A busy weekend led to a billing mishap for one North Texas family after they rented a vehicle while out of town.
Melisa Somers of Richardson, Texas, and her family traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for a wedding back in May. They rented a vehicle from Hertz for the weekend.
"It was Memorial Day weekend, and we always rent from Hertz," said Somers. "We've been a long-time customer."
Somers returned the vehicle two days later to a busy Hertz location, where a worker gave her instructions.
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"Basically, the lady came up to us and said, 'Just collect your belongings, leave the keys in the vehicle, and we'll check you in, email you your receipt,' and that's what we did."
When Somers received the bill, the amount was higher than expected. Instead of being charged for two days, she was charged for a week-long rental. Hertz also charged for traveling 2,000 miles and for a full tank of gas.
"And I looked at it and was like, 'Wait a minute, this isn't right. Oh my, it's way more than, you know, I was supposed to pay!"
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She then produced a trail of documents from the holiday weekend, giving Hertz proof of their flight home and even filing a police report in case whoever had the vehicle committed any crimes, but to no avail.
According to Somers, Hertz did follow up. "And then what they would always tell us is they had to wait to get in touch with the Atlanta Hertz location...and you know, the same thing, we value your business, we will get back with you."
After receiving an email from Hertz saying the bill would be sent to collections, Somers contacted us for help. Somers said, "Seeing it for years where you all help people that have been wronged by companies or corporations or whatever and thought, well, what can it hurt?"
NBC 5 Responds reached out to Hertz, and soon after, the bill was corrected, and over $900 in charges were removed. Hertz also gave a statement, saying, "Customer service is our top priority at Hertz, and we have resolved this matter with the customer."
Here's our advice: Whenever you return a rental vehicle, even if the wait is long, get a receipt and review all the charges.
NBC 5 Responds is committed to researching your concerns and recovering your money. Our goal is to get you answers and, if possible, solutions and a resolution. Call us at 844-5RESPND (844-573-7763) or fill out our customer complaint form.
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