I recently had the worst customer service experience of my life (even worse than the time I tried to cancel my Time Warner Cable service back in 2011), all thanks to the Hertz in Pasco, Washington. The detailed timeline of events is below, but for anyone just looking for a summary here it is: I was recently overcharged $84.75, lied to, and hung up on by associates from the Pasco, Washington Hertz. I eventually received a refund, but not before multiple phone calls and significant frustration. Below is a timeline of events:
5/22/15 at 11:09am - I picked up the rental car in Pasco, WA.
5/24/15 at 4:35pm - I returned the vehicle to the 8th Ave. Seattle location, within the 48-72 hour window specified under the 3 day car rental terms.
6/3/15 - I checked my credit card statement and learned that Hertz had charged me $272.28, which is $84.75 more than the contract price of $187.53.
6/4/15 - I talked to Employee C (will refrain from mentioning entire name) from the Pasco location to inquire about my overcharge. She said since her records stated that since I returned the car under 48 hours (this was incorrect, I returned the car within the agreed upon 48-72 hours), that I had to pay a two day rental rate of $89.99/day, a total bill that was much higher than the contract rate of 3 days at $36.99/day. Never minding the fact that it seems strange a customer could be charged more for bringing a car back early, I provided Employee C with a picture I took at the time I dropped off the car, showing a time and location stamp of when and where the picture was taken, proving that I returned the car on time, as opposed to early. Employee C said that she would need the 8th street Seattle location to verify the time at which the car was returned. I began a three way call with Employee C and Employee M from the 8th Ave. Seattle location. While my contract with Hertz did not charge by the mile, Employee C and Employee M attempted to agree on the car's mileage at the time of return, but reported two different odometer readings to each other. I believe this should have been an obvious sign that there were issues with Hertz data accuracy, perhaps the same data that inaccurately reported that I returned the car early. Employee C and Employee M told me they would research the situation and get back to me.
6/9/15 - After not hearing back, I called Employee C to check on the overage charge. She said that she would submit a form for a credit, however the reimbursement could take 30-60 days. I told her that I do not want to wait that long for the reimbursement, and she instructed me to follow up with her in a couple days.
6/11/15 - I called Employee C back in regards to the overcharge. She said that I would need additional proof that I returned the car at 4:35pm on 5/24. I told her that since the 8th Ave. location was closed at 4:35pm when I dropped the car off, I had to leave the keys in a drop box and therefore was not able to obtain a receipt upon checkout. She doubted that I dropped the car off after hours because she said the location is open 24/7, a false statement given the hertz website specifies the office closes at 2pm on Sundays. I then asked to speak to a manager.
At this point I began speaking with Employee T. After explaining the situation to her, she agreed to provide me a refund. I told her that I had a negative customer experience, and that customer satisfaction is important to help protect a company's brand via social media, etc. She told me that I was threatening to post via social media (I was not), that I would receive an e-mail with the refund details, and then hung up on me. read more
