A guide dog owner has been left fuming after a car hire firm charged him £80 to clean his pooch’s hair from the seats of a vehicle they hired.
Granger Fox, 39, and his partner Kate Rowlston, 35, travelled to the Isle of Man from Liverpool on his boat at the end of April and hired a car from Hertz for two days, April 29 and 30, during their stay. The company director, who has Type 1 diabetes, was accompanied by his medical alert guide dog Evan, a four-year-old fox red Labrador trained to monitor his glucose levels.
He said they had an “amazing” stay on the island until it came time to return the Kia Picanto they had hired. Hertz staff told the couple they could be charged a fee to deep-clean the vehicle because of dog hair under the company’s pet policy.
After returning home to Helensburgh, in Scotland, they discovered £80 had been taken from their credit card without authorisation. The couple were also charged a £25 administration fee and a £9 fuel fee, despite claiming the car had been returned fully fuelled.
Mr Fox described the situation as “disability discrimination“.
View 3 ImagesGranger Fox and Evan the dog. (Image: Granger Fox / SWNS)
He said: “Just because I have a guide dog doesn’t mean I should feel like I don’t belong somewhere. People think guide dogs are just for blind people, but that really isn’t the case. It was just hair from Evan, they had no issues with anything else.
“They just keep saying they had a right to charge under the company’s pet policy. But their policy we signed says it does not include service animals, and legally guide dogs are not pets – they’re medical aids.”
Hertz recently lost a court case in Ireland after being ordered to pay Euro 10,000 ( £8,657.70) compensation to a blind woman and her husband who were charged a Euro 150 ( £127) valet fee linked to hair left by their guide dog. Hertz has since agreed to refund the £80 deep cleaning charge as a “goodwill gesture”.
View 3 ImagesKate Rowlston and Evan the dog.(Image: Granger Fox / SWNS)
The company said the vehicle required a higher level of cleaning than would normally be expected, but it had made a commercial decision to refund the charge without admission of liability and considered the matter closed. However, Mr Fox said he is still seeking an apology and intends to pursue legal action over the alleged discrimination.
He told Hertz: “If I have to see this through to court so your team and branch never do this again to someone, that is what I’ll do.”
Hertz told the couple they fully appreciated Evan was a guide dog and that assistance animals are always welcome in their vehicles at no additional charge. However, the company said they should have informed staff in advance that Evan would be travelling with them so they could have been provided with a dog-friendly vehicle fitted with protective seat covers.
Mr Fox said: “The rest of the trip was amazing. The island’s harbour staff were beyond great to deal with, hotels were amazing – every single person and experience other than Hertz were perfect.
“It was great to experience but the moment I was made to feel my disability should cost me financially really made me feel unwelcome and does leave a lasting feeling.”
A spokesperson for Hertz said: “Hertz Isle of Man has a longstanding policy welcoming service animals in our vehicles at no additional cost, in full compliance with applicable accessibility laws and regulations. The customer did not inform Hertz Isle of Man in advance so they could prepare the vehicle accordingly with mats and covers to protect the seats.
“An additional cleaning fee was applied due to the condition in which it was returned, in line with the signed policy and as per the images shared with the customer. The cleaning fee has been refunded as a gesture of goodwill. We remain committed to providing an inclusive and respectful experience for all of our customers.”
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