Check receipt before walking away
 

Twice in the span of 48 hours I’ve had an automatic fuel-service charge applied to my properly filled rental. One of them was an “under 75 miles flat fee,” and the other was simply labeled “fuel service.”

The agent was able to fix it… but right now the extra scrutiny is worthwhile. I hate taking the time at the counter to review the charges, but I’m not sure I’m aa trusting of the travel industry as I once was.

I just had another rental where I returned the car full, but a $19.73 fuel service charge was added.

Upon closer investigation, I see that the Connected Car Sensor showed that it was 1.4 gallons shy of a full tank... unlikely, given that I completely filled it within a half-mile of the rental station.

Since I returned it after hours (to a station near my house), I had to call and fix it. Nobody answered the phone (it dumped to central reservations), so I had to drive over there. I had both my receipt and a photograph of the full gas gauge.

This is the 4th time this month that I've had to sort out something related to fuel charges on an AVIS rental.

This sucks. Are they charging your credit card after you supposedly closed the rental?

I have now ended up being give a car with 3/4 gas labeled as full. The 1st time I ate it and didn't realize until I had left LGA and was already on the highway. The 2nd time I went back in and the guy updated the paperwork to 6/8 on the Out. But the agent checking me in didn't label anything on the Return, the receipt just said "/8"

Charging it as part of closing the rental. Generally I land at airports where the check-in team has hand-scanners… they scan the car as they do a walk-around, look the car over, confirm my name, remind me to grab personal belongings and leave the keys in the car… and send me the receipt by email.

I now make it a practice to NOT leave the rental return area until I’ve seen the receipt and verify that the balance is what I expected. It’s easier to fix it when you’re standing there. It would appear that they fix it by adjusting the “pending” charge… not by issuing a refund… ultimately, the corrected amount is what posts to the statement.

Same thing happened to me today. They charged me $80 extra for not filling the tank. I returned it full. Now I have to waste my morning on the phone getting it reversed. It's criminal that this is a pattern for them.

That's annoying but no need to spend time on the phone. You can easily submit an inquiry via the website. If you have a gas receipt it should be an open and shut case.

We always recommend taking a photo on your phone of the dashboard at return showing the mileage and fuel level as well as your last fuel receipt. That's your best protection against getting overcharged.

Thanks, AutoSlash - I had to call for another issue and even on the phone, they dealt with the fuel charge very quickly. Still annoying that this seems to be a pattern for them.

Just had a related experience at LAS. Picked it up and noted it was less than full, but no way I was going to get back in the monster line to get another car. Drove less than 50 miles before returning, and stopped refilling when I hit 6 gallons at the gas station.

Upon return, I asked for a refund for the extra gas and they were going to process it....until they saw it was a Priceline rental. I was told that they can only charge your credit card for incidental charges, but can't give incidental credits if it's not booked through Avis. I saved $80 through Priceline, so I guess I still came out somewhat ahead.

I think that, if you weren't willing to go back to the counter before driving off, I would have taken a picture that showed both the odometer reading and the fuel level in the same photo before you left the lot, and then just purchase enough gas to bring the fuel back to that level. And I would have also snapped a picture showing the odometer reading and fuel level at return. No guarantees, but I suspect that that would have worked.

That's what I do every time.