Hertz Reviews 

Hertz Switzerland – Delayed Traffic Fine Notifications and CHF 127 in Administrative Fees

I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Hertz Switzerland (Herold Fahrzeugvermietung AG).

Two traffic fines were issued in France in May and June 2026, each originally €45.

On 9 October 2026, the rental company contacted me demanding payment without clearly explaining the charges. Only on 14 October, after I specifically asked for clarification, did they send me the actual fine documents.

By then, the payment deadline for the second fine had expired. I tried to pay the original €45, but the French authorities’ online system refused payment because an increased fine was due.

To make matters worse, Hertz Switzerland is demanding CHF 127 in administrative fees for handling these matters.

I have asked the company to explain when it received the notices, provide evidence of any earlier notification, justify its administrative fees, and accept responsibility for any additional penalty caused by delayed notification.

How can a rental company demand substantial administrative fees when the customer has not received the necessary documents in time to pay the original fine?

I expect Hertz Switzerland to investigate this case, cancel the disputed administrative fees, and cover any additional penalty attributable to its notification delay.

UNJUSTIFIED DAMAGE CHARGE & TOTAL SILENCE
Hertz charged me 440 CHF for a pre-existing scratch on a rim, despite me providing clear photographic evidence with native date and time metadata proving the damage was already there before I picked up the vehicle.
I sent an email to szfnolcustomercontacts —reference number 35798007— more than 30 days ago: ZERO RESPONSE
I then forwarded the email to customer-relations —case number ID-62791-D3L4— more than 15 days ago: ZERO RESPONSE
Is there anyone actually working at Hertz customer service?
Now, "customer service", as usual, will reply to this review telling me to send an email, won't they? Unbelievable.
I am filing an official complaint with Consumer Protection authorities regarding this abusive practice.
Sincerely,
David.

0 stars. Do yourself a favor do NOT book a car rental with Hertz. They are the worst. They scare you into purchasing an additional expensive car insurance, then charge you a ridiculous amount of money for a small scratch and makes your pay for it because their insurance that you purchase for an additional $600 dollars doesn’t cover the scratch.

Months after my trip my credit card continues to be charged by them. my trip was in May and it is now October. If you get any traffic violations they charge you about $75 dollars PER VIOLATION just as an administrative fee, the actual violation is a separate charge.

Please don’t do it to yourself. This was my first and last time doing business with such an untrustworthy company.

I rented a car from Hertz at Zurich Airport. After returning the car, Hertz sent me a bill of around US$1,000 for what they claimed was a missing parcel shelf.

The parcel shelf was already missing when I picked up the car. I therefore disputed the charge, and the amount was successfully refunded by my credit card provider.

A few weeks later, Hertz referred the matter to a debt collection agency in Germany, which began pressuring me to pay the disputed amount and threatening legal action. I repeatedly explained that the claim was unfounded and made clear that Hertz was free to pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels if they believed they had a valid claim.

Instead, I continue to receive messages demanding payment and threatening further action.

Bottom line: In my experience, Hertz has pursued a disputed and unfounded financial claim through a debt collection agency rather than resolving the underlying issue. I find this customer treatment deeply concerning.

Don't go with Hertz. And if you do, I strongly recommend documenting the condition of the entire vehicle, including the inside and the boot/trunk, with photos or video before driving away. My experience has shown me how important such documentation can be.

Needless to say: Never Hertz again.

Travelers should be aware that Hertz Zurich is operated by an independent franchisee called Herold Fahrzeugvermietung AG. I returned my rental car in what I documented to be flawless condition, recording a complete walkaround video at drop-off. Despite this documentation, Herold charged my credit card approximately $5,500 for minor nicks and scratches that were not visible in my video evidence. My credit card insurance reviewed my video data and reimbursed me for the disputed amount. However, Herold has now hired a German debt collection agency to demand this payment from me directly, refusing to drop the claim despite the insurance dispute resolution. In my opinion, this company engages in highly aggressive and unfair billing practices regarding vehicle wear-and-tear.

I strongly advise taking your business elsewhere. If you must rent from them, take detailed photos before and after (especially of the rims and under the doors), and ensure an employee physically signs off on a walkaround inspection at both pickup and return.

I am deeply devastated and frustrated by my experience with Hertz at Zurich Airport. What should have been a smooth rental turned into an absolute nightmare, and their customer service has been completely dishonest and untruthful.

