Refueling fees are a contentious issue for car rental companies, drivers, and government regulators. Last summer, Hertz changed its refueling policy after being pressured by customers and government officials, but other companies have imposed increasingly strict terms when it comes to gas charges.
The following story could have happened to anyone at any car rental counter in America, but it happened to John in Hawaii. And John happens to be a lawyer.
We rented an SUV from Hilo International Airport and drove all around the Island. The rental agreement stipulated that we had to return the SUV full of fuel. We returned the car two days later, full of gas.
Upon return, however, the car agency demanded that I produce receipts of my gasoline purchases for fill-ups.
I declined. They threatened not to permit me to turn in my car without those receipts. They suggested I would have to pay for a full tank of fuel if I couldn’t prove to their satisfaction that I had filled up.
Wait a minute. The tank is full. Why would the car rental company want a receipt?
I was amused and told them that I am an attorney, which I am, and that it would be a cold day in hell before they forced me to show them my personal receipts and before they left my car sitting at curbside check-in at the rental counter, denying me the return. Sheesh.
I told them they had exactly 60 seconds to figure it out or I was going to walk and someone other than me would be paying for my return to Hawaii County to fight whatever surcharges they thought they could charge to my card for phantom fuel.
The rental clerk asked me to wait two minutes, which I did. She went in the back and came out 30 seconds later, apologized and processed my return.
Well, nothing like being threatened with a lawsuit to get a car rental company to do the right thing. Why the hard line on refueling?
As I was leaving — and understand I had been extremely nice to her, since she was just doing her job and was just passing along useless and illegal policies on unsuspecting customers — she confided in me that their agency and others had a real problem with folks renting cars and refilling the tanks with water, kerosene, used oil, etc.
She also said that a lot of people rented the car, drove around for an hour and returned it, claiming that the tank was still “full,” as there wasn’t a discernible change in the fuel needle.
Let’s take those “arguments” one at a time. If a tank is full, minus a fraction of a gallon, it will be equally full for the next customer. So the car rental company won’t have to bear the expense of topping off the vehicle.
If someone adds water or oil to the gas tank, the car will stop running. The rental company will track down the customer and charge for the damage. Besides, a gas receipt doesn’t prove a renter didn’t add water or oil to the tank at some point.
A car rental company doesn’t have the right to demand that you show receipts for a fuel purchase. If the needle is at the “F” mark, your case is closed.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, it’s stupid, but it also doesn’t seem like a big deal to show a gas receipt if one has indeed filled the vehicle. The whole card number is not shown. Of all the car rental hassles they perpetrate on us, this seems like one of the more minor ones.
Gee, they could have put premium fuel in the tank as well.
Maybe they put methane or propane or just used a magnet to keep the fuel gauge up.
It could also be they never left the lot – and lived in the car on their Hawaiian vacation – anything is possible.
I experienced this once as well – not the ‘you could have put water in argument,’ but the where is the receipt for the fill up. In my case, I put 1200 miles on an SUV – think I needed to add gas? The clerk tells me ‘you could have just driven it around, so we need a receipt.’
I looked at her and said is that a serious comment? Did you look at the rental? Blank stare back at me. I put 1200 miles on the vehicle in 10 days – did it run on Fairy Dust for 1190 of them so the tank stayed full? She simply processed the return.
I have also had the refueling fee argument ‘informing me’ that the closest gas station is 7 miles away so the tank cannot be full. That one was amusing. I returned the vehicle and then sued the company in small claims court for the fee, asking them to prove that someone topped off the vehicle before I got it. I subpoenaed all sorts of records and REFUSED a settlement offer from the company until they produced the documents. I spent hundreds of dollars on subpeonas, I deposed the guy working the cars the day the vehicle I rented was brought back the time before and when I brought it back. His testimony was damning. They never topped anything off. Was not on his checklist – if a vehicle came back under 7/8’s they drove it as a local use vehicle to run errands and topped it at the same station 7 miles away.
Thus, the entire state of Connecticut no longer has refueling fees from this car rental company. I cannot disclose the name because of the settlement ultimately reached, but lets also say that this company no longer tries to pull this stunt anywhere in the country since they know cost of doing it once someone finds out and can prove it is exorbitant.
This excuse about water/oil/kero was a complete fiction. If you put water in the gas tank, it will stop running before you get 100 yards. (Water sinks, and the fuel pump draws from the bottom of the tank.) Kero will cause misfires, and used motor oil a cloud of very obvious smoke.
