Car rental agents have “small incentive” to note correct fuel levels

If you rent a car, you know what happens when you return your vehicle. At the time of check-in, agents often do their best to add extra fees for minor damage or fuel. But what’s happening from the agent’s perspective?

One reader was curious, so he asked. In fact, he got involved in a rather heated exchange with a major car rental company. I’m leaving his name and the car rental company’s name out of it because it could have happened to anyone with any car rental company. (But I will give you a clue as to the identity of the company — don’t assume this was El Cheapo Rent A Car.)

Three times over the past year — twice in St. Louis — I have caught them charging me extra for gas upon return, even though I fill up at the closest gas station to the return center. Each and every time I have reported it to the service desk at the location, their 1-800 complaint line # listed on the rental contract and the survey Web site that is listed at the bottom of the receipt. Each and every time they have refunded my money right away and told me it would never happen again

But sure enough, it happens again.

After the third time I finally received a reply from a company representative. “I would like to assure you that there is no corporate practice of trying to charge customers for fuel that they didn’t use, just in the hopes that the customer won’t notice,” she wrote. “This would be a truly reckless business practice, since this is in a competitive, service business. Giving the impression that the company is trying to cheat its customer would result in far larger losses over the long term than any petty thieving could every bring. I must vigorously deny the suggestion that we are purposely charging for fuel that wasn’t used.”

She went on to explain that her employees “receive regular training on how to communicate and provide refueling services, and we audit our employees to make sure it is being done properly.”

“There is some small incentive to the instant return representative to correctly record the returning fuel level, and so it is possible that such employees could be trying to improve their personal compensation by unnecessarily charging for refueling,” she added. “This is serious misconduct, and if it is discovered, the employee would be fired immediately”.

So they offer their employees extra cash incentives to do just that — report and charge for a car low on fuel when in fact it was filled to the brim not just 1 minute prior to being returned.

I wrote back and explained this was surely an easy way to make millions for the company simply by charging lets just 100 unsuspecting people at the St. Louis location $8 extra for fuel per day. Now multiply that by 100 other locations around the U.S. and Canada and then multiply that by 365 days per year. The result is $29 million per year in unearned profits.

Warning to others: better look close, because between the several charges listed on your receipt, the $8.** slip in is easy to miss.

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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