Hertz Rental, Port Charlotte DO NOT USE THEM (North Port, Naples: rental car, renter)

[TamRE]

Worst experience of my life. First of all I picked up a rental vehicle at Hertz in Port Charlotte because my car was in the shop being repaired from a woman who rear ended me and ruined my entire bumper. I was at a stop sign in a parking lot in North Port and she just slammed into the back of me. Her insurance company paid for the rental and I had to file a PIP claim with my insurance company for medical bills resulting from my injuries. I have whiplash and still suffer from neck and back pain 3 weeks later.

When I got the rental at Hertz. No one went over the vehicle with me. The car was dirty on the outside and inside. Had bugs on the dashboard and windshield, bird poop on the bumper, cob webs on the wipers, dusty dashboard, and grass on the drivers side floor mat. Plus there were dents and scratches on the car that I took photos of. I accepted the vehicle because I had to leave to meet a customer and needed the car.

Then when it was time to return the vehicle I had to pick up my car from Palm collision shop. Hertz told me to leave it at the collision shop and they would pick it up. Well they picked it up 3 days later from when I dropped it off and the front end was damaged. Now I have to file a claim on my insurance because someone else, who knows who, damaged the front end of the rental. I called my insurance company and they said no sense getting a third party involved such as a lawyer or arbitrator because I don't have video of who damaged the rental, so I am responsible. I asked Palm about it and they said Hertz should have never told me to leave the rental there. But then why did Palm accept my rental car keys?

Be weary of renting from Hertz. They do not tell you everything or go through everything with you when you rent. This was my first experience with renting a car and I will never do it again. If they tell you it is OK to leave the car somewhere else and they will pick it up, DO NOT DO IT. Return the car yourself. I have to go tomorrow and fill out an accident claim so that they can bill it to my insurance. Otherwise they will just charge my credit card that I had to leave on file when I picked up the car. And they better have the vehicle there so I can actually see and take a photo of what damage was done to it.

[SeaRay35]

And I'm sure you didn't realize, not only are you paying for the damage you are also paying for that rental being down and not in service.

[ReadyToRelax]

Try writing to consumer advocate,Cristopher Elliot at his website,I have seen him help plenty of people,especially when dealing with car rental companies.

[QuilterChick]

Originally Posted by TamRE

Worst experience of my life. First of all I picked up a rental vehicle at Hertz in Port Charlotte because my car was in the shop being repaired from a woman who rear ended me and ruined my entire bumper. I was at a stop sign in a parking lot in North Port and she just slammed into the back of me. Her insurance company paid for the rental and I had to file a PIP claim with my insurance company for medical bills resulting from my injuries. I have whiplash and still suffer from neck and back pain 3 weeks later.

When I got the rental at Hertz. No one went over the vehicle with me. The car was dirty on the outside and inside. Had bugs on the dashboard and windshield, bird poop on the bumper, cob webs on the wipers, dusty dashboard, and grass on the drivers side floor mat. Plus there were dents and scratches on the car that I took photos of. I accepted the vehicle because I had to leave to meet a customer and needed the car.

Then when it was time to return the vehicle I had to pick up my car from Palm collision shop. Hertz told me to leave it at the collision shop and they would pick it up. Well they picked it up 3 days later from when I dropped it off and the front end was damaged. Now I have to file a claim on my insurance because someone else, who knows who, damaged the front end of the rental. I called my insurance company and they said no sense getting a third party involved such as a lawyer or arbitrator because I don't have video of who damaged the rental, so I am responsible. I asked Palm about it and they said Hertz should have never told me to leave the rental there. But then why did Palm accept my rental car keys?

Be weary of renting from Hertz. They do not tell you everything or go through everything with you when you rent. This was my first experience with renting a car and I will never do it again. If they tell you it is OK to leave the car somewhere else and they will pick it up, DO NOT DO IT. Return the car yourself. I have to go tomorrow and fill out an accident claim so that they can bill it to my insurance. Otherwise they will just charge my credit card that I had to leave on file when I picked up the car. And they better have the vehicle there so I can actually see and take a photo of what damage was done to it.

