Avis Reviews

I am very disappointed to see that AVIS is trying to cheat its customers for as little as 30 euros on fuel and charging an exorbitant price of nearly 400 euros for a hubcap. I have contacted Auto Europe as well and they informed me they have emailed their contact about it but I would like my credit card refunded the 320 euros.

For years I was a member of their club and always had great service all over the US so I felt insulted and complained to the powers that be. They replied by stating that I would not be refunded the 50 bucks and they stand behind their decision. I was already under the impression that when I give them my Credit card information my car would be there. Why would I need to be charged in advance a nonrefundable amount. I have never not called at least a day in advance to change a reservation. They have changed their policies and even if you make a mistake and call immediately they will not allow a change. It could have cost me $50.00 to learn Avis has changed not to mention their tone and rudeness was unacceptable.

The person with whom we dealt was Esther **. When we explained to her that we needed a car for transpiration to the Waco Regional Airport in order to access our luggage -- a mere 80 to 90 miles away -- she informed us that there would be bit higher price for our one-way trip and that the minimum rental for which we would pay would be 24 hours. She stated that typically that charge is between $300 and $500 for such a rental! When she noticed the shock on our faces, she stated that she would try to find us a "Promotional" rate. Eureka! ONLY $217! Still feeling that we were being scammed and were between a rock and a hard place, we agreed to that exorbitant rate and left the rental agency in a Kia Forte.

When we arrived at the Waco Regional Airport, after re-filling the car's fuel tank in the about of less than $6, we were informed to our shock and dismay that the price for our rental came to a total of $340! My comments were not cordial. The young lady at the Avis rental desk in Waco stated that she understood our anger, that she had seen a number of people who had been overreached at Avis DFW in the same way. She further stated that she thought it was "their" way of taking advantage of cancelled flights and the exigencies arising from them. She encouraged us to telephone a 1-800 number that she gave us in order to see about a remittance.

What Avis is doing is clearly a deceptive trade practice in the State of Texas. The company and its personnel are knowingly and intentionally misrepresenting the terms of its rental agreements and taking advantage of the unfortunate circumstances of many consumers. If I do not receive satisfaction from Avis when I discuss this matter with its brass, I fully intend to initiate a class action against this thieving company.

She typed some things into her computer and said "It's denied". No "I'm sorry sir your card isn't going through. Is all the information on your driver’s license correct?" or anything else at least... Just a "It's denied" without any explanation. I said "Maybe you typed in something wrong." and she replied with her rude demeanor "No, I didn't!" and then I decided to just use my credit card which I only use for emergencies and it has NOT A SINGLE charge on it. Guess what? "It's denied". "Impossible. You're doing something wrong." Obviously I was getting frustrated with her rude behavior and now she's telling me both my debit and credit card is denied without asking any questions or giving me any explanations. She just rolled her eyes and said "I'm not doing anything wrong." so I said "Is there anything else I can do?" She said "I guess not."

So... it turns out my address on my license was different than my credit address that they check and she never once informed me of that or asked me to verify my information for accuracy. I didn't know. She should ask the customer to verify information for accuracy if you're running a credit check or what the billing address is for the credit card. It just might be different than what's on the license. I had to make other arrangements to drive to Chattanooga, TN without my family that originally was going with me to visit relatives all because of a rude Avis employee that didn't do her job correctly. I will also file a formal complaint. I feel that I was singled out and discriminated against by this employee since the initial interaction and greeting was met with instant rudeness and she was unwilling to resolve my issue. If anyone wants the number to customer service it's 1800-352-7900.

I'm not sure how annoyed to be about this. I think anyone could be excused for thinking that "of course" a late model Camry should work. On the other hand, anyone even glancing under the hood would be able to see that the battery terminals were corroded. (Maybe this is a problem for a car living near the sea?) And I do feel irritated that two days that should have been relaxing and fun were instead quite irritating. It seems to me that they should have a policy of automatically refunding the rental fees if it turns out the thing they rent to you doesn't actually work.

Now my account is messed up because of them taking money out my account that wasn't supposed to. Been taken fuel. Was $114 dollars the car. They said it was $610 for 3 weeks then fees came up to $140. They said they didn't get paid for the car but they did get paid. When I first got it not only that they said for the extra days the total was 1600$ I was told to call corporate because my payment didn't go through. But I called my bank and my bank say they paid Avis 1600$ but Avis is telling me I owe them money. They terrible. After I get everything corrected I would never rent from them again. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. They taking people money.

I've been a lifelong member and an Avis preferred member and have spent massive amounts over many years on very regular and mostly long-term rentals. Avis will not get a single penny from me, my extended family, my company and probably all people and friends I'll tell about what a pathetic company they are. Hope they go bankrupt very soon.

When I picked up the car there was a young man at the counter and I am not sure if he is experienced or not. The receipt that I have indicated that Ben issued me the car and it says the I turned the vehicle in to Ben. The two young men that I interacted with during both transactions were not the same individual. When I rented the vehicle, I walked up to the counter and the person asked my name and looked me up on the computer. He then grabbed the key from the key box and put it on the counter, so he already knew what he was going to give me. He started filling out the contract asking me if I wanted specific items and I denied everything that was presented to me. I am covered on insurance through the federal government.

He also asked me several other questions trying to persuade me to get additional insurance. He also asked me if I wanted to pay for the fuel service upon return and I did not want that and I indicated that. I was at the counter for a while because he was having issues locating my Avis Preferred Member Account. He said that he located it but I had moved and he was having issues loading up the new address. He apparently could not understand the zip code that I was giving him or typed it incorrectly into the system.

After fumbling with it for several minutes, he told me that he would correct the issue later and he was email me the information, which I never received. He had me run through the ePad signatures quickly because he seemed uncomfortable at this point because he was having issues. At no point did I ask for an upgrade to my economy car but it was given to me. He did not ask me nor did he indicate that I was getting an upgrade. I am only authorized an economy car when traveling on official business. He must have planned all along to give me this upgrade because as I stated earlier, he gave me the keys right away. He had me walk out to the car and look it over and if I noticed any issues to come back to the counter and we could discuss the issues. I didn’t notice any damage that wasn’t already noted on the paperwork or pink slip.

I took the car for several days and never received the email regarding my account. Once I returned the car, I drove lap after lap around the parking lot trying to find an Avis staff member to turn the car back into. There is no obvious signage noting what one is supposed to do upon return. I finally just parked in a spot, the same spot where I got the car (row 5 #82). On the paperwork, it reads row 5 #2 and there is no row 5 #2. I walked around with the key fob until I found the car honking the horn and it took awhile when I initially took the car.

Once I returned the vehicle and since there was no Avis staff to receive the car, I walked inside and handed over the keys. I was asked if everything was ok with the car, if I had all of my belongings out, if I noted the mileage and if I filled it up. I did fill the vehicle up within 10 minutes of the keys being turned in to the staff at the counter. I did not note the exact mileage but it was around 51000 miles. It was not stated that I needed to bring in the mileage. I was not provided a receipt and I was told that it would be emailed to me shortly. I never received the receipt for the vehicle in the email. On Sunday as I am driving back to Saint Louis, Missouri, I received a phone call asking if I wanted to extend the car, since I had not turned it back in as of Sunday.

Today I called and told me that I had turned in the car on Friday and I was not sure what their issue was and why it was not documented as of Sunday as being returned. The record was corrected from what I was told and the female stated that she would provide me with a receipt in the email. I gave her my government email address so I could file my travel claim. I have three business days to file my travel claim according to federal travel regulations. I never received the receipt and finally went online to see if there was a way to download a copy myself. As I did, I noticed that I was charged $112.35 in fuel service fees. The receipt states that the car was turned in at 1:21 pm and I have my fuel receipt from GV Quick Stop at 1:06, this receipt shows that I filled the vehicle up with 8.643 gallons of fuel. That was what I utilized in fuel and the vehicle was returned full, I stated this during the turn in process.

I also noticed that there was a $15.00/day upgrade fee that I did not request but was given. This was not discussed but apparently this is something that I signed for on the ePad. Whomever issued me the car did not discuss this at all with me but he sure talked about everything else and I stated that I did not want any extra features. Today, I called the Green Bay Avis and spoke with Ben. I am not sure if he is the one whom issued me the car or the person whom I turned the vehicle in at the Green Bay Airport but the two staff were not the same person as indicated on the paperwork. Today Ben states that he will not return the charges for the upgrade fee and said I signed for it. He says that everyone signs the ePad but what gets me is the car that was under my agreement had the keys on the counter to me as soon as I walked up.

It’s an extremely deceptive practice that this person did with me during the rental. He knew he was going to give me the car I was issued whether I approved the upgrade or not. He compared not giving me the credit to a comparison of purchasing a meal at McDonalds, which was an extremely stupid remark. He clearly wanted to move pass the upgrade charge and just continued to state that nothing can be done. He told me that we would move to the fuel charges later. At this point, I knew that he was not going to assist me and I told him that I was going to contact the Avis CEO, the Wisconsin AG and the BBB.

I am writing you to get this corrected and if not, I will not be renting again from Avis and I will ensure that the federal travel office that does all of our travel approvals and planning that there was deceptive practices that occurred, inaccurate billing, and pursue getting Avis on the banned list for rentals. As I previously mentioned, I do travel often and I have always preferred Avis but now I may have to pursue other options. The federal government frowns upon deceptive practices and billing violations. I hope to hear from you by tomorrow and have this issue corrected.

