Rental companies agree to cut costs for refueling cars

The agreement, which goes into compliance July 1, was prompted by a state-led investigation started after Gansler met late last year with the companies to discuss their refueling policies.

The companies include Enterprise, Hertz, Alamo and National — all of which have agreed to reduce their refueling fees by as much as 40 percent. The new policy will give Maryland the distinction of being among the lowest — if not the lowest — in refueling charges in the country.

Customers are generally charged for refueling if they fail to refill the tank upon a vehicle’s return. Otherwise, they can prepay to have the company refuel.

Though refueling fees vary with different companies, locally in places like the Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport they have been as high as $8 a gallon, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Christine Delise.

“Now after the agreement consumers could pay around $5.60 to refuel their rental cars, and that’s in line with Maryland gas prices.”

According to Gansler, there’s no justification for high refueling fees.

“Marylanders are already hurting at the gas pump, and paying $8 per gallon is just salt in the wound,” he said in a statement released Thursday. “Today, we have made it easier to visit and do business in Maryland, and these agreements can be a national model for states that want fair pricing.”

Christy Conrad, spokeswoman for the St. Louis-based Enterprise — whose parent company also owns Alamo and National — said the agreement doesn’t really change anything for Enterprise because the rental company has traditionally offered lower refueling costs.

“In fact, Gansler said he was pleased to recognize that Enterprise has done it right all along by offering a fair price to our customers,” Conrad said. “We’ve actually set the example.”

drowley@baltimoreexaminer.com