PHLGovFlyer

[Rant begins] Just completed a two day rental of a Ford Edge Ecoboost SUV at MSP (upgraded from a Full Size booking). I'm PC and rent from Avis frequently. At the end of the rental I filled the gas tank and drove 3 miles to the Avis return area. The Avis attendant simply waived me along stating that he would take care of everything and that I'd be emailed a receipt.

The receipt arrived in my email a few hours later and the total cost was about $23 more than what I'd booked. It turns out that Avis determined that the fuel tank had 0.2 gallons less in it than when I picked up the car. They proceeded to charge me $2.00 for the actual gas, plus a $16.99 Fuel Service Fee, plus various taxes on top of those for a total of almost $23 ($115 per gallon net).

Needless to say I called Avis and had the charge removed.

Just a friendly warning/lesson that maybe folks need to start overfilling their vehicles when they return at MSP. [Rant Complete]

DELee

Sorry about that. You probably had a car with this: Gas tank level "sensor"?

David

kxc262

Yep agreed. This is not a MSP issue.
Avis Fuel Surcharge Master Thread

PHLGovFlyer

Ahhh... So Avis is doing this across the board.

As an engineer, and a numbers guy I highly doubt that the fuel level measurement systems in Avis' cars meet Minnesota's (or most other states) weights and measurements standards for commerce. If Avis wants to charge their customers an effective rate of $115 per gallon of fuel not returned they should be subject to the same measurement accuracy qualifications and inspections that every gas station in the state is subject to.

What a complete scam...

DELee

No disagreement but that's the scam their running right now.

David

sdsearch

I must have one of those my most recent Avis rental, because on mine the total cost dropped by a couple dollars because I "topped it off" to somewhat more than it was fueled up to before.

But isn't it technically impossible for everyone to top off to more than is in there?

So while I understand being charged a little less or a little more depending on how the exact fuel level looks on a car with such a sensor, it seems a little crazy to charge a "re-fueling fee" (on top of the little more) for just the small top-off difference.

Sure, if someone returns the car so that it doesn't read "full" (which the renter can see), they agreed to be charged a "re-fueling fee".

But if there's no way for the renter to see if they've topped off "enough", it seems unfair to charge a $16.99 (or whatever) "re-fueling fee" for just small top-off differences.

DELee

For the cars with said sensor, you can see what Avis is seeing via the app. That being said, the data in the app doesn't update immediately so you may need to open and close the app (multiple times) to get it to refresh. This can be frustrating when you've not much time left to get back to the rental car drop off and go through the whole sequence required to insure that the car is what you think it is by getting a receipt.

David

Tanic

Part of my rental checklist is now screenshooting the app fuel level out reading and return reading, in addition to photos of the odometer and a video walk around before and after. Gotta keep up with the scam charges.

rylan

Sure sounds like a scam to me. Pretty bold of Avis to be pulling this crap. Guess they figure if they get a few people to not challenge it then they're making out.

seawolf

Yes it is a PITA as it involves getting customer service involve to remove it after the fact but at least they do remove it.

twitch76

I’m currently awaiting a $22.xx ($18.99 + taxes) refund for a recent rental. I used one of my “two days free” coupons for a rental while my car was in the shop. (The $3.35 in fees was cheaper than a couple of ubers.)

Only drove the car 60 miles while I had it. Filled it up before return, and when I returned it I knew I would need to stop by the counter because of the “low mileage fuel fee” Avis automatically assesses when you drive less than 75 miles and they assume you can’t be bothered to fill it up.

Anyway, agent fussed with it for 10 minutes and said she’d need to talk to her supervisor. They took a photocopy of my fuel receipt and assured me they’d fix it by the end of the day. Got a call ten minutes later that they couldn’t fix it without taking off the coupon, so they’d have to wait 24 hours and then submit for a refund, which will take 5-7 business days to appear on my statement.

Between the low mileage fuel fee and the faulty gas tank sensors, Avis has consistently demonstrated a contempt for their customers and a lack of integrity when it comes to surcharges and fees. With exception to my former local station manager (who retired last year), there isn’t a single Avis staff member or computer system that I would trust to consistently do the right thing. If it weren’t for the convenience of my local station, I would have jumped ship to a different batch of highway robbers.

Lennys26v2

Yep - I also always do walk around the car (and inside) pointing out (with my finger) any marks of any type. Also remember to be sure that the video shows something of the airport/pickup location so that is part of the documentatiom.

flyerUSA

I make a point of filling up to exactly "full" iand literally not one penny over. I keep the ignition turned on so I can see the lever change as I pump and I stop every dollar or so and wait for the lever to catch up before I continue. I also document everything and if they end up charging me and I have to call them and get it reversed, fine. But I'm never letting it go.

If Avis needs to pinch those pennies, so should I. They aren't getting one extra ML of gas out of me.

rmc1

But Avis is still better than Hertz these days, so I guess that is something. I stopped using Hertz altogether and switched over to Avis only.

Podcat

Two words:

lawsuit

(Ok, one.)
Just one of those away from the end of this.
The one where a 76-year-old grandmother trying to overfill spills gasoline on herself, the car, and the ground while Uncle Ernie lights his Camel.