And why on earth would somebody go to all the trouble to go to the airport just to rent a car for an hour? Isn’t 1 day the minimum charge?
SirWired
SirWired
The charge on rentals is one day – I travel a lot for business and I prefer to drive instead of taking a cab/public transportation. Most of my trips are not even a full day – few hours in a city, so I return the car well under the “24 hours”. I am questioned all the time and I keep the receipts (required for reimbursement) ; they the car rental takes a look and I am on my way. I don’t let them copy the receipts I flash and go.
Dill
Gee, I don’t know about you all, but when I rent a car, I use it to “drive it around” where ever that may be.
Oh, egad. I usually keep my receipts handy anyway, just ’cause I’m paranoid and suspicious. LOL.
How many times has someone filled a car with water or used oil for this to be a policy at these rental agencies? Everyone has to use a credit card to rent the vehicle in the first place. If anything happens to the car, you have the credit card info.
I don’t keep gas receipts personally, unless someone informed me as I was renting that I had to.
I do keep my fuel receipts, but have never been asked for them. They always ask if I’ve fuelled up and I tell them where, that is usally the end of the story.
I generally rent from Hertz and have had nothing but polite dialogue regarding fuel. Generally, I can find a gas station pretty close. There was a time earlier this year when I could not, and I ended up paying for some fuel when I returned it. Generally, when I rent now I ask where the nearest fuel station is to use upon my return.
I realilze these horror stories exist, but I hope I don’t run into any of them.
Renting cars for me has been a pleasant experience, for the most part.
Chris,
When YOU have to listen to and get your butt chewed out by someone who picks up a car for a couple of hours and drives 20 miles but then ends up having to put 4 gallons of gas in it because the precious person filled it up 40 miles before returning, and when YOU have to cough up $6 to reimburse them for what wasn’t your mistake plus an extra 10% off their rental to placate them (because otherwise they’re “never going to rent from you again”), THEN you can claim that if the needle is on F, that’s the end of the story.
I’m beginning to think you turn your brain off when you write these stories and make these arguments.
The agent at the counter gave a completely bogus story and if the agent knew ANYTHINg at all about cars they wouldn’t have said what they did. Companies rely on people these days to be absolutely stupid and have no knowedge of anything so they can offer absurd logic.
The problem with these companies is that for every person who stands their ground there are 10+ who do not. In addition, fuel guages are accurate and at most a gallon or two would be added even if driven for 40 miles. To have a fee for filling a tank over 40 miles is out of line as the next person gets the vehicle in the same condition. I know what some might say in that someone will have to absorb the cost at some point or the rental car company will. to those I ask, who is a better customer, the person who rents a car and drives 15 miles or the person who drives 500 miles. The obvious choice is the person who drives 15 miles as there will be no required maintenance when they are done with the car and the car has not really devalued in any way. You can’t say that about the car I put 2,000 miles on over a weekend last fall.
This would be the funniest story if its wasn’t true.
@David
The problem with showing a receipt at rental is 1)why should you and 2) not everyone keeps receipts. I never take the receipt from the gas station. If we allowed this to be the norm, it would simply be a money grab for the car rental companies.
@Chris
What car renal company at Hawaii tried that stunt. Can yu disclose the name?
@Carver, word is the company was Alamo, but I left it out of the story because I think it could have happened to anyone at any car rental company in America, and because I didn’t want to get into an argument with the company.
@Chris, my brain is on. I think.
I rented a car from Enterprise and did not notice it required an alternative fuel. I tried my best to find a station but could not prior to returning the vehicle. I explained it to the employee and my distress. He apologized for the company not telling me that I could use regular unleaded instead. They filled the car and deducted the gas charge for the inconvienence it caused me. Thought you might like hearing a ‘nice’ rental story.
@JoeFarrell:
You did all THAT with just a small claims case? Really? And here I am thinking why spend hundreds of dollars gathering evidence on a small claims case like that? Huh…
*******
And @ SirWired: I will often rent a car for a couple of hours rather than try taxis because the car rental and gas is cheaper than the taxi out and back from the airport. I used to do this for a monthly meeting in Austin where I would fly in first thing in the morning and back out to be home by 5 pm. If I tried public transit, there’s no way I could get to my meeting on time. And then I’d be free to run errands while in town if necessary without running up the cost too much. Cab fare would run $50 round trip, with tip – if memory serves. Car rental would run me $30-35 for the full-size model. Gas was a top-off at the airport on the way out – maybe $2, but I was always afraid to skip this step for the reasons outlined in this story.
