Hertz Rent A Car

Billing was a big mess: I had a one-​way rental to Portland and this office didn’t warn me that the remote office is closed during my scheduled return time 5:47pm Sat. Now I am charged an extra 3 days of rental + insurance (since that office opened Tues. morning) plus the contract was «automagically» changed from unlimited mileage to «by miles» so I am charged another 1100 miles! And this is on top of another screw-​up that the fuel tank was only ³⁄₈ full instead of ¾ — another extra charge for me!

Absolutely the worst. Reserved the car 3 weeks in advance, they don’t have it and have no backup plan to get it from other locations. Big Shrug. Oh and airport staff don’t pick up so they won’t call the airport either. The worst sloppiest customer service.

Fast and friendly service. I got a courtesy pick up and drop off from Hertz because I was getting my car worked on and needed to rent a car for a day. Options will vary but I paid about $ 65 to rent a Mazda and the insurance for a day. I opted to bring back the car with a full tank of gas but there are other fuel options as well. The entrance here is actually on the far side so keep driving after you see the Hertz sign. It takes about 30 minutes to register and get a car so plan ahead if you’re trying to schedule around work and whatnot. Drop off is easy. You can drop off the keys or leave the car where your car is (ask first). I thought there was an extra charge so I opted to bring the rental back and then get a courtesy drive back to my car but turns out I could have just left the rental at the mechanic.

I was surprised to find Hertz’s prices lower than the other options in Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. I requested a specific make and model of car which they told me would be available if I called the local office the day before my rental date. Alas, no such luck. But they went out of their way to find a car with my real requirements: power driver’s seat and light color. The counter clerks were overworked when I arrived early Saturday morning, which was no surprise, but they were also patient and cheerful and as accommodating as possible. I use them over and over and recommend them highly.

Excellent customer service and incredible pricing (13-​day rental). Nissan Altima was perfect in Silicon Valley highways and traffic. Best Hertz experience I’ve had — check out this office — it’s small, but mighty. Thank you for the worry-​free vacation experience.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!! PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE AND FIND ANOTHER HERTZ LOCATION! THERE ARE PLENTY IN THE AREA… YOU’LL THANK ME LATER!
I rented a full size car form Hertz and at first, driving around town was fine. But when the vehicle reaches freeway speed, the steering wheel shakes and vibrates. I did not feel safe driving the rental. I understand that these things happen so I called the original station where I rented the vehicle and spoke to someone there regarding the replacement or a solution. The gentleman gladly told me to bring the car to them and they will exchange it, but the problem was that I was in Mt. View and did not want to drive any further in the condition the vehicle was in. So I was told that I can exchange it at any Hertz location, which is what you would expect. I called 2 other locations prior to calling this Hertz location in Mt. View and they all told me that no vehicle is available and I should try and call this location because they have a replacement for me. So I did and spoke to this witch named JACKIE and she immediately turned me down saying they don’t have any. Ok I understand that, but when I asked her if she could see if which location has a substitute for my vehicle she immediately said there aren’t. She did not even try to help a customer who is having trouble with a rental. I paid money for a car that’s in good working order and I expect a car that’s in good working order. Why do I have to be the one calling every other god damn Hertz location around the area I was in for something that is completely not my fault??? All I asked for her to do is to help me and I was trying to explain to her the frustration I’m experiencing and she kept talking over me and shutting me down like I’m asking for a freebie. I was getting frustrated and irritated and started to raise my voice (not yell) because she kept talking over me insisting that there aren’t any at all anywhere, and next thing I know SHE HUNG UP ON ME!!! Is this the customer service Hertz provides for paying customers?! All I wanted was for her to actually check to see if there is a comparable replacement at other Hertz location and she’s says she knows for a fact that there aren’t. So she’s telling me that in the whole SF Bay Area where there are hundreds of Hertz location that there isn’t one single replacement for my rental?! All I expected was effort at that point, not this RUDE and UNPROFESSIONAL customer service I was given. And what kind of person who works in CUSTOMER SERVICE would ever hang up on a client who has a legitimate grievance?! Hopefully my complaint through Hertz Corporate and BBB will result in some form of disciplinary action if not termination to this employee named Jackie. Hertz does realize that people nowadays rely on Unilocal reviews whenever they choose an establishment or business right?

