Hertz Rent A Car

This review is specifically for Sid and Sam. These two gentlemen were so helpful, friendly and professional. We especially appreciated this after a horrendous flight from New York to London. Our Thursday flight from New York had to return to JFK midway through the flight to London. We then had to wait five hours until the next flight and ended up arriving at Heathrow 12am on Saturday.
We rented a van but didn’t realize that it wouldn’t fit our entire family plus all of our luggage so Sid and Sam gave us numerous options including a taxi whom Sid called and received a quote for us. They patiently answered all of our questions and concerns — trust me, there were many. Sid and Sam took care of us and restored our faith in customer service.
Note — If you arrive at Heathrow after 11pm, you will have to use the courtesy phone at the Hertz booth (which wasn’t working for us) to call the shuttle to pick you up.

Worst experience renting a car I’ve ever had. Stay away from this branch. If damage occurs on the car in the lot they will charge you for it even if you mark the rental contract. Absolutely horrendous experience. Ruined a day of vacation.

This is a horrible location with inefficient, uninterested employees. Returning a vehicle took one hour — a real risk when you are trying to catch a flight! Rental lines looked like 2 hours long, because of understaffing.
These guys will try very hard to ding you for any scratch or minor defect.
And if you get a ticket (e.g. traffic camera), they will not inform you of the ticket, a mysterious charge will show up on your credit card. When you ask the credit company for proof, Hertz will delay responding until your time available to contact the town council to dispute the ticket has passed.
Horrible location.

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE SCAMMERS!!! Absolutely the worst service of any Hertz branch I have ever used. I rent at least 20 cars a year from Hertz and thought my gold membership would help improve service. This was not the case.

I wish I could give this company zero stars. Absolute horrendous customer service. I almost never write reviews but this experience was so horrendous that I just had to. They first sit around talking and leave you in line with no one in front of you. Then they say they accept diners club international/​discover at the door and when you pay with it their system won’t accept it. Instead of finding out why they’d rather ask for anther credit card… with an attitude. Next they scare tactic you into getting the full coverage instance that’ll cost you over £200. Declined. Then they’ll try to upsell a Mercedes for a crazy amount for whatever reason I can’t even begin to imagine. GPS at £20 a day. Sorry I have my phone thanks. Return was attrocious. Good thing I took pictures of when I picked it up to show them it was there and had them write it up. Be careful. They’re crooks. They leave you waiting while they chit chat and talk. Shuttle was sitting and waiting and wouldn’t leave until they got more people in the shuttle. Really? No one at the airport kiosk. No one at pickup. No instructions anywhere. Last but not least I forgot a small item about the size of a pack of gum in my car. I call and they found it. I asked if they can mail it back. They say they don’t have the funds to mail it back. It would cost less than a 1£. I said I just paid you guys very £300 but can’t spare the £1 as courtesy? They speak to a manager and say they’ll do me a courtesy of mailing it back if I mail them a prepaid envelope. I lost my mind. I’ll never rent at a hertz anywhere ever again. Ever. Do yourself a favor and rent with a different rental company. Pathetic crooks.

Always found the service good at Hertz Heathrow. It is convenient as when arriving at Terminal 5, the courtesy van is waiting to pick you up from Bay 26 to go to the depot. I book my car in advance and provide them with my flight number.
Being a Gold Hertz card member, the car is ready for pick up on arrival. Drop off is just as easy, especially if you have also bought Super Insurance as it covers all damages.

Watch out for these guys… pay special attention to any nicks and scratches on the car prior to leaving. Make sure everything is marked, because when you turn it in they get you for even the smallest scratch.
Also, watch your mileage. Two time in one month they have now way over charged my mileages. Once by 900 miles, they other time by over 2,000 miles. Double and triple check everything. They seem to like to take advantage of the fact that you heading to the aiport.
If not for my company I would not use this location. Formal complaints have been filed with Hertz.

I’m a business traveler and often rent cars in many locations. What I experienced today never happened to me before. When I returned the car today I was charged 150 pounds for scratch on the front bumper that not possible to see without really looking close. First of all, I can not see how it could have happened — service manager told me that I must have driven into the wall. Second, I just parked the car in hotel and after leaving it there for a day drove back to the airport. Highways both ways. My advice to you is not to rent car at this location. If have to, make sure not to repeat my mistake and examine the car with the magnifying glass for damages before driving it off. Scratch probably can be buffed out for $ 10, but go figure — I guess Hertz need money.
Avoid if you can!

Rented a vehicle form here for 12 days on returning the vehicle was told there was damage to the driver side wheel rim. There was a small nick probably ¼ inch which was dirty and looked as if it had been caused by possibly a tire iron. We never changed the tire, drove anywhere that would have caused any damage to the rim. We were charged 55 pounds to «repair» the damage and an administration fee of 30 pounds. I was so angry, we always take photos of the vehicle when we pick it up but not specifically of the tires. You can bet that is gonna change. I doubt that the damage will be repaired and the next unsuspecting person that drives that vehicle will get the same charges. I took photos of the vehicle when I left it too so they could not charge additional monies for other damage we did not cause. What a rip off… TERRIBLE.

