[SimonS1]

We had an Avis car in Florida in July which my partner booked via BA holidays.

Long wait at the pick up as one harassed agent was trying to deal with an ever increasing queue of people.

Eventually got to the counter, they tried to sell us a satnav at something over $10 a day…..when we got to the car there was a satnav pre-installed as standard on that class of car!!

They try to sell you a tank of fuel and to emphasis the point, behind the Orlando pick up counter there was a big sign saying ‘local cost of fuel $2.12 a gallon’. Of course off the airport complex the real cost was between $1.91 and $1.94 a gallon.

You have to watch like a hawk…..I stand by what I said a couple of years ago, I would rather have a red hot poker stuck up my backside than voluntarily deal with these people. Reputationally I would put them on a par with the utility companies, that is somewhere between the banks and those nasty brown things you try and avoid stepping in on the pavement.

[norbert2008]

Ok everyone I won too, via PR for Avis in UK. Took less than 2 hours for Director of Avis to call me. I would recommend using this route on everything. I did tell him was very impressed with Avis outside PR team. Good luck everyone.

[capetonianm]

I have just sent the following by email to Avis South Africa :

SERIOUS COMPLAINT ABOUT FRAUD AT YOUR CPT AIRPORT BRANCH

Please check the above RA xxxxxxxxx.

You will see that I returned the car at 0541 on 09NOV. I had filled it to the brim 5 minutes before at the BP station on the perimeter of the airport.

On downloading my final invoice I see that I have been charged for 39.16 litres of fuel / ZAR 604.63.

I drove a total of 1010 km, which means 60 litres of fuel on the basis of approximately 6 litres/100km.

I will be able to prove that during the time I was using the vehicle, I put in 57 litres plus the final top up of the last few litres at the airport, it is thus clear that the charge for 39 litres is at best an error, and in my view , fraudulent.

It seems to me that there is some kind of fraud going on at your branch, and apart from requesting an immediate refund, I will also be writing to senior management to have this investigated, and will take the matter to the travel and consumer media unless immediately and satisfactorily resolved. This is not the first time I have been charged for fuel in this manner, although the last time was for a much smaller amount.

I left a telephone message with a gentleman called xxxxxx at the CPT branch a short while ago, and he has promised to leave a note for Regan Williams (branch manager) to call me in the morning. To avoid any doubt, my number is + 44 xxxxxxx and I shall be expecting a call.

xxxxxxx

[MartynSinclair]

Similar – returned to MCO full to brim a couple of weeks ago, nothing to pay, zero balance – credit card charged $41.00 with an email quoting fuel…, probably hoping it would be missed.

Back at MCO on Weds – still hiring from AVIS – presume its time for a suitable upgrade for 2 weeks or a quick word with the manager…

[K1ngston]

I have just returned from a week in the UK and again booked a car through Avis at their main depot at Heathrow! The service offered was again superb, in fact the agent at their Preferred desk went out of his way to be helpful and couldn’t have been nicer.

The car albeit almost new had a fair amount of damage to it and we both inspected the car and put the relevant scratches on the document and was able to leave… Returned the car without issue and billed for the amount agreed…. Again another perfect transaction with them, long may it continue

[capetonianm]

I have never had cause for complaint with Avis other than over this. I have an Avis Preferred account and always receive excellent service and vehicles.

Early this morning I had a call as promised from the manager at Avis at the airport. He had already investigated and assures me that it was human error. It is very hard to prove otherwise. He said he had noted that my car was checked in as full. I had asked them to give me the close off account at the time of handing the car back, which they did and it didn’t show the extra fuel. Subsequently somebody added the extra 39 litres.

He says it was human error and will speak to the staff member concerned. I said to him whilst clearly I have to accept what he says, as a customer and given that it’s happened to me before, it looks very much like some kind scam and I hope I’m wrong. Anyway we had a perfectly amicable conversation and obviously he’s refunding me the cost of the fuel plus the fuelling surcharge plus one day as an extra compensation.

Situation satisfactorily resolved but sadly I can’t help wondering how many other people have these erroneous charges added and don’t notice, or don’t bother to take it up as it’s company expense, or just too much trouble.

