US Senators Call for Investigation of Hertz Stolen Vehicle Reports – Roadshow

Hertz, in addition to being in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings, may have gotten legitimate customers arrested.

Hertz

Renting a car isn’t usually a lot of fun. It involves a bunch of paperwork, and it’s almost always more expensive than it feels like it should be and then, of course, there’s the part where you get arrested because the rental company reported your car stolen. Or at least that last part has been a problem for a surprising number of Hertz customers, judging by a CBS News report Thursday.

The issue, which is being investigated by several US senators, including Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, came to light during Hertz’s bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware courts. Documents allege that the company has filed police reports for approximately 3,300 vehicles per year for four years, though it’s unclear how many of those could be considered to have resulted in improper arrests.

Hertz says that for many of these police reports the vehicles in question were kept for weeks and months past their return dates and that the person on the loan agreement was either unreachable or belligerent, but it seems that hasn’t been the case every time.

CBS spoke to a lawyer in the Hertz bankruptcy proceedings who also represented a client, James Tofen, who in 2020 was stopped in a rented Hertz pickup and nearly arrested at gunpoint before convincing the Houston police to look at his vehicle loan agreement. Reportedly, other people spent time in jail or faced professional repercussions due to similar incidents.

Hertz has tried to have the records of these reports sealed, but a Delaware bankruptcy court judge denied the request. It’s unclear at this time what kind of remuneration any improperly reported individuals can expect to see, if any, given Hertz’s financial situation and restructuring. Still, with the government getting involved, we don’t see how it can end well for the rental car giant.

We asked Hertz for comment but didn’t hear back in time for publication.