Hertz Car Rental Is Having People Wrongly Arrested Left And Right, Sometimes at GUNPOINT, Because They Can't Keep Track of Their Own Cars (Allegedly)
Education Images. Getty Images.NY Post - A US Marine veteran says he was arrested six weeks before his wedding for stealing a Hertz rental car he returned years earlier in Washington D.C.
Blake Gober, 33, rented a car from Hertz in West Virginia back in November 2019 and dropped the keys off at a return station in the Reagan National Airport, CBS News reports.
Three years later, Gober said he was pulled over in Louisville, Kentucky, for speeding. But instead of just getting a ticket, the Marine was told he would be extradited to West Virginia.
“They pulled me behind the vehicle and placed me in handcuffs and said that I had a warrant out for my arrest out of West Virginia,” Gober said. “It was hell. It was the worst.”
Gober found himself indicted in January for theft of a rental vehicle and grand larceny, facing a possible 12-year prison sentence that would see him separated from his wife.
I've always thought it was wild that when you return a rental car, you just park it wherever the hell there's an open spot, leave the keys on the dash, and bounce without having to speak to a single person. It just feels like a car is an expensive enough asset that the company who owns said car might want to get eyes on the vehicle when it comes back to them, and maybe check in with the person who just had your car in their possession for 3 weeks before they take off to another state.
You can pick up a car in Toledo, Ohio, spend however long you want with it, then park it in an unattended lot in Newark, New Jersey and get the hell out of there without anybody talking to you. Which is very nice and all, but I've always thought that was risky of them. I understand they have cameras, and they have all of your information so if there's a problem they'll theoretically be able to hold you accountable. But clearly that's not working. You could at least pay a stoned college student minimum wage to take inventory of the cars coming in and out. Maybe check I.D.'s. Maybe even take a signature if they're feeling ambitious that day. Hertz Car Rental needs start doing something different, because apparently they've been wreaking havoc across America. Take Blake Gober for example.
U.S. Marine veteran & Barstool super fan, Blake Gober had a hell of a time with Hertz Car Rental this year. All Blake wanted to do was rent a serviceable car, drive it around to the most beautiful golf courses West Virginia has to offer, drop the car back off, then go home to watch Riggs hit a series a flop shots and go to bed without a warrant (not sure if he actually did that, just using context clues).
But Hertz was having none of that. They weren't going to act fast either. They wanted to make this process as inconvenient and drawn out as possible for everyone. They didn't try to contact Blake or anything. Hertz played the long game. They got a warrant issued for his arrest, then sat back and waited for the legal system to work it's magic.
(actually Hertz refutes these claims and says they tried to call him multiple times, sent correspondence to his home, and insists that he kept the car for 3 months longer than he was supposed to)
The company, however, stands by its allegations against Gober, claiming he kept the one-day rental for more than three months without paying.
The company also claimed they made repeated attempts to contact Gober, but all their calls, texts and mail went “ignored.”
Gober refutes the company’s claim, saying he never received any messages from them, with court documents indicating that Hertz sent their correspondences to the vet’s former address.
The Monongalia County prosecutor in charge of the case has filed to dismiss the charges against Gober, slamming Hertz as an untrustworthy plaintiff, according to CBS.
But c'mon. What do you expect from me? Who's side am I going to take? The $19.78 billion dollar company, or U.S. Veteran/Stoolie Blake Gober. Please. Keep in mind, this is a $19.78 billion dollar company who recently agreed to pay $168 MILLION in fines for 364 CASES of false reports filed against customers who "failed to return their rental cars".
The veteran’s case, however, is not uncommon, as Hertz has found itself under fire for allegedly filing hundreds of false theft accusations throughout the years.
Like Gober, many Hertz customers had found themselves arrested and imprisoned, with some taken into custody at gunpoint.
Last December, the rental company agreed to pay $168 million for 364 cases of alleged false reports, with US senators also calling on the federal government to investigate Hertz.
Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr, who took over the role in February, claimed the incidents stemmed from a glitch in the company’s systems.
Hertz is wrongly throwing people into holding cells across America. Nobody is safe from Hertz. If you've ever rented a car from Hertz, the next time you get pulled over, you're liable to face 12 years in prison for grand theft auto.
All of these years when I've returned a rental car and thought, "Damn, it would be nice to talk to someone and confirm that I did actually bring this car back", I was 100% justified in my concern. I've rented multiple cars from Hertz companies (they also own Dollar and Thrifty), and I haven't been issued a ticket in years. Does that mean if any day now I get caught by a cop drinking a beer on the way to the bar, there's a chance they're going to pull up my name and see that I stole a car from Hertz 2 years ago, and I'll be extradited back to Ohio? What are you doing Hertz? Keep track of your fucking cars. It's not like you're renting out basketballs at the Y. Cars are expensive. I understand you have a lot them to keep track of, but maybe pay the slightest bit of attention to who is returning your $30,000 vehicles throughout the course of the day so you don't end up with innocent people being held up at gunpoint because of whatever failing technology you're using to do your job for you.
Fuckin' roasted Hertz.