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Would a car rental company permanently ban a customer and offer no way back – ever? Joseph H. learned firsthand that when Hertz tells you it will never rent to you again, it means forever.
The former President’s Circle member says his banishment resulted from a little mistake based on a misunderstanding. Joe says he learned his lesson, accepted his fate and endured it for seven years.
But recently he’s been ruminating about this situation and decided that the punishment Hertz dished out was too harsh. Joe wants the car rental company to remove his name from its Do Not Rent list – and welcome him back.
However, Joe realized he needed help convincing Hertz to take him off the DNR list. He hoped Consumer Rescue could deliver his heartfelt apology to make that happen.
Unfortunately, there was a significant problem with his request: his paper trail with the details of his banishment.
It painted a much darker picture of why Hertz banned him forever. Joe’s description of his offense versus the reality of what he’d done suggested he hadn’t learned his lesson after all.
Here’s his story.
Beware of accepting free car rental certificates from a “friend”
Remember 2018? Joe does. That was the year he says his “trusted friend” offered him 25 free-day car rental certificates. It was also the year that Hertz banned him forever – including from all its affiliates – for using those vouchers.
Although Joe knew little about these certificates, he applied four of them to his last car rental. He entered the codes into the online reservation system, and they were accepted. However, part of the terms of use stated that an employee at the location needed to collect them.
“The JFK location didn’t have an employee on the floor to accept the certificates,” Joe told me. “I just assumed they would be electronically applied. I had used a few of these before and I wasn’t expecting a problem.”
But hours later, when Joe landed in Spain, he noticed an email from Hertz. It was a $471 receipt for his rental car reservation. He expected the rental to cost around $71 with the free day certificates applied.
“None of my certificates were applied to my reservation, so I sent a complaint to Hertz. I explained that my free rental car days weren’t accepted,” Joe explained. “The representative told me to mail the certificates to Hertz, and corporate would apply the discount.”
Joe did as the Hertz employee instructed. Two weeks later, he received a refund for the entire rental.
He didn’t know it yet, but Hertz had flagged Joe’s use of those certificates as fraudulent. He wouldn’t be using the rest of his stash of free day vouchers.
In fact, Joe would soon learn that he was no longer welcome at Hertz.
Hertz: “Your rental privileges have been suspended, permanently.”
A few weeks after this particular rental, Joe received a letter from Hertz. He was stunned to read that his favorite car rental company no longer wanted him as a customer. In fact, not only was he banned, but all his points in the Hertz Gold membership program had been revoked.
Related: Surprise! Your favorite cruise line put you on the Do Not Sail list
“Over 4,000 points were deleted when Hertz banned me,” Joe explained. “That seemed unfair. Hertz never told me that the certificates were fraudulent or counterfeit when I first used them. Why didn’t they tell me then?”
He insisted that his banishment was just the result of a misunderstanding – a little mistake. His friend had assured him that he could use the certificates, he said.
Joe was bewildered by Hertz’s harsh treatment of such a loyal customer.
“I spent thousands of dollars renting cars from Hertz over the years. If I had known I was not eligible to use the certificates, I wouldn’t have applied them to my reservation. How could I have known that I couldn’t use the coupons?”
But then Joe sent me a photo of some of his free rental car certificates, and his case quickly unraveled.
Despite his immense confusion about how he could have known he was ineligible to use those certificates, the answer to his question was in bold type on the front of each of his free car rental day certificates.
Free Rental Day certificates are non-transferable
The Free Rental Day certificates that Joe had obtained from his friend are issued to participants in the Hertz Business Rewards program. That’s a program to which Joe didn’t belong. He’s not sure where his friend acquired these certificates.
“I assumed he got them from corporate,” Joe told me. “I realize now it was a mistake [not confirming where they came from]. That was my oversight.”
That wasn’t just an oversight. The terms of use make it crystal clear that Joe would not have been eligible to use the 25 Free Rental Day certificates he received from his “friend.”
I pointed out to Joe that the terms of use aren’t in fine print – they’re actually in bold print.
“Yes, I see that now,” Joe conceded. “But all these years later, there must be some way to fix this now. I’m an honest person. This was an honest mistake.”
An honest mistake was an unusual way to describe what the car rental company rightfully considered theft of services.
Fraudulently using certificates, vouchers or discounts is considered theft
Joe is not the first person to get banned from a car rental company for using corporate certificates obtained in non-legitimate ways.
There are many online forums, sites, and groups dedicated to “nontraditional” travel hacks. Some of these hacks drift into unethical and even illegal methods of scoring cheap travel. On these platforms, members buy and sell vouchers, points, miles, and other loyalty program amenities.
Related: You should not try to sell your American Airlines vouchers. Here’s why
No loyalty program allows travelers to sell the benefits awarded to members. If you do, and get caught, you’ll most certainly get the boot. For the person on the other end of the transaction, whatever you sold will be voided.
When you use a certificate or discount code that you are entitled to use, it’s not a little mistake. It’s called fraud. Yet, people take the risk and get involved in these types of schemes every day.
This trip to the Do Not Rent list is one-way
I explained to Joe that I would have no basis to ask Hertz to take him off the Do Not Rent list. I recommended that he not spend any more time attempting to convince the company he just made a little mistake.
