hertz forward charging ( not. Professional )

[Neverlate]

Hi Members,
Does anyone know what vehicle models Hertz are using class P at Melbourne Airport?

I had a notification from my cc company of significant charge applied to my card.I rang the cc company to enquire about the merchant placing the charge,they advised it was Hertz.

This charge was applied at 1.30am Tuesday for a midday pick on the coming Thursday.
I rang Hertz and enquired the branch manager apologised and said the late shift had applied the charge because I am taking advantage of gold service, because it has been slow they were working in advance of the normalised schedule.

I expressed my understanding of the procedure, however I pointed out charging a customers credit card for a hire still 4 days away was poor professional practice.

Has anyone else have experience undue forward charging.

NL

 

[AdMEL]

Likely group P cars:

VW Passat Diesel
Holden Commodore SV6
Toyota Aurion ZR6

Hertz only pre-authorise for estimated rental amount + $80 (for most cars, but can higher) prior to rentals - they do not actually charge/debit your card until after the rental is complete.

Agree that authorising your card several days prior is not acceptable or professional. In my experience, Hertz at Melbourne Airport are terrible - they always include the wrong times on rental agreements which leads to inflated estimated charges. These are corrected at completion, but again it is unprofessional to show a start or finish time other than what is reserved, on the rental agreement. I have queried this several times and have always been told that their system cannot post start a rental agreement. Given every other Hertz location can, why can't they? Poor way to treat any customer, let alone Gold Plus Rewards members.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Tuesday morning for a Thursday pickup. Where does 4 days come into it?

 

[RooFlyer]

That's getting to the nub of the issue

 

[markis10]

Tuesday morning for a Thursday pickup. Where does 4 days come into it?

Given the late shift MONDAY did it, four days is a fair reflection, and poor practice.

 

[pyffii]

have recently hired cars from Hertz and they have charged my AMEX card 24 hours before pick up...Rang them and told them I was not impressed but they said this was now standard practice...Given the Hertz have no e-tags ex Brisbane airport and charge $15 admin fee for collecting the toll, if it wasnt for the fact that Hertz's rate was so cheap compared to Avis and Budget then I wouldnt be hiring from them anytime soon.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Given the late shift MONDAY did it, four days is a fair reflection, and poor practice.

Oh sorry so it goes by the enployee start time. Sorry

 

[coles525]

have recently hired cars from Hertz and they have charged my AMEX card 24 hours before pick up...Rang them and told them I was not impressed but they said this was now standard practice...Given the Hertz have no e-tags ex Brisbane airport and charge $15 admin fee for collecting the toll, if it wasnt for the fact that Hertz's rate was so cheap compared to Avis and Budget then I wouldnt be hiring from them anytime soon.

Get lost! $15?

What would happen if:

- Toll roads were NOT used? (smart driver who took the long and cheap option)
- You took your own etag and informed their (bris) / your (melb eastlink or citylink) toll company that you are using your own etag for a hire car?

Ive used option 2 before, but only for a local hire car.

 

[pyffii]

What happens if you bring your etag as I did previously is that you get billed twice and then a huge effort required to get Hertz and Tollroads to credit back...at the time of booking (6 months out and for 22 days) Hertz were nearly $400 cheaper than my preferred car hirer,Avis, so the $15 was not an issue but if that was not the case then would I hire from Hertz ? No way...cheers

 

[markis10]

What happens if you bring your etag as I did previously is that you get billed twice and then a huge effort required to get Hertz and Tollroads to credit back...at the time of booking (6 months out and for 22 days) Hertz were nearly $400 cheaper than my preferred car hirer,Avis, so the $15 was not an issue but if that was not the case then would I hire from Hertz ? No way...cheers

Depending on your planned use re toll roads Hertz can be a good option, their $9 all you can eat daily charge for tolls for instance.

 

[CMA222]

Get lost! $15?

I am President's Circle with Hertz and have not rented from BNE in a long time. I always carry my own eTag because they are transferable between cars and work without issue in Qld, NSW and Vic. I will be watching for any Admin charges to collect tolls I would never incur. If it is disclosed at the booking stage I will be considering Avis or one of the others if that is the only reason they choose to levy it. As for pre-charging it has only been Hertz taking a pre-approval CC deposit for me to date so I will also be watching how they handle any future charges. Looks like GoGet or similar might be coming more attractive.

 

[markis10]

Depending on your planned use re toll roads Hertz can be a good option, their $9 all you can eat daily charge for tolls for instance.

Looks like it's changing in Feb



Managing toll payments can be difficult and time consuming. Our new, simplified Hertz Toll Day Pass offers unlimited tolls combined under one daily charge, allowing you to focus on getting to your destination on time.


This option eliminates the need to worry about keep records of all toll roads and sorting out payments via various websites – and for many drivers it will mean saving money when crossing numerous tollways.


Due to varying toll prices in different States, from February 1 the Hertz Toll Day Pass will be calculated based on the State where you collect your car. Rates for passenger vehicles are:
- NSW and ACT: $14.30 per rental day
- VIC and SA: $12.10 per rental day
- All other states: $9.90 per rental day
All prices are inclusive of GST. Heavy vehicles incur a higher variable toll charge per rental day due to higher toll prices.


Charges for the Hertz Toll Day Pass will then appear on your invoice at the end of the rental period, and you will never receive any subsequent toll charges or administration fees. You can choose to take this option at any time during your rental - at the rental counter, exit booth or when returning a vehicle.


