A $93 “top off” charge for my rental car?

August 31, 2012

Question: I rented a car from Hertz in Miami a few months ago. Before returning it, I filled it up with gas. When I turned the car in, I double-checked the fuel gauge, made sure my receipt reflected that the car had been returned full, and, thinking I had myself covered, flew home.

A few days later I received a letter from Hertz saying I had been charged $93 for refueling. It went on to say that their own receipt that stated the gauge was full, was not ample proof that I had refueled the car and I would need to provide a receipt.

I paid for the gas with cash and did not keep my receipt.

I was aghast that I was not protected by their own paperwork and the burden of proof was on me to produce a receipt.

What can I do? I’ve called Hertz numerous times to no avail. Am I just a victim of their latest scam? Do you think it is fair for them to disregard their own receipt as proof that the car was refueled? — Danny Griffin, Los Angeles

Answer: No, that’s not fair. If Hertz gives you a receipt that verifies your car was returned with a full tank, then that should be the end of the story. Case closed.

It’s true that car rental companies are getting strict about cars that are returned with less than a full tank. Some companies make you show them a receipt when you bring back the car. That’s fine.

But making you show a receipt after you’ve settled up? I’ve never heard of that until now.

How did this happen? It’s possible that the Hertz agent checking you in didn’t pay attention to the gas gauge and printed your receipt. Later, another associate discovered that the needle on your gas gauge was tilting toward the “E” and decided to charge you.

I think a $93 bill is a tad excessive. That’s a very generous markup and probably more than covers Hertz’s cost to top off your tank. I can’t blame you for thinking it’s a scam.

Here’s what you have to remember the next time you rent a car: When you refuel, use a credit card and ask for a paper receipt. Keep the receipt and show it to the employee when you return the car. You might want to ask if it’s enough proof of a full tank, and if it’s not, what you would need to do in order to avoid a refueling charge.

I contacted Hertz on your behalf. It refunded your $93.

http://twitter.com/johntbaker John Baker

Sorry as soon as my receipt is marked F by Hertz, the car is full at return. Just like if they write “no damage,” they own a dent. Who’s to say one of their employees didn’t take it for a joy ride and burn the gas?
backprop

That’s just wonderful, especially when you get a tiny thermal receipt from the pump and have to hold onto it as it turns black from being in the hot car. Bet that wouldn’t have been accepted as proof.

Anyway, this one is a no-brainer. It should not have required mediation to settle this, and Hertz needs every bit of bad publicity it can get for putting Griffin through this little charade.
BillCCC

I voted yes since it is probably the only way to prove that the tank is indeed full.

If the employee noted that the tank was full then there is no way that he shouls have been charged for a tank of gas.
frostysnowman

If the needle on the gas gauge is on F, the tank is full. No receipt should be required or requested. End of story.
http://flyicarusfly.com/ Fly, Icarus, Fly

We have to draw the line somewhere. I get it if (big IF) an employee signs off “no damage” then they wash the car and find something, you can dispute it with your own photos. But now they’re going to say their own employees are too dumb to be able to determine if the needle is at F? If a receipt is required, then it should be a stated policy. Otherwise, the employee’s word is final. Low blow, Hertz.
ExplorationTravMag

The car rental agencies are getting more and more creative with their money grab, aren’t they?

“We realize, Mr. Car Rental Customer, that you’ve brought it back with a full tank and, yes, our own employee has said it has a full tank, but we don’t believe our own eyes and feel it MUST need a fill-up to the tune of $93.”

Jeez Louise – unless the rental was a Suburban with a 40 gallon gas tank, there’s NO WAY a “top-off” costs this much.
Charles Coleman

I believe one of the
“problems” with returning the vehicle with a full tank of fuel is, is
it really when you return it? I know from past experience that one can fuel up
and then drive in excess of 40 miles and still have many of the gas gauges in
vehicles show full. So, I am sure there are many who know what and fill
accordingly. Then, as soon as the next customer drives off the lot the gauge
begins creeping down before he/she drives even ten miles.

