I just received an email which I originally thought was a scam but I think on further review it might not be. In over 10 years of using Avis regularly, this is the first time I’ve ever had an email claiming damage to a car. The “damage” is a scratch on a single alloy wheel, where it’s scraped a curb, a very common problem on most cars. I’m a bit lost as to how to handle this as I didn’t do a thorough check on the car when i collected it and don’t recall any parking spots where this would have happened. The location was Spain.

The rental was over a month ago so I’m a bit surprised by the timing of this too. I used a key drop on return as I was told too. The photo sent was taken an hour or so after I dropped it off but I have a suspicion the date was added to photo via a separate tool.

Can anyone advise on how to proceed? Is this a fairly standard procedure that does happen?

Can you download the photo and check the metadata in the picture to see when it was created and if edited?

Seems pretty sketchy to be looking for 'damage' cost to a wheel if it just has some road rash and not actually dented from blowing out a tire.

A good suggestion but the photo has been attached to a vehicle repair estimate document and uploaded as a pdf attached to the email. So I don’t know a way of getting the metadata without the original image.

I feel like I have read far too many reports of this sort of thing lately. Head over to Elliott Advocacy. Here's the general search for recent rental car stories, but you might want to search deeper. Christopher Elliott has covered some of this and, essentially, the takeaway is that they need to be able to prove it was you somehow--vs. the person before or after you.

Hence why I’m dubious as most know how easy it is to mark up a photo on a iPhone or I’m sure it’s easily done on something like Canva by just adding text. However the proof is in the meta data of the image as another poster pointed out.

The whole thing feels pretty petty given it’s a scratch on the edge of the alloy, I’d be slightly different if I knew I’d scratched a bit of the paint work even as small as thumbnail. But this is a first for me. It’s given a different light on Avis after 12 years that’s for sure.

Well they have responded to my initial email and are upholding the charges. Apparently they only photograph a car when there is new damage. I’m pretty perplexed by this!

Any advice on how to proceed?

Try the Elliott Advocacy route as mentioned above. There are contacts for Avis higher up customer service that you can escalate if needed.

Also am curious... how much are they trying to scam you out of for the 'repair'?

Request a specific copy of digital photograph in full resolution. Also begin pulling together which insurance, if any, you can submit a claim to.

David

Ł200+ for a alloy scratch!

Sounds like total scam with the perfectly even number. Can guarantee they won't actually fix anything.

It’s not exactly a perfectly rounded number, hence the + but it’s broken down into 3 costs. It’s affectively what I paid for the week that’s the kick in the…

Im going to go back and ask for the original photo proof as well as proof from before the rental as they have declined that and saying it was on the contract. The whole process was human less as I used the app and a key dispenser and drop box. So I was never made aware of the car’s condition.

If they never provided a car inspection form showing pre-existing damage (or lack thereof) then you probably have a case there. Definitely push for the original photo and proof that it was not there prior to your rental.

Ok, sent a detailed and factual response back to challenge it. Let's see what they say. It's really questioned my loyalty to Avis!

There have been numerous reports here on FT that European agencies are much stricter than U.S. ones about damage -- even cosmetic damage -- to wheels. That's unfortunate, but certainly not a scam -- unless the agency knew that the damage was pre-existing when they rented the car, and still tried to charge the next renter for it.

It's been my experience that a rental-car agency has no burden to prove that damage on a returned vehicle is new; rather, it behooves the renter to carefully inspect the vehicle for damage before driving it away, and then having any pre-existing damage noted on the rental agreement or on a damage slip. (Whether Spanish law requires something different, I do not know.)

And a rental-car agency that collects money for damage that occurred while a vehicle was rented out has no obligation to repair the damage. They've been made whole by collecting the charge for the damage. They just can't charge the next renter for the same damage, but it's up to the next renter to spot the damage and have it documented before driving the vehicle away.

I knew this was the UK before you even mentioned the charge was in Pounds. I have never (in thirty years plus of renting / hiring cars all over the world) seen return agents so desperate to find the smallest damage as I have in the UK - specifically at MAN. I can only assume they are rewarded in some way for finding an extra way to chisel the customer. I now diligently photograph all four wheels and any other damage because of this - they will charge a stupid amount for a tiny scratch on a wheel.