When renting a Tesla car, there are repeated cases where people are charged tens of thousands of yen for 'gas money'
Renting a car is one option when you want to secure transportation for weekend leisure activities or want to try a car that you don't usually drive. However, a series of problems have been reported in which people who rented Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) from Hertz, a major American rental car company, were charged for gasoline even though they had not used any gasoline, according to a report by The Drive, a news site specializing in automobiles.
Hertz Charging a Tesla Renter for Gas Was Not an Isolated Incident
The series of problems came to light following
This extra charge is an option called 'Skip the Pump,' which allows you to pay extra for fuel instead of filling up the fuel tank when returning the car. However, Tesla cars do not have gasoline engines, and Joshua Lee, who rented the car, charged the battery to 96%, the same as when he rented it. Moreover, Hertz refused to refund Lee until the issue was covered in the media, The Drive points out.
After The Drive published the story, several other users who had rented Teslas through Hertz reported similar cases.
One of the victims, Evan Frohlich, said he reserved a Tesla Model 3 Long Range, but when he tried to pick up the car, he was told that only the Standard Range model was available, not the Long Range model. Moreover, the initial price remained the same, so Frohlich had to talk to a manager to get a $22 discount as a relief measure.
When Froehlich returned his Tesla, he was charged $340.97 for 'Skip the Pump' fees. When Froehlich returned the car, the battery was at 21% capacity, but the Hertz loyalty program meant that the recharging fee was only $25.
While Froehlich was eventually able to cancel the extra charges, he had a hard time reaching a customer service representative and had to make a big fuss on social media to finally get the issue resolved.
Another victim, Toan Le, suffered even worse. He booked a Model 3 with Hertz for a week for $329.83 and paid in advance, then returned it, only to be charged $690.32 later. That included $475.19 in fuel charges, in addition to the $25 recharging fee, as well as a late fee for the rental fee that Le had prepaid.
To add insult to injury, the invoice he received also listed $125.01 for using Tesla's
While Le was eventually able to cancel the extra charge, he said he was upset about being charged such a large amount. Users who spoke to The Drive said they might think twice about renting another car with Hertz, even though they are frequent and top-ranked members of the loyalty program.
It is unclear how many other users have faced similar charges, but The Drive has found a March 2023 post on Facebook reporting similar charges, suggesting that 'this issue appears to have been going on for more than a year.'
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