My first car rental:
It was affordable.
It was easy.
It was fast.
The lady at the counter was pretty funny to talk to and I would rent of them again. Though I will say, I was not a complete fan of the Ford Fiesta, but it got me around just fine.

I had a great experience both times I rented from this location. On one occasion, one of the staff drove me all the way to the California Ave Caltrain station and was very pleasant in the car (not begrudging). They were great about marking appropriately when I found the gas was only ¾ full rather than the full they had originally listed and very pleasant to interact with. The cars were clean and ran smoothly. None of the photographs here are of this location though — they seem to be stock photos. Will have to take a picture and post next time!

«Sorry folks. If you HAVE a reservation this morning we do not have a vehicle. We have no cars available at all.» Spoken by the Hertz employee to a room full of people WITH RESERVATIONS at 9 am, as the location opened. That says it all. Hertz FAIL. And this is in Mountain View, not in some remote location where it could conceivably be difficult to relocate cars overnight. I am a Hertz Gold Member, but this is a valid reason to change that.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS LOCATION!!! We returned the car before the due time, but because there was a huge line at the counter, they told us to just give them the key and download the receipt later online. I just checked my receipt online and saw they entered the return time incorrectly and charged us extra hour fee. I called and spoke to Jackie (very rude and did not apologize even after I asked her to at least apologize). Jackie wouldn’t do anything to fix it, told me to call 1 – 800 customer service to get it fixed. I called and was on hold for a long time until someone answered only to tell me they cannot change it because they have to charge based on what’s entered by the local office. I told her that local office directed me to call; she said: «we are not going to revise it. You have to talk to your credit card.» Seriously? This is how Hertz does business? I’m never use hertz again and will tell others not to use hertz.
Update: After calling Jackie another time, she said she would look into how to fix it. But oh surprise, she never called me back!!! So I called hertz again and talked to another guy there. He is as rude as Jackie and won’t do anything to fix their mistake. I told him I would file a complaint with BBB. Guess what? He said «ok» then hang up on me. How hertz is able to hire the worst possible people to represent them is beyond me. This is the worst business I had to deal with my entire life. So yes, I am going to compliant to BBB and their investor relations, and make it my personal mission to post bad reviews everywhere I can think of. HbHertz is a business partner with my employer (think big) and I will make sure to pass my experience to vendor selection department.
Another update: I emailed my review above to Hertz investor relations department (you can find the email on their website). Jackie finally called me back and offered to talk to customer service to see if she can get me the refund. If not, she said she’ll give me a certificate towards future rentals. I don’t think I’ll use Hertz again but I guess I can give it to someone. I’m not updating my review to 2 stars because I wanted to give negative stars originally.

I do not understand the lousy reviews. I have used this location several times and have found the staff to be extremely polite and helpful. I reserved a Ford Focus but got a Toyota Yaris that matches my hair instead. (Black with lots of grey!) At least Toyotas are easy to park and are reliable. I am glad they did not saddle me with a Hyundai Elantra (a POS if there ever was one) nor a KIA (stands for Kicked In the Ass). So minus a star because I did not get my awesome Focus! Will return! Thank you!

These guys are Jerks! My itinerary ended on a Sunday. When I took the car, the guy at the counter confirmed with me several times (I asked him several times because I wasn’t sure) that it was ok for me to leave the car and drop off the keys on Sunday (even though they are closed at that time) and that I would not be charged extra. I returned the car one day ahead on the Saturday. I dropped the keys with a note stating the time/​day/​odometer of the car when I dropped it. These guys charged me till Monday! Thankfully I read their reviews before returning the car. They seem to have done the same to other folks. Although I didn’t think they would try to cheat, I took the proof that I indeed returned the car at the time I stated. I am planning to file a formal complain with BBB and explore other options to set their business practices right!
Update: I called the location, but the manager was totally unapologetic. He told me that its their policy to charge till Monday and that he does not care what my online reservation (made through AAA) says. He used his loud voice to tell me that no employee would ever say that its fine to return the car on the weekend (implying that I was lying). Unbelievable!
Update: The owner was courteous and the issue was finally resolved. Increased one star to my original review.

