Imagine being hauled off to jail because you rented a car. That's what 47 Hertz customers are suing the company over.
According to the lawsuit, Hertz reported thefts of vehicles because of flaws in Hertz's system of tracking its rental cars, including not recording rental extensions, not recording payment for rentals, not keeping track of its own inventory. Any discrepancy in the system was reported to the police as a theft, resulting is some poor customer getting blindsided by an arrest at gunpoint.
One customer, James Tolen, recounts being pulled over and dragged from his rental car by four police with guns drawn. Apparently Hertz had reported the car stolen months before renting it to Tolen and his partner.
Another customer, Darnay Taper, was arrested by eight police officers and held in jail without access to his heart medication. Months later his case was dismissed when Hertz did not show up to a preliminary hearing.
Hertz is currently in bankruptcy, so they expected these cases to be rolled into that process, meaning that they would not have to account for these bad practices and settle with the injured customers, but a Delaware judge shut the book on that option, ruling that the company's actions necessitated the lawsuits being separated from the bankruptcy.
Hertz spokesman Jonathan Stern said,
"We are reviewing and considering each claim brought against Hertz on its individual merits. We have begun extending settlement offers to dozens of claimants and will continue to do so on a case by case basis."
Apparently, the 47 lawsuits are only the tip of the iceberg. Hertz's CEO said that several hundred customers were affected by the company's errors.
With customer service like that, I wonder why they're going bankrupt?
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