A U.S. citizen who was told he needed to provide a passport in order to rent a car at Louis Armstrong Airport has received an apology from Hertz.
Humberto Marchand of Puerto Rico had pre-paid for a rental car from Hertz.
When he went to pick up the rental car and presented his Puerto Rican driver’s license, a Hertz counter employee told him he would need to present a passport, something he wasn’t carrying with him.
Marchand noted that he had been on a domestic flight and asked if she could fulfill his reservation. The clerk refused and asked him to leave before phoning the police.
Marchand, a federal law enforcement officer of 25 years, claimed that when a Kenner police officer arrived, the officer informed him he had to leave. Despite the fact that Marchand is a citizen of the United States, the officer allegedly threatened to “call border patrol” if he did not.
The officer’s body camera footage, according to a Kenner police representative, did not include the comment regarding border patrol however, it is unclear when the body camera was switched off during the incident.
Marchand was invited to file a complaint with the police department.
In a statement, Hertz said they accept “Puerto Rican driver’s licenses from our customers renting in the U.S. without requiring a valid passport.”
“We sincerely regret that our policy was not followed and have apologized to Mr. Marchand and refunded his rental. We are reinforcing our policies with employees to ensure that they are understood and followed consistently across our locations.”
