Lawmakers want to investigate Hertz for false arrests

As more and more customers have joined lawsuits against rental giant Hertz after being arrested for allegedly stealing rental cars they had already returned, U.S. lawmakers are questioning Hertz's conduct amidst rising prices and what Senator Elizabeth Warren referred to as "diminished services" for customers. 

Warren, along with Senator Richard Blumenthal, is calling for an investigation into the company's business practices along with a broader review of the rental car industry's consolidation, rising prices and declining customer satisfaction, CBS News reported in the wake of its own inquiry into Hertz.  

As of November, 2021, 165 plaintiffs had filed suit against Hertz for filing police reports that led to their arrest prior to the company's May, 2020 bankruptcy filing. That number has since grown to 230, according to CBS. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2020 that 20 customers signed on to a suit claiming that the rental company had filed false police reports. A former security officer for another rental chain told the paper that internal clerical errors do lead to vehicles erroneously being reported stolen, but said the measures are in place in order to protect rental companies from theft and fraud.  

Many customers who found themselves on the wrong end of a stolen vehicle report paid with debit cards, which are especially problematic because they're popular tools for thieves who pay a deposit and then abscond with the vehicle, but legitimate paying customers can get caught in corporate loss-prevention nets. One customer was arrested after paying more than $2,300 to extend a rental period.

Hertz is also under fire alongside other agencies for the rising costs of rentals. In March, two U.S. House Democratic lawmakers asked Hertz Global Holdings, and Avis Budget Group to answer questions about rising rental car prices and higher industry profits.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, and Representative Katie Porter said both rental car firms appear to have used their market position to raise prices as expenses fell.

They said in a statement they want documents and information by April 1 "from both companies explaining the increases in rental car prices despite falling costs, as well as a list of any known investigations into these price increases."

This article includes reporting by Reuters.