Originally Posted by
Concerto
That is exactly what happened to me, except in my case the surcharge was over $600. I knew I had been upgraded but like others here I signed on the electronic screen not realizing I would be charged for it. This was at FLL Fort Lauderdale airport (so the USA again) and the problem was compounded by the fact that I returned the car to MIA airport and they could do nothing about it. So I for one will avoid one way car rentals in the future.
It took quite a lot of phoning and emailing once back in Europe to sort it out and I got a good chunk of it refunded but not all. I took that as a lesson to be more careful in the future. But I feel it was a very dishonest and underhand practice by Avis. Remember, agents look for commissions from upgrades.
I've had similar issues with Avis, I used to rent over 100 days a year on business trips and I was caught out by Avis 3 times - always at US holiday airports. Dishonest charges, for insurance I specifically said I didn't require, for upgrades that were supposed to have been complimentary, charged at a different rate than booked. Every time they tried to blame me for their dishonest modus operandi. These were in addition to the many false charges added for fuel when I returned cars with a full tank.
Needless s to say, Avis were fired and I haven't used them for at least 6 years.