Hertz to Pay $168 Million in False Arrest Settlements

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• Hertz has agreed to pay out $168 million in hundreds of customer settlements, following years of unfounded accusations of theft by the rental giant.

• The company claims that a faulty inventory system is to blame for rental vehicles being reported as stolen, which has led to customers being falsely arrested, detained, and even facing felony charges.

• Following its chapter 11 insolvency in 2020, Hertz claims the problem was fixed and that the instances were an isolated event, though a lawsuit filed in Delaware as recently as September shows otherwise.

Renting a car should be an easy task, save for the busy airport lines, but it's become a more costly and involved process. Making sure the tank is full and the interior is clean is part of the agreement between the renter and driver—an agreement that is generally fair for both parties, as long as you don't have to pay an inflated re-fueling fee. What most consumers don't expect out of their rental, however, is being arrested because of claims that the car was stolen.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what has happened to hundreds of Hertz customers since 2015. According to lawsuits filed across the nation, customers were held at gunpoint, arrested, and even held in jail for days as a result of Hertz reporting rental models as stolen. Now, Hertz says it will compensate these customers to the tune of $168 million total, resolving claims for more than 95% of the wrongfully accused.