Original Review: July 16, 2016

I made a reservation online. I called beforehand to check if I could still apply a military discount at the counter even if I paid online, and was told "yes". My flight got delayed and I missed a connecting flight which caused a big change in my reservation time. With that, I would be returning my car after hours. I called Avis and told them this and they said: "No problem, your price won't change." I got to the car rental location and was first told that I would not be able to apply a military discount. Then I told them I did no want any extra protection/coverage, and again told them I would be returning the car after hours. They said, "No problem if they have a drop box, you're good to go. The price won't change."

Then I got my bills. The initial online charge was $106.87+mileage. I ended up getting another bill for $250.21 to total $357.08. On top of not getting a military discount, I got charged for two days because it was returned after hours due to the flight delay (even though I used it for 4 hours). And the odometer somehow indicated 253 miles when I drove directly home which is 174 miles, and they charged $27/day for a coverage that I denied (my fault for signing the agreement, but still frustrating that they messed that up). They won't do anything to help because according to their book, they can charge me for these things. The problem is that I was told false things multiple times and they don't care about your circumstance. They just want to suck you dry.

I got to the rental car distribution center and the lady more or less forced me into purchasing the extra (optional) liability insurance even though I repeatedly asked whether it was mandatory. Then she told me I could upgrade for free, WHICH WAS NOT TRUE. They charged me $200 extra for the upgrade, even though the lady said I could upgrade for free because the car class I wanted was not available.

Then because I was renting from an airport I naturally had to take the tollway out. I figured a $2 toll would be added to my charges, but I glanced at my receipt and found they charged me $20 for a $2 toll... I also found they had charged me $160 for the underage fee instead of the $90 quoted. So overall I lost almost $400 compared to the quoted figure because of all these ripoffs this dirty cheating car rental company that takes advantage of people in desperate situations. Needless to say DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE EVER. THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO RIP YOU OFF.

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY SCAMMING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT FOR MONEY WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION! I will never use this company again. I am a disabled woman who was taking my mother to see her sick 90 year old mother. This is a disgrace to take advantage of vulnerable women and that they think they can get away with this! Do not use this company unless you want money stolen from your account at their whim!!!

Next day my tire was low again. I put more air in the tire. Tire leaked out and got low pressure again. I took it to the Memphis airport to swap it out. While waiting on them to get me a new car another customer asked to speak with the manager. He told her that one of the employees had opened his car door, looked at the gauges and gave him a receipt to $39 in gas. He was picking the car up, not returning it... As I mentioned, I rented an intermediate SUV to carry my family in; the lady at the airport hands me keys to a Mitsubishi Lancer, and tells me it's for the Mazda3 and points in the general direction of roughly 250 cars from which I was apparently supposed to find mine. I finally get her to give me a SUV and head back to Fayetteville.

I go to return the car on Sunday afternoon at 1245; their hours say Sunday 12-3. Nobody there. They're apparently closed Sunday and Monday for Independence Day but failed to post that fact anywhere. While I admire their patriotism, I have no choice due to the rest of my experience, but to fully expect them to screw me on the number of days I had the car. So I'll be spending the next 2 days gearing up for a fight that should not have to take place.

I called local AVIS number and I didn't get any response. I phoned CAA and they dispatched a roadside assistance not only one but 2. Unfortunately they didn't have the means to open the trunk but they got me contact with a locksmith. The key man arrived onsite and with impressive hi-tech means he was able to download required data based on VIN and made the key there on the spot and opened the trunk for me. This process took me about 3 hours and by the time I got the car key and drove the car to the return location it was 4PM and the Avis rental Office was closed. I parked the car in their parking lot, left the key in the key drop and went home.

Now when I checked my credit card they have charged US$ 741.83. That is (US$ 423.15) more! I went to the Kitchener, Ontario Avis car rental office to ask about the extra charges and the guy at the front desk told me I was charged the extra amount because they calculated the rental period until Monday morning (their office opening time) instead of Saturday since I didn't arrive before their closing time. I explained to them what happened to me and why I was late. After 6 hours wait I was able to speak to the "Manager" and he told me closing the key in the trunk was my "Stupidity" and he couldn't help me.

When I asked him about the trunk opener in the car that doesn't work he answered me "Our car got you here. That is all is needed from us". The Avis employees at the Kitchener Ontario office treated me with disrespect and have no interest to even properly listen. I think they lack customer service training or they are disgruntled employees with no regard whatsoever for their employer as this kind of customer treatment is bad for Avis. I am not sure where to go from here. I am considering going to the media to tell my story.

There was a reason I needed a true minivan, similar to Town and Country (what is stated) - because it's way bigger! Just trying to spread the word in case others are looking for the same. You will get stuck with a Kia Sedona (or similar), a mid size car with a 3rd row seat!!! That's what they give out under "minivan"!! Maybe other rental companies do this too, not sure. Out of all the rental cars in the airport parking lot, I never seen one true minivan like a Town and Country or Dodge Caravan, but a ton of Sedonas and the like. I feel this is misleading and really feel they need to change the categories of these type of cars! I know there are a lot of families who book minivans for the same reasons as I. Be aware!

When I get my ticket they kept my return time at the original time instead of changing to the time I received the car! Then when my parents arrive to our location (my daughter is having a baby) my dad needs to be on the rental so he can get around too while I'm at the hospital with my daughter. I was charged $13 a day to add him. That is as much as the car rental! Plus they increased the amount of the car rental price! So for 1 week I paid $182 total then when I went to add my dad and add a week the price for the Extra week was $261.14... Double!!! This is a rip. Rudest customer service on top of everything. I called corp office and no help from them. They were rude. Never again!!! Beware of this company. The only reason I gave 1 star was it wouldn't let me give ZERO!

Furthermore, he had to contact his travel agent to fight the claim of refunding our money which totally sucks. So all and all, how can they hold a misdemeanor someone had 21 years ago from purchasing a rental and above all, how can they just take our money and not readily refund it when transaction is denied. Avis totally sucks and wouldn't recommend anyone to rent a car from Avis or Budget Rental Cars.

At the best this person need to be retrained in listening to what a customer says - worst case the person deliberately added: personal accident service, personal effects protection and additional liability insurance, taking advantage of the fact that the paperwork was hardly legible and perhaps my tiredness. I have rented cars with both Avis and others for years and I have never been conned like this before. As I was tired from my long haul flight, I signed. I saw the part with the GPS but did not notice the unwanted added services which I had made a point to decline. I have called customer services in the UK, Avis at Sacramento Airport as well as the manager there - nobody is doing anything, so please be warned and never make the mistake of trusting AVIS - DO read every line of the paperwork just in case. I will never rent a car with Avis again, not just because of the 99 $ loss but mainly for their failure to respond to me within 24 hours.

At first they said they couldn't locate the driver, Progressive found him (and has a recording admitting the accident was his fault), and now Avis Insurance says they aren't sure he's insured. The car was rented in Nevada and driven to California. According to Nevada law the rental company is required to carry minimum liability insurance for their cars. It's now 5 months later and nothing. I sent a demand letter to them over a month ago and they haven't had the courtesy to reply. We are both 64-year-old ladies and were stopped at a light minding our own business. I think it's awful for a company to care so little about the people who are injured by their automobiles. They have not tried to help us in any way - just stonewalling us. I wanted you to be aware of what sort of company you are dealing with if you rent from them. It's a shame.

There are guidelines in which they have to follow. I will place some very important information very soon as to how we can hold these places accountable for treating us like this. If it was not for us their business would not be. The manager at Reagan National was really nice after he overheard how I was being treated even on the phone. I called the Attorney General's office and they are helping me get to the right people so that we can file complaints and hold the company accountable. You can also get the owner(s) information, CEO, CFO, President, Vice President and the board members. Never think that you have to put up with paying for a service and being mistreated. You can also call your local news station. If and when they get enough call and information they will air it and investigate. I will be posting numbers and names soon!

Finally get to counter and lady says it will be 500.00 extra for returning to Lexington. I asked her why. She said it was FL that did that. I kindly asked her to call them. She would not. So I did. They changed the charge to 55.00. Sounded great. She hadn't checked the car in yet, then she says, "Ok that will be 521.00, you are being charged an extra day, because now the vehicle is 40 minutes late". And she was arguing that it was returned over an hour late. Didn't comprehend that 8:30 CT is 9:30 ET. She could have removed it but wouldn't even though it was her fault for arguing the whole time. Didn't even ask, "Do you want to take the car since you're going to be paying for it," and then charged insurance again for the car sitting on their lot.

I called their corporate office. They would not give any kind of resolve or pro-rating. The manager was very rude, at corporate and at Bluegrass Airport. I am appalled by this company. They are stealing from people and somehow getting away with it. Action needs to be taken... I tried to call back to get some sort of resolve, but they said I had already called once, and they would not allow me to talk to a Supervisor. According to the reviews they are ripping people off everyday in every state.

Here is a copy of the Priceline print out showing my daily price of $23.00 with collision insurance charge of $11.00 the upgrade to the standard car costing $9.00 and taxes & fees of $23.00. The Avis rental number is also different on your billing compared to the number on the Priceline sheet suggesting that it is a different reservation made up before I got there. I feel that I was scammed at the counter. (Do your agents get extra pay for selling upgrades?) I want to be reimbursed the extra money I was charged. I do not like being taken advantage of and will not let this go. There may be others that are being deceived at the counter which is illegal and just a bad business practice.

