Concerto

That is exactly what happened to me, except in my case the surcharge was over $600. I knew I had been upgraded but like others here I signed on the electronic screen not realizing I would be charged for it. This was at FLL Fort Lauderdale airport (so the USA again) and the problem was compounded by the fact that I returned the car to MIA airport and they could do nothing about it. So I for one will avoid one way car rentals in the future.

It took quite a lot of phoning and emailing once back in Europe to sort it out and I got a good chunk of it refunded but not all. I took that as a lesson to be more careful in the future. But I feel it was a very dishonest and underhand practice by Avis. Remember, agents look for commissions from upgrades.

Jase76

I no longer use Avis after a recent hire in Crete. Whilst the car was parked and I was shopping, someone smashed in to it. No note or police report. So when it was returned, I had a damage amount to pay. The petrol tank was also slightly less, so I was charged for 2.1L, plus their extra charges. All these costs were clearly detailed with amount in EUR, and I don't have an issue with any of these costs.

What got my goat was when I was handed the summary of the charges and total in EUR for my signature, there was a sentence that I was asked if I wanted to be charged in GBP (at their low exchange rate) and had accepted. No such conversation took place and I missed the addition of this sentence when signing as I was rushing for a ferry. I paid with my Lloyds Bank Amex (which doesn't allow Dynamic Currency Conversion) and also has 0% FX fees. That devious practice is why I will no longer use Avis.

Jagboi

Same for me. I booked the smallest automatic they had, and they really tried to get me to upgrade to a larger diesel car "since the fuel economy would be so much better". Only problem was the diesel was double the price of the one I rented! I ended up with a 1.2 VW bug, hardly a gas guzzler; it was quite economical for the trip I did.

deboyzoned

I do BA Flight plus car a lot of the time ...

The Net Charge at the bottom of the Invoice of 1185.47 USD equates to about 908 GBP at todays rates (close to 915 GBP that you have been charged)

Secondly, when i return the car I always ask to close out the invoice there and then. First check the invoice to ensure the Net Charge is 0.00, then sign it.

On occasion, they have tried to charge me a "Fuel fillup fee" upon return, even though the tank is full, so i show them the fuel receipt and ask them to remove the charge and they do.

Tobias-UK

I've had similar issues with Avis, I used to rent over 100 days a year on business trips and I was caught out by Avis 3 times - always at US holiday airports. Dishonest charges, for insurance I specifically said I didn't require, for upgrades that were supposed to have been complimentary, charged at a different rate than booked. Every time they tried to blame me for their dishonest modus operandi. These were in addition to the many false charges added for fuel when I returned cars with a full tank.

Needless s to say, Avis were fired and I haven't used them for at least 6 years.

bhbloke

Avis are con artists.

I refuse to use them now after being regularly scammed by them. It's usually their franchises that add on the most obscure charges.

A few weeks ago in Tallinn I picked up my prepaid car (which took over an hour, but that's another story) spent an additional 10 minutes telling the rep that the extra driver was free.

I was then charged a late pick up fee.

Even though the opening hours are clearly shown as 0700-0200and I was there at 2100 there is apparently some small print that after 1930 you'll be charged extra.

I hope the CMA take their pants down, to me this is fraud as there is basically no way I can use the prepaid car for the price I've paid.

I've sent my Avis Preferred card back and told them to remove any trace of me from their system. I've also provided feed back to the CMA.

doctoravios

I agree. Avis are dreadful. I've used them twice and both times they've attempted to overcharge. I think they just hope that customers don't bother checking (especially if someone else is paying for them).

Don't waste your time speaking to Avis. Go straight to your credit card company and raise a section 75 claim.

MarkFlies

The advice given to close the rental and get a final receipt - even if you are rushing - is the best one.

I've had a few issues like this - one where they 'forgot' to book in the car so charged me for an extra week!

I think you're supposed to contact Avis customer services in your home country. I've always had my issues resolved quickly doing this.

JumboJet

Is it just me or are the rental car companies the Used Car Salesmen of the 21st century?

T8191

Curious - I've never had trouble with Avis, except once at SAV where they tried to bill me for only having 1/4 tank when it was clearly showing 3/4. Fixed on the spot.

OTOH, I've had windscreen chips and damaged tires/wheels, and never been billed despite these items being excluded from the insurance.

Filthy Monkey

I use Avis on a weekly basis and rarely have any problems. I'm always upgraded to a much nicer car, pick up is generally quick and easy, with no need for signatures and I haven't had any problems with returns.

On a couple of occasions I've been overcharged due to what is clearly an admin. issue, rather than an attempt at scamming, and that's where their customer service seems to fall apart. It can take months and many phone calls to get a refund from them, which is very frustrating. In this respect they're no better than BA!

simons1

We had a BA fly drive car from Avis last month for 3 weeks.

Picked up the car and the guy tried to pressure us into paying $9.95 a day ($208 total) for a satnav. Refused and then discovered the group of car we had booked have satnavs fitted as standard.

The guy also tried to persuade us to buy a full tank of petrol and a big sign board behind the desk said 'local gas stations charge $2.20 a gallon". Refused, got out the airport and found local gas stations charging between $1.94 and $1.99 a gallon.

Sharp practice but not really surprising.

offshore_bob

I've had this once before (though not the huge sum the OP has) and it was because the vehicle was collected from LHR T3-4 whereas the booking with BA was collection from T5 (something I've never been able to change). Thus a new rental had to be created hence the charge. I don't know if this applies in your case, or if its primarily due to cost of flight and hire car being less than the car hire itself?

Anyway you need to deal directly with BA who will hopefully sort this as quick as they did for me, refunding my card.

Often1

OP could either read endless speculation about what happened to someone else on another occasion or contact BA and advise of what happened and have BA sort it out with Avis.

Absent OP having changed the reservation, damaged the vehicle, or had Avis top off the tank, there is nothing which ought to have been charged.

Tiger_lily

We had random charges appear after our rental in Canada at Christmas. It was only a small amount but I had a receipt for 0 from the station.

I phoned Amex and queried it and they said that they would be taking it up with Avis direct as I pointed them at all the issues on google with Avis.