Hertz Italy ripoff

While that does seem to be a bit exorbitant, all the car rental places all around the world have a similar policy of gouging the consumers for extra $$$ if you dont follow the fine print to the letter. Add to that, its very difficult to find a gas station anywhere near airports. The car rental places are all in cahoots with the gas companies, I'm sure. If you read thru the rental agreement these charges were probably all spelled out, and your credit card company is not very likely to side with you. Yes, while you and all the other car renters who return the car with a half tank of gas are being ripped off, it is perfectly legal because you signed your name on the dotted line.

Thanks for reporting. That rate certainly is high. Your car rental documents should spell out the maximum rate they can charge for refueling, so check for that detail to see if it matches or is lower.

Agree with the others, if it is spelled out in the contract, you pay. Period.

This is standard practice and yes it is a profit center for the rental agencies (like just about everything they charge extra for). Keep in mind that because you brought it back half full, someone now has to take it somewhere to be gassed up, and they have to charge the VAT.

The agreement called for a charge of 24 euros plus the price of the fuel. The market price of diesel was about 1.80 euros, including VAT. So a "reasonable" charge for the 25 liters would have been 24 + (1.8 * 25) = 69 euros. Hertz seems to have inflated the price of the fuel and charged for a full tank.

I'll let you know how my protests turn out.

The local market price for fuel doesn't come into the equation as far as the car hire companies are concerned for refill charges. Hertz amongst others charge over $9 a gallon in the USA. However thus seems to be structured to pay for some things multiple times - flat rate charge, elevated fuel price, VAT assessed on top when it would already be in the fuel charge etc. Never return a car without refilling yourself, and keep a receipt in case of disputes.

My experience is that the rental agreement or a notification at the desk spells out the price of fuel you will be charged if you fail to return the car full. It is always higher than "market price." In part to make a profit and in part to discourage people from not bringing the car back full. Check your agreement again to see if the cost is noted.

I would also guess that you were charged VAT on top of everything because Hertz provided a service to you that they charged x euro for. That is subject to VAT, even though they paid VAT on the gas cost that they bought for you.

If the agency did indeed overcharge you from the stated terms in your agreement, then you will be entitled to a refund. But as was noted, the terms are not likely in your favor and you are bound to them whether excessive or not.

I know that some people will tell you they had a fine experience with Hertz/Italy, and others will tell of awful experiences with other companies; but I consider Hertz/Italy to be the kings of ripoff. When we rented at Catania, they added on insurance after I declined it. Silly me! I thought saying no was sufficient and didn't carefully scrutinize what I was signing. Bye-bye 200 euros. They did DCC without asking me. Later, I noticed that the receipt stated - - in tiny, light-colored print - - that I had agreed to it. There went another, maybe 5% extra charge. The agent tried to convince me that there were no gas stations near the airport so I should prepay for the fuel. I didn't fall for that one. There were stations 5 km and 1.5 km from the airport. He also advised me that if the tank were to be even a liter down, they would charge me for an entire tank. (Not sure if that's true. He was very eager to get me to prepay.) If you do prepay for the fuel, you either gamble that you make it back on fumes, or give them a gift of the leftover fuel. Maybe not the worst alternative. Some posters have complained of being charged even when they return the car full. The e-mail address given by Hertz/Italy didn't work, so I let it go. Cold comfort, I know; but car rental companies in Europe seem rife with crooks. It's probably the same here, but it's way easier to deal with. I just wrote it off as a cost of the trip. An extra couple of hundred dollars more on, perhaps, $10,000 isn't so bad. Obviously, it still rankles a bit, though; and I try to avoid Hertz.

@ Rosalyn - I'm confused a bit about your experience. You say you declined CDW but they charged you anyway. But to decline CDW you have to initial the decline on the contract. Did you do that and they still charged you? Or did you just say "no" and they ignored you and never had you initial the decline? Or might you have confused the charge as CDW when it was theft insurance (different from CDW and I believe mandatory in Italy)?

You also say they did currency conversion on you without your permission. You would have known right away because the charge would have been listed in dollars, not euro. At that point you should have told them no currency conversion, that all charges were to be in euro (they are not legally allowed to do it without your permission).

Pressure to pre-pay for gas is very common at lots of rental agencies, foreign and domestic. It's a great profit center for them. I've gotten the same lines about "no gas station nearby" here in the US.

I'm not saying Hertz Italy isn't worse than most, but short of illegally charging you for things you declined or didn't agree to in writing, everything is spelled out in the written rental contract. The lesson for all, is ALWAYS know exactly what the terms of your agreement are before you sign and don't be shy about having them make corrections.

This might explain the charge for CDW in Italy....

In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Some credit cards offer coverage in Italy, but it means nothing because all major rental companies require the purchase of CDW and theft insurance.

You may find it helpful to download THIS free car rental guide before booking on future trips.

Two of the savviest travelers contributing on this Forum have just clearly stated the dishonesty problems they encountered dealing with Hertz/italy. Then Douglas comes back with a coulda, woulda, shoulda, as if it's some sort of assurance against being ripped off. If George and Rosalyn can have problems with Hertz/Italy, anyone can have problems with them. It's that simple. No one can cover every coulda, woulda, shoulda, and what if twenty-four hours a day and still enjoy their vacation. You shouldn't have to protect yourself from a game of gotcha.