Finally I got a car I approved of. The car drove fine. Just was a very late model. I returned the car on my return date. 1 hour early. Clean and full of gas. The next day I checked my account and see AVIS charged me 241.45. I call customer service and the lady first say I returned to car 1 day early. NO. 1 hour early. Then she say I had the car for 12 days... NO. Only had it 4 days. Then she said to fill the car gas... NO. I refueled it myself. Then she said that was the price of car... NO. BOOKED THRU Priceline with flight and room. Then say it will be refunded in 5 to 7 business days... I am waiting. Very pissed. That charge made me go into negative.

I then call the manager at the Lagrange Georgia location, Tony, who tells me to call roadside assistance again as they should not tell me that it's nothing they can do. I call them back again and, the young lady states that she can send out a wrecker service to pick up the van and 1 driver (me). Well. It's 12 ladies total and I was not going to get in anyone's vehicle and leave them stranded in the heat. We were then told that a 12 passenger van is in Tallahassee Florida, they can take me to get the van but the other 11 passengers had to find their own transportation. That's absurd! One of the local state troopers stopped to see if we needed any assistance and told us the nearest exit was 4 miles up, so we were able to coast to that exit and get out of harm's way! Finally, after being told no and there was nothing that roadside assistance could do, the van finally was able to crank and I drove it to the nearest Avis location in Valdosta Georgia.

I had previously called them and they stated that they did not have any vehicles, they were out. Well that didn't sound right to me so upon arrival I walked in and the manager Charley ** was able to assist me, for that I am thankful. She was able to put us in 4 cars; however I did not expect to incur costs for 3 additional vehicles. I feel as if I should be compensated for the additional cost of the parking @ the cruise terminal, gas, and tolls as it was no fault of my own. The van broke down twice!! Roadside assistance was useless as they told me it was nothing they could do for me and left 12 ladies stranded in the scorching heat over 5 hours... I'm not happy right now and I demand satisfaction quickly! I'd been passed around 8 times through various customer service reps with Avis and with roadside assistance.

I work in customer service myself and this is absolutely no way to treat a customer. I've spoken with customer service and the only thing they offered was a one time $50 credit towards my next rental, well I don't need it as I don't feel Avis/Budget is worthy of my business again. I'm not asking for compensation of all the vehicles, but compensation for myself and family being inconvenienced when we rented what was thought to be a reliable vehicle from your company. Come to find out the vehicle has a recall, did Avis really endanger the lives of a customer to make a sale?? I do expect to be compensated for the cost of 3 of the vehicles. I expected to rent 1 and incur cost for 1 vehicle, not 3... At this point I want all of my money back. Their customer service lacks in all areas and I would advise everyone to stay far away from them. Dissatisfied Customer.

Need better call center reps training quality. I called them later asking about the issue. At the end of the call I said "Alright, thanks", and she said nothing but hang up the phone. Still interesting, does Avis provide customer service training at all? No manager calling back as promised. The say-nothing-but-hang-up-phone lady promised me the manager would call me back that afternoon to better explain the issue. I saved my afternoon staying in my office waiting for the call. It never happened, ever, even not in the next few days. Oh sorry my bad, should I call you again Avis?

I disputed the ferry fee and the gas charge (more than a pre-fill, and the ferry. They said that they would forward this to the Danish office who never got back. Meanwhile I got another bill (this time partly in English) with a collection threat and a nearly doubled fee. Payment was required by wire transfer. Because of something odd, the transfer could not be don by Western Union and had to be done by a bank (with a $35 charge). I hope that this is the last of this and will never do business with AVIS/Budget again.

Original Review: June 9, 2016

I recently booked a vehicle via the Avis Preferred mobile app at the Chicago Airport location. When I booked the vehicle I did not opt for any insurance charges and agreed to an amount of $840.23. When I returned back from the trip and saw my credit card statement I noticed that Avis charged me $1,415. I spoke to the customer call center representative who said since I picked up the vehicle I accepted the charges, whereas being a Preferred member I picked up my vehicle from the allocated bay and did not sign any additional agreement with these charges.

Also the Avis ORD did not provide me with any agreement copy as they mentioned "we are paperless". Now as a result they found a perfect way to sneak in the additional charges. Word of advice - please see the agreement before you drive off with the rental. The customer call center representative mentioned that charges are not being reversed and if this is the case then I will be dropping out of the preferred membership and will book from other providers.

According to him, those are the rules. So, now I have American Express fighting the battle with me. I think Congress needs to look into the car rental business as it has become absurd what they are doing lately. If I operated my business like the car rental agencies do I would be in jail! I am an extensive traveler and normally use Enterprise or Alamo who by the way had no cars available for rent (I think they are not interested in 1 day rentals) so I tried Avis. BIG MISTAKE!!!

Save yourself a headache and never prepay for your orders as it seems to be used against you when you have a change of plans. They do not inform you of all the FINE PRINT and all you hear is "oh no, you prepaid. This is going to be a problem". I just wish the CEO of Avis could have seen their two dopes at Union Station in Washington DC handle my situation the way they did. NEVER AGAIN!!! Avis is getting their money ahead of time and they act like they are doing you a favor. Go figure?

Fast forward to recently visiting Sweden!! I booked a car through airportrentals.com without realising they were giving me another AVIS car. Surprise surprise despite being charged double to have an Automatic, they had reserved a manual car for me. It was 11 pm at night and it took them ONE HOUR to find me an automatic car. I didn't leave until 12:30 am. This time I demanded compensation and rude manager called Mr. ** emailed me insulting me, calling me a liar (despite there being cctv and evidence). When I asked for my complaint to be handled by a professional, Mr. ** emailed me AGAIN (conveniently forgetting to cc in Swedish HQ this time), saying I won't get an apology or a penny from AVIS. It's only when I asked airportrentals.com (who are great by the way!) to fight my case, AVIS admitted they were wrong and gave me 20 back to apologise (what a joke).

Spoke with her supervisor who repeated the 48-hour policy and said she was sorry but there's nothing she could do. I said if that's the case they need to change their "confirmations" and advise customers there is no guarantee they have a car. In her view, the confirmation gave me no right to a car. The supervisor admitted they have received similar complaints but have made the decision not to charge their "confirmations", even though they know people are relying on their representations to their detriment. Sounds a lot like fraud to me.

They said nothing about the charge in Venice and we were busy trying to get the car we had booked and didn't see the charge. What would we have done at that point anyways? Not take a car? Avis is a ripoff. They don't tell you upfront the actual price. If I had know in advance I would of shopped around for a better deal. I rented a car in Australia and drove from the south all the way to the north of the continent with no one way charge at all! Avoid Avis. They are crooks!

The bill still was too high at 119$ but there was a line now and I was in the process of moving and thought I would call into Avis in a few days. So I just called Avis customer service and they said I was charged for roadside assistance which I wasn't aware of and understandably they wouldn't take it off as I would have had to have known about this charge prior BUT I will never use Avis again because I do not think a customer should have unexplained charges that you have to search for... Recent companies that are great, reasonable, with a clear explanation of charges: Enterprise + Sixt.

After multiple calls to customer service with a promised partial return credit, no email or credit is yet to appear. The supervisors are rude and have no interest whatsoever in improving their customer experience. I am now disputing the entire charge through my credit card company. I will never, ever again rent with AVIS and advise anyone considering renting a car to without a doubt, turn to a competitor.

Sadly when we left Richmond VA it asked us for a security code and when we punched in the number we were given it rejected it. Called roadside help where the guy was very helpful and sourced the right code (apparently they change it every few days), WHY?? Possibly to piss off their clients. Well it worked. Made it to Washington even though the GPS would not accept their office address at 50 Massachusetts Ave, nor find it under Avis offices, nor accept 5p as a stab in the dark to get us close. Drove the entire length of Massachusetts Ave before giving up when we stumbled across our hotel.

Rang roadside to explain the problem and that we would return it to Ronald Reagan airport next day. Next day they wanted to charge for an extra day so had the Monty Python $10 argument before finally getting them to waive the additional day. There was an additional $80 to pay but I was too tired to argue about it; but now I'm rested and ready to return serve.

7 days later we collected another car from Budget, an Avis Co. or affiliate but no GPS even though we booked one 6 months ago!!! Had to find our own way out of Washington on a rainy day with a crappy map of Washington CBD. Good job, I was a boy scout as we finally settled on Rhode Island avenue as a possible means of escape. All went well until we hit a charity run just as the map ended and we were pushed several streets off line and left guessing as to how to get back to it.

Luck or good guesswork we found I95 and headed for New York using road signs only and trying not to be in the wrong lane. It rained all the way and as we approached NY we realized we would have to negotiate Manhattan to get to Brooklyn driving effectively blind. We opted to go to Newark where we left the car and caught a train and a cab at great expense to get to Brooklyn late in the evening. The guy at Newark wasn't too sympathetic either. So overall, never going to use Avis or Budget again. Might hire a homing pigeon instead. Admittedly low tech but it knows where it's going, doesn't pull security code stunts and a bloody sight cheaper than the considerable sums we paid for low performance hire company.

I have used Avis in Serbia once before and had relatively good customer service (although car was below average last time). As last time I called day before arrival to double check someone will be waiting for us since branch closes at 2300 and flight is scheduled to arrive at 2350. Avis charges 40 euros for waiting time, which by Serbian standards is lots of money but was willing to pay. Jelena, customer service assistant who answered the phone said there is no problem and she would be waiting for us. However, on arrival, when we came to pick up the car she told us there will be surcharge of 10 euros per day for winter tires because there is a new law in Serbia that all vehicles have to have them otherwise we would be breaking the law and if stopped by police would be paying the penalty and Avis too.