Slow staff at check out and return and unfriendly staff at return. When I returned the car I was in a hurry to get to my plane, but they said there was a new small scrape along the edge the hubcap where it touches the tire and sign here that will be $ 135 with fee and administrative fee. The whole thing was a scam to get more money out of travellers. Don’t use Hertz/​Dollar/​or Thrifty car rental internationally at least.

Maybe a new manager, I read the reviews after booking and though my god. However my return was easy quick and no extra charge, I even had a damaged hub cap. So from me no complaints.

You wait to be picked up quickly after a long flight (your chances are better if you arrive into T3 than T4), and soon after you arrive at the location it is usually hit or miss. You’ll find your name on the Gold board if you’ve spent enough of your life on the road. Sometimes your name isn’t on the board and there few people to help. Why cant hire car companies in the UK learn from the National Emerald Club Aisle process! The vehicle selection is fairly standard, you’ll get what you pay and upgrades are limited even if you’re a frequent traveler like me.

Tough to beat $ 170 for the week. Nothing sketchy throughout our experience. We even asked for an extra day on the car, and they gave it to us for free.
Pros
— Good vehicle, clean, in good shape, the engine sounded kind of rough though.
— Extra day was only $ 33, but my husband talked to someone ama got a complimentary extra day!
— Shuttle bus to and from Hertz and Heathrow.
— Ok customer service. Nothing to write home about.
— Process of getting the car and returning it was about 30 minutes. Not bad.
Cons
— No customer service in terminal, just a kiosk. Boo.
— The kiosk in their office to get you in and out quicker still makes you wait for an representative. Kind of pointless to have that option, in my mind.

DO NOT RENT A CAR FROM HERTZ IF DROPPING AT LONDON HEATHROW!!!
If I could leave less than one star, I would. What a nightmare! Picked up a car from Hertz at Holyhead. Drove it for almost three weeks with no problem. Upon return, however, and just as described in other’s reviews on TripAdvisor, we got hit for damage that we do not know how happened.
First, the damage is a ‘scuff’ on the bottom of the bumper on an Audio 4S. The very unfriendly woman who inspected the car literally used mirrors underneath it to look. I’m all for giving a returned rental a thorough going over, but this was crazy. Finally, she tells me we must pay the equivalent of almost $ 600 for ‘damage’ to the car. I couldn’t even find it until she pointed out a scuff on the bottom of the bumper that was likely caused from a rough road – lots of construction going on. The next thing they did, rather than discussing with me, was to automatically charge my credit card for the damage. I insisted on looking at pictures of the car prior to our pick up. None available, but I know there had to be because there was other damage to the car when WE picked it up. The car was moved and put through the car wash. When I asked that it be returned so I could look at it, the scuff was hardly apparent and most of it literally scraped off with my thumbnail. I told them I would not pay and that they needed to refund the charge on my card immediately. It was a nightmare, really. Of course we are on our way to catch a plane back to the States. I insisted on talking to a manager. This took some doing. The end of this encounter was me telling them I would not pay this exorbitant amount and that they could pursue it through my insurance company. We shall see how it ends up. While waiting around, I met another couple who had the exact same experience. I asked them why on earth would they rent from Hertz again! The woman couldn’t answer. She told me she would be taking numerous pictures of the car before driving it away.
It appears that Hertz/​London Heathrow clearly has a racket going on how to get additional money out of tourists – especially when they know that people are in a rush to catch a plane. I will not ever rent from this company again when returning the car in London. The whole scene played out EXACTLY as stated in numerous reviews about them on TripAdvisor. I wish I had read those before choosing to rent from Hertz.

Picking up the car: not particularly friendly, very slow, expensive (business booking) and their damage sheets are a joke !
What bothered me the most was that the clerk kept on asking me why I took an automatic… I mean; that is clearly not his business. Driving on the wrong side is something that requires attention, and shifting gears with your left hand is not easy, but why was he so pushy for me to change my reservation? On the car damage: check it and double check it, mine had at least 5 serious scratches or dents that were not on the damage sheet.
Return: Better, quick and professional — no check on the damage though…
I will avoid Hertz Heathrow for the future, it has some serious issues with management.

Never, ever again will my husband and I use Hertz in Heathrow. From the USA, we booked and prepaid for a mid sized car, an automatic. Upon arriving at Hertz, the clerk was insisting on my husband getting NON automatic, or stick model. My husband, having had a knee operation, can not use a car with a clutch. Hertz made him wait for 3 hours! After that, clerk comes back and says that there are no automatic cars available except a Mercedes, and that is an additional 300 pounds! Since this booking was already prepaid, one would think hertz would have give the upgrade for free especially having him wait 3 hours at their office! But no. Long story short: after traveling across the globe for the almost 24 hours, tired, and having to drive an additional 4 hours to get to his destination, my husband had no choice but to accept the Hertz car.
This is truly highway robbery of the most blatant sort! We are going to write to every UK govt agency that deals with this sort of underhanded cheating of consumers.
Hertz UK!!! Do not ever use them.