They are always busy but our experience this month didn’t live up to Hertz standards. Helped my in laws pick up their rental. The car to which they were directed was clearly one size smaller than what they rented, (Mazda 2 vs. Ford Focus) so I asked if the 2 Focus cars on the lot were available. They said ‘yes’ but they needed to be cleaned. We waited another hour past our reservation as several cars were washed before the Focus, even though we were the only ones waiting by this time.

I never felt so helpless before in my life. My pregant fiancé and i had to take the greyhound from san jose to modesto because i forgot for drivers liscense at home but my fiancé had hers and my debit card had over 3000 in the account. But because of a stupid policy we can’t rerent but i been renting for 10 months straight. Screw you jackie and everyone else that works there. Such awful service. The staff here is GARBAGE

Ashwin G. and others aren’t the only ones.
A friend asked me to help her download her rental receipt so she could submit it to insurance company for reimbursement.
I did and immediately asked her if the insurance company told her to take the CDW/​LDW coverage. She asked «what’s that?».
I gave her the short answer … your car rental fee after what the insurance direct paid was $ 172, the CDW/​LDW coverage was an additional $ 255.
The rental agent didn’t explain the rental agreement or give her an option to decline. She called the location and talked to the manager. He told her he was «handling real customers and she should have read the contract.»
There’s lots of rental car companies in the area… pick one that has some integrity.
Update: I passed the info on to richard. Note this is not a review of Hertz in general or their company policies, this review is about this Hertz location.
Even if corporate refunds the CDW/​LDW to my friend, I still wouldn’t recommend renting here while the current manager and rental agent are getting Hertz paychecks.
Update 2: The result. «When the charges are signed for we can offer up to %50.00 off the charges». I don’t know how much exactly was credited back, but as far as I can tell, the plan is to get you to sign and give you back half the loot.
My friend rented a car again for 1 – 4 weeks … from enterprise. I just booked a car for a week from budget. Our business doesn’t matter to hertz … it’s up to you guys now to make your choices.

I had been to a Hertz rental car location in San Jose off almaden expressway. I was dealing with an accident that happened Monday afternoon and needed to get all this done before heading to work on Wednesday. When I went into the Almaden location and mentioned to them I needed a bigger car that I can commute to Mtn View with. I was given some options and one of the other workers said the insurance only covers 25 $ a day. So I ended up with a Ford Fiesta (CRAPPIEST CAR I EVER DROVE)
I was told I can come back to return the car, but when I drove down later in day they had no other cars. I took a chance that when I went into work on Wednesday I can trade in the car with one at the Mtn View location. I was directed to Bryn (Sorry spelling probably wrong) nice guy, Very helpful and I explained how important a safe car for me would and he asked which car I would want, Offered me Nissian altma, Toyota Corolla, or Chevy impala. I picked the corolla. I mentioned how i was told only specific cars can be given to me due to the insurance coverage BLAH BLAH. But how I appreciated his help and how effecient he was on doing the exchange. He filled car up with Gas and I was on my way, less then 10 mins to get the car on the road and back to work. I appreciate great customer service and I work at AAA in Mtn View and Hertz is our Contract so to have a bad experience with them at the other location left a bad feeling with me knowing that most likely our clients are having this same experience sometimes wasn’t good, But knowing that Mtn View location has effecient employee llike Bryn is very comforting… I also had a great experience in Hawaii with Hertz so I know this could just be an isolated situation. Thank you again for making this bad car accident experience turn out to be not as bad now that I feel safe driving a car that wont’ break down on me. :)

DO NOT COME HERE!!!
Apparently overcharging is a common practice for this location. I dropped off my car and put the key in the express box since they were not open at 8am. I was on my greyhound by 9am and thought that my troubles were over. Nope. My receipt said I returned it the following day when I was not even in North Cal anymore. I mean really? Sort of impossible since I was a few HUNDRED MILES away when I «returned» the car. Based on the over reviews here, additional charges is a common practice for this place.
UPDATE
@Hertz replied quickly to my tweet. After I showed proof I was not in the same city when the car was reported returned they refunded me for the additional charge. Based on other reviews this place is notorious for overcharges and I am happy to report they will be looking into this location’s practices.
I will continue going to Hertz based on their twitter account’s quick actions. But I will never come back to this location.

