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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowHertz says it will pay about $168 million by the end of the year to settle the majority of the lawsuits brought against the rental car company by some of its customers who were wrongly accused of stealing cars they had rented.
In April, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr, who took over the role in February, said that he was working to fix a glitch in the company’s systems that led to the incidents.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Monday that the settlement of 364 pending claims related to vehicle theft reporting would bring resolution to more than 95% of the pending theft reporting claims.
“As I have said since joining Hertz earlier this year, my intention is to lead a company that puts the customer first. In resolving these claims, we are holding ourselves to that objective,” Scherr said in a statement.
Hertz anticipates recovering a “meaningful portion” of the settlement amount from its insurance carriers. The Estero, Florida-based company doesn’t expect the resolution of the claims to have a material impact on its capital allocation plans for the balance of the year or for 2023.
Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, as it struggled under heavy debt and a drop in travel caused by the pandemic. It operates Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty car-rental brands.
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Wow, $462k per claim. Obviously the lawyers are getting the lion’s share, but that seems like they’re getting off easy after “accidentally” charging that many customers with car theft…
How many millions of dollars of police resources were wasted?
I agree wholeheartedly! Not to mention how many lives were impacted and will continue to be, because the victims will always show an arrest for grand theft. Even if a charge is dismissed, it will remain until the victims petition the court to expunge or seal their records.