Customers Say Hertz Reported Their Rental Cars Stolen

Hertz told a bankruptcy court it filed about 3,365 theft reports a year against renters, and argued that number proved the problem was small. This Hertz false arrest documentary reads the court file: the unsealed filings, the judge's opinion, and Hertz's own SEC reports. In May 2020, Hertz filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware (In re The Hertz Corp., No. 20-11218). Its plan paid allowed claims in full and gave old shareholders cash plus new equity. But hundreds of customers said Hertz had reported their rental cars stolen and that they were arrested as a result. Many of them filed after the bar date. We show the filing Hertz tried to keep under seal (Doc 344-1, Case 20-11247): about 25 million U.S. rentals a year, about 3,365 theft reports a year from 2016 to the bankruptcy, and Hertz's ratio of 0.00175. We also show how the claimants read the same number as more than 15,000 reports, the CBS News objection to sealing, and Judge Mary F. Walrath's 2022 opinion on 'known creditors'. Then comes the money: the December 2022 settlement of 364 claims for about $168 million, set against roughly $239 million in cash to old shareholders (our calculation from the plan terms), and the 2025 Delaware Supreme Court ruling on Hertz's insurance that turned on '$10 million per occurrence'. Hertz has disputed these claims throughout. It settled without admitting wrongdoing, and the bankruptcy court ruled only on procedural issues, not on the merits of any claim. Statements by claimants are allegations. Stories, not financial advice. CHAPTERS 00:00 Their own sentence 01:47 The bankruptcy that paid in full 03:47 Already in the file 05:42 The number 07:47 One number, two readings 09:07 Known creditors 11:03 $168 million 12:24 Ten million dollars per occurrence 13:32 What the paper trail shows SOURCES Docket, In re The Hertz Corp., 20-11218 (Bankr. D. Del.): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/... Docket, In re Rental Car Intermediate Holdings, 20-11247: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/... Doc 344-1, Final Redacted Version of Hertz objection (3,365/yr, p.27): https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec... Doc 340-1, claimants' unredacted reply: https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec... Doc 259, CBS Broadcasting objection to sealing: https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec... Doc 610, Memorandum Opinion (Walrath, J., 14 Jul 2022): https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec... Main D.I. 764, Hertz complaint for injunctive relief (Jul 2020): https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec... Hertz 8-K, 16 Jun 2021 (plan confirmation): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Hertz 8-K, 5 Dec 2022 (settlement): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Hertz 10-K FY2022, Note 15: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... IMAGE CREDITS Court filings: public records via CourtListener/RECAP. Charts and timeline: Billion Dollar Mistakes. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Hertz. Narration is AI-generated. Has a company ever treated you as a criminal over a billing error? Tell us in the comments. The best-documented stories may become an episode. #Hertz #Bankruptcy #TrueCrime