Hertz German Rental and a Slight Scuff(le)

I reserved an automotbile rental for the June stay in Friedrichshafen with Dollar. The rental was actually fulfilled by Hertz. I expected to pay about €92 for a weekend rental, including taxes.

The vehicle dropoff was on a Sunday morning at the sleepy Bodensee Flughafen and was unattended. I dropped off the keys as instructed. The vehicle was left in perfect condition.

When the charge came through about a week later, it was for over US $400. I was mystified and miffed. I had not (yet) been contacted by Hertz about any issues.

I contacted Dollar via their customer service web form, referencing my initial reservation number. No one from Dollar bothered to return my contact request about the billing discrepancy. When I returned home, about a week after the car was dropped off, I contacted Chase to dispute the excess charge.

Then, after a few more days, a letter arrived from Germany. The letter claimed €290 in damage to their vehicle. Nonsense. I probably did not drive it more than 15 km during the whole stay and there were no incidents. So, I reported the claim to Chase’s car rental insurance program.

I finally, after some weeks, received a photo of the damage. Just nonsense. As you can see, it is a minor scuff that a US car rental company would never be concerned about.

Be careful. If you rent a car in Germany, do a complete walk around and either take their insurance or have your own. Kudos to Chase and their United Explorer Card for having my back and paying the claim on this one with no trouble at all.