scottish minnie

Looking for some help here. I will start by saying I’ve exhausted a resolution with Avis who say the case is closed and will not discuss further.

I recently completed a trip comprising of BA flights and Avis car rental, all booked as a single package.

On collecting the rental car there were a number of issues which I won’t bore you all with, but after 2 hours and on the third car we were finally ready to leave the airport when I asked ( due to previous fraudulent application of extras) for a detailed printout to show that no extra charges had been applied.

the printout did indeed confirm that I had selected no extras and the rental was a package however it showed an outstanding amount of $55. I queried this and was told that whoever I had booked my package with had short changed Avis and I was responsible for the difference. After 11pm Chicago time and midway through the night here in UK I had no real option but to take the car and call Avis customer services the next day. No joy there, they were adamant they had not received the correct amount and I would need to pay up on return of the car.
I called BA, they could not help until the charge was applied - at this point they were “sure” Avis would correct it.

so, I now have the charge applied to my credit card. As I say Avis will no longer engage and BA holidays tell me there is no process for raising a query with them as I allowed the holiday to complete before calling.

When pressed on what recourse did I have the BA holidays agent couldn’t think of anything and suggested it wasn’t a valid “complaint” that BA would consider as I knowingly took the rental car out of the garage without resolving the issue.

My question is who at BA can I talk to? This is the second time in 6 months that Avis have made a charge like this , the last time it was $15 or so and after being blanked by both Avis and BA I gave up as it was costing more in stress and time and getting me nowhere.

I’m not letting it go this time though. I booked Avis rentals through BA in good faith, paid in full and am now being penalized for something nobody is willing to investigate. I also have another fully paid BA flight and car rental in December and I can see it happening again.

Thanks

SonTech

Can you not do a charge back on your credit card?

PETER01

IANAL however a few questions if I may

1) Did they (Avis) say what the $55 charge was for?

2) You say BA said it wasn't a 'valid' complaint. That is definitely not right. Was this on a phone call/verbal interaction?

3) If I were you I would put a complaint in writing to BA Holidays keeping it very simple and not overly complicated. You'll get a case reference number and hear back within usually 6-8 weeks, hopefully! The main thing is it's logged officially and then see what they say.

So, I would say put a complaint in writing to BA Holidays as they are ultimately responsible for the booking and it tells you this in your contract.

British Airways Holidays will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole.

This is on the final page on BA Holiday bookings.

Pete

fruitcage

It seems that Avis get a voucher for an amount of money from BA, but then do their own calculation of the price of the rental, deduct the money they get from BA and charge the renter for the difference, which is often not noticed due to extras, upselling etc.

Whether this is all deliberate overcharging or not…. Who knows?

Alan T

I’ve had this happen to me once, $75 and as said it appeared that it was due to the incorrect way Avis at that location treated the ‘voucher’ amount in error. I actually got Avis to refund it by complaining to UK customer service. I recall there are similar old posts/threads on it here and in the Avis forum?

ao40

This happens occasionally when booking through BA, and they will usually refund the difference. Or at least they used to - I have used this successfully in the past, and I recall a few similar threads on this forum.

Sparkyfletch

I had exactly the same in Nashville this July.
A spurious $23 was added on pick up and not refunded on check out. The returning agent at Nashville couldn't be bothered and the return experience was so rude I left a (Google) review stating so.

A few days later their social media team (or similar) contacted me by email. I explained again how indifferant the hand back was and 'what about the spirious $23?'
They told me that it was an overcharge and it will be back in my account >35 days. That was last July and nothing yet.

Avis are a dreadful company. BAEC Gold puts you in their President's Club. I can't see, or feel I receieved any benefits.

scottish minnie

Avis printout
This is the Avis printout- shows that I declined the extras but does not in any way show how the $55 is arrived at. Whether it is. a recalculation or change in exchange rate I don’t know but to have happened twice in succession is simply not acceptable.
I suspect a card chargeback (Halifax) would be painful and the likelihood of them understanding this is slim to non existent in my experience of them and I feel BA should be helping out here. As Pete states they are happy to trumpet how they are responsible when it suits them - time for them to put that into action.

I found the area to log a complaint, have done so, got a reference number and will update on any progress.

Pete - it was a phone call to BA holidays - the first thing they said was “we can’t help you once your holiday is over. This team is only here to help you book or change a holiday”

Apologies - numpty here has posted the image sideways and can’t change it!

AJA_

I think the $55.31 is calculated as $1,016.36 + $403.33 - $1,364.38, the last figure mentioned is the Avis voucher.

Not sure why the one way fee is not included, unless you didn't actually do a one way rental?

scottish minnie

It was a one way rental. When I booked BA confirmed that the one way fee was included - I do have proof of that on the original booking confirmation from BA.

flarmip

I emailed BAH after encountering a similar issue with Avis. They contacted Avis, who refunded me after a couple of weeks (presumably after receiving payment for the difference from BAH).

The email is customer.relations AT holidays.ba.com

strowger

Spurious charges are very much Avis' MO. The individual outlets are quite piratical.

Avis UK customer service have usually resolved for me without too much hassle. In this case it's absolutely on BAH as they were Avis' customer. Write to them, it's quicker than the phone.

corporate-wage-slave

I would send an email to BAH at the address as given. Keep it short, I would guess 3 or 4 sentences maximum plus the attachment. They can always come back for any questions. Leave it 8 weeks, though BAH will typically revert sooner. If they decline to fix the issue then consider CEDR, the ABTA scheme, or Small Claims at your Sheriff court. I very much doubt that it will come to that.

Dave Noble

Just not wanting to pay is not grounds to dispute a charge. The customer was informed prior to pickup of the car that there would be $55 to pay and the person still accepted the vehicle

Sending a written complaint to BA Holidays would seem to be the way to go

tinkicker

I've had this explained a couple of times as a forex issue. As in the amount BAH has vouchered for in GBP is not worth the same number of USD (or whatever) as it was when you booked it. Whether this is true of not I'm not sure but I had that explanation seperately from Avis in YVR and CPH. The amounts have always been trivial <$20 ish.