AUTONEWS

Hertz gets caught charging multiple Tesla renters for not returning the EVs with a full tank of gas

Earlier this month, Hertz charged a customer almost $300 for not returning his rental car with a full tank. It's a standard practice with vehicle rentals and moving truck companies. However, in this case, the car was a Tesla.

Even though it is obvious that Teslas do not use gasoline, the customer had difficulty convincing Hertz customer service reps to reverse the charge. the company finally apologized for the incident and refunded the customer, blaming a systems error." However, this happened only after auto enthusiast magazine The Drive reported on the fiasco. The spokesperson said the company fixed the glitch.

Most would have written it off as a one-time anomaly, except that since publishing the story, The Drive received several other complaints of similar billing problems.

One customer received a $341 "Skip-the-Pump" fee for the Model 3 he rented. While he admits he returned the car with a low battery, Hertz should have charged him $25-$35 for a recharge. He tried getting the fee reversed, but like the other renter, customer service wouldn't work with him until he started posting his troubles publicly.

In another incident, a customer receieved a ridiculous $690.32 bill on top of his $329.83 Tesla Model 3 one-week rental. The nearly $700 in extra billing broke down to several outrageous fees – $475.19 for gas the car doesn't use, a legit $25 EV charging fee, and a crazy expensive $125.01 "rebill" for using the Supercharger network during the rental. For a frame of reference, using a Supercharger to charge a Tesla to 75 percent generally costs about $15.

It was like pulling teeth, but the renter finally got Hertz to refund the incredibly stupid $475 fuel charge, but the 10x Supercharger fee stood. These stories cause one to wonder how many other customers got the shaft and how many gave up trying to get their money back when dealing with Hertz's stubborn CS reps.

It also raises the question of was it even "the system's fault?" Considering Hertz's recent troubles with EVs, could it be trying to scrape back its losses at the customer's expense? It is one of the companies that went all in on EV rentals and discovered that people don't want to rent electric cars. Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr lost his job over the bad gamble, and the company is liquidating its EV fleet as resell values take a nose dive.

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