Have charges added to car rental when returning in Rome?
We were charged extra on a pre-paid rental 1-2 days after returning the car in Rome. Each time we inquired we were offered a different explanation with no supporting documents. A person at a major travel booking company told me that extra unexplained charges were pretty common in Rome.
How many others have been charged extra by Hertz, or other rental companies, in Rome?
I'm not sure what you were charged for ? The last trip to Italy we were charged for cleaning the car but to be fair my wife has gotten some chocolate on her seat .
Other trips to Europe have had NO after charges .
We're these charged to your credit card afterward? If they cannot provide documentation you could dispute.the charges with the credit card company.
Would help to know how much we are talking here.
Did you return the car full of gas or prepay the fuel so you didn't have to initially for example would be also helpful to know.
If a couple of dollars a day it could be due to required Road Taxes which your contract likely states but are not included in the quoted rate. if you rented a Automatic Transmission the road tax could be higher but still probably a small charge overall.
If more than that sounds like they are citing damage or something similar and if you have insurance coverage you should get more information on that detail.
If you rented from a reputable consolidator like AutoEurope or Gemut then lodge your concerns with them and let them handle the issues.
If you didn't return the car with a full tank, they might have charged you for fuel surcharge. Sometimes they might try to do so even if you refueled. Make sure you keep a receipt from the gas station and take a photo of the fuel gauge when you return the car. That will help you dispute with a credit card.
In Italy there is also a road tax surcharge of about 3 euro a day. That is always added after the fact. So see if the amount could be commensurate to your rental period.
Other charges are for traffic violations. Traffic rules are enforced by photo cameras in much of Europe (speed, bus lanes, pedestrianized areas). When your car gets photographed during one of those infractions, the city authorities notify the owner of the vehicle (Hertz in your case). The rental company has 60 days to communicate to the authorities the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the violation, so that the authorities can send the fine to the renter. Whenever the rental car has to communicate your data to the authorities for such violations, the rental car companies charge you approximately 40 euro for each event.
I've never received a fine in Italy (not on a rental car, with my own it's another story) but I've received these extra rental charges after the fact (often fuel surcharges which I didn't bother dispute since it wasn't really full when I returned). They should have sent you an invoice via email if they have your email. If you can't figure it out, dispute with your credit card. I did once. The CC inquired with Europcar which never responded to the CC inquiry so they reversed my charges. I think it was the legitimate road tax of 3 euro a day (I figured that out months later), but nevertheless my credit card company covered me there.
These stories are not from Rome, but illustrate that similar situations can happen anywhere. If it's a small amount and/or readily explained, we don't worry about it. But if not...
When we returned our Europcar in Aix-en-Provence, we were charged extra because the primary driver, my husband, was not the person whose credit card was used for renting the car. Lesson learned. If hubby wants to drive, he needs to pay for the car. If both of us want to drive, we need to pay extra for that.
When we returned our Europcar in Amsterdam, they tried to charge us about 700€(!) to replace a slightly damaged wheel. Unfortunately, when we picked up the car, I didn't take pictures of the wheels. Upon the advice of our CC provider, we refused to pay. While my husband went off on the overzealous young man, I called the CC folks and was told what to do. My husband informed the guy that he knew a new wheel for that tiny, cheap car wasn't anywhere close to 700€ and that if we had to pay for the wheel, he wanted it as a souvenir. The guy was dumbstruck at that.
This was back when 1€ = about $1.40. So if we'd caved on that 700€ fee, we would've been out about $980 for which the CC people might not have reimbursed us.
I did the paperwork electronically to the CC folks from Amsterdam, and we ultimately were charged only around $180 (about 129€), for which the CC provider did reimburse us.
Lots of lessons learned here. Take pictures of everything when you pick up the car. Beware of overjealous young men too impressed with their potential to make a score of some kind. Be suspicious of any large extra charge. Make sure of what your CC provider's benefits are in similar situations and call them when it's happening for advice.
When we returned our Europcar in Aix-en-Provence, we were charged extra because the primary driver, my husband, was not the person whose credit card was used for renting the car. Lesson learned. If hubby wants to drive, he needs to pay for the car. If both of us want to drive, we need to pay extra for that.
Lo, not to single you out and I know you are only trying to help but this Primary/Secondary driver fee is true all over the world including the US. If you want more than 1 driver, you have to pay extra 95% of the time if not higher and the credit card name is always the primary.
In France, we were told that because I paid for the rental, I automatically was the primary driver. That meant that my husband was the secondary. That's why we had to pay extra when we returned the car. It was for him. When we rented the car from the US we were told that either of us could drive as primary, and nothing was said when we picked up the car in Reims and told them he would be driving. It was a surprise because there were no extra fees for previous rentals I paid for in Iceland or Germany when we told the agencies my husband would be driving.
The next time we rented, in the Netherlands, my husband paid for the rental and there were no issues. He does all the driving anyway, but we both always have IDPs in case of an emergency. To be on the safe side, in the future we'll always do that and add me as a 2nd driver if we think I might actually do some driving. I'm the navigator overseas as well as at home.
I hope that explains things better.
We have had one rental situation back in the last century in Austin where something similar happened, but it was caught when we picked up the car and we paid extra up-front so that both of us could drive. Neither before nor since have we had to pay extra as a married couple who both might drive the car. Odd.
They knew because we told them when they asked when we picked up the car in Reims. But they didn't mention any extra fee then, only when we returned it.
Worthwhile read on having more than 1 driver in the US.
Conclusion it definitely varies depending on state and rental company
https://www.autoslash.com/blog-and-tips/posts/all-about-additional-driver-fees
What is the distinction between primary and secondary driver? Why does it matter if you are both listed on the rental contract?
We have always put both of us on the rental. In the US there is no additional charge in most states because we are married. In Italy when we rented from Hertz was also no charge---maybe because am a Gold member? But my husband did have to show his IDP and US drivers license at the pickup counter.
Primary is the person who booked it or name on the credit card ; I don't think they allow those to be different if they are I imagine the it would default to the credit card holder name.
Secondary is anyone else.
If you are both listed you will be charged for a primary and secondary unless a charge does not apply for your specific rental.
Don't assume because you are a spouse it is free in the US, that is true in a couple of states only and otherwise only true with one or two companies or if you have certain status or discount codes.
The article I linked clearly explains all of the times it is free and when it is not. If you are a Hertz Gold member it maybe always is free as a spouse in the US or worldwide, definitely something to ask Hertz if a potential issue for you.