That opinion was only solidified when he shared with me the reconsideration plea that he had already sent to Hertz. In that letter, Joe explained that the matter was urgent because he wanted to rent a car soon, and he repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the incident. He asked that his renting privileges, President Circle status, and points all be restored ASAP.
“[The car rental company’s] decision seems particularly harsh for what I understand to be a one-time misunderstanding,” he concluded.
Not surprisingly, Hertz was unmoved by Joe’s uncompelling letter which totally glossed over the fact that the company banned him for fraudulent activity.
After a thorough review of this matter, we stand by our original decision. Although the resolution is not what you preferred, no additional action is warranted. We regret that we are unable to fulfill your expectations in this instance.
Hertz Senior Customer Care
Consumer Rescue can’t help
Joe shared his last conversations with Hertz and asked me what I thought. As he still didn’t seem to be understanding the gravity of the situation, I thought it best to be brutally honest with him.
You’re going to need to find another car rental company. Some “little mistakes” result in permanent repercussions. Hertz is telling you that you are on a DNR list with notations in your account that you participated in fraudulent activity. This isn’t a little mistake.
Your explanation to Hertz as to what happened makes it sound like you still don’t believe you did anything wrong in this situation. I don’t think your plea to Hertz to be reinstated was very compelling. You mentioned several times that you were using legitimate certificates, but the truth is, you don’t know if they were legitimate or not since they weren’t issued to you. But whether or not they were legitimate makes no difference because they weren’t issued to you, so they had no value in your hands. The very first line of the certificates explains that information. The name in the bottom right corner isn’t yours, so those weren’t yours to use. Your friend must have known that.
The contact information Meera gave you for Hertz is at the executive level. The company reviewed the details of your placement on the DNR list and made a final decision. As I’m sure you realize, I can’t vouch for you with Hertz, so I can’t ask the company to change its decision. They are free to do business with whomever they choose. I’m sorry I don’t have better news, but my best advice is to use another car rental company and don’t take any more free coupons from unknown origins.
Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer advocate
I don’t really know where Joe and his friend got all those free car rental certificates. But it was a scheme that permanently closed the door on his time as a Hertz customer.
Top ways car rental customers get banned
Car rental agencies frequently ban customers who don’t play by the company’s rules. These are the top ways travelers are landing on the Do Not Rent list.
1. Unauthorized use of vouchers or discount codes
This seems like an obvious way to get permanently banned from renting vehicles. However, my inbox proves that it isn’t obvious to everyone. Using discount codes for free days or vouchers that you aren’t authorized to use is considered theft of services, stealing. Car rental companies don’t take kindly to customers who attempt to steal from them.
2. Verbally abusing, threatening, or assaulting company employees
Taking your anger out on car rental company employees guarantees you a swift trip to the blacklist. If you’re unable to maintain proper behavior before, during, or after your rental, you’ll be permanently banished with no chance of a comeback.
3. Not sticking to the terms of the contract
Your car rental contract is a legally binding document. When you sign it, you’re agreeing to all the listed terms. If you ignore those details, for instance, by failing to return the vehicle on time, you could land, not only on the Do Not Rent list, but also in jail for car theft.
4. Filing credit card disputes after a rental
One of the most common reasons that car rental customers get banned is by filing credit card disputes. If you believe that a car rental agency has mistakenly charged you a fee you don’t owe, it is crucial that you resolve the problem directly with the company. Filing a credit card chargeback will not fix the mistake and will likely only make things worse.
Related: Credit card disputes: What you need to know before you file one by mistake
Remember this: car rental companies rarely fight credit card disputes, but that doesn’t mean the debt will go away. Instead, you’ll end up battling with a collection agency and blacklisted from the company until you pay your bill.
5. Ignoring outstanding bills
Sometimes additional fees will be added to your account, weeks or even months after your rental. Tolls and traffic tickets often take time to work their way back to the car rental company. If you ignore the request for payment, you’ll be banned from renting cars again until you cover the bill.
If you believe that the additional charges are incorrect, it is crucial that you work it out directly with the company. Credit card disputes are not the way to settle a suspected billing error with a car rental agency for the reasons I previously mentioned. You’re almost guaranteed to end up on the DNR list and in collections if you try to solve a legitimate problem via a credit card dispute.
Instead, follow the strategies in my guide to solving consumer problems.
If you encounter difficulties finding a helpful customer-facing person who can assist you can use our executive contact finder: Your Research Valet. You tell us the company you’re struggling with, and we will give you the name and contact information for a helpful person there.
6. Poor driving record
A poor driving record can earn you a spot on the Do Not Rent list. Speeding tickets, accidents and other moving violations do not make you an appealing car rental customer. However, if you improve your driving record, over time, the door may reopen to your renting privileges.
The bottom line
Some offenses are unforgivable and will result in a lifetime ban for a car rental customer. Stealing is one of those misdeeds. Using discount codes and certificates that aren’t yours is the same as stealing. That’s true, no matter what some travel hack site might suggest.
If a company tells you that you’re banned permanently, in most cases, that means forever. It’s best to play by your car rental company’s rules to steer clear of the Do Not Rent list because once you’re on it, there may be no way off. (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Founder of Consumer Rescue)
Before you go: What happens when a customer is put on the Do Not Rent list by mistake?
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Question of the day: Do you think the punishment fit the crime for this car rental customer? Share your opinion in the comments below.
