Initially good but frustrating

Scam

Fast car pickup

Since there were many customers at Hertz, the wait time was quite long. However, we got a new car, around 600 kilometers driven, a Ford.

Picking up the car is very convenient, but there might be a queue. During the peak summer season, the counters are a bit few, and self-service pick-up is not available.

HERZ is located near the entrance of the train station. The staff was very enthusiastic, and it took about 10 minutes to complete the paperwork. They gave us the keys and told us to pick up the car from the underground parking lot of the train station. However, when we got there, we found the car was not the station wagon I had booked but a smaller and cheaper Corsa. Helplessly, we returned to the HERZ office, and the staff told us that they gave us the Corsa because the car we booked was no longer available, and this was the only one left. I've read online that when others had no car, they were upgraded for free, so why did I get downgraded for free? Even if there were no car and they needed to downgrade, they should have informed me, right? By the way, my friend rented from HERZ a week before and was also downgraded to a Fiat 500 without notice but managed to argue and get a Ford Focus station wagon. Is this a common issue? I recommend asking about this clearly when renting. We immediately pointed out that if there were no equivalent car, they should upgrade us. The staff claimed there were no similar cars, only this one (to be honest, I found it hard to believe). If we were unsatisfied, we had to take our luggage and go to the airport by train; HERZ at the airport may have cars. After half an hour of hassle, due to time constraints and the fact that there were only two of us, we reluctantly accepted the Corsa as it was barely sufficient (the trunk could only fit one suitcase, and another had to be placed on the back seat). Reluctantly, we accepted the Corsa but requested a refund of the price difference. The staff surprisingly suggested the refund wasn't much, so we shouldn't bother, which annoyed me... I insisted that regardless of the amount, the difference should be refunded to me because this was HERZ's issue, not mine. In the end, the staff called their headquarters and said our order was a pre-paid full amount through HERZ China, and they couldn't refund us directly. We had to apply for a refund back in China. Rent a car company remained pretty supportive. Hope this gets sorted out soon.