Oh no, I’m stuck with two car rental bills

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By Christopher Elliott

George Wong’s car rental experience in Germany ends in confusion when his reservation is canceled and then reinstated at a higher rate. Now he has two bills for the same rental. What should he do?

Question

My husband and I recently rented a car via AutoEurope for a trip to Germany and the Czech Republic. We received a pre-paid voucher for a rental from Hertz.

When we landed in Munich, Germany, a Hertz representative told us our reservation had been canceled. After some delay, checking on his computer and his garage, he assured us that we could obtain another smaller car. He said it would cost slightly less than our original rental amount, but that we would have to take up the refund of the original reservation with Auto Europe.

My husband signed a new charge slip (of course, all in German) and we were glad to finally be on our way. The Hertz agent only gave us a credit card receipt, but no rental agreement.

Rental car returned without incident

While still in Europe, my husband sent an email to AutoEurope, letting it know about the cancellation. We returned the car without incident.

Now both Hertz and AutoEurope are charging us for the car. After several months of multiple e-mails and phone calls, AutoEurope advised us that their original charge indeed was for our reservation, which they state was not canceled, and that the Hertz charges were not for a new rental but for unrequested extra insurance, a car return relocation fee, entry to Czech Republic fee and a winterization fee.

I am so mad and offended by the dishonesty of the Hertz agent in Munich and the collusion of AutoEurope. Do we have any recourse? — Pat Shopher, El Macero, Calif.

Answer

AutoEurope’s voucher should have worked. But instead of taking the next rental, you should have contacted AutoEurope immediately and asked it to fix the problem with Hertz. That way, this misunderstanding could have been avoided.

I’ve dealt with a few cases like this, where reservations for international rentals were canceled and then rebooked at a higher rate. Usually, customers end up with an extra fee or two, but I’ve never seen it rise to this level.

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Some of the fees charged by the Hertz location in Germany seem suspicious. If you never asked for insurance, why should you pay for it? A winterization fee? (That would be for winter tires, which should come standard with any car driving in winter conditions.)

Check the car rental contract

Why did you sign a contract that you couldn’t understand? You have the right to ask for a contract in a language you understand, or at least for a translation. But instead, it looks as if you assumed the terms of your rental were the same as for the AutoEurope rental, and they weren’t. (Here’s our ultimate guide to renting a car.)

The vouchers issued by a company like AutoEurope should include all mandatory charges, and if Hertz had accepted it, you probably wouldn’t have had any surprises on your credit card bill. You made a valiant attempt to dispute this with each company, short of taking this matter up with your credit card. (Related: This is how not to get Hertz car rental Five Star status.)

Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary. My advocacy team and I contacted Hertz on your behalf. It refunded 251 euro, the full amount of Hertz’ optional services.

Do car rental companies make it too difficult to resolve billing disputes?

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.

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