DO NOT RENT FROM HERTZ AT HEATHROW! I usually use other carriers, but had a special promotion from Delta, so tried them again. What a mistake! The problem is that instead of agents in the terminals, they bus you to their central location before you can check in. I was quite surprised to see 15 people in line ahead of me, with only two agents at work. When a third or fourth agent would arrive, invariably one would leave. I stood in line for exactly an hour, all the while listening to the agents trying to sell upgrades to each customer. One agent said in a loud voice «it’s been like this all day.» I can see why, with two people serving the world’s busiest airport. NEVER AGAIN.

Don’t rent a car from these crooks.
I reserved a small compact car for about 200 pounds a week, plus a GPS for a total of about 85 pounds.
I have the confirmation email to prove it.
When I arrived at the desk I was told that there were no GPS’s available, but I could have a larger car with a built in GPS.
I was not told that this would cost an additional 250 pounds.
When I was shown to the car, I informed the agent that this car was too big and I didn’t want it. He told me that there were no smaller cars on the lot.
Again, I had expressly reserved a smaller car.
WHEN A RENTAL CAR COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE THE CAR THAT WAS RESERVED AND CONFIRMED AVAILABLE, THEY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE A SIMILAR VEHICLE (or upgrade) FOR THE SAME QUOTED PRICE.
THEY ARE NOT ENTITLED TO squeeze another 250 pounds out of a traveler, taking advantage of the fact that I am tired after a 12 hour flight, desperate to get where I have to go, and unable to travel around the English countryside without a GPS.
THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME.
When I arrived at my hotel in Oxford, I was given a message from the front desk that the agent had my American Express card. He had neglected to return it to me.
I was given a phone number to call that was a recorded message only. There was no way to contact a human being by phone except by leaving a message and waiting.
The car itself was terrible. I was driving in the narrow streets of Oxford and in the Cotswolds in a car that was much larger than the one I reserved.
When I emailed customer service complaining about the 250 additional pounds I was charged for the «luxury» car, they replied that I and initialed that expense and that I had enjoyed the «benefits» of the superior car.
There is no accountability here.
I reminded them that I had reserved a smaller car, that I had asked for a smaller car when I saw this car, and I sent them their email confirming the reservation for the smaller car and the separate GPS.
They replied that they had reviewed my case and that since I initialed the expense, they were not going to honor my request for refund.
I have had my share of bad experiences with rental car companies and all the various scams they pull, and there are many, but I have never had such a bad car rental experience as this.
There are many many other car rental companies, and while some are bad, there are none as terrible as Hertz.
They lie, they cheat, they scam, they are unaccountable.
If you choose a different company after reading this, then the 250 pounds Hertz stole from me will be worth it.

Worst car rental experience in 20 years. If you want to reach this branch by phone good luck. They respond to the odd email after 5 days, I have only received one response in 6 emails. Customer service is utterly useless and even the World Wide Reservation team for Hertz warned me about their total lack of communication.
I was involved in a collision with their rental car. They cannot find any information on the accident and I’ve spent two weeks trying to work with Hertz without any success. I’m just giving up. If they don’t want me to help pay for a damaged vehicle that’s fine with me, I was trying to be honest…

ABRIDGED VERSION don’t rent from Hertz if you do not want to pay for your spouse/​partner as additional driver. This review is for Hertz Corporation not the counter agents, who were very nice across the board.
UNABRIDGED DIATRIBE…
I booked cars in both Belfast City Airport and Heathrow for a recent vacation I specifically verified before travel that I would not be charged for spouse as additional driver which is a benefit of Hertz Gold and AAA.
Rented for 3 days in Belfast, at first they wanted to charge me for additional driver but with some persistence on my part they removed the charge. When I turned in the car the Hertz agent assured me that I would have no problem at Heathrow as the rules are different because it is in the UK (HUH?), I reminded the guy that Northern Ireland is in the UK.
On July 6^th we arrive at Heathrow Hertz wait half hour, place was not crowded, get to the desk and am told that there is a charge for spouse, that Hertz Gold membership in US is not the same as UK, ‘computer says no’… etc. I go through the same routine again, spend at least 30 minutes to complete the transaction, The agent (who was very nice) did remove the charge and gave us a very nice car, a diesel Skoda, huge improvement over the banged up Nissan Micra we had earlier in the week which is why I added a star.
Why can’t Hertz implement a world wide policy that there is no charge for spouses/​partners. Avis does not charge a fee to add spouses, domestic partners, employers, employees or companion drivers for disabled renters. I recently rented from AVIS and will do so from now on. Good riddance to Hertz, I also cancelled the FREE Hertz Gold member that starts to auto bill $ 60 annually after the first year, cancelled the membership (and cancelling it was not that easy).
A few weeks later… we receive a paid invoice from Hertz for 72 pounds for bus lane violation, day of arrival July 6^th, there were floods all over England gridlock everywhere, we were trying all sorts of detours and apparently we drove in a bus lane by mistake, a camera must have recorded it and we just got an invoice from Hertz that we were billed 72 pounds. Thanks GB, thanks for giving a tourist a break, now that’s the Olympic Spirit, God save the Queen…