I realize that one individual experience is just anecdotal, but I will offer mine, which was positive. After considerable reading and research, and with quite a bit of trepidation, I recently had a short rental through Sixt at the Palermo airport, and I had a very good experience: new car, reasonable rate, no hassles, no extra charges. I was pleased with the experience.

There are horror stories & great experiences with every car rental company out there. The moral of the story is caveat emptor - buyer beware. Be sure and read all of the fine print BEFORE leaving the car rental premises and make sure you were charged only for the services you requested.

I'd be willing to bet Rosalyn's refunds were given as customer goodwill and Hertz kept the money they charged. This happens more than people think.

OP is forgetting that fuel is sold by the liter in Italy. 13.2 gallons becomes 50 liters. I'm just guesstimating the price of diesel is about € 1.70 per liter or almost 2.29 US per liter or 8.67 per gallon. We all know that when a rental company charges for gas when you forget to fill before returning they charge at a premium rate. OP says half a tank - guesstimating Hertz says its more. (We had this same discussion with a car rental agency in Mexico - the car was not full when we picked it up - the guy at the agency kept trying to tell us it was just under full when we could plainly see it was at 3/4. He quit arguing with me when I snapped a picture of the fuel gauge.) Looks like (guesstimating) maybe Hertz charged about double the rate at the pump plus the € 20 fee and 22% VAT on top. I imagine the € 20 fee is listed on the contract as part of the cost of returning the car less than full. And face VAT is VAT - gotta pay it - the VAT was 43 US and the fee was another 27 US.

Just trying to break it down to realistic terms - it's not as simple as 242.67 divided by 6.6 gallons. It is an expensive lesson - with any luck OP's cc company will do a goodwill refund.

I think my liters/gallons and euros/dollars conversions were pretty good. I can't spell out every detail, but I should say that my return receipt clearly indicates a gas gauge reading of "4/8".

I've rented numerous cars in Europe without getting ripped off. I know companies must make a profit, but I would say that even if my contract stated in big bold type "If your car needs fueling when you return it, the rate will be $36.77 per gallon (=9.71 euros per liter)," I would declare that a ripoff.

As I said, I will let you know if Hertz or my cc company agree that my documentation supports my protest.

Two of the savviest travelers contributing on this Forum have just clearly stated the dishonesty problems they encountered dealing with Hertz/italy. Then Douglas comes back with a coulda, woulda, shoulda, as if it's some sort of assurance against being ripped off.

I'm pretty sure I said in my post that if the agency charged them for something they declined in writing, as George's follow up (after my post) indicated, then it is illegal and a true "scam." But another seemingly savvy traveler posted the same information I did, that CDW can't just be declined (I actually thought it was just theft insurance) unless, as in George's case, there is a third party insurer. Maybe that was Rosalyn's case too, which is why I asked questions.

DCC CAN be declined. They are suppose to ask you before doing DCC. If your bill is in dollars, don't pay it. Make them cancel the charge and redo it in euro. It's not that hard, though as George points out, it takes persistence as suddenly the clerk can't seem to understand what you are saying. They may claim that once the bill has been charged in dollars, it can't be rescinded, but that is not true. Knowing that might help other people avoid paying the lousy exchange rate that comes with DCC. This is not an issue just in Italy either.

Finally, I'm not sure why it's somehow inappropriate to remind people that when renting cars, it is VERY important to be aware of everything that is in the rental agreement terms. Because some firms WILL try and take advantage of you either by slipping something in you had verbally declined or overcharging you. And as Rosalyn said, it's a lot harder to challenge the agency later if they are half a world away.

Amen James!

Last car we rented in Mexico, along with the disagreement about the status of the gas tank there was a discrepancy in what the price was from my reservation to what they wanted to charge me when I picked up the car. I held my ground and asked for a manager and got it sorted out.

Great posts James and Douglas.

The responsibility for making sure the charges are correct are your- the buyer. You should only sign a contract after you have read it thoroughly. How many times have we seen people post here about being charged for XXX "because it's a scam" when in fact they agreed to the charge by signing the contract. We see it all the time. The point it, do the research, read the contracts, don't agree to anything you don't understand.

Donna

I agree with the point of view expressed by George in his post. Accept and move on. It is very difficult to avoid getting ripped off when you travel. For example, I am sometimes required to sign documents in languages I don't understand. I think it's best not to invest a lot of emotional energy into ripoff avoidance, and simply accept the fact that it is going to happen from time to time.

In the case of Hertz, I could and should have simply filled up the tank. I entered my post to alert readers to the danger of not doing this.

As for "you can have the DCC reversed", it's best to just accept the fact that you were duped. By the time the DCC is reversed - gee, I wonder what marvellous exchange rate they use to reverse the charge AND then put it through, again, as a euro charge - you could be real money out.

