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Update:
- Hertz Global Holdings has agreed to pay $168 million to resolve more than 350 claims that the car-rental agency falsely reported missing vehicles as stolen, leading to customers being detained by law enforcement.
- The class action settlement will put an end to 364 pending claims against Hertz, according to the company.
- Hertz had been accused of filing thousands of false reports of rented vehicles being stolen, after the company was unable to immediately find them.
- Customers argued Hertz would fail to enter the theft report into its systems and end up renting out the reported-stolen vehicle to unsuspecting customers.
- Hertz said it only falsely reported cars as stolen prior to its 2021 bankruptcy filing, a claim that was contested by customers.
Hertz stolen rental cars class action lawsuits overview:
- Who: Nearly 200 Hertz customers have lobbied class action lawsuits against the car rental company.
- Why: Customers claim Hertz falsely reported vehicles they were renting as stolen, causing them to face legal trouble.
- Where: The class action lawsuits involve consumers nationwide.
(Dec. 16, 2021)
Hertz customers from across the country are continuing to come forward with claims the rental car company has had them arrested or jailed after filing reports that vehicles they were renting had been stolen.
Almost 200 individuals have lobbied class action lawsuits against Hertz, claiming they were falsely implicated in car thefts they did not commit, reports Nashville’s WSMV News4.
Plaintiffs are reported asking for roughly $530 million in damages aimed at recovering days spent in prison, reputation damage, credit repair, expungement and days of prosecution.
One plaintiff, Cristel Hibbs, claims she was arrested after she was unable to return her rented vehicle that she had previously extended prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, WSMV News4 reports.
Hibbs claims she called Hertz to inquire about returning her car, but was told she would have to travel to another state to do so, something she argues she was unable to do on account of pandemic-induced lockdowns.
Police ultimately showed up and arrested Hertz, she claims, putting her in handcuffs and telling her she was in possession of a stolen vehicle, WSMV News4 reports.
“It has torn my life up!” Hibbs told WSMV News4.
Hertz calls the allegations “baseless” and says attorneys “blatantly misrepresent the facts”
While Hibbs’ criminal case was ultimately dismissed, she claims she lost her residence as a result of the situation, which she says still causes her emotional distress.
“It was just a really tough time, and I’m just praying and hoping I can just close this chapter and move forward,” Hibbs told WSMV News4.
In a statement provided to WSMV News4, Hertz called the allegations against the company “baseless” accusations made by attorneys who “blatantly misrepresent the facts.”
“The vast majority of these cases involve renters who were many weeks or even months overdue returning vehicles and who stopped communicating with us well beyond the scheduled due date,” Hertz said in its statement. “Situations where vehicles are reported to the authorities are very rare and happen only after exhaustive attempts to reach the customer.”
Hertz reached a $48 million settlement agreement with a former employee earlier this year to settle claims it had failed to pay them for overtime hours worked.
Has Hertz accused you of stealing a car you rented from the company? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Francis Malofiy of Francis Alexander, LLC.
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148 thoughts onHertz settles false stolen car report claims for $168M
I’ve been renting a Hertz car via Uber for almost 4 months. On Nov. 20th of 2023, I was supposed to be charged to extend the rental for another week, but I forgot to unlock my debit card so the charge didn’t go through. The next day I get an automated call the the car is “Seriously Delinquent”. I called and told them that my card was unlocked and they went ahead and charged me the following day. Every day I kept getting calls that I was seriously delinquent even though I was already caught up. A day later, they put through a “Pending charge” for another week, effectively double charging me for the week. Because of this I locked the card again and the following Monday (the 27th) the old pending charge fell off, but the new charge didn’t go through (because I locked the card). When I saw that the 2nd charge from the previous week had fallen off, I called to let them know I unlocked the card. They told me that I owed for TWO weeks and I tried to explain the situation, but they told me I had to return the car. I told them that I would visit the office, but my son got sick and so I wasn’t able to. That Friday, a pending charge came through so I thought everything was resolved. The pending charge posted that Sunday Dec. 4th and then on Monday they didn’t charge me. At first I thought that they finally gave me my 1 week free that I had been promised for renting via Uber for 10 weeks, but instead the following day (Tues the 5th of Dec.) a tow truck showed up to repo the car! The following day I went to the office and the look on the manager’s face was one of horror. He was absolutely incredulous and couldn’t believe that Corporate did this. He said to me, “You’ve always been an excellent customer, I’m so sorry this happened but I can’t give you another car, because at this point Corporate blackballed me because they executed a Repo”. So I’m stuck and unable to work, since I needed the car to do Uber. Today (Dec. 7th) I received TWO certified letters telling me that they will be reporting the car stolen, since I haven’t returned the car.
I got “A failure to redeliver a hired vehicle” from hertz..a felony….what was the craziest part was that they stole $2000 from my bank account ….so they got the money and car back……I went to jail….. in the end I ended pleaing out to a petty theft withhold adjudication…..because they technically owed me $17…..
Hey I’m Shalane, I’m not sure exactly what direction to go in. I have a pending felony warrant on my background for grand larceny. I’ve never been arrested or ever been charged with such crime. It has affected my background, passport, business, and my gun license. I, Shalane Holmes rented a vehicle in Bismarck, ND on 12/19/2016 scheduled to be returned 12/26/2016. Because of the weather in North Dakota I wasn’t able to drive the vehicle as much as I needed to for business. I called Hertz at the time of return letting them know I was snowed in and would like to extend the agreement. I ask to speak with a Supervisor to make sure everything was fine with the request. I was told I was able to keep the car as long as needed if I kept my credit card info updated on my account no need to call every week to extend. I was told my card would not be charged until I return the vehicle. On 12/19/2016 I was charged 1393.01. I received a letter stating my car was past due on Jan 3 2017 to be returned on 12/19/16. Once discovering the letter I called to see what was needed and why I received the letter after being charged. Courtney stated my account was updated. On Jan 4 my card was compromised I called Hertz to inform them of my situation. They told me then to return to vehicle or update the info. Once my new card was in I went to Hertz to give them my new method of payment. I was charged $1657.84 on Feb 18, 2017, $573 on March 16, $186.26 on April 14. So as long they were getting there fees I thought everything was understood. My fiancée Mr. Taylor got pulled over in Sioux City after taking a nap at a local rest area officer stating the car was reported stolen March 16 after they received payment. They had my contact info and did not try to reach out to me. Before the arrest I reached out to the supervisor to discuss previous charges she lied saying she didn’t charge me anything without even looking up my account, made a racist statement saying I can’t afford a car like that and rudely saying she could no longer help me hung up in my face. Days later reported stolen but I made every payment. I contacted the corporate office to ask if I had a balance. I was informed all my fees were received and they emailed the receipts. If you could help me anyway possible please
At the moment, I am renting a car from Hertz via Uber. What I’m finding out is when I want to extend the vehicle that I am currently renting. They will take money out of my account for the extension and put it on a hole, then make me come into the office and pay again. So they can release the money they previously took if I don’t pay again. They repossess the car, though they’ve already taken the money. This is got to be illegal. How can you hold my money ransom to make me pay again? And then say you’re gonna give the money back once I pay it again.