Actually, I contacted Avis in writing (every time I tried to call them to speak to someone in customer service, they were closed or no one was available for this type of problem...3 strikes you're out)....in the customer service written inquiry I sent, I was very clear and detailed with what happened and included the agreement number to make it simple to look up the history. So far, no response...no email, no letter, no phone call. It was only this weekend, after 10 days had passed, that I said "the heck with it" and called the cc company to get them involved.

The fact is, I am pretty livid about this...the pure laziness of their counter staff and complete disinterest to make sure that returned cars were booked in properly upon return contributed to this problem. So if they have to pony up some costs to resolve the issue, then so be it. I am sure I cant be the only one who got dinged that night, as there were a few other cars returned at that hour.

Also, I only disputed an estimated amount which I took a fair guess was the overcharge, since I could only estimate the taxes/fees for BWI. I am expecting that once Avis receives the chargeback, they will snap to life and rebalance the contract with the proper amounts and resolve the issue fairly.

I am only angry at the corporate Avis for not responding to my inquiry...the real disappointment I have from this situation clearly rests with the behavior and attitude of the station staff at DCA who allowed this to happen. I would expect this incident to result in a training call to the station manager to make sure proper procedures are in place for late night returns and situations where the system is "down" when a car is returned.