[SGJNI1961]

I refuse to hire from Avis at CPT. Ripoff merchants. Imaginary damage, pre-existing damage charged ( and seemingly never repaired), fuel over charges although I always top up at the airport garage. The last time I let the agent do his entire speil about the damage he said I caused and how much it was going to cost before opening my iPad and showing him everything he mentioned filmed on the day of collection, including on the roof(?) and under the doors!!!!!!
Bidvest are much cheaper and far easier to deal with.

[Ahmad]

@SGNI1961,

Filming the damage at pickup is a very good idea. Thanks for the tip. Will make it habit.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Montysaurus

[SimonS1]

We have started using Woodford at CT. So far so good. Wouldn’t touch Avis with a barge pole.

[openfly]

I rent a car from Avis CPT every month. I have been ripped off almost every time. So why do I use them? It’s a case of better the devil you know!
Regan Williams is not the Avis manager. He is the returns manager. The overall manager is Leizel Coetze and she is based at the Avis office in their maintenance car park behind the airport hotel. Mr Williams does handle complaints and his office is in the returns office to the right of the counter.
I have suffered every sort of increase to my bill and check every time. I always demand a hard copy of the rental at the start and a final bill, so that I can argue afterwards.

[richardofFrancepp]

This is nothing new in SA. 14 years ago I hired a car from AVIS at Durban airport and returned it there. 24 hours after returning the car I was called by avis at the airport and told I had damaged the car. I had been given a clean return sheet, but as I was still in Durban and went to the avis office and was shown the car and the body damage. The car had been used by a third party and had been damaged after I had handed it back in.

A long discussion took place and eventually it was agreed that a third party had used the car and damaged it.

[TiredOldHack2]

I got stitched up by Avis on the ‘extra fuel’ scam at JNB. Annoyingly, Amex sided with them.

[capetonianm]

Avis have just emailed me saying that they are investigating my complaint. As far as I am concerned it has been resolved, but if they want to investigate further, that’s fine. There is apparently no coordination between the local branch and the head office customer services people.

Attached to the email was this. The part I don’t understand is the ‘Additional Weekend Authorisation’. Why?

Paying with credit card?

We will take an authorisation hold on your credit card for the duration of the rental. Here is how the authorisation hold works:
When collecting the car

• Avis requests your bank to reserve a hold against the funds of your card.
• Your bank will usually present this as a pending transaction that reduces the money you have available to spend. This might appear as a debit on your statement but it is not.
• We do not charge your card. No funds are actually taken from your account.
• This hold will be the estimated cost of your rental (including a tank of fuel and extras) less any amount paid in advance.
When returning the car
• Once your card has been charged with the invoice amount, the hold will be released by your bank.
• As this was a temporary hold and not charged, the return funds will not be shown as a transaction on your statement, instead your available balance will increase.
• Depending on your bank, it can take up to 30 days before this is reflected on your account balance.
• The time to release the hold is not within our control.
Please contact your bank for any authorisation hold queries.

Additional Weekend Authorisation

If you are renting over a weekend (Between Thursday 00h01 and the following Monday 23h59) an additional “weekend authorisation” will be taken for the duration of the rental as follows:

– Coastal Branches – R3,500 (on all car groups)
– Inland Branches – R7,500 on Car Groups A-E and R10,000 on Car Groups F – N

The additional weekend authorisation will be waived from airport locations upon presentation of a valid airline boarding pass/e-ticket printout and for all Avis Preferred customers.

[MartynSinclair]

AVIS are still up to their shenanigans and invoicing unwarranted amounts.

I have an auto pay toll transponder for Florida, which is noted on my AVIS agreement. In other words, I pay the tolls and there is no need for AVIS to pay and then collect later from me.

Returned car to MCO all in order… a couple of weeks later £16.85 appears on my AMEX card, referenced “Avis tolls”.

I really cant be bothered to enter into email comms or try to phone AVIS – I have reported a possible misuse of my card details to AMEX though..

This thread should be renamed “How Avis get away with theft!”.

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openfly

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