Suitable for longer term rentals, there is an alternative option that records all toll roads you’ve driven on and the actual toll amounts along with an administration fee of $16.50 incl GST per 30 day rental will be invoiced to you by Hertz shortly after your rental concludes.

 

[pyffii]

True but as we only use the toll only going to and from the Gold Coast that's not an option we can use I don't think

 

[markis10]

True but as we only use the toll only going to and from the Gold Coast that's not an option we can use I don't think

Buy a video pass off go via in that case.

 

[JMFK]

I'm sorry, but what's the big deal?

Are you sure you didn't select a 'Pay Now' rate on the website?

I'm PC too, and personally, I wouldn't care if there was a pre-auth on my card, though I can't recall having one with Hertz, unless I've selected Pay Now, in which case it's been a charge and not a hold.

I've had some Hilton Hotels do it to too, prior to arrival.

I plan on completing the booking, so what's the big deal?

 

[pyffii]

Great idea markis10... Thanks for the heads up

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm sorry, but what's the big deal?

Are you sure you didn't select a 'Pay Now' rate on the website?

I'm PC too, and personally, I wouldn't care if there was a pre-auth on my card, though I can't recall having one with Hertz, unless I've selected Pay Now, in which case it's been a charge and not a hold.

I've had some Hilton Hotels do it to too, prior to arrival.

I plan on completing the booking, so what's the big deal?

If it occurred to me, the 'big deal' would be:

* What's the 'hold' for? Customer does not have use of Hertz asset and is not a 'credit risk'. No reason whatsoever for a hold. Would anyone be OK with a hold placed, say, a month ahead of rental? Two weeks? Same for hotels, or anyone. Restaurants? "Credit hold applied as soon as you book."

* Appears that the OP was not informed that the charge would be levied in advance - even if its just a 'hold', it affects the credit available on your card. In the OP case OP was informed by bank of a 'significant charge' (or hold) the OP was unaware of. OP may have been embarrassed in another establishment if further credit was declined because of lack of credit available.

* What happens if the rental doesn't take place? How much hassle is there to get the 'hold' un-held? My understanding is that hire car companies deliberately don't usually take cc details as a 'guarantee', like hotels do, as they don't want to be bound to supply the booked car - they want flexibility to substitute another car, like we know they do all to often. Now they appear to want it both ways. Not sure why the OP had their cc details known by Hertz- maybe they are a club member and like me with AVIS, they have cc on file.

My message to the car company would be: Hertz, or anyone, keep your grubby hands off my credit until there's a good reason for them to touch it, not before, and certainly not until you tell me.

Hmmm ... I'll just make sure the cc on my Avis file is an expired one. Let them try to take a 'hold' out of that!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

If it occurred to me, the 'big deal' would be:

* What's the 'hold' for? Customer does not have use of Hertz asset and is not a 'credit risk'. No reason whatsoever for a hold. Would anyone be OK with a hold placed, say, a month ahead of rental? Two weeks? Same for hotels, or anyone. Restaurants? "Credit hold applied as soon as you book."

* Appears that the OP was not informed that the charge would be levied in advance - even if its just a 'hold', it affects the credit available on your card. In the OP case OP was informed by bank of a 'significant charge' (or hold) the OP was unaware of. OP may have been embarrassed in another establishment if further credit was declined because of lack of credit available.

* What happens if the rental doesn't take place? How much hassle is there to get the 'hold' un-held? My understanding is that hire car companies deliberately don't usually take cc details as a 'guarantee', like hotels do, as they don't want to be bound to supply the booked car - they want flexibility to substitute another car, like we know they do all to often. Now they appear to want it both ways. Not sure why the OP had their cc details known by Hertz- maybe they are a club member and like me with AVIS, they have cc on file.

My message to the car company would be: Hertz, or anyone, keep your grubby hands off my credit until there's a good reason for them to touch it, not before, and certainly not until you tell me.

Hmmm ... I'll just make sure the cc on my Avis file is an expired one. Let them try to take a 'hold' out of that!

Ahmm its so you can use hertz gold service pickup..... they do the paperwork in advance including a pre-auth. Otherwise you can stand in a queue and stuff around for 10 minutes if you prefer. I like to just get in and go. simple

 

[equus]

Buy a video pass off go via in that case.

And make sure you get Hertz to turn their toll pass options off, otherwise you may get charged twice.

You have to watch Hertz - my profile has the toll option turned off, as I prefer to bring my own tag. Sometimes it is Ok, other times it ends up on the paperwork. As I pick up from Gold Service, have to check carefully. MEL seems to be the worst offender.

 

[RooFlyer]

Ahmm its so you can use hertz gold service pickup..... they do the paperwork in advance including a pre-auth. Otherwise you can stand in a queue and stuff around for 10 minutes if you prefer. I like to just get in and go. simple

Ahmm, I understand that ... which is why I mentioned:

Not sure why the OP had their cc details known by Hertz- maybe they are a club member and like me with AVIS, they have cc on file.

I have AVIS Priority which works the same way. But no pre-auths!!

Like I said - its simply not justified. In a hotel, I hate it, but you are using their facilities as soon as you check-in and there is some 'credit risk' for the hotel so a pre-auth on check-in is understandable.

With a hire car, you can still have Gold /Priority membership and do the paperwork in advance, and go straight to the car and tootle off. The pre-auth, or the whole bloody charge can occur as they check you out the gate as far as I'm concerned - but not before.