Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 25, 2022, in preparation for a charity business trip, ********* ******, of Fulton, NY, completed my reservation for a rental car to travel to Saratoga Springs, NY where I was to be a guest panelist at the ******** **** ******. The car was to be picked up at the Hertz Rental Car office in Johnstown, PA, at the Cambria County Airport. The Hertz agency at this location is a franchise, owned and operated by Johnstown Rental & Leasing (JR&L) dba Hertz. I arrived at their office around 10:00 am on July 27, 2022 to pick up the car (a white Chevrolet Malibu) in preparation for my trip. I signed the Rental Contract (agreement #********) and went out to the parking lot to take possession of the car. Upon my inspection of said vehicle, numerous scratches and dents were obvious, so I went back inside the office, and asked for someone to come out and note the damage, which was done by a female employee, who seemed rather put out by my request to document existing damage to the car, stating, “we know there’s damage to the car – it doesn’t have to be documented”. I was running behind schedule and wasted no time getting started on my trip. I immediately heard a noise, but I attributed it to the condition of the two-lane back roads I was on. Once I got to the limited access, four-lane highway, and reached highway speed, both the noise and vibration increased; it became obvious the problem was with the car, and not the roadway surface. There was a roaring noise, and a noticeable vibration throughout the car. I pulled over at the first opportunity and called the Hertz office I had just left for advice and or guidance/instructions. I got their voicemail and left a message alerting them to the situation with the car, and asked them to call me back. 15 minutes passed, and they hadn’t called, so I called once again, leaving the same message, and requested a call back. I waited 10 minutes, with no call back, then continued on my journey. I’m very automobile skilled and determined it wasn’t a life threatening situation, and continued to Saratoga Springs, NY. Nothing broke, but it was a rather unpleasant trip, dealing with the roar and vibration. The next day, my calendar was full and I didn’t have the time to try calling Hertz again, and I also assumed there would be no one in the office on the weekend, and didn’t try. By Monday, August 2nd, the condition(s) with the car hadn’t worsened any, and I deemed it fit for my return trip from Saratoga Springs home to Johnstown. The same conditions existed, but did not further deteriorate during that trip. On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the Hertz office at the Johnstown airport to turn the car in, and called from the parking lot to let them know I was there. Surprisingly, they answered their phone. A gentleman came out to check the car in, and I explained the situation and requested he take a ride with me, which he declined to do. I was insistent, and refused to hand him my paperwork until he went for a ride. He reluctantly agreed, and after a less than ¼-mile round trip, he agreed that yes, there is definitely something wrong with the car. I told him I expected an adjustment to the contract, and he advised me I would have to speak with the manager about it – but she wasn’t in. He instructed me to call, leave a message, and she would get back with me. I did as he instructed, but didn’t get a return call. Over the next week or so, I called multiple times, never got an answer, and left a message each time. To this date, November 3, 2022, not one of my calls/messages have been returned. Left with no recourse, I contacted the Hertz corporate office to apprise them of the situation. They promptly explained to me that the Hertz agency in Johnstown is a franchise, and they (corporate) have no control over what they (the franchise) may do or not do. I then contacted my credit card company, US Bank Visa, and filed a dispute claim with them. On 8/11/2022, I received an email from Hertz Corporate (attached) informing me that the Johnstown Hertz office had credited a $54.00 reduction in the charges. I responded telling them I considered the $54.00 an insult.