Had a 3 day Avis car rental in Dallas, using a code from a business. I purchased all available insurance except LDW. I had a fender bender the 2nd day, and finished the rental with the car. Avis is now charging me $800 including the in-house repair, fees, and loss of rental time for the vehicle. They claim I am liable because when filling out the Avis accident form, in error I checked the box that I was using the car for personal use instead of business use.

Anyone have any "constructive advice" how to go forward.

Was the AWD from your/your employer's business?

Employers

Have you told Avis that it was an error in the paperwork? Would they accept a letter from your employer that you were on business in Dallas? Know a lawyer? Usually works to send a certified letter from an attorney stating your position and willingness to fight it in court. Worked for my brother with a rental car damaged from Budget.

The lawyer letter seems like the best idea. Seems kind of scammy considering with their in-house repair and all, it couldn't have cost them more than $100. Plus the $30 a day I paid for insurance.

LDW is what covers the damage to the vehicle, the other insurance options are for 3rd party liability and personal injury/belongings. If you didn't purchase LDW you are responsible for the damage to your vehicle, unless your employer's AWD number includes free LDW on business rentals, which is why you'll have to prove you were on business when you've already (albeit accidentally) claimed otherwise. You probably won't need a lawyer to do this, your corporate travel department should suffice, especially if they have a good relationship with their Avis sales rep.

FWIW, the bulk of your $800 bill is likely the "loss of use" fee to cover the time that the car wasn't available for Avis to rent because it was being repaired. You might be able to get the loss of use fees lowered if you ask to see utilization and revenue per day numbers that support the amount of the fee, but the amount you'd probably have to pay to retain a lawyer to push Avis on this would likely exceed whatever savings you might realize. The moral victory might be worth it, however

I had a recent minor accident in an Avis vehicle. It turned out that our corporate AWD did not cover the LDW. Avis contacted me with a case number and supportiing documentation for the damages. I turned it over to our corporate administrator who dealt with our in-house insurance company and it was taken care of. I'm sure the OP's situation will be similar.

In my case, the supporting documentation showed that they do _not_ do the repairs in house. These days, you can hardly get a single hail dent popped for under $100 so I don't think the above is a realistic comment.

Thanks to everyone for the input