San Francisco Sues Hertz Over Bridge Tolls

(RTTNews) - The City of San Francisco is suing Hertz Global Holdings Inc., alleging that the car rental company is deceiving customers into paying steep fees for a toll service to cross the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued Hertz and its business partner American Traffic Solutions, Inc., for fraudulently and deceptively inducing customers to purchase an optional toll service called PlatePass.

Other bridges in the area have the option of cash-only lanes, while Golden Gate Bridge went cashless four years ago. Hertz vehicles use Plate Pass, which automatically pays the toll electronically.

As per the filing, tens of thousands of Hertz customers have unwittingly paid millions of dollars in PlatePass fees over the past four years. They are routinely charged $32.25 for a single bridge crossing, more than four times the toll rate. On the Golden Gate Bridge, Hertz customers neither choose the service, nor receive sufficient notice to avoid it. Due to which, Hertz customers are charged the undiscounted toll rate of $7.50, as well as up to $24.75 in extra fees for single travel.

The filing also alleged that while closing the rental, Hertz, which operates the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands, does not charge and disclose these fees on the receipt to its customers. Instead, it gives the confidential personal credit card information of customers to a third party who slips in the charge at a later date.

The lawsuit alleges that the Plate Pass system violates state law against fraudulent business practices and false advertising.

Herrera said, "These practices are not only unfair; they're unlawful....I am not going sit back and allow one of the largest rental car companies on the planet to take advantage of a world-renowned San Francisco icon to rip off thousands of California visitors and residents. This lawsuit is designed to put a stop to this illegal scheme and force the companies involved to pay their victims back."