Hertz Apologizes for Charging Customer $10,000 for Miles on Unlimited-Mile Rental

Hertz has issued yet another apology for trying to overcharge a customer. After asking drivers who rented electric cars to pay for gas, the rental giant tried to collect a $10,000 mileage charge from a customer who booked an unlimited-mileage rental and returned it a whopping 25,000 miles later.

The heated conversation between the customer, whose full name hasn’t been released, and a Hertz representative at an undisclosed location was recorded on video and posted on social media. Spotted by travel website One Mile at a Time, it starts as a disagreement over the definition of the term “unlimited.” Like most dictionaries, the client argues that “unlimited” means “not restricted”—that there’s no limit on the number of miles he can put on the rental. The representative counters that the customer “never signed anything saying we allowed you to drive 25,000 miles.”

We’re very curious as to how the customer managed to log 25,000 miles in a month (if you drove at a constant 70 mph for 10 hours a day, it’d still take you nearly 36 days to cover that distance!), but that’s a different story for a different time. The representative doesn’t seem to care about the backstory. After a great deal of back-and-forth, he raises his voice and gives the client two options: accept the charge and leave the office or get arrested. Arrested for what exactly, contesting a surcharge? We haven’t read the contract, but it sounds like the client won and won’t be charged $10,000 after all, based on a statement a Hertz spokesperson offered to The Drive.

“Customer satisfaction is our top priority at Hertz, and we sincerely regret this customer’s experience at one of our franchise locations,” Hertz’s statement reads. “Per the terms of the contract, the customer will not be billed for mileage. Our franchisee is addressing the employee’s conduct and reinforcing our customer service standards and policies to ensure they are understood and followed consistently across our locations.” Hopefully, this whole ordeal clears up any confusion as to the definition of “unlimited” for Hertz franchises in the future.

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