Cheap headline rates disguise aggresive damage charging

“Cheap headline rates disguise aggresive damage charging”

Written on: 10/06/2012

We don't own a car, and use occassional rentals when needed, and have done for many years. Recent experience from Hertz in Sheffield is the worst I have had. Trip 1: A car ran into the back of us when we were stationary on a camp site - other driver immediately accepted responsibility, as did his insurance company. Took me about six months of determined chasing to get paperwork from Hertz to prove the cost of the repair (which they had charged me) so that I could successfully be reimbursed by the other insurer. Trip 2: During the hire, I spotted a very small, shallow scratch in paintwork during my hire, which wasn't on the damage sheet (a new car). I didn't cause it myself, but accepted liability, and (more fool me) pointed it out to them on my return. They charged me £317 for the damage, even though it was purely cosmetic. The scratch was so slight that I couldn't even get a picture of it on my phone. On both occassions, people at the branch were polite but said they had no discretion. Central customer service was slow, difficult to contact, and generally unhelpful. Avoid.