I protested telling her I have should have been told before arrival, specially knowing I booked it in January and spoke to her day before and she mentioned nothing about it. She offered us to purchase Full Cover Car Protection that would include winter tires for 110 euros. What sounded at first as good deal because it also included waiting fee. I signed the papers and deposit to be taken from my Credit Card that will be returned on return of the vehicle. During those 9 days of rental our car usage was as we expected very low so when I filled the car with petrol cost came to 2600 RSD, which is about £17.00, just to give you idea why I wanted to go for cheapest option in the first place. I was ensured when I was leaving the car that everything was OK, signed the papers and told deposit money would be unlocked.

Two days later, I have checked my Barclay Bank Credit card statement online only to get shocked and realise that AVIS has taken £229.71! Clearly there was big overcharge by Avis side. So I called them on 04 April on 0808 284 6666 (on Sundays they are closed) to claim money back explaining the situation. Was explained that would be contacted by email within 2 weeks.

I would like to point the following: No member of AVIS at any stage told me that there would be surcharge of 10 euros a day for winter tires. Later on, I have checked winter tires are only must if there is snow or ice on the road. During my stay there was not any and temperature was about 10-20 Celsius. Even if there was snow surely Car Rental Company should be the one responsible for tires. Obviously AVIS member or staff Jelena knew we were coming late and being tired just wanted to get the car give us false information knowingly misleading us to charge us more. Even with this Full Protection Insurance that clearly we didn't need we were overcharged by £145 at least-so what was originally was supposed to be in total approximately £107 (exchange rate for 40 euros) came to total £297.71.

The way this fraud was committed make me think this is not this the first time it happened and was done in very sophisticated way and have caused me major distress. Realising they overcharged me,I contact them by phone only to be told that they will investigate and contact me by email within 2 weeks. 2 weeks later and still no email so I contacted them again by phone, only to learn that why didn't investigate anything. The Belgrade branch didn't response, like there is nothing they can do since I signed the papers. Now I am trying to claim money back from credit card company. Hopefully others will not make same mistake as I did and from now on will never use Avis again and will not recommend it to anyone.

Just to add insult to injury, they claimed I purchased a full tank but the gas light came on 20 miles down the road. Lol, awesome! True, I should have double checked before I left but I didn't, silly me. I contacted the customer service department but they simply said, "You signed the document." What do you want me to do Avis, cancel my entire planned trip because of you and go home?? I was in another country and needed a car. I would not of purchased this rental however if I knew you were going to charge so much, that's the point!

Some days later I receive a $250 charge from Avis for "Excessive Cleaning". The gentleman who kindly told me he would empty the vehicle forgot to add "for a whopping and ridiculous $250!!!" I opened a case with Avis to understand what the charges were for and was sent photos showing 1) the exterior of the car with water droplets and white snow markings and 2) interior of the car showing the aforementioned trash. I rented from Avis thinking the prices were fair as it was 60$ cheaper than the rental agencies I usually use. I did not know that this "low" fare was supplemented by robbing customers in the name of "excessive" cleaning fees. I rent vehicles frequently and always return vehicles in similar conditions and have never been assessed any cleaning fees. It is unbelievable that Avis charged me a fee, that the fee is so high, and that they never told me about this fee when I returned the vehicle.

If the vehicle was so dirty, the personnel at the rental return should have warned me (instead of offering to help dispose of the trash they should have told me "you better throw out the trash or we will charge you $250"). 1 minute of my time is all I needed to clean up the car. I have tried to contact customer service via phone and have kindly been informed that there is nothing that they can do as Avis's policy is to charge for excessive cleaning. The Avis rental agreement states that the contract will include "h) charges for cleaning the vehicle's interior if the vehicle is returned in an excessively dirty condition that requires extra cleaning or deodorizing. This includes, but is not limited to, spillage of fluids, food, vomit, other stains, and unpleasant odours including cigarette smoke."

There is a significant difference between spillage, vomit, unpleasant odors vs. a couple empty water bottles and sheets of clean paper/brochure. Avis shared 4 photos with me but I can only upload 3 due to limitations with the system. The last photo shows a sheet of white paper on the floor of the car. I also do not have a receipt for the $250 charge as it was added automatically to my credit card with no notice or receipt.

Wrong. I discovered upon returning the car that the agent had circled the Loss Damage Waiver option for $28.99/day and had instructed me to initial it after I had verbally declined this option. When I objected to the charge, I was informed by the agent that because I had initialed it, I was responsible for the charges and that I could dispute them with the manager, who would not be available until after my plane was scheduled to leave. I was then told I could take up the dispute with Avis's national customer service, which I promptly did during my layover that afternoon.

Thus began an hour and a half long trip up and down the food chain at national customer service, during which time I was told that it would not be possible for the charges to be refunded because I had "benefitted" from the coverage during the rental period. I repeatedly explained that I had not, in fact, benefitted from the coverage because the rental was already covered both by my credit card and my car insurance. I finally managed to get referred to a "supervisor" who flat out told me, "Ma'am the refund is not going to happen, ever."

At that point I was done being patient or polite. I asked him if Avis condoned fraudulent billing practices. He said "no". Then I asked him if he was aware of fraudulent billing practices taking place at the Newport News, VA rental counter. He said "no". So I explained to him that I was now making him aware of fraudulent billing practices at the Newport News counter and that I wanted to file a complaint. He gave me a case number and told me I had to wait 48 hours to follow up, no doubt based on internal research showing that most people will eventually give up.

I called back after 48 hours and was given the same song-and-dance routine about how I could not be refunded for the charges because I had benefited from the coverage. I once again explained that I did not benefit from the coverage and that in the 48 hours since my last call I had researched the issue and discovered that fraudulent billing practices such as those outlined on this site are in fact routine and condoned by Avis management at all levels. I also explained that my business partner had had the exact same charges added to her rental agreement last month and that when she complained, they were refunded. So the claim that a refund was impossible was simply a lie.

The agent then told me that the "best I can do" is to refund half the charges. I told him it made no sense for him to refund half of the charges while still claiming that there was nothing fraudulent about them to begin with. He repeated that half was the best he could do. I said "fine, I'll take half but I will never be renting from Avis again". Then he had the nerve to lecture me about the importance of reading contracts before I sign them! I told him that he should inform management at Avis about the importance of honoring customers' wishes to decline optional services and not tricking them into initialing consent for services they very clearly did not consent to. He said he would make a note of it. Right. My only advice to others dealing with similar issues is to remain persistent and to call them out on their fraudulent practices, which are clearly a feature with Avis, not a bug, and are both encouraged and condoned by management.

I kept the car until we returned to the airport the next day to go home. I reported the condition of the tire and the flat to the desk person, who simply said "ok". Today, April 25th, I received a letter from Avis stating that I would be charged $274 for vehicle repair, roadside assistance and administrative costs. I called the customer service number and "Barbara" said I could try to dispute it, "but I would lose." I rented the car thru Costco travel and used their American Express and they said they will fight it. DO NOT RENT FROM AVIS!

We explained that we spoke with both the Avis Roadside Assistance and the branch seeking direction/assistance with no help. Long story short, the replacement is not covered by Avis. And not even a thank you sir for replacing the tire on the car. Of course, our credit card will cover the loss. We'll use the credit card again, but never Avis after the poor customer service.

One week later, I arrived at 10 am, and was told the system had me reserved for the prior day, but that it wouldn't be an issue as there was one car I could take. I was asked when I'd be returning the car. I confirmed that it would be at 6 pm that evening in New York, and I left. Fast forward to about 5 pm, I am driving to my return location only to find that it's closed. I drove to a rural airport (from where I was not taking any flights) to return a car at my confirmed time and was unable to. I was frustrated. I called Avis customer support, and they informed me my return time was already changed to 10 am the following morning.

The next morning, I drove back to this rural airport and returned the car around 11 am. Yes - that's an hour past my 10 am return time. Having wasted my time driving to this location on Saturday only to find that it was closed, I was going to return the car at my convenience on Sunday. As a result, I received a bill for two days, amounting to CAD 203 (~$160). And yet, my credit card showed a pending charge for $271. I explained the situation to the man at the counter (Agent 2) and got only "there's nothing I can do, here's the customer service number." I called the number and explained that I was not told my return location would be closed, that I went out of my way and was unable to return the car, and that I was being billed for CAD 203 and charged for $271.

This guy (Agent 3) told me that the system showed I reserved online (which I didn't - it's hard to forget Agent 1 who, incidentally, asked me if my home address of New York, New York was in Canada) and that I picked up the car one day before I had (remember that error at the pick-up). He also told me that I was being charged CAD 203 and had no explanation why my card would be billed for $271. Worst of all, he offered nothing but "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, there is nothing that I can do," over and over.

When I asked why nobody told me the return location would be closed during my appointment, he blamed the Agent 1 for reserving the wrong day, on which hours were different. When I asked why Montreal didn't tell me when I confirmed the time at pick-up, he said they have no way of knowing (recurring themes - bad internal systems and an inability to use Google). When I requested to speak to a supervisor, I was told "There is nothing anyone at Avis can do," and that his supervisor was not available. Finally after well over an hour on the phone arguing with this guy, and after he tried to hang up on me point blank, he said he would set up a call-back for his supervisor to speak with me in 24-48 hours (note: this conversation happened over 2 days ago and I've heard nothing).

So I called my credit card company, asking to dispute this insane $271 charge. As it was pending, the cc company got on the phone with an Avis rep (Agent 4) and I explained the situation yet again. First he tried to charge me for 1 hour (the 10-11 time frame) on top of my day - which is about 70% of the cost of a full day anyway. I told him I refused, that it was solely Avis's fault that I was unable to return the car within a matter of hours the day before. He agreed and said that, due to the "misinformation" I had received, he would waive the extra charges and bill me for 1 day, 1 under - 25 fee and tax as I initially signed up for.

