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Hertz changes gold terms
(Continued)
Starting
this month, Hertz #1 Club Gold members are liable
for loss or damage to the rental car, regardless of
the cause. Previously, club members didn't have to
pay if the car caught fire (unless the fire resulted
from an accident) or if its problems were due to
acts of nature beyond the control of the driver. The
old rules stipulated that if a driver damaged a car,
he or she was liable for either what it cost Hertz
to repair the car or the car's fair-market value --
whichever was less. Now, Hertz may hold drivers
responsible for more than the car's market value,
depending on how much the car has depreciated. There are other changes afoot at the industry's luxury leader. Also effective this month, renters cannot drop their cars off after hours when the station is closed without additional charges; the rental is not closed out until the office reopens and an agent checks the car back in. (This does not apply to 24-hour locations, such as those at many airports; one plus is that Hertz, unlike some others in the industry, still allows after-hours drop off.) And the grace period to return the car before being charged for additional rental time has been cut from one hour to 30 minutes. Gold members are being notified of the changes this month, and the new policy takes effect with their next rental after receiving the notification; the company changed the terms of rentals for regular customers last year. Hertz spokesman Richard Broome says its competitors have had similar policies for some time. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co., for example, has policies that vary state-to-state, but typically the company requires the customer to bring the car back in the same shape he or she rented it.
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