Complain about a product or service

Avis

Avis • Corporate Points program • International thievery • Disputed return date • A visit from Repo Man • Additional driver charges • Young drivers • 4WD vs. AWD • Misc. problems

Renting a car may seem like a small thing but it can quickly turn big and ugly if things go sour. In particular, if the car is damaged or if the company loses it and blames the renter, as happened to Michele, things can get very nasty.

Robert of Bronxville, NY March 31, 2009

I rented a car from Avis at the Dane County Regional Airport from 2/8 and returned the car on 2/13. The Toyota corolla was returned with no damage to the car and a full tank of gas. One month later i recevied a bill for 629.70 from Khouiy Alternative which is a claims adjuster for Avis. The bill informs me that I can sign the credit authorization form or report it to my insurance agency. There are no pictures and no proof that this alleged damaged occurred while I had the car in my possession. No one at Avis at the airport notified me at the time I returned the car that there was any damage either.

I did not damage this car and fell that it is not my responsiblitlity to pay. I have read numerous stories of this same type of unfair practice against consumers that are being defrauded by Avis and other car rental places. The company is threatening me with a 629.70 dollar bill that I cannot afford and they are threatening to notify a collection agency if I do not pay. This is outright extortion.

Sandra of Lawton, OK March 13, 2009

we rented a car in dec 22 2008 and returned it jan 2 2009 paid for the car and over a month later on feb 24 2009 i recieved a 71 dollar violation charge on my credit card. i have tried several times to contact someone at the citation department with no aveil. i left a message and i e mailed them. at no time while driving the car did i incur any violations.

it is a burden finalcially to have unfair charges plaed in my card not to mention with out any kind of letter or e mail from thr company informing me of the violation prior to the charges.

Frank of Hayden Lake, ID March 7, 2009

We made a reservation 6 months in advance to get the best deal, as we always do. We reserved a full size car for 181.30 and had a 20.00 off coupon that was to be taken off at the counter. All was well until we returned the car and found that out bill was 355.41 when we asked why they said that they had up graded us to a larger car.

We went to speak to a manager ( W.L. ) and he said I had initialed it so therefore I knew about it. He said his manager would call me in the morning. The girl went over everything that I signed for and the only mention that I signed for was that I was denying the insurance and that I would bring the car back with a full tank of gas, there was absolutely no mention of any upgrade. Nobody called us and after two days of telephoning I finally got to talk to a manager (Michel). He told us unfortunately there was nothing he could do since I had initialed it.

I explained to him that if I wanted to upgrade I would of used my upgrade coupon instead of my 20.00 off coupon. I had no need for a upgrade and did not want an upgrade. The car we rented was no bigger or better than most mid size cars that we rent. This is shear trickery what they did, and they know it. It may of been that they were out of full size cars. I don't know. We waited in a very long line about 45 minutes and there was still a very long line when we left. I know that they were very busy that day. I have called my credit card company and disputed the charges, but the manager at Avis said they had a signed contract so it would do us no good. I am sick about this, This sure put a nasty finish to our wonderful vacation.

J. of New Orleans, LA February 8, 2009

I returned an AVIS rental car on Dec 27 2008. The representative made a complete walk around the car and then took the mileage and ran off the receipt. She did not record any damage. One month later I received a notice that there was damage. AVIS demanded 495.70 which included an excessive 2.2 day additional rental charge (107.80)and a large service fee (50). The problem is that neither my wife nor I had an accident with this car and the car was undamaged when we returned it. Of course we did not take a picture of the car when we returned it to the lot. [Their] picture has no date and therefore there is no proof of when the damage occurred. There is no proof that it is the same car. The location on the accident report where the driver was supposed to sign is unsigned. The accident report form is from BUDGET Rent a Car.

We have shown the AVIS documents to a lawyer who says that this evidence would not standup in court. This appears to be a scam. In addition, we obtained a telephone quote of (370.02) for this rental; they were supposed to rent a mid-size (Ford FUSION) but the agent gave us a Pontiac VIBE. I was assured that there would be no extra charge for this change; however, AVIS charged us 594.69. This looks like bait-and-switch.

We did not cause any damage.

Rafael of San Diego, CA February 6, 2009

I have to vent on the horrible experience I had recently with Avis out of Boston Mass. I am a premier member with Avis and had no real complaints prior to this. I rented a car at Boston Aiport. Upon arrival, I had to stand in line for well over 30 minutes just to get my car. There were 2 people working the desk and for some reason, they did not have my name listed on the premier list. I got a disgruntled clerk. The car they set me up with was a stripped down PT Cruiser. I drove from the airport to my hotel, about 35 minutes away. After checking in, I was told that they would be expecting snow in the next few days and asked if I had a scraper for my car (at the hotel, mind you)or if I needed one. I went to the car and decided that I better check the wipers.

