ucfjoe

I've had hundreds of rentals and three damage "issues."

One was with Sixt which was my first and last rental with them. I got some junky BMW 320(?) that was well used. It was my first time using them (was in ATL) so I actually took note of the damage dents, dings, scratches, etc. before leaving and the attendant refused to note the damage saying it was all minor and overlooked but couldn't define what that entailed. So I asked for the manager who also refused to note damage (warning bells went off now) and wouldn't define what the threshold was so I pullout the five page contract and go through it and it basically said quarter sized or larger to which the managers response was basically "duh, so see you're good to go" well I pull out a quarter and guess what quite a few bigger issues. I firmly believe I would have been screwed upon return if I hadn't wasted 45 minutes of this. Last Sixt rental for me.

Avis rental, I got an X3, and noticed a chip in windshield. I only noticed it because I brought my own toll transponder and it was next to where I placed that. I didn't think much of it and didn't note it upon leaving. Well a few miles out I notice that the chip had a real glare and figured it was the sun. Five miles later I see the chip turning into a crack and it grows to ultimately split the windshield in half as I drive it back to the airport. I should note that I called them 30 min after leaving the airport and they weren't too excited about picking it up so they said if it's drive able to bring it back the next day. I was worried they would try and screw me but they swapped me out and thanked me for bringing it back.

Third issue, it's actually another BMW, maybe a trend here. Major airport location, relatively new car. Eight weeks after uneventful return I get a letter from Avis listing substantial damage multiple panels being damaged. I ignore the first letter then get another letter and respond certified mail with the receipt listing no damage and never heard another word.

What's the moral of this story? Assuming no malicious intent 1. Damage is subjective and one manger may call out something another would waive. 2. Assuming there is real damage noticed after the fact (and not clear to one renter) I strongly suspect they send the same letter to the last few renters to see if anyone fesses up. What do they have to lose a few postage stamps? 3. After having a couple hundred rentals I will do a quick look over and maybe take a photo or two if something sticks out but quite honestly I'm suprised I haven't had more crap thrown at the wall to see what might stick based upon some of the horror scam stories I've read about although those seem to more often happen at smaller franchise locations where I don't frequent.

sdix

Recent experience where my rental was "keyed" on both sides. Two long scratches from front to back.

Avis immediately charged my card for $500 without any explanation or paperwork. Then they sent me a bill for close to $3000 for the body shop repair. They included the body shop paperwork which was a total "crock"

I suspect most renters would either pay or hand this off to their insurance however after a couple of calls to Avis basically complaining about the actual work done I got a call back saying:

"Sorry sir, we made a mistake. There's a $500 maximum on vandalism." Case closed. CC insurance covered the $500.

N_C19

Dropped our Avis car back at an Airport in Australia. 5 days later I received a computer generated letter to say my credit card had been debited for almost $1,000 Aussie Dollars for "damage" to one of the doors. It appears that some numpty had reversed into the vehicle after I had returned it and done a runner (these were my findings, not AVIS).

Needless to say I was none too impressed. They "shoot first" and "ask questions later". I have to say the threads below were really helpful and I copied and pasted the bit about "Dated photographs of the damage" in my complaint to their customer service group.

It appears there was almost 2 days that had elapsed between me returning the vehicle and the AVIS staff taking pictures of the damage on the Monday morning. Seems due to rain, none of their staff were interested in doing a walk around with me (even when I asked them too) when I returned the car.

So folks, in my humble opinion :-

1. Take a walk around video or stills of the car when you collect it / park it back in the AVIS bay.
2. Call your credit card company immediately to dispute the charge and they should have a team within the credit card company that will also investigate your claim.
3. Stick to your guns. They are totally expecting you to pay the bill and not complain or dispute it.
4. Even a company as seemingly as reputable as Avis will stoop to dodgy / lazy and potentially unethical behavior if you give them the opportunity to do so.
5. From what I have read in the forums, they will back down if you can dispute the charge with reasonable grounds to do so.
6. Request the photo's and make sure AVIS date / time stamp them.

It is shame as I like the company but renter beware.

Safe driving.

AVISSCAMSPPL

Woke up today to my bank account being in the negative, because of a fourth overcharge from Avis. They charged me $300 for using roadside assistance, even though they overcharged me for the insurance. They did this over 30 day past the time of rental, on Christmas Eve, without any notice. Once again this is the fourth attempt to overcharge me, in which Avis has used a different reason every time. After reading reviews about this company, its obvious that they are infamous for scamming its customers. I can't believe they would do this on Christmas Eve.

username

I think most of us would agree that Avis is not exactly the most customer-friendly company and some of their actions, whether intentional or not, can be viewed as fraud.

