--- title: "Hertz Will Pay $168M to Settle Wrongful Arrests for Bogus Stolen Rental Cars" description: "Hertz will pay out $168 million to hundreds of claims from customers who were wrongfully arrested due to false claims of stolen vehicles." date: "2022-12-05" modified: "2022-12-05" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/hertz-will-pay-168m-to-settle-wrongful-arrests-for-bogus-stolen-rental-cars" categories: - "News" --- # Hertz Will Pay $168M to Settle Wrongful Arrests for Bogus Stolen Rental Cars ![Hertz logo]() *\Adobe Stock\* The ongoing legal saga between [Hertz]() and its rental customers—who were wrongfully arrested for vehicles falsely reported as stolen—may finally be coming to an end. In a press release on Monday, Hertz announced it reached a settlement with its 364 pending claims for a total of $168 million. Since 2020, 364 people were wrongfully arrested after police were told their rented Hertz vehicles were stolen when, in fact, they weren't. According to the initial lawsuit earlier in the year, the cars were falsely reported as stolen due to Hertz incorrectly reporting thefts, failing to report rental extensions, failing to track vehicle inventory, incorrectly reporting customers' payments, and also not correcting falsely stolen reports. Hertz claims that these issues were a result of the company's struggles its bankruptcy filings. However, cases of falsely reported stolen cars persisted long after Hertz emerged from bankruptcy in 2021. According to Hertz's new CEO Stephen Scherr, "several hundred" people were affected by these incorrect stolen reports, with around 50 coming in 2022 alone. In some cases, customers weren't just stopped by police where they could explain themselves and then sent on their way. Some customers were actually arrested and kept in jail for up to 14 days, which was devastating. One woman, Mary Lindsey Flannery, was [reportedly]() pulled over and arrested, which left her kid at home alone, as her husband was overseas in the military. Under its new leadership, Hertz seems to be willing to pay out. "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," said Scherr in Monday's statement. This $168 million settlement should resolve more than 95% of claims, and it should be paid out by the end of the year. *Got tips? Send 'em over to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()