A $32 Golden Gate Bridge fee?

Those who drove a Hertz rental car across the Golden Gate Bridge and later discovered that the company charged them as much as $32 for the pleasure won’t face that kind of bill anymore after a $3.65-million settlement with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, it announced last week.

The suit, filed in March 2017, stemmed from the use of PlatePass, a device included in some Hertz rental cars that allows tolls to be assessed electronically.

Consumers often had sticker shock when they returned the car because using one toll road then triggered a use fee for each day the car was rented, not just the days on which a toll road was driven. Service fees were often added.

Drivers do not have the option of paying cash on a Golden Gate Bridge crossing.

“Many Hertz customers were unwittingly paying more than quadruple the actual toll just to cross the Golden Gate Bridge once,” City Atty. Dennis Herrera said in a statement.

“The Golden Gate Bridge is an international icon, but charging someone $32 to cross it is simply wrong. We put a stop to that. And because of this case, Hertz has reduced its toll service fee nationwide.”

Consumers will not receive refunds for the wrongly assessed and higher fees, said John Cote, communications director for the City Attorney’s Office. Instead, the money will go to “future enforcement,” Cote said in an email.

Other terms of the settlement mean that Hertz will distribute a brochure called “Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in a Rented Vehicle.”

Renters also can go to Golden Gate’s toll payment option page. Those who do not use the bridge frequently can use a one-time payment plan that allows them to use a credit card online or by phone or pay cash in person.

To learn more: bit.ly/golden gate one time pay