't even cover tyres, windscreen damage and under carriage damage.

I have been a customer of Quester for a number of years now, and the policy costs around £50 a year!!! Which even if you only rented a car for 10 days a year it would work out at around £5 a day! And you can even get the insurance per day if you want to for as little as £2.50 a day!

More info here: http://www.questor-insurance.co.uk/v...insurance.aspx

cheers for the drive by groan richdog, only a few more to my magic 100.. (hint)

It wasn't a drive by, I just think it's sad when people pull the old "I will point out the fact that you didn't bow and scrape before the forum before making your first post". Who cares if they don't make a welcome thread, it's a help section and they are looking for help.

Oh, and making a dedicated post to publically point out that you got a groan is a bit sad.

its sad that people think groans are a big thing, i dont care about them and welcome them... i love them and the red blobs. only a few more for my magic 100 hence the smile and post, someone said they will give me a cookie for the 100th one.

bow and scrape, hardly.

but anyway if the person didnt get a signature to say the car was fine at time of return then they shouldnt be too surprised about the charge.

Last time I rented a car was in NY for half a day and the rental company convinced me that since I was heading to JFK after would I like to drive the car and drop it off there at no additional charge.

I accepted and dropped the car off got, got the car inspected, got on the plane, and was duly charged for the next 3 days at full rental costs.

The JFK depot didn't acknowledge receipt of the car until a few days later after the holiday weekend.

I hadn't kept the signed sheet as thought we were done. From now on they sign the sheet and I will keep it. It`s just too risky otherwise.

Best pick up I had was Europcar at Gatwick:

Agent: Sorry sir we don't have any of the class of car you booked available. We will upgrade you.

Me: OK

Agent: We have a mondeo - with a manual gearbox - is that OK

Me: Yes

<Signs papers, goes outside for inspection>

Inspector: The car isnt in great condition <puts a huge cross through the whole car (on the sheet) - and writes damaged>.

There you go sir, enjoy your weekend.

Me: Thanks!!

Thisd was Rob's comment wher i gave him a red blod or a groan

"i can be childish also, enjoy"

And a drive by groan postr N°4 of this thread : Loss of earnings insurance??

Eeek. And that was the upgrade?

I had a mondeo upgrade from Hertz in November. The guy in the office asked me to verify the damage report was true. It was late and dark in the car park and chucking it down.

I asked if I could report any damage the following morning and I thought he'd be resentful.

He fetched the car and did a pretty thorough job of recording everything. Took him 15 minutes, but he was as good as gold about it.

Car was 2 years old and not in good nick.

Cross thread alert....

Definitely my 1st world problem.

Absolutely - the only way to proceed. Just leaving the car and handing the keys is a licence for them to print money.

However it is not always so easy. A few years ago I arrived at Geneva in the evening, and the rental garage was very dark. I checked very carefully all around the car- and all was fine. I am 5ft3 (1m62) so I couldn't check the roof. Drove in the dark to my friend's house 100km away- parked and went to bed. In the morning, opened the window (first floor) and saw that the roof was peppered with what looked definitely like hale damage - and it had definitely NOT haled overnight. Rang the rental co, who basically said 'tough'- you will be charged. Asked police to check and confirm no hale overnight - it took me months and an official complaint via 'WHICH' consumer association (UK) to get my money back.

Never ever just hand in the keys without them to sign the NON damage report.

Re upgrade. We did have a fabulous up-grade once in the US for our journey across Arizona, Utah and Colorado over 3 weeks. Never again as it cost us a fortune on petrol!

BTW, wheels and tyres are normally not included in the extra insurance is you read the small print!!! If you ever have a flat tyre- get it repaired and don't mention it. I once had the wheel changed due to a puncture and returned the car with the flat tyre in the boot - they charged me for a new tyre!