Hertz rental – unexplained debit and shifting damage claim

I am sharing my experience to warn others about how important it is to photograph every part of a rental vehicle before driving away.

I returned a Hertz rental vehicle on 30 December 2025. During the return inspection, the staff member recorded “grille damage” as the main issue and said it would be referred to assessors. I was told I would receive an email with further details.

Instead, an amount of R3,002.60 was debited from my credit card almost immediately, with no prior communication, no invoice, no photographs and no explanation.

On 12 January 2026, I wrote to Hertz to dispute the unexplained debit and request documentation. The first response from Hertz only arrived on 6 February 2026, stating that the branch had requested damage documentation.

When I carefully reviewed the photos I had taken when collecting the vehicle, it became clear that the grille damage had already been present before my rental. I sent Hertz the photographs, after which they acknowledged that the grille damage was pre-existing and issued a partial refund of R1,957.01.

The remaining charge was then attributed to a scratch on a wheel rim. Notably, this scratch was only recorded after I voluntarily mentioned to the inspector that the car had experienced a slow puncture during my rental. Had I not raised this point honestly, the scratch would likely never have been noted.

Unfortunately, while I had photographs of the grille taken at collection, I did not have a close-up photo of the rim to demonstrate that the mark was also pre-existing.

While I appreciate that Hertz eventually acknowledged the grille damage was not caused during my rental and refunded that portion, the process raised serious concerns:

• A debit of over R3,000 was taken without prior explanation or documentation • There was a 25-day delay before any response to my dispute • The initially recorded damage (the grille) turned out to be pre-existing • The final charge related to a different item noted only after further inspection

Advice to anyone hiring a car

This experience taught me a valuable lesson: take detailed photos of everything before leaving the rental lot.

Photograph:

the grille

bumpers

all body panels

each wheel rim

windscreen

interior

Those photos were the only reason I was able to prove that the initial damage claim was incorrect.

I hope this experience encourages greater transparency in how damage claims are communicated to customers and helps other renters protect themselves.