Blumenthal Calls on FTC to Investigate Hertz's Inaccurate Car Theft Reports
“It is inexcusable and reprehensible that Hertz’s business practices have unnecessarily forced so many of its customers into the criminal justice system.”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Amid disturbing reports that Hertz has been wrongly reporting customers to the police for stealing rental cars, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the company’s inaccurate reporting practices and take appropriate action.
“It appears that Hertz’s practices have resulted in the false arrests of numerous customers through no fault of their own,” wrote Blumenthal to FTC Chair Lina Khan. “I urge you to open an investigation into Hertz’s inaccurate and potentially unfair practice of reporting its vehicles as stolen and take appropriate enforcement action to ensure Hertz’s consumers are not falsely arrested or otherwise harmed.”
Reports reveal that Hertz has for at least the past four years filed more than 3,000 stolen vehicle reports with law enforcement each year. Many of these reports turned out to be inaccurate, resulting in false arrests of innocent Hertz customers who were arrested at gunpoint, jailed for days and sometimes months, lost their jobs or homes, and incurred thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
Last week, Blumenthal sent a letter to Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr, demanding the company fix their reckless practices resulting in their customers wrongly going to jail.
The full text of Blumenthal’s letter to the FTC is available here.
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