Charging a "gas fee" *for a car that doesn't even have a gas tank* is blatant and explicit fraud. If I didn't know better, I would think that Hertz is TRYING to get sued!!!

There was an update on this, from Jalopnik: Hertz’s Customer Care team reached out to Mr. Lee to apologize and refunded this erroneous charge. All it took was some public flogging for justice to be served, apparently.

Their motto should be: "Doing business with us Hertz !"

"He returned it with the same number of gallons of electricity as he picked it up with" 🤣🤣🤣 I'm dead... LOL

Hertz use to have O J Simpson in their commercials. They should have rehired O J, after he was convicted for theft. That way he properly represented the company.

Gallons of electricity, my new phrase of the day.

“Saying Hertz is in the news is like saying there’s weather in Michigan.” Steve is really worth it, just for the quotes.

Rented a car from Hertz in FL, I asked about tolls and the agent said don’t worry about it we will just bill you. What they didn’t say was there is a $15 surcharge for each toll, so a for 75 cent toll I was charged $15.75. Hertz even convinced my CC company that it was a legitimate fee. I eventually filed a complaint with the FL attorney general and a year later got my money back.

Can you imagine being Hertz PR and seeing this and going WTF. We lost a customer, got bad PR all for $270 for fueling up and electric car.

Tell me you never want me to rent from you ever, without telling me

The truth Hertz... 😂 this is enough material for a stand up comedy show. I laughed so hard, my tummy Hertz.

Your story about the leasing company claiming falsified damage to their car reminds me of a story I read where a guy got scammed by a rental car company for alleged damage to the car he rented. The guy then rented from them again, and bought the "no liability for any damages of any kind no matter what reason" insurance package from the rental company. He then did his trip, and just before returning it, he took a hammer and smashed all of the panels on the car and cracked a window. The rental company then realized what insurance he had bought, and invited him to find other rental accommodations in the future.

News agency where I used to live once did one of those investigative journalism pieces on rental companies. They would rent a car, go through the walk around and sign for it, and then leave the car on the rental lot and take the keys with them, never even entering the vehicle, only to "return" the rental vehicle the next day. They did it with like 5 rental company locations, and 3 of those locations charged the news team a "cleaning" fee, accusing them of smoking in the vehicle, as well as the refueling fee, even though the car never moved from it's parking spot, and no one even entered the car other than the associate that checked them out to get the milage and fuel state. Of course, those three rental locations waived the entire rental costs once the news story aired, but they argued the costs were owed all the way until the day the news crews showed up with the cameras and mics shoved in their faces with evidence that the car was never moved from its original spot.

Hertz will NEVER put me in the driver's seat.

Hertz is not wrong. There was absolutely no gas in that Tesla when he returned it. 😂

Hertz in australia was charging for not returning the EV's at > 90% charge, when they had set the max battery level to be 90% so basically no car could be returned at that status

I'm surprised that there isn't a lawyer that could sue this company out of business with all their shanigans

There’s been an update to story. I read this yesterday also, in Jalopnik, and at the end of the story they said that once the news got involved that Hertz reversed the charge. At the end of the day this is just another reason to NEVER rent from Hertz and the last time I had to rent a car I purposely avoided them even if they were cheaper.

I have learned a lot from Steve. Number 1 lesson being never rent from Hertz.

I worked for Avis in the late 70's and early 80's. Never heard of this craziness.

Hertz put me on a DO NOT RENT LIST for refusing to pay $465 i replied " THANK YOU"

Report it to the credit card company as a fraud charge, provide evidence, and let the credit company fight hertz.

Hold on. Before I watch this video, I just wanna share a brief story about when I rented a car from Hertz: It was a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV with 4000 miles. I was an Über driver for 1 hour. I rented the car, drove down to Santa Monica, made 3 trips, and earned $17. On my 2nd hour, 4th trip, all Hell broke loose. Guy was 1 minute away. I missed a turn and the Über app couldn't reroute me to him. I got lost for 10 minutes! I finally called him, and turned onto the correct street, when a speeding minivan collided with my left side while the guy was on the phone! Hertz's EV turned right into the curb. The minivan flipped upside-down and slid 100 ft into another car. Both cars were TOTALLED. The third car suffered minor dents and drove away. Everyone is fine! Everything is fine! Hertz won't rent to me anymore though. 😢 Oh well. It was fun! Resuming video!

