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Bait and switch insanity? Quoted $270 for a rental car, but charged $1,227

July 20, 2009

cancun roadPhilip Getson thought he’d have to pay $270 for his Hertz rental in Cancun. He though wrong. His final bill came to a shocking $1,227.

What in the world could quadruple the cost of a car? Did Getson damage the vehicle? Did he order a Matchbox car and switch to an SUV?

Not exactly.

Getson wrote Hertz, asking it to adjust the charges. Here’s how it responded:

The location advised that your rate confirmed on your reservation did not include the charge for the Loss Damage Waiver you accepted, and an additional two hours because the car was returned late.

In addition the manager has advised that you received a higher car class and you were aware that a higher rate would be applied for this service.

Please advise if your are disputing any of these charges or all of them, so that we can investigate the matter again in full with the location.

Thank you for taking the time to send in the requested information.

Getson says that’s not what happened.

I am not disputing the loss damage waiver or the fee for returning the car two hours late. I asked about the loss damage waiver, was told how much it would cost and accepted it.

I was never asked if I wanted a higher class vehicle, I never requested one nor was told that they were giving one and that it would cost me more. Never.

The car I reserved was a Nissan at $270. In Mexico I was charged 16,568 peso. At 13.5 pesos to the dollar, that’s $1,227. I was overcharged $956.

Again, I am not disputing the damage loss waiver or the charge for the two extra hours. And to repeat, I never asked for a higher class vehicle. I was never asked if I wanted one and was never told I was getting one and that it would cost me more.

This looks like the classic bait and switch.

I asked Hertz to investigate Getson’s rental. Here’s what it told me:

While Mr. Getson did reserve a compact car class (i.e. a Dodge Attitude), for approximately $272 for 9 days, he actually rented a all terrain speciality vehicle (i.e. a Dodge Nitro).

At the time of rental, Mr. Getson was presented with the terms and conditions of his a rental agreement that detailed out all of his estimated charges — rental rate, taxes, optional services, etc. and for which he agreed to and signed off on.

Considering the documentation indicating Mr. Getson’s agreement to the charges, a refund is not warranted at this time.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we were talking about two completely different rentals.

Maybe Getson was offered an upgrade while he was in Cancun, but I don’t think he would have signed off on a rental agreement that raised his rental rate from $270 to $1,227. If there was disclosure, then it was completely inadequate, and perhaps, as he suggests, even deceptive.

I would formally dispute this bill, first with the car rental company and then with Getson’s credit card company. Failing that, I would consider taking Hertz to small claims court. A judge might see this very differently, and adjust his rate to something more reasonable.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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13 comments

  • http://www.singleparenttravel.net John F

    I agree it seems like a bait and switch, but I am guessing that he made the assumption his actual rental was as he reserved. My guess is that they told him about the LDW and he just signed the agreement without reading it. Apparently, the agreement included the higher rate, the class of car, etc.

    I am also sure the Mexico location knows exactly how long it takes to convert the money for a “gringo” and uses that to their advantage.

  • http://waynedayton.tripod.com Wayne Dayton

    Definitely take them to Small Claims Court. Highly doubtful that anybody from their NJ head office will bother to show up, so you will win by default and have a judgment against them, which could be served on your local outlet if they are corporately-owned, thereby impeding their operations. Be sure to show up at a peak time to serve your writ of seizure to maximize the inconvenience for the City Manager and the embarrassment in front of a line of customers.

  • Ames

    Were the numbers correct on the one he signed? Did he keep a copy of the one he signed? I make a cheat sheet for myself when dealing with unfamiliar currency and I try to memorize an approximation for $10 or $100 so I can quickly estimate whether an invoice is within the range I expect it to be. And although I am far from a car buff, I think I could tell the difference between a compact and an all terrrain vehicle and verify that they gave me the right car at the right price before I accepted the keys. There is much more going on here than meets the eye.

    Traveling wastes more paper for me than nearly any other activity, but I print out my reservations and keep copies of anything I sign for a long time. Sometimes it is a nice reminder two years later of a trip, sometimes just debris, but in a case like this absolutely critical. Either Mr Getson signed the wrong paperwork – so he is stuck – or paperwork was switched on him. His copy should tell the story.

  • SirWired

    Does he still have his rental agreement? That will answer all questions instantly. If his rental contract lists the more expensive car at the higher rate, he will lose in court (and with the ccard), as a written contract overrides everything else.

    That said, a Dodge Nitro ain’t exactly a “specialty vehicle”.

  • Luciano

    Miami’s airport Budget played a similar trick on me. I had reserved (and pre payed) a Ford Fusion (or similar) and child seat for 11 days. When picking up the car the employee told me they did not have a car of that group and instead was giving us a Nissan Murano (his words: a more comfortable car for your family). Then he added the chlid seat at $12 a day, plus taxes and gave me a total of $139,50. I signed it, picked up the keys and went to the car.I was aware the child seat charges were not pre-payed.

