Car hire companies and their unauthorised (if small) charges

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Viewing 14 posts - 16 through 29 (of 29 total)

  • ASK1945
    Participant

    Rather than write an email to the car hire company – which they are likely to ignore, I would contact your credit card company and tell them that you object to this inaccurate extra charge. They will charge back the whole bill to the car hire company and thereby force it to explain.

    If I ran the car hire company I would just then remove the disputed sum and tell the credit card company that they have done that. If everybody did it, these stupid small irritating charges will disappear.


    TiredOldHack2
    Participant

    @capetonioanm
    It really does look like, as I suggested, that they are levying these small extra charges as SOP, in the assumption that people will not bother to dispute them. They all add up.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I accept the above, but I don’t feel like wasting my time, or my bank’s time, with a dispute over £2. I think that flagging it to Avis should be sufficient. If they had messed me around or in any other way failed to provide good service, I would not hesitate to request a chargeback.


    canucklad
    Participant

    Just finished listening to radio 5’s fighting talk,and thought of this topic
    Pat Nevin had a right blast at Avis, because when he returned his hire car at Venice airport, the woman on the counter refused to leave the sanctuary of her booth to check that the car was ok. Succumbing to the lassies fear of inspecting the car alone with him, he reassured her all was good with the car.
    3 days later his credit card got stung for charges exceeding £350.


    norbert2008
    Participant

    I have just had 6 months of this with Avis, who put the phone down on me twice, they made me by default pay for extra insurance and sign without telling me the fee (do we have time to do this when we have had to go from Terminal 1 to 2 NICE AIPORT NO AVIS STAFF ANYMORE) then rushed through with minor upgrade. Amex got all the paperwork. Not a leg to stand on double my car hire fee and some! Amex suggested Financial Ombudsman but do I have time………sharp practice. Oddly Amex Manager said she would never hire a car again!


    TiredOldHack2
    Participant

    [quote quote=840230]I accept the above, but I don’t feel like wasting my time, or my bank’s time, with a dispute over £2. I think that flagging it to Avis should be sufficient. If they had messed me around or in any other way failed to provide good service, I would not hesitate to request a chargeback.
    [/quote]

    This is precisely why they continue to do this and get away with it.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Following received today ………….

    Bear in mind that I said I didn’t want the R26 ((£1.50) back, but the point is it’s been spotted and actioned. It does pee me off though that they refer to it as ‘inconvenience’, which is not the word I’d use.

    Dear xxxxxxxxx
    
    Thank you for choosing Avis and for your email.
    
    Reference number : xxxxxxxxxxxx
    
    Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience cause and highly appreciated for bringing the matter to our attention.
    
    Kindly note that we have processed a refund or R26.84 back to your account and the credit will reflect in your account within 7-10 working days.
    
    Hope the above information is in order.
    
    Kind Regards
    
    xxxxxxxxxx
    Customer Care Agent
    AVIS Budget Rent a Car, South Africa
    Registered Financial Services Provider
    
    Tel : +27 861 021 111 
    At AVIS Budget People will always be More Important than Cars


    ASK1945
    Participant

    …………….. and here we go again.

    Did my regular perusal of my Amex bill to see another $28 charge from Avis. It is two months since I rented from them and I paid my bill in full at the time. No arguments about fuel not being full, nor any damage – and absolutely no contact from them since they emailed me their receipt (so they have my email address).

    I don’t waste time on these firms, investigating what it’s for: I used the online form that Amex now publish on the Amex account, to challenge the bill. Amex will do the hard work of finding out what it’s for and have told me that the amount is suspended until Avis have responded, and I agree to pay.


    TiredOldHack2
    Participant

    In may case, Amex decided the bastards were right and I had to pay.


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    TiredOldHack – did you get an explanation what the extra charge was. Amex should have communicated what it was by way of justification for the charge?


    TiredOldHack2
    Participant

    Nope. They just said they were satisfied the charge was in order.

    I will be back in SA this year, and will be hiring another car from Avis (BA flight & car booking). I will demand a fully itemised and final bill at the desk, and if there is a subsequent charge, there will be all hell to pay.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I think you have every right to an explanation of the charge and I would certainly be asking for that.


    SGJNI1961
    Participant

    Is this simple coincidence? Email this afternoon to confirm that my credit card “has been refunded”. No idea for how much yet.
    Are Avis reading this?


    ASK1945
    Participant

    [quote quote=846199]Nope. They [Amex] just said they were satisfied the charge was in order.
    I will be back in SA this year, and will be hiring another car from Avis (BA flight & car booking). I will demand a fully itemised and final bill at the desk, and if there is a subsequent charge, there will be all hell to pay.
    [/quote]

    Under credit card rules, where a company may add charges after a service was delivered (such as hotels, car hire etc) they only have this right if an invoice has been issued to the customer first. What Amex will be advising Avis in my case is that I have not received such an invoice, so I have no idea what the charge was for and will not pay it until I do. If it is legitimate, I will pay. If not, I won’t.

    It’s quite simple really.

Viewing 14 posts - 16 through 29 (of 29 total)
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