idiosyncrasy

My original reservation was for a full size with an upgrade coupon. When I got to the location, the rep proceeded to upsell me on the upgrade even though I had the coupon in there, and I ended up with a full-size because I refused to pay for the upgrade. Then, the agent tries to upsell me on LDW, which I declined, and I had to tell the agent again to remove that charge once the initial agreement was printed. In total, the rental agreement cost was slightly higher than what I agreed to on my initial reservation. When I returned the rental, they charged me almost double what I had originally agreed to, and I went to the counter to get it adjusted back down to the amount I had agreed to originally.

Now, when I check my authorizations, they authorized over $1100 in charges over multiple transactions. As an Avis renter trying out Budget for the first time, I'm thoroughly appalled by this and the service overall.

Why would they need to authorize that much in charges? Is this place a corporate or franchise location?

lougord99

I don't totally follow your story as to what happened.

How did he 'force' you to take LDW? Why do you care how much is authorized on your credit card, unless it is that close to being maxed out? As has been said here many times, a bad experience does not reflect badly on the brand, but simply on that location. It sounds like you will simply be charged $27.

idiosyncrasy

I take issue with the $1100 deposit because the max deposit I ever had was $600 for a new SRX, which compared to the joke Budget gave, is a bit ridiculous. At Avis I don't think I have ever been charged a deposit or something this ridiculous that I immediate took note of.

We will see how much goes through from the authorization but given my experience here with the constant upselling, I won't be surprised if they attempted to extract addition money from every possible avenue.

I don't understand how a bad experience at one location would not reflect badly on the brand, especially the first experience. I think for most consumers a bad experience would deter them from taking their business to any of that business' locations again.

flyerfmaz

The additional charges are most likely various holds (which are normal) and they will disappear when the final charge is posted, or shortly thereafter. The final charge should equal the amount on your final statement.

The upselling stuff can be totally obnoxious -- I know exactly where you're coming from. The counter reps are trained to do this, and at least with some rental companies if they don't at least ask you they can lose their jobs.

lougord99

You have never had a bad experience at one Avis location and not at other Avis locations?

I still do not understand why you are upset with holds on your credit card.