    Later reviewing the reservation, it said the child seat would cost around $60 (as did Budget’s online reservation system).

    When returning the car my wife questioned the $139,50 charge, and the same employee said that it was not for the child seat, they were not even charging it. It was for the category upgrade which I had signed! What I signed indeed said rental charges, but he clearly had told me the extra charges were for the child seat). At least a disrespectfull attitude.

    Due to an accident on the freeway we were running late for our flight and decided to deal with that later. When arriving home I contacted my travel agent and she got in touch with Budget. If they did not have a car on the group I had reserved, an upgrade could not cost me anything, after all, it was not my fault they didn’t have the car, but they confirmed their version of the facts. A couple of weeks later they did refund the difference ($77).

  • Carver

    @Sirwired

    Actually a written contract DOES NOT override everything else. There are many defenses to a written contract. Additionally, his confirmation is also a written contract so there are two competing written contracts. Moreover,the signed contract should be in the same language and currency as the original confirmation just to avoid this exact situation, otherwise a judge is more inclined to believe that hertz in Cancun is not playing straight.

  • Jasper

    Question. Where do you take this to court? In Cancun? You might not have a chance. I guess if you made the reservation through an American intermediate, you could go after them. although I’d suspect they’d just refer to the place in Cancun and say: “Well, he admits making changes, so we can’t be held responsible anymore for our original quote.”

    I get very annoyed with rental places trying to upsell customers. Once, they told me to wait two hours for my car. “The previous renter was late”. I told them politely that was not my problem. Well, perhaps I wanted a larger car. I asked if that would me more expensive. Yes. Well, no, I’d like the car I reserved. And now please. I didn’t tell them what flight I was on for no reason. In the end, the guy grudgingly gave me a larger model, with no extra cost. And I made him write that down.

    The problem is that they try to make you feel guilty just to get more money from you. It’s not their fault that the previous driver was late, is it? Well, you can wait for your car. How ’bout we give you an upgrade?

    It’s a sneaky, dishonest and disgusting way of doing business. No wonder nobody trusts these guys.

  • Kathleen Pierz

    I’ve had trouble with this same Hertz outlet; bait and switch and then trouble returning the car. As a result of the chaos in trying to return the vehicle and being forced to wait in a long line we actually missed the last tender to our cruise ship – inspite of my pleading to be taken care of (I’m a native Spanish speaker, there was no language barrier). Overall, renting cars in developing countries should not be undertaken by the faint of heart. Be 100% sure you know what you are getting. Also if you have flights to catch or a cruise ship to make it back to plan several extra hours to get the car issues resolved. I hate to be so pessamistic, but I believe this particular Hertz outlet knows you will not have time to argue and leverages that to their advantage. If things seem a bit fuzzy why not video tape what you are being told? Plan for the worst case scenario and know where the gas stations are and what the hours are Make good use of your video camera while traveling; you can always edit out the footage when you get home. Also, use your camera to take photos of the car before you leave the lot. We had pursue the over charges once were were back in the States, but after a long series of letters we got a partial refund.

  • Stoyko

    I had an issue with Hertz at the same location. Two weeks before my trip I reserved a car from them, they were the cheapest option. I used Travelocity for the reservation, but it was not pre-paid. A month before the trip I checked all reservations and discovered that they had doubled their price. I contacted them via email to ask for the reason they wouldn’t honor their original quote, and their response was that airport fees were not included in the original quote. I then highlighted the airport fees stated in the Travelocity confirmation and asked to get in contact with a manager. This never happened. I also asked Travelocity to look into the issue, but they said that I should be charged what originally quoted and I should turn to them after I receive the final bill. I decided not to take the chance and went with the next cheapest option – still much cheaper than Hertz’s adjusted quote.

    Bottom line – check your reservation before the trip. If possible, even call the location to confirm it.

  • anukexpat

    Good luck suing Hertz in Mexico – the rental contract was with Hertz Mexico so suing Hertz US will be a waste of time and effort.

  • Carver

    @anukexpat

    That’s really a sophisticated legal question that would be determined by the specific relationship between Hertz USA and Hertz Mexico.

  • Carver

    @anukexpat

    In fact, if they used the same reservations website to book the travel, you’d probably have a fairly easy time sueing hertz USA.

  • Carly

    I spent some time working abroad in Mexico. I paid an exorbitant amount of money for my apartment, which was in a great area and furnished beautifully, but extremely poorly maintained by my landlord. For example, we paid all the utility bills on time but our electricity was cut off for a weekend because of an unpaid bill from four months before we moved in. When I left, my landlord refuesd to refund my damage deposit (as per our contract). We argued for months, but eventually all it took was a threat to report them to Profeco- http://www.profeco.gob.mx/consumidor/extranjeros.asp – a great resource for consumer issues in Mexico. As long as you’ve got the paperwork, you’re good to go.

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