Travel Solutions: Hertz hits renter with $850 bill months after returning vehicle

We returned the car without any damage, and Hertz did not note anything when we returned the vehicle.

Six months later, I received a claim notification from Hertz that the car had $850 of damage during our rental period. There isn't a description of any damage or any evidence of repair — just a request for our insurance information or credit card number.

I told Hertz that we did not incur any damage during our rental, and I told them it was concerning that nearly six months after returning the vehicle without damage, we received a bill for it. Can you help? — Joseph Meisinger, Elkhorn, Nebraska

A: Hertz should have noted any damage to your vehicle when you returned it.

Sending a bill when there's no clear documentation of damage is problematic. And six months later? That invites a lot of questions.

It turns out you had a lot of questions, too. You sent them to Hertz in writing: What kind of damage? Where did they have the car repaired? There was one more problem — a 600-mile gap between the odometer reading reported by Hertz and the one reported on your return. That means Hertz might have rented the car to someone else who damaged the vehicle, and the company was holding the wrong renter accountable.

Hertz did not send you any of the repair documentation or explain the 600-mile gap.

You could have gotten this dropped if you had "before" and "after" photos of your rental car.

I contacted Hertz on your behalf, and you received a message from Hertz's executive customer service department: "The claim has been closed at this time, and you will not be held liable for the damages to the vehicle," it said.