Two hundred thirty former Hertz customers have signed onto a lawsuit against the rental car giant, claiming they were unlawfully arrested because Hertz accused them of stealing their rental car instead of turning it in.
Francis Alexander Malofiy, the Pennsylvania-based lead attorney for the plaintiffs, says the former customers have faced prosecution in some cases that required them to hire legal counsel.
It turns out Hertz is targeting more than just a few of its customers. Recently unsealed court records reveal that Hertz files 3,365 police reports each year that claim customers have “stolen” its cars.
Malofiy told ConsumerAffairs that part of the issue stems from the way Hertz controls its inventory and how the company processes debit cards.
The legal team for the plaintiffs says many of the alleged thefts are actually sloppy bookkeeping. They say a customer may call Hertz and ask to extend the rental agreement for a few more days, resulting in a temporary hold on the customer’s payment card.
But if the hold fails to go through for one reason or another, Hertz reports the car as “stolen by conversion,” a term that applies when someone is legally using personal property or funds and then takes control of the property in a way that violates an original agreement.
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