My dad wrote to me about a friend’s interesting predicament during a recent car rental. There are lots of stories about people renting a car and then stealing it, often trying to sell it to someone else. Or perhaps someone is found driving a car they thought was purchased legally and it turns out it’s stolen property.
In this case, my dad’s friend rented his car legitimately from Hertz, did nothing wrong, and yet apparently the local police thought his vehicle was stolen. The police stopped him in a residential area, drew their weapons, cuffed him, and put him in the back seat of their patrol car.
Needless to say, Hertz waived the cost of the rental. That’s the $179.76 “Customer Relations Expense.” It’s hard to tell exactly what went wrong. Did Hertz report the vehicle stolen before renting it out to someone else? Maybe they had an issue with a previous renter and failed to retract the report. Did Hertz unknowingly purchase a stolen vehicle and add it to their fleet? My dad’s friend hasn’t gotten many answers. It’s not a situation most people experience, so I’m curious to know if you’ve ever heard of something similar. One thing’s for sure: I’d probably demand a lot more than $180 in compensation.