Oh yeah…and @ Chris Elliott: I suspect most of us know your brain is on. Thanks. I think other Chris let some car company take advantage of him. He should have written to you for help.
I am used to having to dispute wacky things, my fiancee and I are almost constant travelers because of his job. So I have made it a habit of keeping receipts. If you find that you don’t need it when the charge posts to your account, you can just chuck it later, or shred it then get rid of it. I probably would have been sucked in by this and just showed the receipt, or even let them make a copy, but I would want to keep the original receipt in case they “conveniently” lost the copy somewhere down the line and decided to charge the fee anyways. Its always best to have the original receipt ready to bring into a bank branch or to fax a copy of in case a company does try to rip you off.
Overall, if the company wants you to show your receipt, there has to be a good reason for it. If there is, people will be more cooperative I suspect. But don’t let them take the original, or if they make a copy of it, make sure you get it right back, and remember the employee’s name who took it to the copy machine!
Well, I seem to always find the gas pump which is out of paper. Now I guess I better walk in and ask for a duplicate receipt.
In fact, Avis will charge you for fuel if you drive less than 75 miles, no matter what the gas gauge reads. I’ve showed the receipt to the agent checking in the car, and had the charge still appear. This means a stop at the counter to have it taken off. This is very annoying.
I do believe there are people who fill the car 20 or more miles from the airport. You find that out when you pick up a car and drive 20 miles and the needle is already below the F line.
I am a pilot so I travel a lot by air to smaller regional airports. I have had receipt/fuel issues twice in over two dozen years. One a company that I rented from about 10 years ago billed my $30 for a fuel charge on a car that I rented in Akron when we were diverted from Cleveland for weather and returned it a day later, topped at the gas station across the street from the airport. It was driven about 100 yards to the rental car return. I got billed for the fuel charge. I called the manager and asked about it and was told it was “policy.” I disputed the charge with the credit card company and pointed out to them that there were two fuel charges the same day as the rental charge for approximately the cost of enough fuel in that car to make a round trip to Cleveland. Did this make sense? The credit card company then reversed the charge on the credit card as a disputed item. The rental car company served notice that they would prosecute and sue me if I refused to pay. I sent them a check for the true amount owed. It was a big production, and I almost wish they had sued me, because the counterclaim would have been amusing.
Second, in Phoenix, I rented a car for a half day layover and the agent asked me for a fuel receipt on return along with my credit card. The receipt and card were produced, photocopied and returned, along with the rental car receipt. About two weeks later, the credit card company panic messaged me asking if I had bought a plane ticket on British Airways from Abuja, Nigeria to London for the weekend.
Fortunately, the message got through to me and the ticket and charge were canceled before they were used. The scam is to feign a need for the card and a receipt to copy “for the records.” The artist copies the card, flips it over while copying the receipt and copies the manual code on the back and returns both. I got lucky. No one gets my card a second time and no one gets a receipt to copy.
The other issue is the increasingly common practice of companies to add “secret” rules that are not clearly disclosed to customers, and not even a part of their contract.
From a legal standpoint, if a particular “requirement” (e.g., to show a gas receipt) is not a part of the company’s contract with its customer, the requirement does not exist. Companies cannot make up imaginary “rules” any more than customers can.
From a customer service standpoint, if a requirement is not clearly disclosed to a customer in advance — so that a well-intentioned customer knows what rules he or she is expected to follow — that rule should not be enforced. “Secret rules” (buried in fine print), which are disclosed only after they have been broken, are sneaky and unethical.
Like I said: I’m suspicious and paranoid. NO ONE would get my card to copy, and I usually black out all traces of my card number on a receipt if someone wants to copy it. Most receipts, however, just have the last 4 digits of the card used to purchase the gas.
I’ve never had a problem like this, thank goodness, and like Bill, hope it stays that way.
A rental company has EVERY right to ask to see your gas receipt, IF THAT’S INCLUDED AS A TERM IN THE RENTAL CONTRACT.
“A rental company has EVERY right to ask to see your gas receipt, IF THAT’S INCLUDED AS A TERM IN THE RENTAL CONTRACT.”
No they don’t, that transaction is a private one with you and the gas station, not you and the car company. Just because something is included in a contract doesn’t validate it.
@ the other Chris;
You’re projecting the company’s problems on the customer. As a customer, I frankly don’t give a tinker’s d*mn about the rental company’s problems with other customers.