Today, I saw my $271 pending fee reduced to $73 (93 CAD) for exactly those fees. Hallelujah! Except wait... I look further and see my original booking fee of $85 remains on my card on top of the now-reduced $73!! I called Avis again, explained the whole thing AGAIN and how I was currently being double charged. Suddenly it became clear that Agent 4, the seemingly one good egg at this company, had lied to me. Utterly and completely, this man lied to me, for in the system he put that "a charge of 2 days, equaling CAD 203 was communicated as valid to the customer" for which a "pre-paid voucher of $85" was attributed, resulting in a remaining charge of $73.

I exclaim my disbelief to Agent 5 who tells me exactly what I have come to expect from such an atrocious company: "I apologize for the inconvenience sir, but there is nothing I can do." Well, Agent 5, fortunately my credit card company seems to think otherwise. P.S. I am a frequent renter with membership statuses at both Hertz and Enterprise. Next time those two are unavailable, I'll be taking the bus.

When I picked up the car at Fort Myers Airport, I was bombarded with the usual up sale upgrade offers (larger vehicle, sports car, Sirius XM, Roadside Assistance). I refused all of these except for what I was told was a $50 charge for roadside assistance. It was clearly stated this was a one time $50 expense. No mention of insurance was ever made to me, the paperwork I had from Priceline had all of the insurance information and I also have automobile insurance on three registered vehicles at home. The last thought on my mind was I was buying or agreeing to purchase more insurance. So I thought I was covered. I signed like everyone does the overly complicated and extensive amount of paperwork and was on my way. Enjoyed the rental experience and turned in my rental without any issues.

Until my next month's credit card statement came in and discovered rather than a single $50 charge for Roadside Assistance Budget had billed me an additional $400 charge over the agreed upon rental charge. This overcharge nearly doubled the expense I had agreed to with Priceline, so I thought it must be a mistake. I called them immediately and after an hour on hold spoke to a Budget Customer Service rep who told me that the I had been charged the $400 for insurance I had agreed to purchase and that I was not allowed to accept the car without evidence of insurance. I said I had the Priceline Insurance and had not agreed to purchase additional insurance. The Budget rep then told me that if I sent evidence of Insurance they would remove the charge. I sent the evidence of insurance, a pdf file of my Priceline receipt, that same day.

After several follow up communication of mine, I was told the charges would remain in place that I had agreed to buy the insurance and there was nothing they would do. I contacted Priceline about the situation. Priceline agreed that Budget Rental Car was up selling the insurance and this should not have occurred. Priceline stated they would address this with Budget and have a remedy within 10 business days. Eventually Priceline came back with the response that Budget refused to refund me the $400. Priceline apologized for this happening and refunded me the $88 I had spent. I find it interesting that Priceline which did nothing wrong here is an honorable company that ended up refunding me what I purchased from them, while Budget Rental car profited from deceptive and misleading business practice.

10 days later a debit showed up on my credit card for 1,300 rands. I was charged 900 for repairs and another 400 admin fee. Just like that!! No notification. So I emailed Avis to send me the previous renters' records. Guess what I found out? That person had also been charged for the exact same amount for the exact same problem. A very minor scratch. Another thing you must do which I should have done, take a photo of the scratch! I never did this and I can kick myself for not doing so! I have since sent 5 emails to the Avis dispute department and no one has answered me. So that is why I have taken this action.

If the reservations had not been pre-paid, we all would have walked away. That's not reason to hold us hostage because you already had our money. The service rep herself said that this happens every night and you still don't care enough about your customers to make renting with you a decent experience. Instead you had lots of people with messed up plans due to the outrageous wait period. I hope never to rent from you again because it was inhumane not even providing ticket numbers so we could at least sit on the FLOOR since you have so little seating there.

I said, "I understand because we didn't know what time we would be able to get off the ship and how fast that would be." He says, "If you want the car now you have to pay $45 for an hour early." I said, "That insane, the total rental was $90 for 24 hours I'm not paying $45 for an hour." He said, "I don't have the car ready." "Yea, OK." So we proceeded to sit in the small waiting room taking up all of the seats luggage in hand and said I'd wait till 9:30. Each and every customer that came in after us had one problem or another. The clerk told one man, "We don't have the car you booked I can give you another and charge you more." The man said, "If I took a smaller one will you give me a refund?" Of course he said, "No, that's not how that works." This man proceeded to argue with the clerk who was now getting sarcastic since he had a problem with each customer that came in.

Finally I think the clerk got annoyed that we were talking to other customers about our and their experiences and he said about 9:00 am he has our car ready. We get the keys and proceed outside in the heat to stand by a driveway where a sign was for an attendant to help us. There was 1 attendant who was about 90 years old and couldn't find the people in front of us car for them. We stood outside in the heat for about 15 minutes and the older man disappeared. I went back in the rental car office and asked the clerk if we needed to wait for someone to bring the car around or are we supposed to get it ourselves, that there was no one around for 15 minutes. He tells me do what I want. I said, "Well in pressing the key fob it sounds like the car is in the garage across the driveway should we just go get it?" He said nasty, "Find the attendant or do it yourself."

We do it ourselves because the attendant still was nowhere to be found. As we grab the car from the garage now we needed to find someone to open the gate. Finally someone that looked like he worked for Avis, he was spraying down cars in the back with a hose let us out. I never experienced a car rental place so understaffed and uncaring. Each and every customer in front and behind us were complaining about something. It was amazing. I think the clerk scammed the lady in front for extra money since her rental was put down at 11 pm and not 11 am. Will never use Avis again because of this one place.

Please I know I'm just one in the bunch, but STAY AWAY FROM AVIS. You think you're saving some money but at the end you will pay more with no help. I'm afraid now that when I turn the car in they will find something else to charge me for. Wonder if there is a legal way to just cancel everything and tell the credit card company of what they are doing. If someone knows of a LEGAL way let me know. Thanks.

Two weeks later, I get an email from Avis corporate saying because I had a car exchange, they are billing me $400 for a key replacement. I went UP the roof. I called immediately to contest the charge. Avis corporate customer service recorded the contest, and said I should hear back 2-3 business days. I didn't want to wait 2-3 business days. I called Avis SLC to report this and tell them to fix this ASAP. I got some chirpy operator who looked up my account and muttered a whole series of "This is very strange." and "Your account has all sorts of weird things on it." But she then said she would have a manager call me back. Manager never called back. I called Avis SLC again a few times the following week. Each time, a chirpy operator who would deflect with "I can't help you. You need to speak to a manager." I never heard from said manager. Why is it now MY responsibility to nag them for THEIR screw up?

I called Avis corporate a week after I filed a contest. And Avis corporate customer service muttered "why isn't this resolved?" She eventually lifted the $400. But now I'm livid. And I don't trust Avis. What else did they hide in the fraudulent invoice I now have? Because 1) it does not reflect correct dates of rental, 2) it does not reflect correct car rented (which is an entirely different car TYPE and class), 3) it does not reflect correct car mileage. I want a corrected accurate invoice. Until then, I consider the invoice I am given falsified, therefore fraudulent. Yes, I am disputing the entire rental charge now. Suspiciously, I can't even pull off my rental receipt from my Avis profile anymore... and the rental was not that long ago.

After 30 min I called back asking for taxi and the guy said they are not Avis and they don't respond for the rental issue and ask me to wait. After another 30 min, two taxi came (we are six people) and I ask taxi drop us to airport. Cost for the trip should covered by their company as been told but one of the taxi ask us to pay 59 Euro and the guy at Avis car park office told me this amount will reduced from final bill. They give me another car. Nobody said anything about my loss in the hour for waiting the taxi and 3 of us got cold due to wait at wind.

3 days after I returned car at train station and the guy at train station told me this issue can only be solved at airport so I went to airport again. The lady at car park office desk talked with me and tell me my case been locked and she can't tell me anything about the case and can't do anything. I said if I can have a number that when I going back to UK if nobody give me any update I can check with. The lady told me customer service number will not help me and there is no number for me. I said I do understand the car broken is normal and there will need to check the car and run through the process. What if nobody contact me what should I do?

The lady lost her patience and told me they will contact me. I ask again, "Can I just have a number where I can track the case?" The lady got mad I don't know why. She shouted at me, "YOU SPEND 45 MINUTES WITH ME WASTE MY TIME." I said, "Even 45 hours but I just want a number to track the case." She said, "WE ARE DONE. I DON'T CARE. PLEASE GET OUT!!!" I WAS SHOCKED. I never experienced any service like this and I don't understand why I should been treated like this. The car was broken by my normal drive not my mistake and I did not say anything rude to her just asking a number.

I have rent with Avis many times. Most of staff are very helpful like the gentleman in train station give me all the email, numbers and tell me to send email to customer service to claim the money back. After all this week, I just want to finish this contract and send me invoice as well as get my money back. I do disappointed with the service I have experienced and I was shocked by the way AVIS treat customers.

On the way back I looked at the bill and it said 109.9 dollars a day. I was floored, then the gas amount said full. I was mad, got back, went looking for a gas station in downtown Sacramento, could not find one. Brought it back, found a young man about the car cost and the incorrect gas statement. While talking to him say a sign on the wall from them to refill the car it was $3.95 a gal. Ok so what. I'm still pissed off. Got the final tally $269.00. Left, went home, they charged me $46.48 to fill up a car that was 3/4 full. This guy is a cheat and a thief. If this is how Avis runs its franchises stay away.