Avis and Budget have the same parent company and my husband’s company has a corporate deal with Avis (specifically). He can rent for family and for personal use with a similar rate, and it’s super helpful for us. A few years ago we were on Hawaii Island (aka Big Island) and when we went to return the rental to Avis, that side was closed, with a sign indicating to return it to the Budget side. We did, and the attendant walked around the car, checked the mileage, and handed us the receipt. We of course double-checked with him that we were supposed to returnit to Budget since Avis was closed, and he said yup, you’re all set. 2 days or so after we got home we got a notice (can’t remember if it was a phone call or email) that we hadn’t returned the car. My husband called Avis, spoke with a human, and explained what happened. He provided the receipt from the attendant, and after a little bit of insistance, they let it go. They must have eventually checked the Budget side of the lot and found it because we haven’t had any issues since then. We still use Avis.

Hertz: “We HAD to pay an employee to hold the charging handle for SEVEN HOURS.”

"I'll take 10 gallons of 60Hz please."

You will be glad to know that my KZfaq app advertising here in the UK proudly announced that your video was sponsored by Hertz.

Yea, last time I had a problem with a company it was DHL. A package I had shipped was attempting to enter the country without certain documentation. The agent left a voicemail on my phone (this was 2005), I called them back on more than one occasion and got their voicemail every time. When they finally deigned to call me back, it was the day after the customer deadline and they wanted me to pay them more money to ship it again. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was hung up on. I called back in to their customer line and eventually was talking to a very senior person who took care of it for me at least, but that kind of behavior by the lower level agent just soured me on the whole company.

At this point, the upper management needs to face criminal fraud charges. What they have done and continue to do is well beyond, "just a mistake". Corporate fraud like this is dictated from the top! Get rid of their corporate shield against personal liability. As these corporate criminals continue their fraud against their customers, they are living up to their name: HURT Z!

"The truth Hertz, doesn't it? Oh, sure, maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with the seat missing, but it Hertz!" -Lieutenant Frank Drebin, Police Squad

"He WAS a loyal customer..." We just LOVE those idjit hertz people. Just wait until they send a bill for a rental you never got from them since you always watch Lehto's Law. PS I also love Enterprise car rentals.

Great humour.

He just needs to sue for breach of contract. Sue, for recommendation of the charges, the attorney's fees and mental anguish. He will win

I rented a car from Hertz, no problems. Maybe I should have played the lottery that day.

I can't imagine a credit card company that wouldn't reverse that charge when contested. And the Federal Trade Commission needs to be contacted as well as the state's Governor's Dept. of Consumers Affairs.

Enterprise is definitely the way to go. Have rented from them at least 5 times in the past 4 years, always had great service. Never a problem.

At this stage Hertz is just trolling Steve

Here's my take away. If you rent a Hertz electric vehicle, return in t with the trunk full of gas and bring the receipt.

Don’t know about other states but in California there is a fee for reporting to the police that a stolen car has been recovered and for a repossession that has been paid . It’s around 40 bucks to file the paperwork so you can legally drive the vehicle again .

No matter what they (insert company name) say, it can be resolved if you reach the correct person. ANYTHING can be done if approved by the right person. The trouble is getting to that person.

I would enjoy seeing Katie Porter grill the Hertz CEO on their business practices. 🙂

This story shows exactly why no one should EVER pay for the "skip the pump" option, which is going to hurt Hertz even more long term.

Budget rent a car definitely charges for a refill regardless of how you turn it in. At Denver Airport there is literally a gas station right down the street from the rental car drop off. I filled up and drove a mile, and was still charged for topping off the tank. Interestingly, the paperwork showed they filled the tank to more gallons than the tank is rated to hold.

That bill really Hertz.

Mandatory IQ test for the Hertz CEO.

This story should go on playlist "NEVER EVER EVER..." buy an RV, rent from Hertz, etc.

I have heard of Hertz doing this in the past, and the story has always been that the customer didn't understand that they can't leave the Tesla on the hotel charger all day/night without risking the idle penalty fees that come from Tesla when you block a spot when the station is at 50% capacity. $277 is low, I have read and heard Hertz/Tesla charging well over $1,000 when this happens. The "fueling" bill always comes after the fact as well. The last story I heard, Hertz also waived the fee because the customer didn't choose the EV, it was all that they had, and the agent didn't inform the EV newb customer about charging or the possible penalty fees for blocking a charging spot.

