Avis
Reviews and Complaints

As a long time AVIS preferred member, I was very frustrated with my current experience renting car from AVIS for my corporate travel. I was renting a car from ATL airport location. It started with having to wait for more than 2 hours to wait in the line before I got a car that should have been reserved. Not only the car was dirty and smelly, I was also told that it was the last car that was available at that point. Since it was already past midnight, I took the car anyway. In the morning, not only that I noticed there was additional fee (for some roadside assistances) added that was not in my original reservation (which AVIS had agreed to refund it later on after the rental had finished), I also noticed that the car's brake was making squeaking noise and rattling which could potentially indicate safety issue. I called AVIS national customer service and was told to go to a local location that had a car available for a swap. Once I arrived at the location, they told me that they did not have any available car. Then I called 6-8 local offices and none of them had availability. I tried to call the ATL airport location and every-time I called I was transferred to the national customer service which I learned that they did not have real time visibility on the car inventory. It's pretty shocking for a corporate with the size of AVIS not to have real time visibility on the fleet availability in 2022. At that point I was 45 minutes away from the ATL airport location and did not want to just go there only to wait hours in the line and told that they did not have any available car. It's it even more unacceptable that when I tried to simulate a new reservation at the ATL airport for the same time of the day and found out that it let me go all the way thru the payment step which made me think that either AVIS online booking system is archaic and have the same visibility issue or if AVIS just focuses on new reservation and does not care about existing customer reservation satisfaction/issue. This experience makes me consider if I should avoid AVIS as much as possible for future travel.

Continuing from my previous complain, fast forward on Monday morning July 18, 2022. I called the local AVIS office and most of them told me that they don’t have car that morning with the exception of 1 location in Duluth, GA which told me that they had car available. However, when I told them that I needed a replacement for a broken car, he told me that he won’t do that since he had enough of broken cars and he needed the car for new reservation. This confirm my suspicious that AVIS only cares about making profit and ignoring customer safety and satisfaction.

OnJuly 18, 2022, I returned my car to Tampa International and proceeded to the Southwest counter and realized I did not have my purse. I went upstairs to the Avis counter and as when I arrived only ONE person was working and they sent me downstairsafter where I let them know the situation. I looked where I left the car and I was told Avis personnel was looking and I sat in the Avis area for about 45 minute to no avail. I did leave the area long enough to get another flight which took long because of no Id and returned but still no purse found. On July 19 I completed the lost and found form online and on July 20 saw it had been turned in and laimed it to returned and paid the $54.64 Fed Ex fee. I received from Avis the tracking number and that the belongings would sent out the next day per Avis agreement:

"Note: In most cases, the item will be shipped out on the following business day. Shipping service delivery time is dependent on when the item has been picked up by the carrier. It does not start from the time of payment."

It is now Saturday, 7/23 and it still hasn't left Tampa and I never received a call back from the case manager or the one and only person I was able to get at was once at [protected] and was told the label was created and no put on package and given to Fed Ex. As of Jly 23, I have never received an email or phone call or text from anyone and told "lost and found closed til Monday"

I told to try again on Monday,

I called the Avis Case Manager number given on the document [protected]

over 6 times and never received a call back.

Will i get my purse back?

First, I made the reservation for a TRUCK for a reason. I made the reservation a month in advance. Fast forward to the day before I pick it up at noon and I get a voicemail "Ummmm, I see that you have reserved a truck for pickup tomorrow, when you made the reservation in June, we did have trucks, but now we no longer have trucks. We can give you an SUV instead, but it will not be available until 4pm" Called her immediately only to get laughed at and told they are completely sold out so I can take what I can get. NEVER will I do business with them again. This is the third time I have had issues with this company not fulfilling their end of the deal, but to be laughed at when I'm told the day before they don't have my truck, I'm done.

I rented a car on July 2nd from the Las Vegas airport Avis location for 7 days. The car they gave me had bad breaks. I returned the very next day and informed the avis people in the office that the car has bad brakes and asked for a replacement. They replaced the car however, charged me for that one day from July 2nd to July 3rd even though the car had bad brakes. They again charged me from July 2nd to July 9th instead of July 3rd to July 9th. This is after I asked the gentleman at the counter that I will not be charged twice and he assured me that I will not. This gentleman happened to be the manager at that location. Not happy about the staff at the Las Vegas location.