Well, lo and behold, the wipers were non-functional. The wiper arms moved, but the blades were not wiping anything. I called Avis and was told to either buy a replacement set or bring the car back. I drive back to the airport and stand in another line, to get a replacement car. I waited a total of an hour to get the replacement car because a midsize car, which I rented, was not ready. Fine. After an hour, I complained that I was tired of waiting and the clerk upgraded me to an impala (I dont know what size that was). When I got in the car and started it, the power steering made a grinding noise. I walked back in to the clerk and told them about it. They came to check it out, but of course, the noise was not there. Fine. I figured it was just the cold.

I drove back to the hotel. 2 days later, after a snow storm, I go to get in my car after a long meeting offsite. The power steering makes that same noise again and it would not work at all. It was like driving a 1966 car with no power steering. As I go to drive out of the lot, I notice that the tire is making noises. I pull over to check and find a flat tire. Great. It's probably 15 degrees out and I have to change a tire. I go to the trunk and there is no spare tire. The place where it belonged was emtpty! I called the 800 number and was told that all they could do was tow a replacement car to me but it would be 2 to 3 hours from the airport!! WoW!! No repair trucks with tires?? I waited in the car for 2 hours before the replacement car showed up. The driver tells me that he did not have a replacement contract because the computers were down at the Avis place. Ok. Fine.

I drive away in my Hyundai beater and prayed that nothing else happened. Well, nothing else happened to car but when I went to return it a week later, they couldnt find the contract on the car because no one ever put one in when they replaced it. Wait another 45 minutes and I am fnally out the door to my flight. I wrote Avis twice with the complaints, via their website and I have yet to receive a response. This was over a week ago. I am so disappointed with their customer service and lack of care about their customers that I am going to start using a different car service. I know that I am just a little fish but I think that renting around 12 weeks a year would at least get me a We're sorry about your experience, we value our business and here's something to make up for it.

Heck, even a free upgrade would have been nice. It's nice that Avis is not suffering financially like the rest of the world and they can afford to alienate loyal customer. It's a good thing my manager runs the travel dept at work too. Maybe if I get the word out to 1500 travelers where I work, it might cause Avis to think twice about their customers' needs.

Excessive time loss and stress due to equipment that is not maintained correctly. No real monetary loss unless you count the time spent waiting.

Martin of Richmond, VA February 2, 2009

We recently reserved a small compact car to tour the area with reservations for morning pick up January 23 and prepaid for the car use through Hot Wire which is a on line reservation service. We finished with the car use later that afternoon and decided to return the car after using it for approximately 7-8 hours later instead of the following day so we did not have to hassle with it prior to catching a ship from the local port to continue our vacation. We thought the period for a day rental would be 24 hours or less and would be in the car rentals favor.

Upon return they charged us additionally almost 100 for a total cost of approximately 150 between prepayment and additional fees applies because we broke a car rental contract and returned the car early. Consequently they then went by hourly charges plus mileage and other various fees. The message I continued to receive from them from all levels in response that I have contacted so far was I broke a contract and they can charge basically going rate as they felt appropriate. Nobody in their chain could tell me how they have been damaged by us returning the car early only that we broke a contact.

At first I was told this charge was going to Hotwire but when I called Hotwire while there I was told by Avis that they could simply charge additional fees as they may apply. Their charges are not stated in the contract however if you do look hard enough does note that the additional charges may be added if you return the car early. This left me quite frustrated and disgusted with that company especially since I have been a returning customer for many years. I felt this was extremely predatory in nature and wanted to issue warnings to others about this practice as I felt that these fees and charges are quite excessive.

Beth of Chandler, AZ January 24, 2009

On September 30, 2008 I flew into Chicago Ohare and rented a Chevrolet HHR through Avis. I declined the Avis insurance since I am fully insured with my auto insurance company. I then returned the vehicle October 2, 2008. I waited for the attendant who walked around looking the vehicle over and then sat inside to get the mileage. He then got out of the vehicle, said looks good and handed me my receipt which he printed out from a hand held device. I boarded the bus and then left for the airport.

The week of October 6th, I received in the mail a letter from Avis stating there was damage to the vehicle and that I was at fault and owed the amount of 522.06 immediately. I called into Avis on 10/14/08 but they were already closed for the day. I then called Avis again on 10/15/08 and spoke with Shakeira. I gave her my claim number and told her the attendant looked the car over and told me it looked good, he then gave me my receipt which I still have in my possession. I also told her this seemed a little odd considering the second sentence of the letter said, since I declined the Loss Damage Waiver offered to me at the time of rental; it almost sounded like that was the reason I was getting this letter.