One car rental at New Orleans airport requires that returning customers
provide a gas receipt when they return the vehicle; a receipt with the current
date on it and within ten miles of the return location. That will help stop
some who would fill up way out and drive another 30-45 miles. It’s a shame we
are faced with this, but with the price of fuel and labor these days, having to
top off its vehicles does eat into the rental company’s bottom line.
Cybrsk8r

This is a total scam. If the gauge showed full, what exactly does Hertz think was in the tank, water? I’m waiting for a rental company (probably Alamo) to try that one. And isn’t Hertz supposed to be one the “good” companies that never pulls this crap? I guess you’re not really safe from “gotchas” anywhere.

I keep my receipts until my statement comes. Even if you pay cash, you can still ask the cashier for a receipt. And if you pay with a credit card, your monthly statement showing the fuel purchase should be enough to win a dispute with the CC company if it comes to that.

And any requirement for a receipt should be disclosed at the beginning of the rental. In fact, I would go so far as requiring an initial line on the rental agreement. That would ensure that the customer is made aware of the requirement.
SoBeSparky

If Hertz’ contract says you have to produce a receipt upon request, then you have to produce the receipt. You cannot pick and choose the contract items you want to have apply.
Yes, rental car companies have a right to enforce contracts, even when it seems illogical.
Daisiemae

But if that is the policy, it should be stated up front both in writing and verbally…not after the customer has settled up and has been given a receipt marked full. And certainly a top off is not going to cost $93! That’s a blatant ripoff!
IGoEverywhere

Absolutely save a full gas receipt. Every travel agent knows to tell the client this. Hertz probably did wrong, and wrong happens is all phases of life, but now you need to prove it.
jikinn

I just got back from a trip to Seattle, where we had rented a car from Hertz. Sea/Tac airport has a brand new rental car facility, which is not on-site at the airport, so when we returned the car, the Hertz people offered to drive us to the departure area at the airport (which we appreciated because it meant we didn’t have to schlep our stuff to the shuttle bus). However, all of us, our luggage, and the Hertz driver didn’t all fit into the car we had rented, so they moved our luggage to another car that was just coming back from having taken its previous renter to the airport. Everything was uneventful, but if that same car had been used several times that day to ferry people to the airport or if some kind of damage to the car occurred while the Hertz employee was driving the car, the cost for the gas or the blame for any damage could have been assigned to the person who rented it last, even though he had returned the car to Hertz undamaged and with a full gas tank. Being driven to the departure gate was a big convenience, so I hope this service doesn’t have to be discontinued due to the potential for disputes about the condition of the cars after they have been returned.
http://flyicarusfly.com/ Fly, Icarus, Fly

The only problem with that is that gas stations near car rental places are notorious for having higher than average prices.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Charlie-Brown/1012867288 Charlie Brown

I don’t think the receipt for gas is proof as someone might fill up in the morning and then drive a hundred miles to the airport. If the gauge says full that should be the end of the story. If the gauge is malfunctioning then that is not the renters problem.
http://www.facebook.com/TravelingSalesman Jim Daniel

They get to ask for a receipt WHEN they start giving me a receipt at the time i rent the car showing it was full.
has anyone ever taken a car directly to a station to check the actual fuel level upon renting the car
Joe_D_Messina

He can prove it because Hertz’s own paperwork says the tank was full. That’s much more proof than any receipt could provide–he could have filled the car up many, many miles away from the rental return site. Demanding the receipt is just Hertz’s way of giving him the runaround.
l2y2

I recently rented a car from Avis at Ontario in Southern CA. On the way to the airport, my passengers encouraged me to refuel sooner rather than closer to the airport. I was the one who signed the contract stating that if the car was not returned with a full tank I would be charged $10 a gallon for refueling. After reading all the horror stories about ridiculous charges by rental car companies, I did not want to take the chance that they thought I did not return the car fully fueled. We refueled a mere 2 miles to the airport. I am wondering if Hertz saw that the needle was very slightly below the F and took advantage of Mr. Griffin? BTW, I also took numerous pictures of the car and made sure the agent checking me out with the car signed off on every little scratch and dent already there. I feel like I am be overly paranoid, but problems like this are all too common now.
Joe_D_Messina

