notquiteaff

New experience for me: Informed Delivery showed a letter from Hertz in the mail. I was wondering if that was a notification about some red light or speed camera charge or damage they allegedly found after the return of a rental. Or a letter demanding that I return a vehicle that I allegedly hadn’t returned.

But it was an invoice for a recent rental at LAX. At first I thought that was because the return agent had refused to print a paper receipt, but it was an actual invoice with an amount due. I checked my two credit cards on file with Hertz, and indeed none had been charged, so I really owed that amount, and of course I paid it (they have a separate website just for that purpose).

My CSR number had changed earlier this year, and I had updated my account before the rental with that information. But I wasn’t sure if that would apply to already booked reservations, so when I picked up the vehicle, I handed the agent at the exit gate my license and the new CSR and asked her to make sure it would get used for the rental (primary coverage being the main reason, 3X vs 1X on the secondary Amex Plat the other). She typed away for a long time, eventually handed me the paperwork and off I went. Later when I checked the contract emailed to me, it showed the correct number.

Long story short, when I yesterday checked my online account, it showed my old CSR number again. I checked the contract again, and yes, it has the new number (well, last four digits). But apparently that card wasn’t charged.

I am not sure how this could happen. If the agent at the exit gate mistyped the number or it was for some reason declined, why did she let me drive away with the car without authorizing a charge successfully? Why did the agent accepting the car back not notice it? Why did the website forget my new number? And what would Chase have told me if I had had the need to use their rental car coverage and the card had not been authorized/charged at pickup time?

cfischer

Hertz is just terrible. They can't get simple things correct, no wonder they have all the legal issues we read about. I added my new corporate card to my Hertz account in March. Rented a car in May using our corporate booking platform/ Reservation showed the corporate card. I showed the corporate card when leaving the lot ... they charged my personal Amex card!!! Hard to believe such level of incompetence.

So yeah, your story sounds 100% believable.

cubeman

Honestly surprised you even got an invoice and not arrested for stealing a vehicle you returned lol.

notquiteaff

Three days ago, I got a text alert from Chase about a Hertz charge of $276 on my CSR. I don’t have an active Hertz rental. The rental covered in this thread (from early June) was my most recent one. I checked my credit card account and $275.35 was charged to my CSR in early July after I paid manually on their website. So far the $276 transaction is “pending”, but I can’t imagine (given how close the amount is) that there isn’t some sort of connection.

seawolf

Same thing there. Got a mysterious authorization on Aug 18. It’s been reversed. I suppose this is nothing when compared with other people getting arrested due to Hertz incompetence.

notquiteaff

What do the regulators and credit card issuers think of un-authorized mass authorizations?

cubeman

No one will care unless mass money is being lost.