Ordered a class J with Hertz, received E instead

crism

Hi All


I recently booked a rental with Hertz in Catania.


When originally made a reservation, I pre-paid a manual car within group J.
On my arrival I was told that there is no cars in this group available - unless automatic, and next available manual is within group E.
I never drove automatic (easy to drive, I know, but simply not my thing ), and therefore asked if they accept liability if I damage the car - what they understandably refused.
With family waiting and no other cars available I had to pick up the class E.

I returned a car on time with no damage, have all receipts for pickup and return.
The paperwork states I ordered and paid for group J but was given group E.


Now, while making reservation there is this point at their website:
"Car make and model availability varies. The car rented might not match the vehicle shown. However, it will be similar in size and performance and in the same car group."

What are my rights re: complaining and getting a refund of at least part of fee paid?

If I make a reservation of a manual car within group J, then it should be a manual car within group J (of course doesn't matter the make and specification).

If there is no availability then it is not my problem that they take pre-paid bookings yet have no availability? Am I right in thinking that contractually they should be obliged to provide a car booked especially that they charged price of car group J while I drove away in lower group E?

Thanks.

Westin

Have you actually spoken to Hertz customer service since returning?

I wouldn’t think they will quibble about refunding the difference in the rental vehicle group J to E. They may even make a small financial/points gesture given that your reserved car group was unavailable.

Probably best to talk to Hertz first before winding yourself up on here with different scenarios.

cubegame

They offered you a J and you turned it down. What possible difficulty did you imagine driving an auto would bring?

mattyprice4004

When you say at least part of the fee paid, you're not going to go in asking for a full refund due to a change of class are you?
You may struggle to get anywhere after this if so, as they may not take you seriously.

photome

I am with cubegame in that they did offer you a J class car, Theodore you may struggle to get a partial refund, no harm in asking though.

Your post does suggest you want more than a partial refund, why would you except more than that?

Westin

At the OP's rental location a Group J is a manual Large Saloon/Hatch with examples given as an Alfa Romeo Giulia, Ford-S Max, VW Passat. An automatic is a Group J6.

The car offered in Group E is described as a Mid-Size SUV with examples given as a Fiat 500X, Ford C Max or Nissan Quasquai.

Based on the OP booking a Group J/Manual I think it perfectly acceptable to decline an Automatic transmission if they did not want it and felt uncomfortable driving it.

As the next offered vehicle was a car category down grade I do think a refund of the difference would be appropriate.

The OP should contact Hertz customer services.

Smevchenko

cubegame wrote: »

They offered you a J and you turned it down. What possible difficulty did you imagine driving an auto would bring?

Always one person who comments with an unhelpful reply.


Regardless of how easy you find driving an auto, if someone is not comfortable with this, especially driving a rental in a foreign country, and they had specified a manual, then I would expect a partial refund as they could only provide a car in a lower class.

cubegame

Smevchenko wrote: »

Always one person who comments with an unhelpful reply.


Regardless of how easy you find driving an auto, if someone is not comfortable with this, especially driving a rental in a foreign country, and they had specified a manual, then I would expect a partial refund as they could only provide a car in a lower class.

Sorry. If someone isn't comfortable driving an automatic in a foreign country they should be using public transport......end of.

crism

Thanks everyone for constructive comments and advice, I am not interested in full refund but more what is fair. I am only to contact Hertz now so I will update this tread as soon as will hear back from them.


Now for this:

cubegame wrote: »

They offered you a J and you turned it down. What possible difficulty did you imagine driving an auto would bring?

cubegame wrote: »

Sorry. If someone isn't comfortable driving an automatic in a foreign country they should be using public transport......end of.

I am quite affraid travelling in public transport after being robber in LA. So what do I do now?



Only joking, I wasn't really.



You are coming across quite rude and controlling. especially with the part 'end of..' I dont know who do you think you are but well, some people think they are a level up from the rest of us peasants. If you have nothing constructive to add to the conversation, perhaps you should consider trolling elsewhere.
Yes, I do not like driving autos so I do not drive them. It does not mean that I am a bad driver when driving a manual though