And if you seriously pulled $6 out of your pocket to calm an angry customer, we now now know which Chris has his brain turned off.
@Art
Sorry to hear about the scam. But at least the credit card company caught it. There is NEVER a legit reason for someone to photocopy a credit card.
@Daniel
Unfortunately, not true. If its part of the contract, the car company can ask for adequate proof that you filled up the tank. If you don’t provide the proof, they can charge you accordingly. I find it a bit overreaching, but not illegal.
@Bela – uh, no. it was small claims until I discovered proof of the scam and then moved it to Superior Court . . .
This company tried really hard to settle this – they offered me almost free lifetime rentals – I admit I did make some money in the final settlement for attorneys fees but this company has agreed to not chart top-off fees. The other companies stopped as well – they did not want any part of me after that. Yes, it is very hard for me to rent a vehicle now – the company I settled with agreed to rent to me for life at a fixed fee. Some times I make money, sometimes they make money.
Hey, I have ANOTHER idea – why not make up customer discounts not disclosed.
Lets say that we got a car that was black inside and its summer? I have a “black interior 2% discomfort discount.”
Or if I reserve a compact and they give me a huge freaking gas guzzler – my fee is a “excess fuel discount fee.’ where I reduce the cost of my rental between the cost of gas for my 28mpg compact using 87 and the volvo luxo wagon I get needs premium fuel and gets 16mpg.
The car company is gonna tell me that “hey, you can’t do that, its not in the contract.”
Well, there you go.
It sounds funny and peculiar for me that refueling a car could be a problem. At least it can be a new and valuable experience for me. By the way, I agree that honesty should be showed up.
I had a very similar thing happen just recent at CDG Paris. I returned my car to National at around 23:00. Of course there was no one to check in the car but there was someone at the desk. I noted the mileage, fuel and parking space. I received my rental receipt and was charged €11.47 for fuel “since I did not return the vehicle full”. I had filled the car at the Total station just outside CDG and had driven approximately 2 km back to the airport. I received an email stating that if I faxed the fuel receipt the charges would be removed. I asked for a toll-free fax. They said they did not have one and that I would have to pay for the fuel. I contacted American Express and was told that this was a common ploy at the CDG airport. They did a chargeback. I was then contacted by National CDG as to why I refuted the charge. I just forwarded my previous email. I also contacted the National corporate offices here in the US and filed a complaint. National Corporate sent an apology letter and a voucher for $50.
I’ve had bad experiences with Alamo (showing me accident photos with blood still on the scene in order to get me to purchase their coverage) and Hertz (refusing to look at the vehicle when I drove it off the lot to verify that the vehicle was not damaged in anyway). I never tried Enterprise or Dollar, but I did use Avis and was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of the checkout…I now use Avis always…I found one that works and I’m sticking with it.
I’ve rented cars throughout my life and never had this problem. I just returned from a funeral in Orlando. I rented from BUDGET. Although I returned the tank full, they charged an additional $16+ to my credit card. After getting no where with a Customer Service Rep, then Supervisor, of BUDGET, I’ve now contacted the 7-Eleven to ask them to reproduce proof that I purchased the gas. I’m just happy I bought the $13.49 of top off fuel at 7-Eleven on credit card, rather than paying cash.
Ultimately, all of this aggravation is over $16. I told the Supervisor, “Do you realize how idiotic it is to lose a customer, and family & friends of a customer for life over $16?” I will never use BUDGET again, even after I get the charge taken off of my credit card. Someone needs to find who is running this Budget/Avis organization and give him a swift kick in the butt.
It just happened to us in Buffalo this weekend with Avis. The counter agent asked us if were were going to buy the refuel option or fill it ourselves. As always, we said we would fill it ourselves. She just said “fine,” not “if you’re going to refill it, bring your receipt.” WE DROVE LESS THAN 60 MILES and put 3 gallons in the car right near the airport. We returned it and were socked with a $13.99 charge because we didn’t have a receipt. Tell me how it’s possible in any world that we used $14 worth of gas driving 55 miles!
We always rent with Hertz (who doesn’t pull this one) and we won’t make this mistake again. I guess this fee was buried somewhere in the contract. It seems to me that if you ask the customer about refueling options, you have an obligation to tell them to bring a receipt. How stupid – the car was obviously full. We’ll protest with AMEX and I’m sure we’ll get our money back but it really bothers me that the car rental agencies are using this scam. I’m sure it’s more likely to hit the unsophisticated renter the hardest – they won’t know to fight it.