CEO: Bend over. This is going to Hertz

Hertz is having its Boeing moment

I don't know how far from peak stupid we are but we must be close.

The last car I rented was from Enterprise as well. They went over the car with me when I picked it up and when I dropped it off. No issues at all. Mind you I rarely rent a car, but I have been using Enterprise without any issues ever.

I used Enterprise for a few years from around 2014 to 2016 and didnt exactly have any problems, but for as much as i rented, didnt get many points toward free rentals in the future. It used to be very lucrative previously, but just seemed to go away. When i was traveling a LOT for military duty, friends told me that Hertz was very good and also had great upgrades and free rentals from high points rates. I started using them from 2016 to 2019, LOT!!! I had zero problems with them and actually had fantastic service at many Hertz sites around the country. I wasnt presidents circle, but was Gold level i think. I actually never heard about any problems with Hertz until sometime after 2020 and then pretty much only through this YT channel. It makes me wonder if they had some change of corporate leadership or something to result in such a drastic change. Just listening to what the online response is, it sounds like an AI type of response. Id ask to specifically talk to a real person and a Supervisor to resolve this matter.

Putting gas in a Tesla would really make it a fire hazard

I saw an update yesterday that Hertz finally admitted that they were not as correct as they claimed to be and the guy was getting his money back.

His first mistake was being a "loyal Hertz customer" after all their antics.

my insurance company uses Enterprise, I've used the service twice, both times went smoothly just as you stated.

So many companies have replaced their customer service with automated service making it impossible to logically resolve problems. Hertz has simply taken this to a new level.

What automobile has a tank big enough to require $277 worth of gas even at California prices.

Update May 9, 12:45 p.m. ET: After this story was published, Hertz informed The Drive that its Customer Care team would be "reaching out to Mr. Lee to apologize and will refund this erroneous charge."

I rented a Tesla M3 for 30 days last summer from Hertz in LAX. Replaced it after 20 days because of a cracked windshield in LAS for a MY, free of charge. I had an absolute blast renting from Hertz, everything was without an issue. EXCEPT when I returned the Tesla with 76%, I got hit with a $30 recharge fee (even though it was >70%). They eventually removed it, but still, scummy.

They used gas for the generator to charge it 😂😂😂.

Damn you, Steve! As a Canadian I had to pause the video to do the conversion from gallons of electricity (assuming US gallons vs Imperial gallons) to litres of electricity. It's my Saturday morning, I slept in and don't need math problems like this.

Now that’s what I call high-quality H2O!

Given the difficulty finding competent employees, you can imagine the caliber of staff this customer is dealing with. Friends don't let friends Hertz.

I didn’t know a gallon of electricty costs so much.

I don't get how Hertz hasn't been legally shut down by the authorities yet. When regular people file a false police report they go to jail. But when Hertz does it, no problemo?

Another KZfaqr, MGUY Australia, took up that story too. He said Hertz backed down after it got in the press.

They also charge for blinker fluid.

I have always rented from Enterprise. I have rented from them dozens of times and have never had any issues. They are really excellent but a little more expensive but worth it.

I would never rent from Hertz ever since they let a guy sit in prison for murder, due to mistaken identity, because they didn't want to turn over a record of him renting which was a solid alibi. (they ignored several court orders).

"Gallons of electricity" is the funniest thing ive heard in a while! LOVE IT!! Keep it the great work Steve!

I rented a brand new Ford pickup from Enterprise for 7 days, unlimited mileage. I put almost 3,000 miles on it. (Hated the truck BTW) Before I returned it, I took it to the local car wash, and had it detailed, inside and out. Cost me about $90. I refilled the gas, literally, across the street from the rental office/lot. The clerk was nice, but a little "miffed" because there was NO DIRT inside or out, and the tank was so full, you could see "wetness" when you opened the tank. The truck was cleaner than when I got it. I loaded up that truck with my Mom's things she left behind when she moved to Fl. It was my Husband, me, and our Jack Russell AND my black cat.. We are BOTH smokers. Screw rental car companies, ALL OF THEM! For the price of a detail, we had a nice trip, we didn't have to worry about our pets or having to pull over to smoke. F*ck-em if they can't take a joke! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The sign of a good company is how well it takes care of their customers when a problem occurs. Before I retired, I had complementary Hertz Gold because of the company I worked for yet I still normally used other companies. Like Steve, I had pretty good experience with Enterprise but there were a couple of others that did pretty well also. With Hertz, I just found that it rarely went as seemlessly as it was supposed to.