Maybe the employee felt his/her Christmas was ruined having to work today, why not ruin a few more How did you resolve the previous over-charges?

Tanic

I recently received an Avis Damage Claim Letter from Viking Billing Service for nearly $1000.00. The alleged damage was from an Avis rental over seven months ago. This is the first notice. They are demanding a check written to Viking Billing Service.

I called Avis and they have no record of damage on the specified rental. When I called Viking and asked for specifics, they would not provide any.

I think this has SCAM written all over it.

Blueskyheaven

I dropped after 8 days at MCO and during drop off, I asked one of the employee to check the car and write car checked and returned OK with her signature, She did exactly that and wrote ID number too.

I always try to get this done after drop off to avoid surprise and unwanted SCAMS.

jackal

Meh, no, the grass is not greener anywhere else. In fact, among the major rental companies, Avis probably has the least aggressive damage claims unit (though Hertz may be tied). National is far more aggressive (it's owned by Enterprise, whose Loss Control department is famous). Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, Payless, Budget, Enterprise whatever...you name it, they're all even worse than Hertz (even if all of the companies I just named are owned by one of the three big ones I mentioned previously).

The OP's beef here is with the entire rental industry, not just with Avis. I'm no Avis apologist (I prefer National and tolerate Hertz due to company rate/benefits), but unfortunately, in the rental industry, putting your money where your mouth is when stuff like this happens just eventually results in you being able to never rent a car from anyone ever again.

nkedel

Avis, Budget and Payless are all part of the same company (Avis Budget Group).
Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty are all part of the same company (Hertz Global Holdings.)
Enterprise, National and Alamo are all part of the same company (Enterprise Holdings.)

I'd be very surprised if within any one of the three big US rental car corporations, the damage recovery policies at a national level varied by brand. Local regional and branch management may vary quite a bit, especially given the differences between franchise and corporate locations.

snic

Uhh, a few customers?

jackal

While it's possible that the damage claims departments may tend to be ever-so-slightly less antagonistic on the higher-end brands (especially when a big corporate account is involved in the issue), I think you're mostly right.

I seem to recall that when Vanguard got gobbled up by Enterprise, one of the complaints that came out was how much stricter Enterprise's Loss Control department was from Alamo/National's Damage Recovery unit. My impression is that if you damage a car at any EHI brand, you will not be shown any grace, no matter how many rentals you've done.

While normally Enterprise managers will bend over backwards to get you to say that you were "completely satisfied" to avoid their ESQi numbers taking a hit, as soon as a damage claim is involved, that goes away and you can yell and scream at the branch manager all you want and they won't do anything for you. (I have many friends who are or have been branch managers at Enterprise...) My impression is that mindset was transferred over to National when EHI purchased them. So, don't damage a National car unless you have good coverage.

Often1

It's all about risk allocation.

Their bread & butter are business customers where the coverage is paid for one way or another by some business (either through insurance or because the business absorbs the damage cost).

Others have their coverage through a CC or purchase it on a one-off basis.

Then there is some poor slob who lacks proper coverage or has a high deductible and figures that a small scratch won't matter. But, it does.

None of the large companies care about that last customer.

merume

Beware rental scams in Italy

I Just returned from Venice after renting a car from Budget/Avis (they are the same in Italy).

I was hit with the "scratch" damage scam, apparently this is known in Italy.

There was a black mark on the bumper which I didn't even notice when I took the car (and for sure did not happen while the car was with me).

At the airport they hit me with 207 euro charges for "fixing" the scratch.
See it here: http://imgur.com/a/9bLKB

Since I added full protection from rentalcars.com, hopefully they will be returning me the money.

Make a full photo documentation of any damage, no matter how small, before you even open the door.
Include in the photo the agent giving you the car for proof.

lamark

In the category of 'no good deed goes unpunished', I recently returned an Avis car and noted to the receiving agent that there was a bubble on the tire. I was thinking I was helping a fellow renter from having a blowout. Wrong, I was charged for a new tire!! Because I didn't notice it when I picked up the car, by their thinking I must have caused it. Based on my research, bubbles appear weeks or months after the tire is damaged. Unfortunately, I noticed the bubble as I was getting into the car to return to the airport. If I wasn't paying attention, or kept my mouth shut, I wouldn't be arguing with customer service or requesting to talk to managers. SMH

Closingracer

Avis will really charge you for a tire? I had a flat with national and after going to a place they suggested and didn't have a tire I drove to the airport with the spare and they never charged me