If I could give negative stars, I would. This place is a complete SCAM. All of Hertz is a scam.
UPDATE March 2 — When I came in to return keys and contract this morning I received precisely the response I expected: a) I was being charged the extra day, b) I could’ve returned the car at SJC (never mind SJC is 20 miles away and my car was parked *here*), c) their business hours are posted on their door, and d) their «company policy» is inviolable. In no mood to argue with the imbecilic woman at the desk who lied and said she’d told me they closed at 12 noon when she most certaintly had NOT told me, I simply paid and then went immediately to my bank to stop payment. Moreover, if you can see the note at the bottom of my review, I *did* message them my Rental Record number but have heard nothing. I repeat, DO NOT USE HERTZ.
UPDATE Sunday March 1 — The Park Blvd. office is open but they are telling me that they cannot pick up the car at the other (closed) location AND they can’t give me a ride from their location back to my car at the closed location because «We have no drivers on the weekend.»
Here we are in the heart of Silicon Valley, 1.5 miles from the mighty Stanford University, 0.5 miles from Hewlett Packard, 8 miles from Apple and Google and Oracle. People coming and going constantly, fancy hotels springing up on every street corner. But Hertz can’t spring for a driver on the weekend? Really?
I might as well keep the car for another 24 hours and pay what they charge when I take it back to the office which was closed when I returned it after a scant 26 hours. Which will no doubt be 10x the rate I negotiated because they will tack on fees for returning the car late, and charge me their weekly rate instead of the weekend because, after all, this is a Monday isn’t it? And because somewhere buried deep in the fine print of their rental contract which I «should’ve read», they say it’s ok for them to do this to me.
Original review —
I made a reservation online and specified pickup at 10 am Friday, and return at 6 pm on Saturday. This is less than 48 hours but ok that’s life, I’m stuck paying them for a 2-​day rental. But that’s not the scam, it gets worse.
When I picked it up I explicitly asked the desk person about returns. I asked if I could return it Sunday morning instead of Saturday evening. She told me they were not open on Sunday morning and don’t have a night drop but I can return the car to another location (the one on Park Blvd. in Palo Alto). She did not mention that HER LOCATION CLOSES AT NOON SATURDAY.
So I returned the car at 12:30 pm Saturday to find the office closed. Now I’m stuck with a car I don’t want and my own car parked nearby. So I left the car in their lot and took the keys and contract with me. Once home I called Hertz and learned that NO LOCATION IN MY AREA IS OPEN AT 6 PM SATURDAY.
These people gave me a contract that says I return the car at 6 pm, but there is no location available to return it to? Wait, it gets worse.
Next the «Customer Support» (ha ha) person tells me that if I return the car on Monday when the office reopens, I’ll be responsible for the extra rental day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. The imbecile support person actually told me I can take it to an airport location! What? Drive 20 miles to SJC or 30 miles to SFO?
Hertz is a complete scam and I’m sure what they are doing is more than unethical, it’s illegal:
* They let me choose a return that is impossible because no locations are open at that time.
* They fail to INFORM me that no locatios are open at that time.
* They tell me I’ll be charged an extra day for returning it when the location that was closed when I tried to return it reopens.
If this actually goes down, they will be hearing from my lawyer.
Hertz is a scam. Do NOT use them! I don’t care how low their advertised rate is, it’s not worth it. They are liars and cheaters and scammers.

