Consumer Report

Ok, time for a consumer report and a warning to all potential car renters. DO NOT USE HERTZ! We had an absolutely terrible experience with them. Let me explain from the beginning.

When we rented the car, it was held in my name, on my debit card. Upon returning the car, I asked the lady where we needed to pay because Dan was actually going to pay for it. She told me that they had gone ahead and charged it to my debit card. We informed her we wanted to pay by other means and so she sent us to the service desk. Dan paid the people, half in cash, half with his debit and we went on our merry way . . .(actually we ended up being stranded in Hawaii another night but that's another story for another time). Early last week I got online to check my account to see how much money I had left because I still had some checks i needed to deposit. Imagine my shock and dismay when it told me my account was NEGATIVE $500!! I about had a heart attack right there. So as I'm scrolling through the purchases and overdraft fees(there were about 7 by that time, at $34 each!) I come to a purchase from Hertz rent a car. . . the purchase that made my balance go negative.
Basically I called them several times throughout the week and no one could seem to get a clue. They kept getting confused about what I was talking about. One lady acted like she understood and said my money would be back in my account later that day. Well 3 days later and it was still not deposited and my bank had no record of a deposit. So i called again on Friday afternoon and got some doofus who told me they had NO record that the payment was made by anything other than my card! I explained to him taht I had spoken with someone from his company on Wednesday who was able to see th at the payment was actually made half cash, half debit. I finally asked to speak to his supervisor, who also told me the same thing, that they had no record of it and would need me to fax the receipt. I was then told it would be passed along to customer relations, who would take the case as it came in and E-MAIL me within in a few days to begin discussing the problem. I told the woman that was unacceptable because i was unable to access my bank account due to their mistake. She said she could not transfer me because they don't take phone calls and I would just ahve to wait on them. . . at t his point my blood is boiling and I am HOT!
So after work that night I call back and they put me on with some head honcho lady who was incredibly nice and helpful. And what do you know? She had a record of how the vehicle was actually paid and apologized for the other worker's incompetence. She called my bank, paid for the overdraft fees and promised to get the money back in my account within a few days. She was wonderful.
The money was finally put back in on Tuesday, a week and a half after this whole ordeal started. The overdrafts were removed and I'm back in black! I called yesterday to file a formal complaint with the company but wouldn't ya know it? The customer service is only able to be contacted via e-mail or a note which they put on your account. I am waiting to talk to someone in person with whom I can file a complaint with and inform them that their customer service is horrendous, their workers incompetent, and their business practices unacceptable. I did however put in a good word for the lady who was so helpful and got things done. I just believe I shouldn't have to go through a week and two supervisors to get something done. I believe that a customer service department should be accessible to their customers. I believe that I will not use Hertz again unless it is free. I caution any of you who rent a car not to use Hertz.