mathisfun

I had to change a flight from a Saturday to a Sunday with the return flight remaining the same. I had prepaid for a week long rental with Avis from Saturday to Saturday. When I call to change my pick up time to Sunday, they said the rate had changed and that it was now about $200 more for the six days that were already included in my prepaid 7 day rental. I argued with two different levels of supervisors who just kept repeating themselves about how the rate had changed and they had to charge me the new rate. Now I'm renting from a very small airport and it is likely that the rate for my car choice is higher because of my existing week long reservation starting on Saturday. Trying to tell them that it was absurd that I had already paid for the week long rental and I shouldn't be charged more for leaving the car on the rental lot for an extra day seemed to get me nowhere. I tried going up the chain of command at the call center, and eventually they just told me that their supervisor did not take phone calls (which I suspect would not be the case if I stayed on the line long enough). Eventually, I just modified the reservation online for a less expensive car class and will be receiving a $60 credit as this car has not been already rented for the week. However, I'll be in the mountains and I had reserved an intermediate SUV and instead I'll have a full size sedan, which is a bummer because the original rate on the SUV was a pretty good one.

I am wondering if others have had similar experiences and have found a way for Avis to not screw them on the rates. Also, I'm wondering if I go back to the website later today or tomorrow, if the reasonable rate for the SUV will reappear since the one I prepaid for will now be available again. The airport is small, but the rental desks are always open during the day in Winter, so it is not like my change in plans will make them have to add staff or anything like that.

Often1

You changed the reservation, so you pay the rate for the new reservation. If higher, you pay more. If lower, you pay less (or get a refund for the difference). Not just Avis, but other car rental companies too.

You kept getting the same answer because the first agent told you the answer ---- which you could have found in the terms & conditions of the rental yourself.

There is nothing to complain about.

mathisfun

Thanks @Often1 for your not very useful answer. I am aware at what the policy of my rental was, however, in my experience, if you stay on the phone long enough companies will waive fees and the like because you end up on the phone with someone who gets paid enough that it is no longer worth it to keep you on the phone. Hence, why I asked if anyone had experience with this.

Further, I'm entitled to complain about policies that don't make sense. If I pay for a week long rental then it shouldn't matter (unless they need to have staff show up, or they don't have space for the car) if I pick it up a day late. They are getting paid for the day that it is sitting in the lot regardless. There is no one waiting for the car who won't get it. If I had not prepaid for the week, it would be different, but I've already paid for the car.

IAHtraveler

Rental car agencies, just like hotels, airlines, department stores, etc, charge:
1. Different rates for the same service/product
2. Higher rates for what would seem like lesser products or services

However, they are well within their right to do so. Just because you booked previously at a different rate for a longer time, doesn't enable you to then get that rate for whatever time period you want it.

Avis (and nearly all of rental car companies, if not all, along with airlines) often have lower rates if the travel includes a Saturday night. That's because it's typically leisure travelers who are price sensitive. Without a Saturday night stay, rates are often higher because it's business travelers who aren't as price sensitive. So their pricing is extremely logical.

And just because one person is willing to spend all day on the phone doesn't mean you should be entitled to skirt the rules and get a cheaper price. Do you call the airlines and stay talking to agents all day to try and get free first class (or moved from a flight with 3 connections to non-stop since "it's cheaper for the airline, and thus should be for you")? What about suites with hotels or skirting minimum stay requirements?

Sorry to be so curt, but their prices/rate rules are listed, along with the usual terms and conditions. If you don't meet them, then your rate will change.

mathisfun

I did not pay for a shorter time. I paid for a week long rental and then when I said that I wasn't going to be able to pick up the car until the second day, they drastically increased the total price, even though I had already paid for those six days as part of the week long rental. This is where the comparison to a hotel fails. If I prepaid for a hotel room for the week, and then I called them and say that I can't check in until the second day of my reservation, I would not expect the hotel to raise the price for my shorter stay. At worst, I would be charged for the full week, even though I only stayed 6 days. I think it is reasonable to expect this of a car rental. Apparently, you all think it is not.

I never said I was entitled to anything extra or an upgrade as your analogy suggests, I merely asked if anyone had experience dealing with these issues.

Often1

OP says that he is aware of the policy for his rental. Just figured that if he engaged for long enough, someone would give in to get him off the line. This time it didn't.