I called AVIS and couldn't find anyone to understand what is happening. Finally I talked to someone today and they told me that the damage evaluation group will check and let me know in 2 weeks! I feel like I am robbed! I am reading other complaints and it seems like AVIS is doing it very often. I hope they will correct this mistake, and I will update my complaint accordingly.

I called at least 4 times and each time I was told they would refund the money within 48 hours. They finally refunded $290 of the $700 in overcharges. They have been unable to produce paperwork showing where I was the one renting the car for those dates. The auto shop has told me they have received several similar complaints (AVIS stealing money) and are changing rental agencies.

Original Review: March 1, 2016

Rented a car from Avis. First they gave us a much lesser vehicle than we requested, very uncomfortable and no trunk room. They charged us over $354 instead of $179. We had to call our bank and get credited for the overcharge, which took a week. Then Avis refunded part of our money, so the bank decided THREE MONTHS LATER to remove the money they credited us, meaning we were still overcharged! Now we have to file another claim and pray we get our money back. It's been a four month process! Awful company.

No employee seems capable of taking any action. I found that my first request in early February was in "expedited" channels while all the other rentals were still going on! A gentleman called Allen, my last contact, finally at Hobby airport, told me what had happened and was respectful. He is trying to expedite the paperwork and will call me if he needs help. 5 stars for Allen. 0 for Avis/Budget. I wish to deal with a straightforward company created to be customer friendly.

Afterward, I went back to their website, input the correct times, and discovered they are renting the same vehicle for $193.50. A huge difference from $303! Needless to say, there is no way I am going to rent from this company again. Fortunately for me, I found a better deal with a competitor. Renter's beware... I have rented numerous cars and have not had a more dissatisfying experience than Avis' customer service and value. Lastly, it would be beneficial if their website helped consumers realized that the drop-off time was not during business hours, giving attention to a potential error.

We went back and the agent was another one and rude saying we dropped the car in a different location, and the lady in Italy misinformed us. They did not return the deposit!! Terrible awful organization. Everyone gives different info, impossible to get a hold, playing with your time and wasting it!!! This company is a planned organizational scam... when I disputed the charge, they showed my bank unsigned papers of a new contract... they agreed to give me my money back on a recorded call with the bank, and then changed their minds that they couldn't. They lied several times... I hope this company gets bankrupted and I wish them nothing but bad!

ONE MONTH later I got an email stating that the car was damaged and I was charged because it was not on the pre-rental form but was marked on the post-rental form. Both of which were attached at the bottom of the email along with my rental contract. I checked both damage forms only to find that the exact same damage was marked on the BEFORE damage sheet as was on the AFTER damage sheet. Meaning that the damage was there before I rented the car. Meaning that I did not damage the car. Meaning that I was charge 517.28 GBP for NOTHING. Being furious, I emailed Avis customer service with this information and almost a week later am still waiting for a response. I will never rent with avis again and was very dissatisfied with how they handled everything :(

This overdrafted my bank account and as a result my house payment check was returned. Yes, I was upset. When I called the Avis store to speak to the manager, you would have thought it was my mistake. She was very unhelpful! I told her then I would be turning her and this AVIS into BBB, Better Business Bureau, and would be complaining. I told her that those charges had to be investigated by her as the customer service number she wanted me to call did not have my credit card, she did! NEVER, never will I rent from her or your company again! She and the AVIS store have been reported to the Better Business Bureau. AVIS: you should pay more attention to who you hire to manage your locations.

Anyway, after 15 minutes of waiting at the queue, 10 minutes of processing time, they sent me to aisle A and said the car will be sent to me there. Usually you get the keys and walk through the aisles and locate your car there. When I got to aisle A I found there were almost 10 other groups of people there holding rental agreements and waited for their cars. I thought it was a reasonably fast process. It was a rainy and very windy day and the weather was getting to people. I was never told how long I had to wait. Then after 30 minutes of standing in the weather I went to the field booth to complaint. Only 10 minutes later my car came.

I'm usually patient and tolerant over operational issues. I am an expert business improvement professional and know what's wrong behind frontlines and management, leadership and technical issues and hardly take it on staff when I receive poor service. This experience however made a very poor impression of the brand for me and I would think three times before renting again from Avis. The sheer poor management sales and operational planning and staffing issues are shocking.

TO make all matters worse, when we disputed the charges, we were sent a 'report' with pictures of nothing wrong with the car. When I called the customer service line, I was told the case was closed and that nothing could be done. After asking to speak to Mario's Supervisor he flat out said NO and told me to have a good day and then ended the call. I have never experienced such poor customer service and feel absolutely robbed! What a horrible experience, I hope no one else needs to go through this.

When I saw the contract, it was very difficult for me to read the hand write text in the contract. I thought that 197 EUR in the contract was the car rental cost. Therefore, I signed the contract. But after vacation, I got an invoice from Avis in which Avis was going to charge me 387 EUR instead of 190 EUR based on the offer. My experience told me that Avis (Malta office) is not trustable. When you sign the car rental contract at Avis Malta airport office, you should be very carefully to read all the text in the contract to avoid being deceived by Avis.

But THREE WEEKS later, and SIX phone calls to Avis manager at that location I still haven't been refunded. So I call again, using my angry voice. This time I get charged another $350 to my visa, and I call customer support. They say in the almost month I have been dealing with this, they haven't seen a thing from the dealership. So for a crappy rental car in the winter in Newfoundland I paid $190 for TWO nights ($195 if you want to count the windshield wash) PLUS ANOTHER $350 CHARGE!!! And even though I have been fighting to get my refund, nothing. They keep telling me they'll fix it. Another week goes by. Nothing. Never again! There are lots of places to rent from, and unless you expect a headache with your rental I highly recommend you go elsewhere.

The person at the desk was very rude and acted as if he wished that I would just go away. He made no effort to help me solve the problem. My wife and I were left stranded. We had to make connections out on Cape Cod. Our entire vacation was ruined. To make matters even worse, when we called Avis's main office toll-free number, the representative called the Braintree branch and they said that our card wouldn't run. This was a lie because we used the card throughout the trip and Avis is the only one who said it was a problem. We later called Equifax and they had no record of any contact with Avis.

I have so far not gotten any meaningful response from Avis customer service people. I have sent letters to Avis management and I have a string of emails from Avis customer service with nothing more than "Sorry for your inconvenience." Also they are inconsistent in their debit card policy. The main office told us that the debit card policy only refers to high-end luxury cars.

While driving to the hotel, I got pulled over. Not because a moving violation, but because EXPIRED TAGS!!! The officer ordered me to drive the car back to the airport and either get another one or get active tags. So we did. When we arrived at the AVIS counter (NOT SO HAPPY) the person at the counter told me that they were not responsible for the situation, that it was my fault for getting pulled over and the cops fault for pulling me over! They finally gave me the "sticker" to the tag and we were able to go on with the rest of our vacation. However this was BY FAR the worse experience I have ever had with a car rental company EVER! I will NEVER rent AVIS again nor will recommend even to my worse enemy.

When things settled down, the assistant manager proceeded to explain each and every part of the insurance section to me one by one. Each one I said no and initialed. Yes, I should have left out. Upon returning my car, I missed a connection and I still had my items in the car. This same manager (female) yells out, "now I remember you." I handed her my card because I was going to pay for the rental bill on a different card than I reserved it on. She processed the bill with the card that was on the reservation and handed me back my card without saying a word. Then she stated, she was about to close. I asked that she unlock the car. I had to come back to the store 3 times because she pretended to open the door but did not, the car was parked across the parking lot. Her demeanor was rude, with no professionalism at all. I would not want her to represent any business I had. Customers be aware when you enter the AVIS twilight zone.

Lo and behold a week after my trip I see a 50% upcharge for the larger vehicle on my credit card. I immediately disputed the amount and contacted the Phoenix Avis location. The manager handling the issue said that she will look into it and get back with me. She even admitted that they need to do a better job in training to be sure agents are clear with the customer about any additional charges. She never did get back to me and the charges were removed from my credit card, so I assumed they agreed that I was misled. Now I'm getting billed from Avis for over $300. The only thing they keep on saying is that I agreed to the charges since I initialed it. Why didn't they charge my credit card right away? They waited until I was back in Michigan. So now I'm left to try to fight it over the phone. Nobody will even talk to me since it's in collections and now a legal issue.

This is completely unacceptable customer service, and as I read the previous reviews, I understand why there are a lot of 1 and 2-star reviews. I cannot not complain about the online reservation process, but the customer service side of this company is horrid. Instead of explaining charges to the customer before they sign in a busy airport, they rush you to initial. Then customer service says that it's the customer's responsibility to read everything. I will not use AVIS again. I would rather pay twice the amount with another company than deal with them.

I stupidly didn't read over the paperwork before leaving, as I was a almost an hour late for my appointment. Yesterday my credit card statement arrived and I thought there was a mistake - as I was charged $273 extra instead of the $28 I thought I'd agreed to. When I called Avis, they told me that I had accepted the replacement in case of accident. This fee cost me more than the original rental of the car!

I have sent many emails and made calls to Avis in various countries and each person tells me there is nothing they can do or could have done. Everyone claims it is not their department which is amazing. Not one person has acknowledged that there may have been a slip-up, and that a loss - reported within six hours of being noticed was treated with utter contempt by the whole Avis Budget organisation. It's now more than three months later and the silence is deafening. Talk about service. I don't think so. I rent cars regularly, but will avoid Avis/Budget next time.

