WARNING: HERTZ Europe Cashflow Problems?

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

WTFH wrote:

So, can I check, it appears you returned the car to a different company and asked them to sign, but your argument being they are part of the same group. Is that correct?

No we returned the car to the same off airport pound we found it and the key to the same in airport Firefly desk we rented from. The latest debit is from AUTONOLEGGIO HERTZ so it is Firefly/Hertz who are the ones mixing accounts.

You are all welcome to your opinion but I have explained mine well enough.

opinions4u wrote:

I'd consider error or inappropriate practice as 99% likely the reason.

So might I in the broadest sense and that is another reason this I think publication of this thread is well deserved. Why a unnotified transaction 24 hours before financial year end? That's the strangest aspect of this one since they had the car back in the middle of September.

WTFH

What have Firefly said when you asked them?

A couple of other checks:
Is your current address on your driving licence?
Did you go into Switzerland, France or any other country while driving the car?
How many kms did you cover?
Did you pay for return empty or return full?

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

WTFH wrote: »

What have Firefly said when you asked them?

A couple of other checks:
Is your current address on your driving licence?
Did you go into Switzerland, France or any other country while driving the car?
How many kms did you cover?
Did you pay for return empty or return full?

Haven't tried to contact Firefly - wouldn't know who to call exactly and get a decent answer especially since it was a HERTZ debit, and besides, will let the bank do the questioning. Have disputed the transaction. If Hertz/Firefly had had the courtesy to email or send a letter to explain why they were debiting 135 euros 3½ months after the hire then I might have felt disposed to call them first on the number hopefully they would provide.

With no particular number to call, I am just not up for any wild goose chases.

Re your other checks: Yes / No / not exactly sure - maybe 300-400, but the deal was unlimited. Can't remember the fuel deal and haven't found the original paper, but nevertheless we simply complied with it. I've a feeling it was a Full-Full type deal with something like "It is 5/8 full so bring it back with the same or as near as you can" and the 5/8 marked on the original agreement. I've hired another vehicle since then from Enterprise, another in the summer, so you might forgive my vagueness as there's always something slightly unexpected when you get to the desk. With Enterprise I remember the free upgrade! With Goldcar a couple of years ago I remember the ridiculous self insurance clauses as obtuse as 6,000 euros for engine damage e.g through not maintaining correct oil level!

The_Groat_Counter

I think it's hard to come to any other conclusion that Hertz is teetering on the edge, probably all the other car hire companies are too. If I were you I'd go and take all your money out of the bank and hide it under your bed.

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

The_Groat_Counter wrote: »

I think it's hard to come to any other conclusion that Hertz is teetering on the edge, probably all the other car hire companies are too. If I were you I'd go and take all your money out of the bank and hide it under your bed.

So you think it is likely they are teetering on the edge alongwith all the other hire companies?

So if you were Hertz then would you take my money out of my bank and hide it too? (They weren't up front about it so that's a form of hiding what they were up to, isn't it?).

WTFH

My first port of call (rather than making allegations on the internet), would have been to contact the company I rented the car from. Not the bank, not someone else. Ask the company.
You must have the details of who you booked the car through, after all you had to contact them to place the order for it.

(I should add that I used to rent cars in Europe 5 days a week for 2 years. I once got a speeding ticket in Belgium, and that took about 2 months to come through)

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

WTFH wrote: »

My first port of call (rather than making allegations on the internet), would have been to contact the company I rented the car from. Not the bank, not someone else. Ask the company.

That's you. This is me.

You must have the details of who you booked the car through, after all you had to contact them to place the order for it.

"Must" I? Why would I need to keep details over 3 months after a 5 day hire of a cheap motorised wheelbarrow that I drove responsibly, parked responsibly, complied with all the terms with responsibly and then made arrangements to forget and move on? Maybe to deal with problems like this you mean? No thanks. Someone else can sort it.

(I should add that I used to rent cars in Europe 5 days a week for 2 years. I once got a speeding ticket in Belgium, and that took about 2 months to come through)

You should indeed add that. Clearly you would always contact the company as you had an ongoing relationship I imagine with only one or two hire desks.

I had no relationship beyond paying in advance probably via an agent on the internet and picking up the key and dropping it off again. Firefly/Hertz are strangers to me. I hired a car from strangers and they have abused the banking process to debit I know not what because they haven't had the decency to get in touch. So it is a banking dispute and they can explain to the bank. Unusual to say in these times, but the bank is the reliable constant in this case! (Too big to fail if you like )

WTFH

The time I got the ticket in Belgium was the time I used a different rental company from a different location. It was not the usual guys.

If you have no idea how you booked the car, who you booked it through, etc, then how can you be so certain that it is because Hertz are going under? You don't know!

You claim to have no contact information for Firefly, but you expect them to have your email address from somewhere.

But more importantly, if you can't remember how you booked it, how can you be certain that the company you booked through hasn't sent you an email with a bill on it, but you've ignored it, deciding it was nothing to do with you because you've never heard of them before?

WTFH

Oh, and if you google Italy Driving Fines, you'll discover that 3 months is quite quick for the Italian authorities to get the fines sorted:
e.g.
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/italy-driving-fine-!!!!!!.293142/

Their law is 360 days from the date of the offense.

But I wonder, did you drive into Milan from the airport? Perhaps you went into a ZTL, which would explain it.

NiftyDigits

TurnUpForTheBooks wrote: »

That's you. This is me.
"Must" I? Why would I need to keep details over 3 months after a 5 day hire of a cheap motorised wheelbarrow that I drove responsibly, parked responsibly, complied with all the terms with responsibly and then made arrangements to forget and move on? Maybe to deal with problems like this you mean? No thanks. Someone else can sort it.

You should indeed add that. Clearly you would always contact the company as you had an ongoing relationship I imagine with only one or two hire desks.

I had no relationship beyond paying in advance probably via an agent on the internet and picking up the key and dropping it off again. Firefly/Hertz are strangers to me. I hired a car from strangers and they have abused the banking process to debit I know not what because they haven't had the decency to get in touch. So it is a banking dispute and they can explain to the bank. Unusual to say in these times, but the bank is the reliable constant in this case! (Too big to fail if you like )

I have highlighted in bold a statement you have made.
It is quite unusual these days to have a Full/Full policy via an agent.
If they do, you still often pay for fuel in advance and get it refunded afterwards.
Though conversely 24€ per day doesn't sound like a cheap rental either.

It is one reason why I book direct...with Hertz. You get the standard Full/Full policy.

That said, it could still be a ticket of some kind. Let us know the result...without the sensationalism.