The argument that Avis ought to cave this time because others have caved under other circumstances just proves that OP has a habit of doing this. Maybe Avis has notes in his account because he's done it before? Who knows, maybe he's had a good run and now it's over.

zebranz

MATHISN'TFUN when the numbers do not work out the way you want.
Keep arguing with FT'ers and maybe someone will agree with you.

storewanderer

Find out how long after the stated reservation pick up time that they will hold your car/rate... I believe with Avis/Budget this policy is quite generous.

Maybe you can say you are picking it up at 23:00 on Saturday night but if they will hold your car/rate for 12 hours then pick it up at 11:00 on Sunday morning?

If you do Avis Preferred your paperwork will be prepared and ready and would still possibly show the "old" pick up time.

Whether or not you feel any of this would be ethical is your call.

However it is very common with rental cars (hotels too) to tinker rates and sometimes charge more for less. This is not an unusual practice at all. Computer pricing programs gone crazy.

jackal

Unlike most others in this thread, apparently, I think the way the rental companies handle this is preposterous and abominable.

And I say that as a 15-year industry veteran.

Also, as a 15-year industry veteran, I think I can fairly assess things and say that if you actually presented your situation (or any other number of situations, like a delayed/canceled flight, etc.) to any high-ranking executive in the rental industry, they would agree that it's preposterous that you should be charged more through no fault of your own when you're consuming less product and shouldn't be that way. Unfortunately, the upper muckety-mucks don't know what's going on (in the practical outworking of the high-level ideas/policies they set) and the middle-to-low people lack the intelligence to sensically execute said policies. (The rental car industry doesn't attract the best and the brightest.)

You mentioned that you're renting from a small airport. I would pursue two avenues:

1) Ignore the clueless and powerless outsourced agents at Avis's reservations line. Reach out to the location directly--preferably a supervisor or manager and let them know your flight was canceled and you'll be coming in late and please can they hold the reservation for you? That has a pretty good chance of working.
2) If that doesn't, push your case up to a higher-level executive. You can find some contacts here.

Voluntary changes are one thing, especially where they're designed to circumvent yield management restrictions, but involuntary changes like flight cancellations ought to be handled much better by the rental companies. Someone I worked with recently had a canceled flight with Sixt and ended up having to pay $350 more because she called them and said she couldn't pick up until the next morning. Shame on Sixt.

mathisfun

I appreciate someone admitting that the way they handle things makes no logical sense. You would have thought by the way the others were reacting that they were the ones who worked int he industry and not you.

As to your advice, I already changed my reservation to a crappier car so that I didn't have my weekly rate doubled, so I can't try the local angle. Part of my strategy of staying on the phone with them was to get to someone high enough up that they could follow a logical argument, but I hit a wall with "my supervisor doesn't take phone calls," after two levels of conversations with supervisors. Hopefully, I won't have to change a reservation in the future, but if I do, I'll definitely try some of your suggestions.

mathisfun

Actually, I've only done it once with United.

I've never actually rented from Avis or dealt with their phone staff before this incident, but good try there with the logic.

Gig103

It does stink that when you want to return a car early, that still triggers a reprice.

Berra67

mathisfun I totaly agree!

Once a few years back we had a flight canceled to MIA, i called Avis and told them about a 24H delay and it was no problem, just picked up a day later.
Last Year we had a flight from LHR to MIA 20H delayed. Again We had a 2 week rental for A SUV (Ford Escape). I called Avis Sweden from London and had the same answer You did new rate and $200 more for keeping the car in the garage for 20 H!
Called Avis US, same answer, got connected to someone higher (who I could hardly make out what he was saying, very low and blurry voice) after arguing a while he said it might work out but no promise!

I told him to cancel the reservation and i rented from Sixt instead and got a good rate plus a fantastic upgrade to a Tahoe :-)
So is Avis doing good business here and keeping their "Preffered" customers happy? I don´t think so....

mathisfun

This is incorrect. After they wanted to charge me more for a one day shorter reservation, I changed to a smaller car which was a $100 cheaper fare. The now say that my prepaid rate was a voucher for up to the amount I originally paid, and I did not receive the difference back.

PDXNRTLHR

Hmm, I've never had an automatic refund on a prepaid rental, but have had them send me a check/refund to my credit card after calling to have the credit issued.