Peter King:
Hertz Should Be Ashamed of Itself Dept.:
I rented a full-sized Hertz vehicle for my two-day trip to North Carolina and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Awards. Two days, $44 a day. Drove the car 169 miles. The tank read 5/8ths when I pulled into the Charlotte Douglas International Airport's Hertz lot at 5:35 a.m. Tuesday.
"Did you fill the tank with gas?'' the courteous check-in gal asked.
"No, sorry,'' I said.
She noted the mileage and handed me the receipt.
The receipt for charges of $249.31.
The gas for driving less than a half-tank cost more ($89.40) than renting the car for two days, minus taxes ($88). Hertz charged $8.99 per gallon for refueling. That seems fair (he said sarcastically).
Then there was the $17.98 for NeverLost GPS (which did its job; I was never lost on the trip) and the usual collection of cloudy charges -- "concession fee recovery,'' $11.92 ... "customer facility charge,'' $7 ... "vehicle licensing cost recovery,'' 62 cents -- that makes the renting of cars in America so joyous.
Three-eighths of a tank of gas for $89.40? If that's not price-gouging, I don't know what is.
Unfortunately for Peter, price gouging laws don't cover situations where the buyer knows well in advance, and even signs a form stating the fact, that he'll be gouged if he can't find a petrol station before he returns his rental car.
*A classic play on words! Buy me a beer!
