For some reason there is an epidemic of this with Hertz, and they've already settled 364 lawsuits about this (!!), averaging about $500k each!

Very interesting video above.

I always despised the "leave the keys in the car" form of rental car return, because I feel like there's no proof I've brought it back, and I also feel like there's no way to prove I left it undamaged and with proper gas.

In fact, I had my first negative experience with that in August, as a Hertz car I returned in one of those "lines" at the airport with no representative charged me $25 for gasoline, even though I had filled it back to the proper level (which wasn't full, because I didn't get it back as full). I was able to talk my way out of the charge by calling the national number, but it was a big pain in the ass, and initially they refused.


This whole thing is a little bit surprising, because prior to all of this shit, Hertz was known as one of the reputable car rental companies in the US. I've always told people to go with Hertz, AVIS, National, Enterprise, or Alamo, and to avoid the budget rental car companies.

It is outrageous that you can be arrested for something like this. At the very least, law enforcement should first make contact with you (upon Hertz filing the complaint) to get your side of it. They also need to do some investigation. A car simply being "missing" doesn't mean that the renter stole it.

One way you can be certain things are okay is to check your e-mail or credit card after returning the car. If they charge you upon return (as is standard), then you can show they received it back, especially if you have an e-mail receipt stating so. Never delete those e-mails, as they can claim years later that they never got the car back.