Car Rental in Iceland - Beware Hertz!

In July 2009 I rented a car from Hertz, and it ended up costing me $1442 more than it should have, and none of that qualified for an insurance claim. Here's what happened:

• Hertz employee brought out a map and suggested a particularly scenic driving route.
• The fine print on the contract said if you are seen on one of those particular scenic roads you'll be fined.
• One month after I rented the car a $1400+ fine ended up on my credit card, and as it was a fine it didn't qualify for an insurance claim.

Needless to say, there was no damage to the car, and by the time I knew what the charge was for I'd already thrown out the map with the employee's writing on it. Hertz took more than a month to even respond to my questions about why the charge was laid, by the time they replied to me I'd already reported the charge as fraud to Visa.

Hertz Iceland are at best very disorganized, and at worst scam artists. I hope this helps someone avoid the same pitfall I fell into!