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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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149 thoughts onHertz settles false stolen car report claims for $168M
I was also accused of stealing a vehicle from Hertz after I filed a police report. Did 8 months in jail in still on 10 years first offender probation. I rented the car back in 2017 through Lyft rental car program recently I seen all this about the Hertz law suit and glad to see justice takes place Lyft did inform me that herzt got the car back but why I have to pay a 7000 restitution and 10 years probation and did 8 months in jail. Can someone please help me on the next steps to help me settle this issue. thanks
Hertz security department accused me of a stolen vehicle that was damaged after I rented the vehicle I called them to come tow it they never showed months later it was still sitting at my residence called them over 10 times finally they had las vegas metro police department call me for vehicle I got threatened with felony and they blocked me for life from renting
HERTZ stolen vehicle incident from Milwaukee Wisconsin, airport HERTZ, located HERTZ stolen car by GPS. I have receipts from renting stolen HERTZ vehicle. Car was hidden by the Mitchell Feld Airport parking lot subcontractor across the street. Please contact me for information.
I rented a car back in 2016 because my car was stolen. My rental was $6 per day I paid around $250 plus deposit for incidentals I kept calling and extending until when I would call I would get put into a queue and Hold until I would eventually hang up because no one would ever answer this went on for weeks I started a new job working for the VA is a great government job And I was on a 90 day probation. I was not allowed to miss one day there’s so much information that we learned every day one day we could be completely behind now while I’m possession of this rental car I rented from firefly That is owned by Hertz I do not know that they were going out of business in the SeaTac airport location they reported the car stolen took $900 out of my checking account and close the location .. I worked for hHertz in the past and as long as we could run your credit card for payment we let you keep the car no problem. well I had no idea firefly was no longer at SeaTac , they never contacted me they had my phone number , address, email they never told me to return the car so I assumed because they took $900 out my account on a $6 per day rental that I was okay to keep using the car until my car was found .. one day after work I’m driving home get pulledover and arnd 5-6 police cars surrounded my car at gun point arrested me I tried to explain to them that it was a rental car and that I had just taken $900 out of my account so I knew I was caught up on any late payment or fees but they were not trying to hear anything that I had to say they also told me that I was just going to be fingerprinted and I would be letting go that night because I told him I just started my job not too long ago and I couldn’t miss any days Reassured me that I would be OK and I wouldn’t have to be contained I asked them about all my stuff in the car I had a large box of stuff I just picked up from my children’s father‘s house he had been storing for me when I moved in my work stuff because it was such a large box they told me I couldn’t take it with me and leave it in the car and when I got out that night the following morning I could call the tow place to pick up the car and have my items picked up by myself for a family member well that’s not what happened I went downtown got booked on a felony charge I’ve never had any charges ever And told me that I had to see the judge before I could be released and just missed the cut off time to see the judge in the morning so I had to wait an extra day missing 2 days of work that resulted in me losing my government job and causing me to have a felony charge 2 days later when I was released I contacted 3 of the area police departments and not 1 of them had any record of my rental car I contacted firefly main office they had no idea I contacted hertz they had no ideas I left messages on the lost and Found department with both companies neither retu any of my messages finally after a month hertz contacted me just to say they don’t have any of my stuff I lost my mothers, grandmothers and dog urns all my family photo albums jewelry few necklaces a Michael kors laptop bag my purse my wallet cellphone my work bag all my training materials and on top of all that they were trying to give me a felony auto theft charges it got lowered to gross misdemeanor that has continued to disrupt my life to this day I can’t get a job I can barely rent a place fifefly got its car back the also got an extra $900 out my acct and I lost my job all my family memories and my mother and grandmothers body’s this has been a night mare since that day in October 2016 ..I had no idea this was happening all over but I’m glad that now they are being forced to take some accountability for their actions I would to be apart of this class action please contact me at info below … THANK YOU !
I was falsely accused of stealing a car and they took $6200 from my account which made my bank account overdraft now I am in checking systems. I marked as fraud on my account but it is still affecting my credit score. I have to file a complaint with checking systems. Hertz did this to my credit score and my bank of america account and I have the paperwork to prove it. I rented an Nissan and paid it but for some reason my account some still charged well overcharged and they took the car which still had some of my belongings in there like my glasses and my tablet and they didn’t return anything. I lost $6200 dollar and lost my bank account now I am in checking systems and I am the one who has to do all this paperwork to prove them wtf happened hertz needs to pay for this seriously
I was also arrested on auto theft charges and served a year in jail for it. How do I file a claim?
I was falsely accused of stealing a car as well. And falsely added many extra charges to my hertz account that were incorrect and when I tried to pay they wouldn’t accept my payment because it wasn’t on one card. So I had to pay in cash. This was June of 2022. I would like to be apart of the lawsuit.
I would like to join a lawsuit against Hertz.
Hertz has safeguards for this. The only way this happens is employees not following Hertz rules.
So sad that employees go out there of there way to cause this. These employees have no idea what
consequences of their actions have caused.
You allowed customers to suffer because of the actions of an employee.
I have proof. I would like to join a lawsuit against the VINDICTIVE employees.
Hertz is a great company, you just have bad employees.
U-Haul does this too and added fake charges to pay extra . They all should be investments and shut down
This is crazy!! I was renting a vehicle from Hertz 2002. I had been renting from them a long period of time, extending thru customer service, making payments thru them as well. I was stopped by police taking my son to school, I was arrested they contacted Hertz who told them to proceed with the arrest. I sat in jail for 3 days before I was able to see a judge, which caused me to lose my job! I was charged with Thief By Taking, case went to court 2005, paid a fine & placed on probation. When I heard about several others that this has happened to I’ve been trying to find who & can contact to join in with this class lawsuit!! Can someone please help me!!