Never forget this word association ; Hertz = Hurts !

Several years ago I rented a car for one day at the Nashville airport. I chose Thrifty specifically because their airport counter opened an hour earlier than all the other ones, and I needed that extra hour to get through all the usual airport hokey-pokey in time for my flight. The lady at the counter asked me for a phone number other than my cell so they would have a way to reach me if I accidentally left the cell in the car. And she told me where the nearest gas station was so I could fuel up before returning the car. I didn't drive a great distance while I had the car. Maybe 30 miles, and most of that was between the airport and the hotel. When I went to turn it in, the same lady remarked that I hadn't gone very far. I told her I had been unable to fuel up because the gas station was closed and I didn't have time to try to find another one. She said, "Don't worry about it." And I was not billed for refueling.

At this point the FTC needs to do a thorough investigation on Hertz and its fraudulent and predatory practices. If anything, there need to be consumer protection laws in place for situations like this.

"The man is a loyal Hertz customer." ....dude knew what he was getting into. I can't say I feel for him.

Laughing so hard it hertz!!

They say to never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, but it’s been so much with Hertz and they keep not doing anything to improve, so I think it’s safe to say at this point that this is malice.

This reminds me of a time I visited my local Blockbuster back about 1999-2000ish and DVDs were just hitting the shelves. Some overeager employee had slapped those “Be Kind, Rewind” stickers on all the new DVDs. I mentioned it to the employee and he would not back down that DVDs had to be rewound before returning [lest you get charged a rewinding fee]. Fortunately, they never actually went so far as to try to charge me to rewind a DVD so at least they weren’t quite as dumb as Hertz.

Founder's son is Richard Hurtz also know as Dick Hurtz....for good reason! 🤣

The police should charge Hertz for the cost of responding to false car stops

$277 ??? THAT'S AN FN DEAL 🤗 To fill the interior of one of those things with gas !!! ... gas is cheap wherever he is 😂

Alamo in Orlando, FL is pretty good about having an actual person check they car back in and charging local fuel prices plus or minus a few cents to fill the car back up for you if it’s needed.

When will they learn? Don't grab the third rail Don't kick a feeding bear Dont use hertz

"gallons of electricity" gotta make you smile a little

Hertz used to have a tag line in their ads in the UK; “If it hurts you to rent it, rent it from Hertz.” Clearly they’ve rewritten that to, “If it hurts you to rent it, you rented from Hertz.” As you say, the gift that keeps giving. When I finally travel to the US, Hertz are Not getting my custom.

I think the whole problem was triggered by the fact that the consumer checked off a box about not refueling the car, and that set off an algorithm for lack of a better term that looked for gas, did not find the gas and charged for the gas and ignored the fact that it was an electric vehicle. 🤯⚡🚘

That gave me a firm chuckle. When steve says "and rhat became a thing," you know theres some salt there.

🎵🎵Hertz so good, come on baby make it Hertz so good. 🎵🎵

The problem is addressed at 5:10 where you mention that Hertz said the service was provided. That would be as: "the bull serviced the cow".

Edit: Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty have the same claims processing per the bill they sent me. --- I'm in the early stage of fighting a damage charge with Hertz for a windshield chip that was present when I rented the car - as documented in my pre-rental video walkaround AND on their pre-rental inspection report that I made sure they filled out before I left their garage.

6:53 "President of what?" --Snake Plisken

Back in the day when the mafia was more able and publicly available, none of this would ever happen

New slogan; Is it painful to rent a car? Yep, it Hertz....... LOL 😆

Always good to get a hard copy of the lease agreement. I got a rental car in South Carolina when I flew from Illinois to Columbia for my daughter’s graduation from Fort Jackson boot camp. I got a flat during the week I was there. I paid for the repair and gave the receipt to the leasing agent. They were very good at reimbursing me for the flat tire.

On Maui, I took a video walk around of the car upon pick up. Lot attendant said that was smart. Turned the car in and a different attendant pointed out damage to the rear quarter panel. "That was there when I picked the car up, here's the video." No note. Good thing I had the video.

OMG. Thank you for the laugh. It was much needed,

I would absolutely be calling my credit card company and demanding a cancellation/refund of the entire charge from their end based on the proof provided...

A later story yesterday said Hertz will cancel the charge and was contacting the customer. He also asked about the refueling charge at rental time and was told it would also be applicable for charge.