If they’d demanded a receipt when he had turned the car in, I’d agree with you. But this didn’t come up until days after they’d accepted the car and marked “Full” on the paperwork which closed the transaction as far as the fuel issue was concerned. If demanding a receipt days later was to be considered a reasonable practice, how much further could they go? Would demanding a receipt months later also be okay? A year later?
l2y2

I also voted to save your receipt to prove you refueled. From past experience they do look at the time on the receipt you refueled and the time you are returning the car. With the high prices of gas now, they have gotten very picky about making sure you didn’t refuel too far away from the airport.
http://twitter.com/DutchessPDX Dutchess

Last time I checked every car has a nifty little gadget that tells you the tank is fuel. Why should we now have to provide double proof that the tank is indeed full?
http://twitter.com/DutchessPDX Dutchess

If you read your response it makes no sense. You say not topping off eats into the rental company’s bottom line. Yet you also say the victim is the next person who rents the car? So, which is it?

I think it’s a bunch of crap. There’s a fuel gauge in the car that indicates the fuel level of the car. That should be sufficient to prove the tank is full.
If you buy into their story that it hurts other consumers you’re a fool. We all know there true motive is PROFIT. If they start requiring receipts they have a “GOTCHA” moment for dozens of renters a day where they will put $5 in gas in a car and charge them $95 on their credit card. If you think that Hertz or any rental car company has customers in mind when they enact rules like this, you’re sorely mistaken.
Rochelle

A receipt with the date and time stamp from the gas station, compared to the date and time of vehicle return should be sufficient. If you fill up at 10:02 two miles from the dropoff, and they check you in at 10:15, that’s close enough for time difference of reaching the desk to turn the vehicle in (or whatever your case may be) with a full tank.
http://twitter.com/DutchessPDX Dutchess

There’s a difference between a best practice to save the receipt and voting YES that the rental car companies should ask for receipts.
Cybrsk8r

And be careful about accepting a car with less than a full tank. I have an Enterprise near here that always rents their cars with 1/2 a tank. So what’s the difference? Well, think about it.

If the tank is full when you rent it, then there are only two possible scenarios when you return it. Either the tank is full, or it’s not. If the tank isn’t full, they charge you for the fuel.

But if the car only has 1/2 a tank when you rent it, now there are three possible scenarios when you return. The third scenario is that there is MORE gas in it than when you took possession. And I have yet to see a contract that doesn’t say the agency will not compensate the customer for extra fuel. So if you forget and fill it up before returning it, you’ve just given them a free half-tank of gas, and it’s a pretty safe bet they are not going to pass that free gas onto the next renter.
Rochelle

Fill up at a different station along the way, say a gallon from the car rental location (20 miles? 30 miles?), and then top off at the airport vicinity to get that receipt. That way you’re not filling the tank with over-priced gas..
BrownLunchSack

As a former rental car agent, I have a few opinions on this story and the things being written in the comments. Firstly, I agree with most that as soon as you receive your receipt upon return, no other charges/penalties/etc. should be assessed to the renter. What I always found interesting is that (at least with the rental car company I worked for), there was nothing stopping employees from going back into any rental within a set period after the return and changing things around, all without requiring any signatures from the renter; in fact, we weren’t required to print a receipt, and the receipts didn’t need to be signed by the renter upon return.

As for the fuel charge issue, all major rental car companies have a clause in their contract that says something to the effect of “If you don’t pre-purchase your fuel, you will be charged $X per gallon or $X/mile if you don’t return the car with at least as much fuel as when you received it.” There are 2 things to note with this:

1) if you rent a car, drive it 5 miles, return it, the tank still shows full, and you indicate to the rental agent upon return that you didn’t put any gas in the car, you will be required to pay that per-mile fuel charge because you clearly didn’t replace the fuel that you used; and

