National/Enterprise is always significantly more expensive even with a negotiated corporate rate than Avis, so I'm kind of stuck with them. I think I've had two from National since they showed up in our system and only because the rate that day was only a little more than Avis, and I do like picking my car vs whatever beat-up high-mileage stinky ashtrays Avis feels like doling out. I'm so conditioned to use Avis that I drove a National car into the Avis return at YYZ a few weeks ago... oops.

I haven't noticed any of these shenanigans tho, at least nothing like OP's,