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I rented an Avis car over the internet, through Avis of the US. I picked up the car at the airport in Paris, and told the agent specifically that I did not want insurance, because he asked the question about optional insurance in a very odd way, making it sound like I should say yes to decline the additional insurance. When he asked me to initial the contract, since I speak and read almost no French, I asked him if I was initalling that I did not want insurance - He said yes. I would have been foolish to take this insurance, because the Visa Gold card that I was using for payment provides free insurance. When I got home I found nearly $800 in additional charges, mostly for insurance and 1/8th tank of gas. I called Avis of the US and got the gas charge removed, because the car was filled less than 2 miles from turn in. But Avis of the US is unable to remove the insurance charge because Avis France is a separate company. I have exhausted all avenues of complaint through both Avis US and Visa, and am told the I have to deal directly with Avis France. I have sent them at least 30 emails and they will not reply. Recently, I used a friend's computer and sent the same address an inocent email asking for a phone number of the Avis office in Verdon, France. A reply was returned in less that 24 hours. I attached my complaint to that email and replied to Avis France - No reply was returned. I am now firmly convinced that Avis France is diliberately taking advantage of people who don't speak and read French, and tricking them into buying services that they don't want. I am still pursuing this, but unless I find the corporate headquarter of Avis of France, or their parent company, Avis France is going to laugh all the way to the bank. Audria of Charlottesville VA (7/9/02):
On returning the car twelve days later, the clerk thanked us for the keys and wished us a good day. I asked for a final copy of the bill, and he looked surprised. Let me just say now that I am astounded that an itemized final bill, requiring a signature, is not a mandatory part of doing business with Avis. That has never been my experience with any of my car rentals in the United States. The clerk eventually printed up a copy of bill which is barely legible and includes no headings or labels. In particular, there is no label for �Total Amount� or �Final Cost�. However, I looked at the number at the bottom and saw that it read �815.40�. I asked the clerk if that was our final total and he said that it was. I asked the clerk why the amount was so high, since our reservation had clearly stated the cost would only be $291.00. The clerk asked if the quote had been in Euros or dollars, and when I replied that it was in dollars he said that the final price was in Euros and obviously that was responsible for the discrepancy. I began to get angry, with good reason. I explained, as calmly as possible, that the exchange rate was $0.95 to 1.00 Euro, and that his argument was ridiculous. Then I asked again about the discrepancy. At this point the clerk pointed to the circled initials made twelve days ago (when we were told we were waiving any additional charges) and said those represented mandatory insurances which everyone had to accept. We argued this point for the next few minutes, but the clerk�s point was very clear � the charges represented insurance, and he regarded them as mandatory. At one point he even said that the charges had been automatically added by the computer and that he had no control over them. I asked the clerk his name, he pointed to the name on the form (�Rapezzi Giordano�) and then my husband and I left. My charges of fraud are as follows:
We have never had any problems with Avis rentals prior to this past experience (during our honeymoon, no less), nor have we heard anything but praises for Avis in general. I can only assume that this behavior was the result of a mistake made by an errant clerk, and sincerely hope that this bad experience will soon be put right. We will obviously be glad to pay the original quoted price of $291.00, plus any small fees required in adding a second driver onto our rental agreement. However, the amount actually charged to our credit card is: $794.87. Aside from the obvious consequence of an $800 charge on our credit card, which we can ill afford now that we are trying to pay off our wedding expenses, this experience also resulted in our ending our three-week honeymoon on a very bitter note. David of Inverness, Highlands, Scotland (7/31/03):
Returned to Scotland only to find that Avis had managed to squeeze an extra 20.9litres in and charged me 32.40 euro on my credit card. I have e mailed Avis to complain but have yet to hear anything from them. Gilbert of Antwerp, Belgium (7/19/02):
Then one of the front tires collapsed and could have caused great trouble. Bringing the car to the garage, the technician stated that both the front tires (the collapsed one and the other front tire) were in bad shape and that it would be irresponsible to continue for two more weeks with these tires. They were changed and my son paid the bill, 250 Euro. Bringing the car back, the AVIS representative, Mr. Kapelle, told my son that he could not reimburse the costs. I am most surprised for the following reasons:
I look forward with great interest to your advice. To save both of us time, I want to let you know already that my first move was to ask only for the reimbursement of the additional costs that my son had to make. However, after the rather unprofessional way with which this is treated, I may consider to follow the advice of my lawyer and ask for the full reimbursement of the invoice paid by my son, since he did not have the quality of service that he paid for. My lawyer even suggested an additional amount of money for the fact that he was given an unsafe car. I look forward to hearing from you, hoping that on the international level your reputation will be more customer friendly. Eric of APO, UK
I then went into the airport and proceeded to the desk where I originally picked the keys up. I explained to them that there was no one at the lot to "check-in" the vehicle with. I told them the mileage and that the tank was full of fuel as I had just filled it up. The lady said ok... I flew back to England and within three days I got a notice from AVIS saying that they were taking $275 off of my credit card for damage/repairs. There was nothing wrong with the car when I dropped it off. I talked to the travel agent. They said they would get back to me and I heard nothing. I went to the AVIS UK website (I am in the USAF stationed in England) and filled in a complaint block and I heard nothing. I did the same on the American site and still have heard nothing. It seems they are just hoping that I will go away. Is there any recourse that I have or can they just take money as they like from my credit card. My point is that there was no one there to inspect the car and tell me what was wrong and when they said in their notice that something was wrong they did not say what. Mike of Dublin, Ireland (2/15/02):
Having spoken to Nick Eaton, Manager of Avis Rent-A-Car at Manchester Airport, UK, he refuses to refund the amount simply saying that his employee does not remember. Outside a main terminal at the airport, I'm confident that I could be seen pointing out the scratch on surveillance cameras but have no access to this. This begs the question, further to scratches, should you also insist that all dirt on a car be marked on the report form just in case it will later be charged as a scratch? Since I became overdrawn by this transaction, it left me with unauthorised overdraft charges and no spending money for my following holiday in France, I had a miserable holiday due to this and am still struggling until my next payday. Report Your Experience
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