Hertz Car Rental - CC, HP or SP?

[bichonmom]

I was in a car accident this afternoon, and I need to rent a car through my insurance company. Hertz told me that I have two choices: either give them a CC or they will pull my credit report. They said it's a SP, but I'm not 100% convinced since the rep wasn't entirely sure.

So, I'm wondering what is the best choice? I'm concerned about giving them a CC because they might just charge for things like cleaning the car or damage I didn't do. (I've heard horror stories about car rentals.) On the other hand, I'm not thrilled about them running my credit, either.

I'm wondering what others have done and how it has worked for you. What would you recommend? (My credit is clean, so that's not the concern. I just don't want a HP and also am concerned about the security of giving my local Hertz office my SSN.)

Thanks!

[pizzadude]

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@bichonmom wrote:

I was in a car accident this afternoon, and I need to rent a car through my insurance company. Hertz told me that I have two choices: either give them a CC or they will pull my credit report. They said it's a SP, but I'm not 100% convinced since the rep wasn't entirely sure.

So, I'm wondering what is the best choice? I'm concerned about giving them a CC because they might just charge for things like cleaning the car or damage I didn't do. (I've heard horror stories about car rentals.) On the other hand, I'm not thrilled about them running my credit, either.

I'm wondering what others have done and how it has worked for you. What would you recommend? (My credit is clean, so that's not the concern. I just don't want a HP and also am concerned about the security of giving my local Hertz office my SSN.)

Thanks!

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It will very likely be a hard pull if you don't give them a credit card to pre~authorize the car rental.    Pretty much all car rental companies operate this way now.  

[Anonymous]

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@bichonmom wrote:

I was in a car accident this afternoon, and I need to rent a car through my insurance company. Hertz told me that I have two choices: either give them a CC or they will pull my credit report. They said it's a SP, but I'm not 100% convinced since the rep wasn't entirely sure.

So, I'm wondering what is the best choice? I'm concerned about giving them a CC because they might just charge for things like cleaning the car or damage I didn't do. (I've heard horror stories about car rentals.) On the other hand, I'm not thrilled about them running my credit, either.

I'm wondering what others have done and how it has worked for you. What would you recommend? (My credit is clean, so that's not the concern. I just don't want a HP and also am concerned about the security of giving my local Hertz office my SSN.)

Thanks!

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You do realize they can just as easily bill you for cleaning the car or nonexistent damage, right?  Either they charge you and you dispute it, or they send you a bill and you can fight it, either way you're not really any safer.

You can also almost guarantee it will be a hard pull.  I've yet to hear of a rental company that does a soft pull, although there are probably some, but the larger chains are going to almost certainly do a hard pull.

Best option: give them a credit card.  If they try to bill you for nonexistent damages, dispute it.

[bichonmom]

Thanks! So glad I asked here, because the rep looked it up and said it would be soft, but I've learned not to trust that!

At least I have credit cards now. A year go, I would have had no choice but to have the credit pull - and then they might not have approved me, depending on their criteria.

[pizzadude]

Yeah, it will definately be a HP   http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Hertz-Rental-company/m-p/1342399#M161028

Not suprised that the agent told you soft though.....most don't know the difference.