Hertz accused of misleading most loyal customers
Car rental giant Hertz has been accused of misleading customers after advertising discounts on hire charges without making it clear that certain dates were excluded from its offer.
Hertz had emailed its Gold Plus Rewards customers details of a "Global Sale" in which it promised up to 33% off on rentals in over 100 countries "when you book any Hertz car, in any place, at any time".
The offer was valid on bookings from August 28 to September 15 2013 for rentals between September 1 and March 31 2014.
However, advertising watchdogs upheld a complaint from one customer who was unable to take advantage of the offer because the discount didn’t apply to any of the dates they wanted to travel.
In its defence, Hertz said the blackout periods, such as Christmas, were listed in the terms and conditions of the offer
But the Advertising Standards Authority said consumers would understand that all rentals in the period were available with up to 33% off the price.
"We therefore considered the presentation of the ad was likely to mislead consumers as to the availability of the advertised promotion and concluded that the ad breached the Code," it said.
Hertz was ordered not to repeat the ad and advised to make sure that all future ads didn’t breach the ASA Code.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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