I often rent cars at Zürich airport from other operators. Right from the start, I felt uneasy - at the counter to collect my car, another customer was having a heated dispute with the staff over the exact same issue: being billed for pre-existing damage that wasn't properly marked on their initial report. I should have taken that as a major red flag.

Now, Hertz is doing the exact same thing to me. They provide blurry, low-quality "before" photos that were taken off-site at a car wash—not even at the airport pickup location where staff drove the car to. Then, after returning the vehicle, they send crisp, high-definition, zoomed-in photos claiming damage that was already there! On top of that, they completely ignored the technical defects of the vehicle that I reported (car battery not capable of charging to full).

To make matters worse, their customer communication is disrespectful and delayed. They state it takes up to 10 days to get back to customer inquiries, but it has been almost a month and my case is still open with no proper resolution or answers.

I have rented cars from many other companies at Zurich Airport, like Europcar, Enterprise and have never experienced such terrible, predatory treatment. I am deeply upset by how they treat customers - in such dishonest ways. Save yourself the stress, money, and frustration—avoid renting from Hertz!

Terrible predatory billing and profiteering.

We hired a skoda for 3 days. No agent was present when we collected the car in a dark car park. The documents emailed had a clear report with no mention of scratches on the boot, which we found on our own inspection.
We took the car anyway, the following day were unlucky in getting a puncture, Hertz sent a roadside repair van were he plugged the tyre.
After returning the vehicle(again no agent present) I received an email saying I had damaged both front wheels. They sent photos of 2 tiny scratches which could easily have been there before I hired it. They've been unable to provide me with photos of the wheels before I hired it and I've pointed out their own pre rental condition check is flawed anyway due to the missed scratches. Then the audacity to charge me £750 for the tyre plug! Their excuse is they can't rent the car out till the tyre can be checked for safety. Well if there was any doubt they shouldnt have let me drive it for the next 2 days. Totally £1400 in charges for a puncture and 2 scratches I didn't cause.
Currently working through legal proceedings against them.
***DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY***

UPDATE: Hertz has silently issued a partial refund to my card, but they are still keeping £431.29 for a scratched wheel rim they cannot prove I caused. They are entirely ignoring my requests for pre-rental photographs of the wheels because they don't have any. I have rejected this partial compromise and my bank (RBS) is proceeding with a formal chargeback for the remaining balance.

LATEST UPDATE (8 Sept): Unbelievable. After their agent admitted in writing to billing errors and reversed a portion of the funds, Hertz has today issued a completely retaliatory, fabricated invoice (DAR-FR-439794) claiming 1,892.00 CHF. They are now trying to claim that ALL FOUR tyres and wheels were destroyed, despite their own roadside assistance team permanently patching a single tyre puncture on the road. They are changing the billing figures every week to see what sticks. RBS Credit Card Disputes has been updated with this fraudulent invoice

Booked a car for 9 days, trusting that the direct booking via the Hertz homepage was cheapest. After all, there is not a "Best-price-guarantee" advertised for nothing. Matching the lower price and giving 10% extra.
First: it is 10% more expensive than via brokers
Second: You can claim via the form. But Nothing happens. Not even an answer.

Conclusion: Professionally lured by Hertz.

Terrible service. The attendant never notified me there would be a fee for returning the car one day early. I had specifically asked him to change the reservation by one day. I was charged 50 Francs extra for that. After disputing the charge, they refused to give me a refund.

We rented a van from Hertz at Zurich Airport in July 2026. The vehicle had fewer than 7,000 kilometres but was already covered in scratches and other marks. Hertz carried out a detailed inspection when handing it over, precisely because there was so much pre-existing damage.

We returned the van without causing any new damage. At drop-off, the Hertz employee told us that everything was fine. No damage was identified, no concern was raised and no proper inspection was carried out with us present.

Hertz then charged us more than CHF 900 for alleged damage. The original claim included no photographs, no explanation of what had supposedly been damaged and no evidence connecting any damage to our rental. It was simply an amount they expected us to accept.

We immediately disputed the charge and demanded evidence. Despite our protest, Hertz went ahead and took the money from our card.

Only after we challenged them did Hertz provide photographs. Those photographs were extremely pixelated and did not credibly establish what the alleged damage was, when it occurred or that we had caused it.

