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AutoEurope, Hertz and returning a car early at GLA

We have rented a car at GLA (Glasgow Airort) for two weeks: Hertz via AutoEurope had an excellent deal for 14 days ($826 including zero-deductible SuperCover). Prepaid through AutoEurope, where the terms say that unused days/early returns will not be refunded. I assume this applies when the actual rental (say 12 days) would have been less expensive than the prepaid rental (14 days), and the renter wants money back for the "unused days."

We have the opposite problem: we actually only want the car for 12 days (but the 12 day rental + insurance rate was $1133).

If we return the car which we have rented for 14 days early (keeping it only 12 days) will Hertz/AutoEurope try to revert to the 12 day rate (charge us an extra $307 or whatever the prevailing rate is that day), or will they simply take the keys, thank us, and not bill us any additional?

Posted by
2980 posts

I think that only AutoEurope can give you a definitive answer to your question - any responses you see here will simply be speculation.
There should be a US based 800 help number on your contract - give it a call and see what they say.

Posted by
124 posts

We tried that. Twice. The first rep we spoke with couldn't understand the question. The second said she didn't know, that we would have to ask Hertz at GLA when we pick up the car (which we are reluctant to do if we don't know the final price).

Hoping someone here will have had experience with this scenario.

Posted by
7980 posts

If you call them, I would suggest not telling them the reason you booked it for 14 days rather than the 12 days. Just say that you need to return it early and want to find out the process, or something like that.

Posted by
2980 posts

I'm surprised they weren't more helpful (or knowledgeable) regarding your issue. They have a reputation for being much more accommodating than that.
FWIW, we're rented from them numerous times, have booked the weekly rate because it was cheaper than the daily rate for the period we actually wanted the car, and returned it early with no drama and no extra charges for the early return.
The language you quote from your contract seems pretty straightforward to me and aligns with our past experience, but if you still have concerns my suggestion is that you plan to return the vehicle during normal business hours so you can talk to a human being in person in case there are any issues.

Posted by
124 posts

OK. We now have the feedback from this topic that we sought. Thank you

Posted by
23626 posts

What you are doing is commonly called hijacking a question. It is not the polite thing to do. This response and all others will be sent to MJ and not you. I don't really understand why the 30 minutes is so critical for you but I would delete your current comments and post your question as a new question. That way all responses will be directed to your question and not MJ's question.

Posted by
124 posts

OP here.

We tried calling AutoEurope again. Third time, midday EDT, was the charm. This time we got a somewhat more senior CSR (who said they had a lot of new hires). The CSR said there should be no problem with returning the car early, and no extra charges or rate revisions, but urged us to drop it during business hours in case there was confusion. Our record has been annotated. And to call AutoEurope if there were issues (ie, additional charges).

Thanks to all for your patience with this question. I know it might seem trivial to some, but for first-time renters out of the country working through a broker, it seemed soooooo huge.

Posted by
5604 posts

I tried the very same thing in the US a few years ago, and the rental car agent tried to charge me a higher rate for the early return. After much arguing they finally relented, but there was probably something buried in the fine print on the company's website. I never tried it again.
Good luck!

Posted by
124 posts

A bit of digging on the Hertz website for policies for rentals (GLA location from the dropdown list) states:

EARLY RETURN / LATE RETURN CHARGE

Currently applicable only to rentals with a destination in Europe.
We reserve the right to make an Early Return Charge of € 8.00, £ 7.00, SEK 72.00, NOK 65.00, DKK 61.00, RUB 349.00, AED 39.00, SAR 39.00, QAR 39.00, KWD 3.00, OMR 4.00, BHD 4.00, USD 11.00, PLN 35.00, ZAR 106.00, depending on your destination country, to compensate us in part for our inability to rent your vehicle during the time reserved for your use.

So that's fair -- £ 7.00 -- and they get the vehicle back in their inventory to re-rent sooner. I've taken screenshots of this to have on hand just in case they object to getting a car back on day 12 or 13 of a 14 day rental.