Wow, that is an awful experience Tammy. Did you report all of this to your insurance company; let them argue with Hertz, they are paying for that rental; you were definitely taken advantage of. I've always used Enterprise when down there, they go out of their way to be courteous and you have to sign the form after both you and their rep go over the condition of the car, inside and out. I'd also report all of this to my credit card company, especially if you have American Express, they are the best in resolving these type of issues.

[froglipz]

We have rented with Hertz many times NEVER had any problems. If a car isn't cleaned properly, point it out and tell them condition is not acceptable, clean it or give you a different car that is cleaned up.

[HarborRat]

Sounds like Palm is the real party to blame here....?

[SeaRay35]

Does Palm have cameras on the property?

[TamRE]

Update 4/23/16 - My boyfriend and I went to look at the Jeep and couldn't find any dent in the front end as the rental agent told me. So we went into the Hertz office and they said no, it was a scrape down the back passenger side of the car. That was there when I picked the car up and now they are trying to say I did it. I did not take a photo of that when I picked it up because it just looked like a dirt streak on the car. They are committing insurance fraud by charging me for something that already existed on that car when I picked it up. They are scamming me and is there anything I can do about it? The claims adjuster at my insurance company said it happens all the time and if I don't have proof, there isn't anything I can do. Needless to say, I did not fill out their incident report because I did not do that damage it was already there. My insurance agency said most likely the will charge my credit card the $500 collision deductible and that they will send a claim to my insurance company to pay the remainder. Again, this is insurance fraud and they know it. Or they are completely oblivious to what is going on with their own vehicles because the agent told me he washed it and obviously it was not washed. He said the bugs must have gotten on their overnight. Well you can't get splatted bugs on a vehicle grill, bumper and windshield when it is just sitting in place.

[the searchers]

Originally Posted by TamRE

Update 4/23/16 - My boyfriend and I went to look at the Jeep and couldn't find any dent in the front end as the rental agent told me. So we went into the Hertz office and they said no, it was a scrape down the back passenger side of the car. That was there when I picked the car up and now they are trying to say I did it. I did not take a photo of that when I picked it up because it just looked like a dirt streak on the car. They are committing insurance fraud by charging me for something that already existed on that car when I picked it up. They are scamming me and is there anything I can do about it? The claims adjuster at my insurance company said it happens all the time and if I don't have proof, there isn't anything I can do. Needless to say, I did not fill out their incident report because I did not do that damage it was already there. My insurance agency said most likely the will charge my credit card the $500 collision deductible and that they will send a claim to my insurance company to pay the remainder. Again, this is insurance fraud and they know it. Or they are completely oblivious to what is going on with their own vehicles because the agent told me he washed it and obviously it was not washed. He said the bugs must have gotten on their overnight. Well you can't get splatted bugs on a vehicle grill, bumper and windshield when it is just sitting in place.

TamRE which Hertz did you use? When I googled Hertz for PC it came up with three.

This entire misadventure is frustrating and not fair to you at all.

If you could be specific as to the location it might stop a lot of readers from ever using it.

[sware2cod]

Hertz moved their national headquarters to the Naples FL area within the last year or two. Maybe you can get a consumer advocate to deal with them, especially since they are FL based. Maybe the consumer advocate can get the to pull records on that car and possibly the renter before you had the same car and maybe the side scratch was noted at that time?(and maybe the rental before that also ).

Check the credit card you used for rental. Some credit cards have a free built-in service that covers car rental damage and they cover the deductible before your insurance takes over. Once I had a rental car that someone broke into (out of town) and the passenger window was broken. My Visa card covered the damage because I had used my visa for the rental. I usually check my credit cards in advance and know which onces offer rental coverage( for free), and use those when renting cars. Amex, I think, still offers this coverage just as a courtesy of having the credit card.