BEWARE, these guys add additional coverages without even informing you first !!! There are better car rentals nearby — Enterprise, Avis and Budget !!!
I rented a car here over the Thanksgiving weekend. I had to wait close to 30 minutes before I got to the counter.
A representative by the name Thomas was the guy who helped me out. I was given a Mazda 3 which had scratches all over the car. Thomas mentioned that since the car had scratches all over, I’m not liable for any additional scratches I make.
I drove off with the car. Only when I returned it I noticed there was an additional charge for $ 45 ($ 9×5 days) for LDW.
Usually if I’m offered LDW or if LDW is added as part of a contract I should be informed, but Thomas quietly sneaked it into my contract. Yes I made a mistake by fully not reading what I’m signing for (yes after waiting in the line for 30 minutes you just are so frustrated to get a car and leave), but just sneaking additional items into the contract without even informing a word about it to the customer seems to what Hertz does.
All it says on the sheet is «LDW accepted». If I’m a first time renter who has never rented any cars before how would I even know what in the world was LDW ?? Did Thomas ever mention it to me, nope. Did he even ask me if I needed any coverage? nope. Did I ask for any additional coverage? nope. You know what I’m getting at, a perfect SCAM in the making.
I call this office, and they say I need to come in person to get the LDW charge off. I go there the next day morning (taking an hour off from work), and Thomas says, the rental car office cannot do anything about it, and I need to contact the billing department.
The worst part is Thomas claimed that he mentioned about LDW to me before I signed the contract. Hats off to Thomas, his manager and the whole Hertz company for pulling off such a wonderful scam on customers!
This is the first time I rented with Hertz, and definitely the last time I ever will.
I would have gladly given even $ 450, i.e. 10 times that amount for a good cause, but not a penny to such scammers. I think Hertz should feel disgusted for treating customers this way.
Again people, stay off this rental office and most likely the whole Hertz company unless you want to be scammed.
UPDATE:
I sent Laura@Hertz the details of my rental, but did not hear back anything after that. Also contacted Hertz through Twitter, was just told «Tough luck buddy, you signed the contract».
I guess this is what Hertz is trying to say, we’ll try to rip you off through all scams, it is you who should be careful before signing any contracts. Way to go Hertz!

UPDATE (Oct 11, 2014):
@Hertz caught my tweet, responded with their apologies, and reversed my charges! Kudos to @Hertz, and two Hertz staff on Twitter,^SM &^IB, for immediately taking action and reversing the charges. Moving my review to 2-​stars.
From @Hertz:
HI george, we really don’t like to hear this. Plz DM us your RR# for further review.^IB
@georgebabu I apologize for the way you were treated. Pls DM your rental or reservation number. I would like to investigate this further. ^SM
ORIGINAL POST (Oct 10, 2014) with 1-​star:
I’ve been a lifelong Herz customer, routinely paying more for a Hertz rental out of loyalty to the brand, and an expectation that paying more comes with a commitment to good service. Thanks to a upsetting experience with the manager of the Hertz location in Mountain View, I’m taking my business (and my company’s business) to the folks at Avis. I also wish I’d checked Unilocal first before renting from this location.
We rented a minivan and I picked it up a day late because they had closed by the time I could get there. The van still hadn’t been cleaned, so we had to wait while they cleaned it.
The fun began when I had to install the car seats when we got home, and in the process, encountered some sticky remnants of the previous renters. They had spilled food (ice-​cream? chocolate milk?) over the back seats, and left other liquid food remnants in one of the cup holders. I discovered that it was pretty fresh when I accidently stuck my hand into the gunk while searching for the car seat anchors! Not surprisingly, I was quite disgusted. Furthermore, the idea of driving my guests around in a car in this state for a week wasn’t very appealing. Not to fear, I thought, this is Hertz, the company with fabulous service. What could go wrong? Plenty it seems.
The fun continued when my wife called the Hertz Mountain View location and spoke to the manager (Greg…who looked similar to the «John Dario» described in Federico’s review) His position, «You’re lucky you even have a minivan because you came to pick it up late. The best we can do is for you to come back and wait while we clean it. No, we won’t compensate you for your inconvenience. No, we don’t have another minivan for you» (which turned out to be inaccurate as Kayak was showing that they did have another minivan, and I spotted a minivan in their lot when we went back.)
After speaking with the lovely manager, convinced it was all a misunderstanding and that Hertz, a fine company and an exemplar of customer service, would take care of it, we decided to go back to the location, return the minivan and get another vehicle.
This is when things got super-​fun. We met the manager in the store. Seemed like a jovial chap. Someone I’d grab a drink with at the bar. Boy was I mistaken. He repeated his «oh, you should consider yourselves lucky you have a minivan» line, looked at the gunk and suggested that that was the best their cleaning staff could do (another blatant lie since it was fairly obvious that they missed several spots… wish I’d taken photos), and said there was nothing he would do. At this point, the fun ended for me, and I was pretty upset. Shocked that he wouldn’t acknowledge the state the minivan was in, and upset that he was treating my wife and I so poorly.
And then it got even worse. I asked to cancel the reservation and get a full refund (we had picked it up and 10:30, and were back an hour and a half later). The manager point-​blank refused to do that, and instead charged us $ 138!!! When I said i would dispute it with Amex, he laughed it off and said go right ahead. And when my wife said we would review this experience on Unilocal,he laughed at us, saying «oh, look at me, I’m shaking in fear. You’re going to write a Unilocal review»…turns over to his colleague, and continues to mock us… his colleague joins in and starts laughing at us too! (My wife reports that he was actually visibly shaking, go figure).
We walked out shell-​shocked and deeply embarrassed. Not only did he refuse to acknowledge why we were upset with the minivan, refused to rectify it (or even offer to), he actually rudely laughed at us in front of his colleagues and other customers in the store!