I noticed first off the accident date is the day I rented the car (how could this be). The accident/incident report (to be completed by the customer) was filled out by Avis and not by me the customer. On the bottom of the Accident /Incident report there is a section written in that states customer says she did no see it. Right below this statement on the signature of operator/customer it says Gone by Bus. How could a statement be made if I were already gone by bus? The date of this report is 9/2/08 which does not match the accident date on the cover page. Date of loss on the total cost of repair sheet is 9/3/08 which again does not match any other date on loss on the report. Looking at the picture's of the HHR sent from Avis, there is no viable damage.

On 10/24/08 I called into Avis again just to be sure this claim had been closed and was taken care of. Roberto answered the phone this time and took my claim number down. He looked up my claim number and then told me this claim had been closed back on 10/15/08 and I was not responsible for for the damages. The week of 12/8/08 I received another letter from Avis about the same damages and that they expected payment for 522.06 upon receipt of this letter. I called back into Avis and spoke with Julie at 9:27am who looked up the claim number and said this claim had been closed. I told her of the letter I had received and that I had been told I might receive this letter but I did not think I would have received it 2 months later.

She then told me they (Avis) had a glitch with their letter system and a bunch of letters were sent out in error. Everyone with open and even those with closed claims received letters on accident, so I can just disregard the letter I had received. On 1/24/2009 I received yet another letter stating, Repeated requests have been made regarding this claim. Your failure to respond may be deemed as an admission of liability. In the absence from hearing from you, this matter maybe referred to an outside agency for further handling. I will call Avis AGAIN Monday once they are open but at this point it looks like I will have to take further action.

Besides this being a total waste of my time especially since I am self employed and time is money to me, Avis has done a check on my credit report which counts as a hit on my credit. I am concerned that since this has not stopped for 4 months now that it will not and that Avis will continue to pursue further action as discussed in the most recent letter.

Santiago of Las Vegas, NV January 21, 2009

I rented a car from Avis to go to California from Las Vegas sept. 28th, On the way home I recieved 2 flat tires and got a new car to complete my trip. I did not get the insurance, so I expected to pay for the tires. I recieved a letter in the mail on November 22nd statint I owed 1,832.45. I was puzzeled at the amount. So I called Avis and asked for a detailed invoice to see what I was paying for.

Seems I am paying for body damage, new tires and alloy wheels. new bumper, new grill, as well as many other charges and parts. I examined the car and there was no damage whatsoever. I marked on the accident form car diagram where the wheels were damaged. Now I have made attempts to have Avis call back to discuss the issue, left messages, not It seem my account went to a collection agency. I can not get them to call me back either.

It's a nightmare. Avis charged me for damages I did not make on the car. When I picked the car up, I discovered that I was upgraded from economy to a Mustang, which I didn't want because I wanted a car good on gas milage, So I made a complaint to Avis on the way to California. But the lady said I should be happy about the upgrade. What a horrible experience.

Lee of Croydon. Surrey, OTHER January 21, 2009

when you arrive in Cyprus and rent a car from Avis make sure you ask the price of petrol and how mauch it actauly cost to fill up the car you are going to hire. Avis in Cyprus do the opposite to any other country they charge you for a full tank and you take it back empty, Yes weird how you going to know how much you are going use!

I hired a Fiesta, Avis charged me 47euros for a full tank at the time i did not think anything of it, i drove around for about 5 days until the tank was almost empty, i stoped thinking i would only put half a tank in thats about 20euros, to my amazement this amount nearly filled the tank. so i actualy took the car back over half full as i could not use it an the last 2 days, now i know the next cusomer using my car will be charged for another well over priced full tank, netting Avis or somebody at least 30-40 euros in there pocket.

I just want people to be aware that in Cyprus the full amount they are paying for in the tank is actualy alot more than it cost to fill up the car. As a result i was out of pocket and over charged. Avis just say you signed the rent agreement so its tough.

Charmane of Miami, FL January 6, 2009

I rented a car from Avis Rent-A-Car on Dec 30th 2008 at 11:49. I specified I needed the car for 1 day at the agreed rate of 30.45 plus insurance 14.99 per day. I returned the caron Dec 31st 2008 at 11:00 to the agreeed location. Avis Rent-A-Car charged me for 2 days stating that when you pick up the car it is already considered a rental for the day and the next day starts a whole new rental. I was also charged 6.99 per gallon fuel (as I only used the minimum not even registering that fuel was used, I did not fill up the car).

Avis subsequently charged me 135.76 for a one day rental, claiming that the gasoline was 5 gallons @ 6.99 plus two days rental.

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