- A Hertz customer claims she was charged for a late return, despite returning the car on time.
- After admitting its mistake, the rental giant still sent her to collections for over $700 in fees.
- It wasn’t until a local news outlet in Arizona stepped in that the issue was finally resolved.
Rental car companies have long been the subject of customer complaints, but Vonecia Sullivan-Hill’s recent experience highlights a persistent issue at Hertz. What should’ve been a simple drop-off turned into a frustrating, Kafkaesque ordeal, with Hertz accusing her of keeping a car she didn’t have, despite all evidence to the contrary.
A Cycle of Mistakes, Apologies, and Debt Collections
Hertz employs a range of strategies, with varying degrees of success. In Sullivan-Hill’s case, the company somehow managed to accuse her of keeping a car that was dropped off on time, apologize to that same customer, and then still send the supposed debt to a collection agency. It wasn’t until a local newspaper reached out for comment that the situation was finally resolved.
Vonecia Sullivan-Hill says that she rented a car in Atlanta and everything seemed fine until two days after she had returned it. “We turned it in on a Monday morning, like 4 a.m. We had a 5:30 a.m. flight back to Phoenix,” she said.
“Wednesday, two days later, I get a call from Hertz saying, ‘You still have our car. We’re charging you money still.’ I’m like, ‘I’m in Phoenix. I don’t have your car. I left your car in the garage where I’m supposed to with the return cars,” she tells AZFamily. Initially, the company allegedly told her not to worry and that it would fix its mistake.
But the saga didn’t end there. Instead, Sullivan-Hill received a call the next day inquiring about the location of the car. Then, two days later, an email popped up agreeing that she turned in the car but still with a bill for $707 in fees for returning it late. Frustrated, she filed a case with her credit card company, which sided with her and credited her account.
Despite all this, Hertz allegedly sent her bill to collections for the $707 it claimed she owed. Sullivan-Hill only found out about this two weeks ago, and understandably, she was furious. “I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! I don’t owe you any money.‘ For five days, I don’t know where that car was. I was in Arizona,” she said. “I thought it was done. I want it to be done. I need bigger help. Clearly, they’re not going to go away.”
A Happy Ending, But Not Without a Fight
At this point, AZFamily stepped in to contact Hertz and suddenly, the ball was moving. The rental agency wiped the debt, credited Sullivan-Hill with an additional $100 to use on future rentals, and offered a formal apology. In a statement, a Hertz spokesperson said, “At Hertz, customer satisfaction is our top priority. We regret we were unable to resolve this sooner with our customer and have provided a full refund.”
While Sullivan-Hill’s story had a happy ending, it’s still a cautionary tale about the hit-or-miss nature of customer service at rental car companies. At best, it often feels like an afterthought; at worst, it’s an avoidable headache.