On July 25, 2022, in preparation for a charity business trip, ********* ******, of Fulton, NY, completed my reservation for a rental car to travel to Saratoga Springs, NY where I was to be a guest panelist at the ******** **** ******. The car was to be picked up at the Hertz Rental Car office in Johnstown, PA, at the Cambria County Airport. The Hertz agency at this location is a franchise, owned and operated by Johnstown Rental & Leasing (JR&L) dba Hertz. I arrived at their office around 10:00 am on July 27, 2022 to pick up the car (a white Chevrolet Malibu) in preparation for my trip. I signed the Rental Contract (agreement #********) and went out to the parking lot to take possession of the car. Upon my inspection of said vehicle, numerous scratches and dents were obvious, so I went back inside the office, and asked for someone to come out and note the damage, which was done by a female employee, who seemed rather put out by my request to document existing damage to the car, stating, “we know there’s damage to the car – it doesn’t have to be documented”.
I was running behind schedule and wasted no time getting started on my trip. I immediately heard a noise, but I attributed it to the condition of the two-lane back roads I was on. Once I got to the limited access, four-lane highway, and reached highway speed, both the noise and vibration increased; it became obvious the problem was with the car, and not the roadway surface. There was a roaring noise, and a noticeable vibration throughout the car. I pulled over at the first opportunity and called the Hertz office I had just left for advice and or guidance/instructions. I got their voicemail and left a message alerting them to the situation with the car, and asked them to call me back. 15 minutes passed, and they hadn’t called, so I called once again, leaving the same message, and requested a call back. I waited 10 minutes, with no call back, then continued on my journey. I’m very automobile skilled and determined it wasn’t a life threatening situation, and continued to Saratoga Springs, NY. Nothing broke, but it was a rather unpleasant trip, dealing with the roar and vibration.
The next day, my calendar was full and I didn’t have the time to try calling Hertz again, and I also assumed there would be no one in the office on the weekend, and didn’t try. By Monday, August 2nd, the condition(s) with the car hadn’t worsened any, and I deemed it fit for my return trip from Saratoga Springs home to Johnstown. The same conditions existed, but did not further deteriorate during that trip. On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the Hertz office at the Johnstown airport to turn the car in, and called from the parking lot to let them know I was there. Surprisingly, they answered their phone. A gentleman came out to check the car in, and I explained the situation and requested he take a ride with me, which he declined to do. I was insistent, and refused to hand him my paperwork until he went for a ride. He reluctantly agreed, and after a less than ¼-mile round trip, he agreed that yes, there is definitely something wrong with the car. I told him I expected an adjustment to the contract, and he advised me I would have to speak with the manager about it – but she wasn’t in. He instructed me to call, leave a message, and she would get back with me. I did as he instructed, but didn’t get a return call. Over the next week or so, I called multiple times, never got an answer, and left a message each time. To this date, November 3, 2022, not one of my calls/messages have been returned.
Left with no recourse, I contacted the Hertz corporate office to apprise them of the situation. They promptly explained to me that the Hertz agency in Johnstown is a franchise, and they (corporate) have no control over what they (the franchise) may do or not do. I then contacted my credit card company, US Bank Visa, and filed a dispute claim with them. On 8/11/2022, I received an email from Hertz Corporate (attached) informing me that the Johnstown Hertz office had credited a $54.00 reduction in the charges. I responded telling them I considered the $54.00 an insult.