More Renters Added To Lawsuit Against Hertz Over False Car Theft Claims

Late last year, more than 165 Hertz customers sued the company over false allegations of theft. Multiple plaintiffs claimed they had been stopped by law enforcement for supposedly having stolen a rental car. In some cases, customers were jailed for months before criminal charges were dropped. One former Hertz employee claims this is just how Hertz does business. Rather than go through the normal collection process, Hertz appears to prefer to let law enforcement handle it.

The bogus theft allegation problem that’s unique to Hertz dates back to at least early 2019, but it appears very little has improved since these reports first started trickling in. The number of plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit has swelled by another 100 allegedly falsely accused renters.

Lawyers are preparing to file 100 new claims over the coming weeks on behalf of Hertz customers who say they were victims of false arrest incidents.

Among the new cases is Brittany Morgan and Jeremy Benjamin, a couple who was pulled over and arrested at gunpoint in Houston, Texas after renting a Ford Mustang from Hertz at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

“We showed the police the paperwork and told them we had obviously not stolen the car. We were stunned when the police told us that the license plate on our car was from another car that was reported stolen and that it was not even the license plate listed on our rental paperwork,” the couple wrote in a legal declaration. “We are infuriated that something like this could happen, and dumbfounded to learn that Hertz has previously rented “stolen” cars to customers.” 

Hertz, of course, is still offering the same statement — one that claims this only affects a very small percentage of its millions of rentals. How small that percentage actually is remains to be seen. Hertz has been ordered to provide exact numbers of its bogus theft claims to the court handling the class action suit.

But even if it’s a small percentage, it’s still hundreds or thousands more than are generated by other car rental companies. And if those companies can accurately handle vehicle rentals without getting people arrested on bogus theft charges, there’s no reason Hertz can’t either… other than possibly a lack of desire.

And while Hertz continues to pretend the problem only Hertz has isn’t actually a problem, reports of bogus theft accusations continue to roll in. This one comes via travel blog View from the Wing, sent in by another regular Hertz customer who has just been screwed in a uniquely Hertz way:

I just got a letter today from Hertz claiming I still have a vehicle I returned last week and threatening me with arrest. No previous communication prior to the letter. President’s Club, no rental extension, picked up and returned at the airport. Thankfully, I took a photo of the dash when I returned it, for mileage and fuel record, and that’s geolocated to Hertz airport rental office.

Offshore call center agent said they’d “look into it.”

I’m done with these guys. They can keep my 10k points.

Just another anomaly for Hertz. Just another data point the company feels is too insignificant to address honestly, much less get sued over. But this certainly isn’t the last bit of anecdotal evidence that will likely soon become actual sworn evidence in the future. Hertz wants us to look at the iceberg. But the tip is where all the action is.