A nearly new van with fewer than 7,000 kilometres does not become covered in scratches by accident. Combined with the many reviews from customers reporting unexplained damage claims and random charges after returning vehicles at Hertz Zurich Airport, this points to a repeated practice rather than an isolated mistake.

I consider this a scam: charge the customer after they have left, provide no evidence, take the money even after the customer disputes the claim, and then send unusable photographs only when challenged.

Hertz has refused to collaborate or provide credible evidence. Lawyers are now involved, and the matter will have to proceed to litigation.

Anyone who has experienced something similar at Hertz Zurich Airport is welcome to contact me. Evidence from other affected customers may help demonstrate that this is a recurring practice rather than an isolated incident.

Do not rent from Hertz Zurich Airport. Anyone who does should photograph and film every centimetre of the vehicle, including the roof, wheels, bumpers and lower panels, and insist on written confirmation at drop-off. Do not rely on an employee telling you that everything is fine.

This practice is dishonest, abusive and completely unacceptable.

I rented the smallest manual car available from Booking for 15 days at Geneva Airport. The staff upgraded my car to a larger automatic car. This is the second time they have given me an upgrade at no additional charge. Upon return, I received my deposit on the same day. The car was fantastic, almost new, and fuel-efficient. I have tried all the other rental cars at the Geneva airport, and this is by far the best. Courteous and friendly staff who go the extra mile to serve you.

Hertz BASEL AIRPORT Swiss side was nice and easy. Great rental experience, Afid is the man!

Avoid at all costs unless you book with full coverage. I rented from Hertz Zurich Malnstation and returned the car one day later to Hertz at the Airport Zurich. As other reviewers already mentioned on Google or Yelp, they have a pattern of charging you random amounts with exaggerated admin fees for a random alleged damage if you choose key drop off at the airport. I rented the car for only one day as mentioned and returned it as rented. But I have private insurance so I didn’t get their coverage package. Now they try to make me pay for an alleged dent that was not there and I have photographic evidence. Even the pictures they provided are pixelated and don’t show any damage. Especially as the picturea that show “the damage” where taken at a completely different place than where I left the car. Avoid their key drop-offs especially and get someone to sign off the car together with you. Seems to be a pattern after reading other reviews (which I should have read before blindly renting through Volvo Assistance). So incredibly unnecessary to treat your customers like that. By the way, I reached out to your customer service, several times. No chance to get through. They have their money and don’t give a thing about the scammed customer.

Unfortunately, I assumed Hertz was trustworthy as I rented with them happily in the past. But only if you pay for their insurance. Otherwise they will make you pay like that. This is scandalous and extremely disappointing.

I rent a car from Hertz every year without problems but this year and the Zurich Airport location was a horrible experience. First of all, the person who served me first didn’t know how to activate my booking. His colleagues were busy, so he asked me to check on another car, that I didn’t want, then made me wait on the side and he served other customers and his colleagues were skipping me as well. Until one of his colleagues was kind enough to take me. But then when I asked him I wanted to add an additional day at the same rate,but the additional day was a higher rate by more than ch20 a day, when I asked him if it was the same rate, he confirmed that it was . I was in a hurry so didn’t have time to check and trusted his word as by then I had already waited 45 minutes at the counter from the time I was first served. On top of that, my car was supposed to be a 7 seater and was a 6 seater… When I’m calling to complain, not getting through… Such a shame as I’m a five star member…

Even though at the beggining when we arrived, the reprezentative of Hertz sau they have no cars available for us, after the reservation on Dollar, they gavr us a very New and confortabile car, Toyota Chr hibrid, which was very apropiate for 2 persons.

Very disappointing experience. To be fair, the car was good, and the service at the counter and in the garage was quick, but Hertz then decided to charge me more than CHF 500 for damage that I believe was there from the beginning. We've been going back and forth for a few weeks now, but it seems that the small print is not on my side.
Never had any issues like this with the other Swiss alternatives, so won't be using Hertz again, and can't really recommend it to anyone.

NEVER rent from Hertz Switzerland.

I rented a car from them in June 2025. They charged me 7 handling fees over several months but I only received 3 traffic violations and so I thought they made a mistake. They eventually sent me all the letters in June 2026 upon request. It turned out that 4 letters were tollway payments. However, Hertz never forwarded the letters to me or notify the correct authorities to redirect the letters!!! Therefore, instead of paying Euro 120 +CHF229, now I have to pay Euro350 +CHF550. Also, Hertz has charged me CHF63.78 four times for doing nothing!!!!!!

