Raleigh man stunned by Hertz rental car bill with upgrade charge applied 'in error'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Raleigh man received a rental car bill for hundreds of dollars more than he was told it would cost.

The issue began when Michael Brock and his wife reserved a rental car through Hertz.

The online reservation stated that the estimated price was $368. When the couple arrived in Florida to pick up the rental, Brock said the worker at the Hertz counter wrote a note where the couple should pick up their rental and they followed those instructions.

"When we were checking out the car and leaving the airport, The lady told us, 'Oh, he gave you an upgrade,' and I said, 'What?' It surprised me and she said, 'But you won't have to pay for it, don't worry.'" Brock recalled.

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Brock's receipt stated the estimated charge would be $405 because he added on the fuel purchase option. He thought everything was fine until he returned the rental a few days later to find that the bill had increased by more than $600 due to the vehicle upgrade.

In response, Brock said he filed complaints online with Hertz but later received a letter from the company stating that the charges were valid. Not happy with Hertz's response Brock reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

Wilson reached out to Hertz and a representative provided this statement, "Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and we regret this customer's experience. We have apologized to the customer and refunded the charge for the upgrade which appears to have been applied in error."

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In response to the refund on his rental car upgrade, Brock said to Wilson, "I'm very happy with that. It wouldn't have happened unless Diane Wilson had gotten involved. I know that for sure."

The best advice is to always get receipts and keep documentation to prove what you should be charged and what you were charged. In this case, it helped that Brock kept receipts of the charges when it came to his rental.