2) it says what the rate is for the rental company to refuel the car for you. To those who say that $90 is an excessive charge, I say it isn’t. I just pulled a rental contract from a Hertz rental I made in December 2010 and it shows that the per gallon charge to replace the fuel is $8.99/gallon. If had used 10 gallons of fuel on this rental and not replaced the fuel I used, how much would I have had to pay? That’s right! About $90, the same (approximate) amount that was originally billed to the OP in this story. I’m not saying the OP should have to pay this as he had a receipt indicating the car was returned full (see my first paragraph above), however it definitely looks like the $93 was a reasonable charge for replacing fuel in the car based on terms spelled out in a normal rental car contract. To those that say it doesn’t cost Hertz $93 to replace that fuel, I agree with you, however that’s faulty logic to complain about the charge. No for-profit business charges things “at-cost” and with rental car companies,
they spell the terms out pretty clearly on their contract (honestly, Hertz makes it really clear on the old contract I looked at), so to complain about a clearly disclosed fee as excessive doesn’t hold any water with me.
http://flyicarusfly.com/ Fly, Icarus, Fly

Hmmm. Maybe. Not sure what a $1 gas receipt would really prove, tho… I think in the end, it has to be the employee eyeballing the gauge. As others have noted, F doesn’t necessarily mean the tank is completely full. I’m all for less documentation / rules than more, so once the employee signs off that it’s “full”, I don’t think the rental company has any more claim.
BrownLunchSack

One other thing I’ve always thought about…a receipt proves nothing. Think about it: I’m returning a rental car, I stop at a nearby gas station, ask someone else to give me their receipt (or just go up to the cashier and say “pump 4 is out of paper, can I have a receipt please”), and presto! I have a receipt that indicates somebody at this gas station put 8.768 gallons of gas into some car. Alternative scenario (for those who say “the receipt will have someone else’s name from the credit card”): I go to the station, fill up someone else’s car with my credit card, and they pay me cash. Now I have a credit card receipt in my name indicating I filled up X gallons in some car.

What’s my point with all of this? I don’t really know, just that a receipt doesn’t necessarily prove anything.
LeeAnneClark

Wow. Please tell me what rental car agency you worked for, so I can avoid it like the plague. Your attitude towards customers is horrendous.

I find it ironic that you seem to view the customers as the scammers, when all of us who read Christopher’s blog know full well that rental car agencies are notorious for scamming their customers with things like the mysterious dent or windshield chip that ends up becoming a profit center as customer after customer is charged for “repairs” that never get done.
BrownLunchSack

I am not trying to imply anything with regards to who is scamming who with my above comment, simply posing the thought that a receipt doesn’t prove anything. A rental car company could just as easily manipulate records on their end to show that cars are fueled/not fueled/etc.

As for you thinking that I seem to view customers as the scammers, my stance has always been (and will always be) that both parties are responsible for knowing and abiding by their sides of whatever contract they enter. I don’t think I once encountered anyone who I was trying to work the system or “scam” the company I worked for, but many people were misinformed or didn’t understand the terms and conditions spelled out in a car rental agreement.
Joe_D_Messina

I get your main point that a receipt doesn’t necessarily prove a whole lot, but your “alternative scenario” has probably never happened once in history. A complete stranger approaches offering to fill up my car on his credit card in exchange for cash. There’s no incentive for me to go along with this oddball request, as I’m out the same amount of money as simply paying the station normally. Without a doubt I conclude it’s some sort of scam and/or the guy’s a whacko.
BillCCC

You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to show that you did indeed fill up a receipt will help. If you would rather fight the rental company and cause yourself grief for not providing something that you already have (like a receipt) then you are free to do so. I only stated my opinion. I would rather avoid the hassle.
twres

A rental company once explained to me that they require receipts as proof of a full tank because there were people who would put small rocks into the gas tank to make it appear full without buying much gas. That seems ridiculous someone would do that, but I guess it only takes one dummy to ruin it for everyone.
DavidYoung2

Just in case, I always snap a picture of the receipt with my cell phone. Come to think of it, I need to clean out about 100 pictures off my phone of rental cars when I picked them up, rental cars that I dropped off and gas receipts!
Bill___A

Charlie, some of them ask for the receipt so they can see where the fill up was done and when.
One thing I do is make sure the car is properly topped off and I think I am more than fair with the car rental companies.
I did have one incident where I had rented a car and it ended up being driven only 83 miles. Long story..but the British gas pump wouldn’t “top it up” properly. I don’t know whether the problem was me or the pump or the car. But time was running out, so I went to Hertz and explained the problem. Their computer made them charge for the gas, but they did a customer service credit, so I did end up paying for gas, and some money for their trouble, but I felt it was fair.
Usually, when I return a car, even though they look at the fuel level, there is a brief conversation asking if I “filled up”. I also do my own photographic check of the vehicle before and after. I’ve not had problems so far, and I usually rent from Hertz.
I don’t know what would prompt this $93 charge. It is not the Hertz I know.
Bill___A