I booked the rental via Hotwire. We went there on July-​3 to pick the car up. The entire process took about 10 minutes. The lady at the counter was nice, and she said we could drop it off at an alternate Hertz location on sunday to avoid extra charge. Lot of hertz don’t open on sundays and don’t have drop box capability which sucks. I give this 4 – 5 stars based on service, promptness, and efficiency.

If there was a worse rating these guys would get it. I reserved a car well I advance, checked back 3 times to be sure and when we went to pick it up they told us they didn’t have the car! I’d even agreed to pay more for it. And to top it off when I told them they need to fix this the manager of the store told me to leave!!! Unbelievable. And when I left he flipped me off!!’ Never ever go to Hertz. I’m a gold member but guess that means absolutely nothing. They are the absolute worst!
Stop this kind of treatment to customers who rely on the service being offered !!!

I am never going to rent from Hertz again. I would give this company negative stars if possible.
Their website indicated that there is a pickup point at [insert my company here] for employees only. Intrigued, I called them and asked how does this work. I actually called this office since that was the number the website gave. The guy explained to me that the actual pickup office is at 1901 W. El Camino Real. Hertz would be able to pick me up from the pickup point and then shuttle me over to the pickup location. I specifically asked if I needed to make an appointment for this service, and the guy told me NO I did not need to make an appointment for the pickup service.
A few days later, I go to the pickup point around the time I reserved the car, and I called Hertz again to ask where I should meet the pickup person. They proceeded to tell me that I needed to have made a pickup appointment. Flabbergasted, I told them what the agent told me the other day and they told me SOL, I needed to make an appointment. REALLY NOW.
Long story short, they attempted to send a pickup about 45 minutes past the original pickup point. At this point, I said forget it and then cancelled the appointment.

Definitely the worst Hertz office I have been to.
I am a big Hertz fan and gold member but this office really let me down. The issue is not the staff (they were very polite, friendly and helpful) but the operations. It really needs some operational transformation
Tips —
1) Try not to go on a weekend (Took me 1.5 hour to get to my car)
2) Check the car thoroughly for issues (Mine had a check oil light on and the staff member just brushed it off saying it is normal for that car)
3) Use the gas station right behind their office while returning
4) Offer to take a dirty car if you are in a hurry (They agreed for a ~$ 10 refund)
Some pros–
— Staff is very friendly
— The prices are super cheap compared to SF area
Recommendation for the staff–
— Don’t over book
— Have more people to turn around cars faster (there was 1 poor guy trying to clean and get the vehicle ready for 15 standing customers)

I’m always afraid of writing a «great» review of a rental car company because it just feels like tempting fate since so many are so bad… but I just had a really good experience here.
I should still qualify it though. I rented here «through» State Farm because I needed a rental while my car was being repaired on a State Farm claim… which means I got a pretty solid discounted rate: $ 20.99 per day for a Chevy Cruze with lots of options including XM and leather. (The friendly staff strongly recommended paying a couple bucks more per day for the Cruze and I’m glad they did.) Had I just rented through the Hertz website the rate might have been more like $ 31.
They also picked me up and dropped me off from the auto repair place that was like a mile or so away. (Free of charge!)
Because they’d worked with State Farm before, they billed them directly for their portion of the rental so I was never out of pocket for anything more than my deductible, which was pretty cool.
They also didn’t give me a very hard time on the insurance upsells, probably because I am an informed consumer who realizes it’s better to just use my own existing insurance and save the 200% price increase that insurance adds. :)
Definitely would recommend using them again.