Nole95

Returned a car to PHX on July 3. No issues when returning it. Today I get a letter in the mail telling me they are going to charge me $125 for excessive interior dirt. No pictures or anything to prove that it was dirty. So far no charge on my credit card. I made sure to clean out any trash before returning it, and it did not look dirty to me. Pretty sure they usually wash and vacumm out th cars anyway before the next renter. I have rented from Avis all over the country for years and never had this issue.

Contacted Avis customer service about this and received a reply overnight. They provided the inspection report. They listed the severity of the dirt as "Light". To their credit, they did supply photos of the dirt, which consisted of a couple floormats with some dirt/sand on them. After all, we were out in the desert. That being said, there is no way what they showed me constitutes an extra cleaning charge of $125. It is normal sand that would be vacummed up during what I assume is the routine cleaning process I would hope Avis puts every returned vehicle through. I have replied back as much, and will be curious as to the response.

My gut tells me this probably happens a lot at PHX. They know people are coming in from desert environments, and are taking advantage of/scamming customers because of it. I have rented cars from Avis all over the west and travelled into national parks where I have had just as much sand on the floor as this return. A common occurence when doing a lot of hiking. Never once had an issue after a return.