You have a responsibility to ensure the tank is full when you rent it, too.
http://www.facebook.com/jim.davissr Jim Davis Sr

I could fill 5 pages of bogus charges that I received from Hertz. You have to hold your ground, and have receipts for everything. I save my receipts for a couple of months after a business trip, just for this purpose. If you call their bluff, they back off.
http://www.facebook.com/trudi.p.wood Trudi Pearcy Wood

If you fill the tank, why wouldn’t you have a receipt to show them? I always leave a copy of the receipt in the car, and I’ve lately taken a digital dated photo of the car before renting it and when returning including a photo of the gas guage. I’ve never had a problem, but I’ve read of others who have had issues. I rent more cars than the average person, and rental companies can be very difficult sometimes. Glad to hear they refunded the $93.
tech_ed

Or you can rent from a rental company that doesn’t shaft their customers.
I’ve rented from all the major players and have had problems with all of them *EXCEPT* for Avis. As a result, Avis now gets *ALL* my business no matter where I am. No exceptions!
Lynn Wilson

You are fortunate not to have had a daughter who used that very scam to steal several thousand dollars from her father.
sdir

A friend and I rented a U-Haul and the truck’s gauge was below full. Of course, it didn’t look like it was THAT much below, and we went to a gas station and immediately filled it up. We put in over 10 gallons! My point is, the gas gauge is deceiving and customers don’t receive a full tank, even when it appears they do. Maybe customers should ask for proof that the tank was just filled before renting.
emanon256

Hertz pulled the same thing with me once, fortunately I still had the receipt and was able to e-mail ti to them. It was ~$80 in my case.

I still voted yes, because many time I have rented a car that was supposedly full, and after 3-5 miles the gauge started dropping. In these cases when I have filled the car after driving 20-30 miles, they have taken 3-5 gallons. Other times while getting the same car make/model/year, it stays at full for the full 20-30 miles, and then barely takes a gallon. I think some people are using the car for 50 or so miles, and if the needle is still at full, they return it. Then if the rental company doesn’t catch it, the next driver gets caught paying for their gas. I really think they should always require proof that it was really filled up, 100% of the time, so that the wrong person doesn’t have to pay.
emanon256

Many cars needles stay on F for a good 50+ miles. My car actually says on F until I have gone 100 miles. So returning a car on F, when a good amount of gas has been used, is cheating the next driver, not the rental car company.
Bill___A

We all know how to fill a car up with gas., Do it, be fair, and be done with it.
MeanMeosh

While that may be true of gas stations in the immediate vicinity of an airport, you can usually avoid this problem just be refueling a couple of miles away. Here in Dallas, there’s a gas station at the south entrance to the airport right by the rental car return that charges your typical airport rip-off rates. Head down the freeway to the next exit, though, and it’s a good 30 cents a gallon cheaper.
TexanPatriot1

I’ve rented upwards of 100 cars in my lifetime with all my travels. I have never been asked to show a fuel receipt even once.
TexanPatriot1

A lot of places, particularly those in the neighborhoods (non-airport locations) don’t provide full tanks, they put down whatever the needle says. At airport locations, nearly all of the cars I’ve rented were filled up.
TexanPatriot1

THey’re turning me off as a customer, just like the airlines are.
TexanPatriot1

Now most of them are really pimping you HARD at the counter to purchase a tank of gas ( supposedly ) relieving you of responsibliity to fill up. Of course that gas is double the going rate, but better than the 10 a gallon “penalty” rate.
sdir

I agree with you, but I wouldn’t automatically put all the blame on whomever rented the car last. Last time I rented, the rental place picked me up, which was a good 10-15 mile round trip. I commented on what a nice ride it was and he explained it was a rental that someone just turned in and that he would be taking it to get detailed. So it’s entirely possible that the rental place used up some of that “full” tank before renting to another customer.

Share: