Customers of Hertz, one of the nation’s largest rental car companies, are up in arms after being charged exorbitant fees for fuel on their rented Teslas, despite the fact that electric vehicles do not require gas. One customer was shocked to receive a nearly $300 “Skip the Pump” fee for not returning the Tesla with a full tank, while another was billed over $340 for the same reason.
In a bizarre turn of events, a customer who returned a Tesla Model 3 without a full charge was hit with a whopping $690.32 bill, including a $475.19 fuel charge and a $125.01 “rebill” charge for using Tesla’s Supercharger network. These excessive fees have left customers feeling cheated and frustrated.
Hertz initially refused to refund the charges, but after public outcry and media attention, they eventually reversed their decision and offered affected customers a credit towards a future EV rental. This is not the first time Hertz has faced backlash for such practices, as a similar incident occurred last year where a customer was charged a refuel fee for their rented Tesla.
Hertz has since acknowledged the error and blamed it on a systems glitch, promising to rectify the issue and compensate affected customers. Despite the inconvenience caused, customers can now rest assured that they will not be unfairly charged for fuel on their electric vehicle rentals in the future.