The point is we paid almost $700 and we expected to receive a comfortable vehicle for that rental. I went out of my way to clean the inside of the car to get rid of the horrible smell but to no avail, it wasn't possible. As a result both of us had to drive trapped for 7 hours altogether, the trip to PA and back feeling sickened by the smell. It was hard to keep the windows open because it was very cold outside. I suggested Avis because my sister had rented a car from them before and I did not smell anything bad in those rental cars. I called their customer service and I am not finding them to be that helpful in resolving this issue. My question is "Do the renters of these cars have any laws protecting them the neglect of the service providers to their clients." This was one of the worst experiences I've come face to face with, in the travel arena.

11 months later - January 2016! I get a $183 bill on my charge card from Avis and have no idea why until I call. It is for this windshield. No call to me, no notification - nothing. And 11 months!! I think that is a little ridiculous to charge for disputed damages. I only found out what this was for by calling again as I had completely forgot about the windshield. No explanation. No reason why it took so long or why there was zero communication. I logged a case number. Said they would get back with me in 5 business days. 10 business days later I have had no contact so I called back. Ended up asking for a manager and was hung up on - no call back.

Next day I called again. Finally got a manager and was told too bad. Which at this point I figured. So I asked to have the charged moved to a different card. They would only do that if they could also move the rental charge as well which was already paid off. This would have left me with $300 over payment on my card which wasn't helping. They basically refused to work with me at all to improve my satisfaction. Had this not been almost a year later this wouldn't have even been an issue. Very unhappy and they frankly didn't care.

Then I asked to speak with a manager/supervisor. I was transferred to a supervisor which they also told me that the damages listed were for tires. She instructed me to send an email to ersbillingteam@avisbudget.com asking to dispute this matter and to ask for a detailed explanation about this incident. I did that on Sunday January 3, 2016. I also called Budget Rental Car again on Monday January 4, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. EST to see if someone else can tell me exactly what the damages were again and to dispute the matter. I was then told that the damages were for a cracked windshield!!! I stated "WHAT?! So now it's for a windshield and not the tires!?" How can they just make up these incidents on me without even showing me PROOF of this!!! I was told that they will send my request over to the department where I can dispute the case and someone will get back to me within 3-5 business days.

Today is Tuesday January 12, 2016 and I have NOT heard from anyone from Budget Rental Car. They have charged my credit card without my authorization in the amount of $548! I was never given the chance to dispute this matter. I will be seeking an attorney about this matter. Anyone could have done anything to that vehicle before and after I have returned that vehicle especially FOUR months AFTER I have returned it! I will NEVER rent from Avis/Budget rental car again!!! I feel like this is a SCAM for them to get their customer to pay for the upkeep on THEIR vehicles! I have Lyme Disease and this matter has flared up my symptoms from the stress of knowing someone has STOLEN my money from me for something that I DID NOT do!

I called agent December 7th and he told "reservation is not closed in system and it automatically charged your card." I will raise the case and get refunded. I got $158 back to my account, still $500 missing. I don't know maths behind $158. Again after no response from agent I called on December 23rd 2015 again. She promised me resolution by January 6th 2016. Full points for guessing nothing happened. I now called Avis again on January 11th. This Chinese lady hung up on me. I am still struggling to get my case resolved. All I want is please charge me additional days on $25 per day. Why would I be charged for a faulty car $100 a day? I am reachable at **.

Several days later they finally told me that the car appeared in a remote airport where one of their department locates. After negotiating with them millions of times, they could not give me a reason where the car was and just charged me more than $1,700 with 8 days rental fee and towing fee and $60 gas fee (which they promised to refund me but they didn't!) They just took advantage of someone who was new here and tried to ignore you after they got your money. This is a company without morality. Don't be another victim.

We went to the pick up point to be faced with a car a lot smaller than we had booked. The next day I noticed the tire was low and had to take it to a nearby garage to get it checked. The oil light also kept coming on and for the 10 day duration of our holiday had to put oil in every day. We took the car back on 9 Oct as arranged whereupon we were presented with a bill for $900+. As we had time to spare my husband went to see a manager who said not to worry because it was clearly wrong as the car had been paid for and the extra $80 upgrade fee taken from our credit card. Imagine our horror when our credit card statement arrived in October and Avis had charged us a further $700. Took the matter up with BA who questioned this charge with Avis. They said the car was $80 PER DAY upgrade not $80 as a one off.

BA somewhat washed their hands of any blame because they said my husband had signed the acceptance. Yes we signed to take the car but were never made aware of the implications of it. I would challenge anyone at 3 am after a long flight in a queue of people to read all the small print - one relies on the integrity of the service agent. In our case we must have had the most rude and obnoxious person Avis employs. AT NO POINT WERE WE TOLD IT WAS $80 per day. To make matters worse Avis are insistent with BA that our car was in fact available in the first place which is clearly not true otherwise we would not be in the situation we are. The whole irony is that I could have gone to another car hire company at Atlanta and got a car a lot cheaper! The ten day trip cost us a $1000 + just for car hire.

I have become so worried about the practices of Avis that we had to change our credit card because I was so worried they would levy more charges. Luckily I work for a London firm of solicitors who have taken this matter up and certainly intend taking legal action against Avis. It is very sad that through all this our national flag carrier BA got somewhat tarnished too. I WOULD ADVISE MOST STRONGLY AGAINST BOOKING A CAR THROUGH ANY AIRLINE THAT INVOLVES AVIS.

I already had full holiday insurance so was sure it would be cleared up. However Avis are saying I agreed and not budging. Contacted RBS, they were the ones I took deal with in first place. I also contacted my credit card company. So far Avis have done nothing to resolve issue. In fact they have taken another £8.55 this month!! Credit card company have refunded this amount and have now blocked Avis from taking any more money. I will NEVER book with them again. Hoping to get my money back through credit card but need to wait. Please avoid them and book elsewhere.

On 1/4/16 I received a letter from Budget dated 12/29/15 saying my account would be billed $509.96 within 7 days for the damage. I contacted USAA and my insurance agent said he would contact Budget on my behalf which he did on 1/4/16 to stop the charge since USAA was willing to work with Budge on the damage. On 1/5/16 $509.96 was charged to my credit card by Budget. I called Budget's 800 621-2844 # after a lengthy hold was transferred to Customer Service Lisa, who transferred me to Claims Jerrard, who said their insurance agent, Fedgwick at 866 446-8376 would handle my problem, but he couldn't even transfer me to that number since he didn't have an extension. I then talked with Jennifer at Fedgwick, who said Budget/Avis has their own insurance and that Fedgwick simply handled the paperwork. She was very pleasant and gave me the # at Budget to call. She said they have had numerous transferred calls and that it is frustrating.

I am calling my credit card to dispute the charges and USAA is working with me to handle this mess. I am still out $509.96 and all Budget can say is "not our problem." I am incredibly dissatisfied with the BUDGET/AVIS SERVICE, CLAIMS PROCESS and RUDE EMPLOYEES. I will never rent with those agencies again and strongly encourage others to be aware of the lack of service and overcharge fees. The rental agreements are misleading and the fees are outrageous and don't turn a car in early expecting a refund... They said I would be billed hourly which would result in twice the already paid rental fee! I turned the car in 1 day and 11 hours early... I have no doubt it was rented to another unsuspecting customer within the hour.

On the 16th I called and extended the contact until the 21st through the 1-800#. When I extended the contract I explained that I may need to extend the dates again and needed to know what I should do. It was explained to me at that time that I just needed to call back with the new return date. On August 11th, I received a call from a person by the name of Jessica stating that she was with lost prevention and that I needed to contact her immediately. I called her and left a voicemail. During this same time frame there was another charge from Avis for $684.65. I had not heard back from Jessica and based on the activity on my bank account I determined that the contract had been updated.

On the 18th I received a threatening call from Jessica stating that I was in default of the contract. I left her another voicemail. I called twice trying to get some clarity on the situation and why was I receiving these calls. Then on the 19th I received a text message from someone identifying themselves as Agent **. He message began to state that I was in jeopardy of criminal charges, I explained to him that I was not aware of anything that he was speaking of. I explained that there must be some error because I have paid all fees charged to me by Avis. He explained that was not something that he could not determine and that at this point they wanted the car back. I informed him then that I would return the car the evening of the 19th. I have the attached text messages.

I called Jessica and left another message. I continued to call Jessica until I was able to reach her for an explanation of the messages I had just received. She stated to me that I was in violation of the rental contract. I asked how that could be. I told her what was explained to me by one of their agents, she stated to me that information was not correct. I stated to her that at that point Avis had retrieved $952 from my account. Her and I went around and around about this matter. I stated I would gladly return the car that evening to clear up any confusion. I also stated to her that I was not aware of how I could be in violation of the contract when I followed the guidelines explained to me by Avis. She stated that the charges would be for a monthly rate and 1 week and that there might be a slight difference in cost.

I went on vacation on 8/20 to Florida. While on vacation I was notified that Avis had taken $1901.42 additional out of my bank account on 8/21. I was out of town and now Avis had overdrawn my bank account. I called Jessica and left a message. I called the Merrillville branch. When I called the Merrillville branch a person by the name of Mary answered. I began to discuss the situation with her and she put me on hold. Then a gentleman, I believe his name was Devon. He attempted to explain the charges but was not sure. I asked how could there be late fees from the start of the contract and where on the contract does it state late fees. He was not able to provide me that information. He stated that I could call and speak with Quinton who was their TPM (I assumed their regional manager).