I am extremely upset and frustrated with Hertz. They claim that they charged the handlings appropriately. But what did they actually handle when customers have not received letter from them or the authorities?????

1 star

I had a very disappointing experience at Hertz Basel Airport. I am a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star member, and I asked about the one-car-class upgrade benefit at pickup. I completely understand that upgrades are subject to availability, but the way this was handled was frustrating and inconsistent.

One staff member initially appeared willing to provide the upgrade and was already proceeding with the checkout/payment process. Then, after a coworker beside her said something, the upgrade was suddenly denied. I was told it was because my rental was for 18 days. However, right after that, I was told I could still get an upgraded vehicle if I paid extra.

That made the situation feel very unfair. If there was truly no upgrade available, why was it initially being processed? And if the rental length made an upgrade impossible, why was an upgraded vehicle still available for an additional charge?

I was traveling with my family of three, and extra space would have made a real difference during a longer rental. I chose Hertz because I expected better service, clearer communication, and some recognition of loyalty. Instead, this experience made me question whether the status benefits actually mean anything at this location.

I also asked to remove or decline CDW/LDW because I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card and intended to use my card’s rental car coverage. I explained that accepting other damage waiver coverage could affect my card coverage, but the staff did not seem to understand the issue and did not clearly explain whether CDW was mandatory, included in the rate, or simply impossible to remove from the system. I even said I was fine paying the same total price if it could simply be removed or documented properly.

Overall, I was very unhappy with the service and lack of clear communication. I have contacted Hertz Customer Relations and will update this review if the matter is handled properly.

My experience with Hertz at Geneva Airport was extremely disappointing due to a lack of transparency and a standardized, inflated damage charging system that unfairly penalizes customers for even minor cosmetic issues.

I rented the vehicle from Geneva Airport between 23 May and 30 May, and just 10 minutes after returning the car, I was issued an invoice for CHF 520 (CHF 430 damage + CHF 90 administration fee) for a very small scratch on an alloy wheel.

While I acknowledge that the damage occurred during my rental, the pricing is excessive and completely disproportionate to the minor nature of the issue.

Internal fixed or inflated pricing structures are used instead of actual repair costs being reflected, which raises serious concerns about fairness in the damage billing process.

Despite multiple requests, I was not provided with a proper invoice, detailed breakdown, or a transparent explanation of how the amount was calculated.

Rental Agreement: RNT-174597

Due to this inflated, non-transparent, and customer-unfriendly pricing policy, I experienced significant financial and procedural disadvantage during this rental process. Customers are strongly advised to be extremely cautious and carefully consider these practices before choosing this rental provider.

I rented a car from Hertz at Geneva Airport for a holiday in France and was very disappointed with the experience.

I specifically booked a smaller car, a Ford Focus or similar, because I would be driving on narrow rural roads and mountain roads. Instead, I was given a larger Toyota Corolla T-Sports and told it was an “upgrade”. I asked in the car park if I could have the smaller class I had booked, but was told no other cars were available, so I had little practical choice but to take it.

The car was already in poor condition at pick-up, with visible scratches and a chip/mark in the side window. These were not properly recorded on the original condition report, despite us raising visible damage before leaving the parking area.

During the rental, the car broke down in France and would not start due to a flat battery. Hertz arranged a mechanic, but we had already waited around 1.5 hours and then had to leave the car running/unusable for over an hour. This disrupted our holiday plans and left us anxious that the car might fail again. Hertz offered to exchange the car only if I drove it back to Geneva Airport, over an hour each way, which was not a reasonable solution during a short holiday. I asked for a replacement to be brought to us or for a taxi solution to be arranged, but Hertz never called back with the promised solution.

At drop-off, Hertz then charged me CHF 380 plus an admin fee of CHF 90 for alleged right-front alloy wheel damage. I have a pick-up photo that appears to show a mark already on the wheel, and the original inspection report was clearly incomplete because it missed other visible damage.

I have submitted a formal complaint and Hertz says they may take up to 10 days to respond, so I will update this review if they resolve the issue fairly. At the moment, based on the vehicle provided, the breakdown, the poor support, and the disputed charge, I would not recommend renting from Hertz Geneva Airport.