Just to be clear, my advice is not "accept the DCC charge, then have them reverse the charge, then do a new transaction in euro." Until you either sign or enter your PIN, a credit card charge is not valid. If a merchant tries to pass off a DCC on you without your permission, then simply don't sign the charge or enter your PIN. That means they have to cancel the transaction and run a new one. The confrontation might not be worth it for a small bill, but for a rental car or hotel bill, it most definitely is.

And even in your scenario, you wouldn't be at risk of losing money. If they run a DCC charge that shows up as $50, then a reversed charge that shows up as $50 is a net wash. And when they put it through as euro, you know the exact price and that you'll get the actual exchange rate (set by the networks, not the merchant or his bank). But it's hard to imagine a clerk going through all that trouble once you've signed the credit card receipt or entered your PIN.

I've been duped many times. It's easy, especially when there are language barriers or you aren't concentrating. But I try and learn from those mistakes and avoid it happening again. And these forums can be a great way to share some of those lessons with others.

You only need Armani suits for the public toilets, havent we already gone over this? For car rentals you must wear Gucci.

We currently have a reservation through Hertz Italy... we're pretty savvy travellers and have no problem taking our time to figure everything out. I'm wondering if there's another company that isn't such a potential hassle to work with?

I've received a response from Hertz. It is a form letter that does not detail the basis for the charge. The first half touts the Fuel Service Option, then it goes on:

" If FPO is not selected at the time of rental and the vehicle is returned with less than a full tank, Hertz will apply the Fuel and Service Charge noted on the rental record. The charge for this service is determined by our various administrative, labor, and product costs of refueling the tank, and does not solely involve the sale of fuel. We regret you believe this rate is excessive; however, the charges are correct as billed."

The letter concludes by optimistically looking forward to serving me again.

Rental car discussion is good to know. Many arguments to travel by foot, coach and train and not drive a car.

Just to clarify . . . I posted my experience to alert others to the bad behavior of Hertz and to offer a little moral support to the original poster. I've rented cars many times in Italy, usually through AutoEurope. The required insurance has always been included in the prepaid price. If it's required, why would the agent have asked if I wanted it? Obviously, he was asking about additional coverage. Also, when I questioned the charge upon returning the car, that agent answered that I had agreed to it. Not that it was required. She had the grace to appear uncomfortable with the situation. DCC is a scam, invented by banks to add to their already overflowing coffers, and joined in on by unscrupulous businesses to squeeze more out of unwary customers. There is NO advantage to the buyer. You get a considerably worse exchange rate; and if your cc or bank is one that charges an foreign transaction fee, they'll charge it anyway. The Hertz receipt said, I repeat, in tiny light-colored print, that I had agreed to it. An outright lie, since I was never asked. For the reasons I stated before, I'll never do business with Hertz/Italy again. And, I must say that it's a bit disheartening to read several what amount to defenses of Hertz, blaming the victim for being victimized by their sleazy practices.
I did have a perfectly fine experience with Europcar in France, and I'm about to write it up. See "Transportation."

If that's the case, why does Hertz Italy keep coming up here but not Hertz in other countries or other agencies, except Sixt once in a while. It's consistently Hertz Italy and many more than two times. Often it's coupled with calling Hertz USA and being told they are different companies.

Wow, James! "... One of these angry Canadian people ..." Where the heck did that come from? Pardon me for saying so, but you come off as a lot more angry than most contributors on this thread. Get a grip .... It's just a helpline, not a superiority contest.

We currently have a reservation through Hertz Italy... we're pretty savvy travellers and have no problem taking our time to figure everything out. I'm wondering if there's another company that isn't such a potential hassle to work with?

I just returned a car in Milan rented in Florence from Maggiore. Slight ripoff (aka hidden charges but small) - nowhere near the trouble other people here had. I purchased the extra insurance but wasn't pressured into it. He didn't ask to prepay for gas or try to sell anything more than what was ordered. They let us return at the airport instead of Milan Central as originally planned with no hassle. It was exactly the car I ordered - not we only have this left and its $300 more....which is what happened in Paris with...I believe Hertz (lol).

I wrote Hertz a detailed explanation of why I thought the charge was excessive, and received a form letter (see my post above) response blowing me off. To me, that suggests the "ripoff" is not just local. I am requesting additional explanation, including contractual documentation, and will let you know the result.

Two years ago I rented with Avis-Budget (reservations through the budget website). They charged me over €30 for fuel, even though I filled it maybe 2 km away.
Last year I rented with Europcar through Autoeurope.com. In that occasion they charged me over €35 for fueling charge even though I returned it full.
This year I rented with Europcar through Kemwel. Haven't been charged extra for anything so far (I returned the car in Rome on July 10). I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but there is definitely an "ethics" problem in that industry and not only overseas.
Both Avis and Hertz, on different cars, charged me (in California) a fee of $10 for each bridge crossing (in addition to the $5 toll) for the convenience of using their Fastrak transponder (fee was not spelled out in the contract and I disputed successfully with the credit card). Also $300 cleaning fee for the presence of dog hair in the trunk of the SUV I had rented ( which I had vacuumed before returning the car, but one dog hair was enough to gauge me I guess).

Another one of those hair of the dog stories, grazie Roberto. (:->)))