I explained how this had left me in a financial bind and that I was out of town. I spoke with the gentleman and stated that amount of times Avis had retrieved funds from my account. He stated that the charge of $1901.42 was to cost of the total rental. I explained to him that even if at this point we do not agree if he could fax something to my bank stating that the initial charge of $684 could be returned to me so that I could have some funds available to me while I was away from home and on vacation. He stated that they could do that.

I informed him that my sister would come in to retrieve a copy of the contract and receipt. He stated that would be fine. I also requested a copy of the contract and receipt be emailed to me as well. When my sister went into the office she was provided a copy of the receipt and not the contract. To date I have been provided a copy of the receipt and not the original contract. I called the number provided 630 427 5804 for Quinton their TPM and left several messages. I have not received a return call to date.

I then called and spoke with a person by the name of Jessica who could not give me any resolve I asked to speak with a manager. I was placed on a hold and a person by the name of Robin was on the line. Rather than allow me the opportunity to discuss why I was calling and the reason I was so upset she determined that it was better to explain to me the art of a conversation. My dispute was meet with a poor effort to listen and attempt to resolve. The call ended with her telling me to provide my complaint in writing.

I called back the local office in Merrillville to check the status of the fax to my bank to release the payment bank into may account. The call was answered by Mary. I asked if the gentleman that I had spoken with was available. She explained that he was at lunch. I asked about the status of the fax. She stated that they were not allowed to do that because Avis is an Agent ran company?? (So wouldn't she be an agent acting on behalf of Avis??) I began to plead my case once again of how this a huge discrepancy and how this has left me in a tremendous financial bind in the midst of my conversation Mary puts the phone down and is no longer on the receiver. After a few minutes of waiting I hung up the phone.

This only added to my dismay of the treatment from Avis and their lack of commitment and responsibility to their customers. I went on the website and left a review in hopes of getting in contact with someone. I went on the website in search of a number to someone that would extend an effort to resolve my issue. I left messages to several people not sure what their position was within the company. This was all within an attempt to reach someone who cared. To my dismay I have yet to hear back from anyone. I had begun this ordeal on Friday, August 21st and as of Wednesday, August 26th I am still awaiting someone to return my call.

The dispute: I have rented cars from Avis in the past and have extended the contract. It was never explained to me that there were last fees. From the dates of 7/14 to 8/12 there were to withdraw (holds... I don't work in your industry how I would know the difference. The funds were removed from my account). I was confirmed to me that those amounts did not include any late fees. I asked so when late fees would be charged I was told once the account is late. I was told that late fees are charged at a rate of $10 per day. I rented the car for 35 days. The late fee charges are $350.00. Please explain to me how the late fees can start from the beginning of the contract? There is a misc. charge of over $300 that no one can explain.

It appears to me that Avis is not reputable company that are practicing usury and attempt to find any way to add padded charges to a customer. When they approached with an expectation to resolve these issues they hide behind unreturned voicemails and factious phone numbers and persons. I have been misinformation on several occasions from several different people all within the Avis Company. Some even admitting that the policies and processes followed were not accurate.

Below are a list of transaction that Avis have been processed through my bank account that remain current as of 8/26/2015. My account continues to overdrawn and obtaining fees. I was out of town from 3 days with no funds accessible to me. I am the head of my household and to not have funds available to me to provide myself and my three children. This is all at the hands of Avis. I am wanting a written response to this communication outlining the charges and a resolve to this terrible injustice. It would be my hope to resolve this issue amicably but I am prepared to escalate this until there is a reasonable solution.

Even after agreeing to give back a minor poorly explained credit of $184.04 on 9/12/2015, they attempted to withdraw additional funds in the amount of $43.60 on 11/11/2015 from my account without notice or explanation. I had to dispute these charges with my bank. This left me with limited access to my bank account for 10 days. Then on 1/5/2016 they attempted to withdraw $$198.31 from my account again without notice of explanation. My experience Avis is guilty of contract fraud. They operate with our merit to the contracts agreements assigned with their customers. They perform in hopes that the fraudulent charges are minor enough that the consumer will not attempt further actions for recovery.

I will stop short of calling them liars, but they are definitely not telling the truth. This is a year-end revenue game designed to pad the numbers before the books close. Guessing they don't even care if the charges get reversed in January because they've already reported the inflated numbers and locked in their bonuses. I rent 20 times a year and will be requesting a walkaround at pickup and dropoff EVERY SINGLE TIME in the future and will have the employee's name, initials, and badge number recorded. Hope this bogus charge game is worth it to them.

We arrived at Hobart on Dec 20 around noon and the staff from the AVIS counter at the airport refused to proceed the car rental for us. The supervisor saw our Hong Kong driving licenses with our names in Chinese characters, in addition to names in English; refused to process our reservation, claiming that we do not have valid driving licenses. Apparently she is not familiar with the regulations. We showed the email reply by AVIS customer service but she was either unwilling or did not bother to clarify for us.

Luckily, the remaining traveler of us is an Australian driving license holder and we finally were able to have our car rented. Otherwise we could not imagine how our holiday being messed up by the car rental staff who are not familiar with policy and regulations. Yet, this was not what we planned. We did not plan to drive all the way by one driver but we four to take turn. We even checked with the car rental company next store (Thrifty) and the staff there told us that HK driving license works as long as we have our passports with us. Next morning, we approached AVIS at Hobart city, showing the T&C together with the above-mentioned email and all drivers with Hong Kong driving licenses were finally added to the car rental paperwork.

Eventually on July 10 I was issued the 100 credit and dealt with the additional costs this company caused. A month later I was in a severe car accident. August 26 I was hospitalized for 3 months until being able to look over my finances to get them in order. Shockingly once again on September 3 while was in ICU in the hospital there was a charge from Avis. I have called the location manager customer service escalations department and they just give me the run around insisting it is my bank's fault. They all have different stories and become more unwilling to help every day.

Due to this we had to walk 2.4 miles from that place to our hotel with 2 full size suitcases and 2 handbags and couldn't enjoy our Christmas Eve despite spending lot of money in travelling from Miami to San Juan. And because of peak time in San Juan we couldn't get any taxis too. I have spent almost 7-8K on this trip and we can't go anywhere because we don't have our car which we had reserved 40 days ago. I would be taking a legal action on AVIS who spoiled our trip and caused us harassment.

SEVEN months after the fact, I received a letter stating they were charging me $390.80 for emergency roadside assistance and vehicle repairs. My husband called them several times asking what exactly are the vehicle repairs charges?? Several couldn't say what it was. One person said it was for a broken windshield! Both cars were turned in the same condition as I received it!! There wasn't any broken windshields!!! Customer service, claims, and whatever else department we spoke to were completely rude on the phone!! "The charges are correct."

One guy even admitted that many letters were sent out this month after annual review... So that means a lot of people are going to be giving AVIS Christmas money! Now I see on my checking account a debit of $390.80 to be taken out on Christmas Eve! USAA said they could cover the charges as I'm covered no matter what vehicle I drive as I have a claim open with them, but AVIS doesn't want to accept/deal with the USAA claim. Now I'm going through VISA to claim fraudulent charges. NEVER RENT FROM AVIS!!! THEY CHARGE ERRONEOUS CHARGES!

Then in the phone, Avis said it would refund me the full amount, without any surcharge. After getting off the phone, I get an email, where Avis is charging me $45 to cancel the reservation! Call them again, they keep passing the call to someone else, and the last person left me waiting 15 minutes and the call got disconnected. I already called multiple times and the same thing keeps happening, I can't get anyone to fix this issue, and the only thing left to do is dispute the charges. I will NEVER rent at Avis again. There is no guarantee, and I was left with no car.

Before signing for anything, I specifically asked her to only provide me with third person liability. She nodded and mumbled something. She then presented me with a paper that had all the insurances ticked for a ridiculous price. After I told her I do not need additional insurance other than liability, she told me I will not be able to rent a car without getting it insured. This is a lie. Illinois law does not require you to buy any insurance, all options provided are optional. I have my own personal insurance through my credit card and have certainly had no problems in the past renting Corvettes and Mustangs. I asked to see her supervisor because she was very unprofessional. At this point she cancelled me reservation and told me they don't have any cars available for me. Great service Avis. I went to another company and they now have my business. Bunch of lying thieves. Do not rent Avis. Let them die in bankruptcy.

When arriving at Bozeman AVIS agents told us that their system does not show any additional insurances like CDW of supplementary liability. We could not believe this but had no printout confirming Lufthansa's offer. We asked the AVIS agents to call their reservation center. They answered that it was closed at this time. We asked the AVIS agents to call the Lufthansa. They answered that could not arrange an international call. We send an Email to AVIS customer relationship. No answer within the next 2 months. We phoned the Lufthansa call center which answered that they don't know details of the contract which is fully managed by AVIS. After all these customer unfriendly behavior and impudence we decided unwillingly to book CDW and additional liability because the risk of driving 7 weeks without being sure that these risks were covered seemed to be unacceptable. Additional cost: more than $1000.

After returning home I assumed that the fact that AVIS charged the mentioned assurances TWICE would result without any problems in refunds. However, after many mail contacts with AVIS Europe and AVIS USA their management decided that they would made no repay because I had signed the additional insurances contracts (after providing wrong information by AVIS).

By the way, Lufthansa thus far did not answer my written complaints. The recommendations following from these experiences: Always be cautious about the insurance conditions - car rental companies are using them as a main revenue generating machine. Be very cautious about the interfaces between intermediaries and car rental companies. Never trust AVIS agents.