On June 21, 2022 I rented a car from Avis out of the Savannah, GA airport. When I got into the car, I noticed the Sirius XM did not work. I had requested and paid for this service. When we finally got the chance, I called Avis customer service to inquire why it was not working. I was told that the car was not equipped or setup for Sirius Radio. I asked if they could please refund me the cost of the service. I was told No, and that I would need to file a claim once the rental agreement was completed. Upon arriving at home, I called the Avis Customer Service on two different dates with wait times over 1 hour. So I sent off numerous emails to them, and even sent a letter to Avis requesting a refund. As of today, 18 July 2022, I have yet to hear back from this company regarding my refund. My conf# is [protected]. My Avis# is A9773U.

There was charge on my Capital One card for $1,869.67 out of the Pittsburgh Pa location on April 4, 2020. I have been calling Avis & Capital One to get this resolved. I have even written Avis CEO Joe Ferrare on May 10th. no response!

I am attaching all the info that I have sent Avis 4 or 5 times by email.

CAN SOMEONE CALL ME DWIGHT HOCH [protected]

PLEASE READ ATTACHMENT

I've filed for this last month and still no progress. I knew where I left my item in the car and no response from them. I couldn't speak to them on the phone so when I got in town on Jun 30, the Operations Mgr told me that the person in charge was out on vacation. I came back to the O'hare location when I departed back home and a lady asked for my MVA# from the previous rental which I gave her and she told me that the vehicle was in California. The other Operations Mgr looked for my item for 30mins in the lost and found but didn't find it. The next day, I called a Long Beach Avis and gave them the MVA# and they told me that it was at the O'hare Airport? I'm very frustrated that they can't attempt to look for my lost item that's on the windshield and all they have to do is take it out and send to me. Please take necessary action!

Vehicle registration: GBLD71YOV May 27th to Jun 9th, 2022 - Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, U.K.

Received 2 letters, from AVIS Budget U.K. Fines Management Team, regarding Kent Police Traffic Charge: [protected]. This incident occurred June 3rd, 2022, during my trip through Dartford Crossing Tunnel, in Kent. A payment for the Toll was missed through no fault of mine. I would like to point out, there is NO Toll Collector or Toll Booth (that I am aware of) in this Tunnel. I have received 2 letters from AVIS, Post-marked Hungary, regarding this matter. First received July 2nd and the second received yesterday, July 5th. The letters were/are to inform me that AVIS has charged my VISA Credit Card a total of $36.88 U.S. Dollars. The letter of July 5th says the charge, paid by AVIS, for this Toll was 2.50 GBP, however, the first letter informed me that 30.00 GBP was already charged by AVIS as Administration Fee. I have NO problem or objection, with the Toll Charge but I am extremely upset over the AVIS Administration Fee of 30.00 GBP. That is definitely extravagant for a 2.50 GBP Toll. As a U.K. tourist from the U.S. I was not made aware of this Toll collection process nor that there was NO place, within the Tunnel, to even pay it. So much for AVIS Customer Relations and Satisfaction. AVIS has come a long way from the late 1960/70's (when I started utilizing AVIS as my preferred carrier) to 2022. Very sad indeed!

I rented a car from Olomouc, CZ to Prague Airport, CZ. First off they showed up late with the wrong car. 40 min later showed up with a different car, young attendant was in a rush, didn't go over anything or walk the car for notable, current damage. Had the car for 7 hours and dropped it off at AVIS location at the airport. At that time there were no attendants there to check car in and our flight was early AM the following morning before the location opened. I'm a Preferred Plus member and rent there very often. The one time I drop the car off after hours and it's checked in without me being present to review so they took advantage claiming there was damage and charge my credit card 790.00 Euros while I was on the airplane. The supposed damage looked old and dated from the pictures they sent, certainly not fresh from only having the car for 7 hours.

Dear Avis Team,

I rented a car through rentalcar.com for a pickup at Rome Termini. I paid for the car online. I had booked my son as the principal driver and paid with my credit card.

The intake associate informed us that we could not rent the car because the driver and the holder of the credit card had to be the same person. Therefore, we had to rebook and were able to find a car at Rome Fiumicino airport.

It cost us 35 euros to travel to Fiumicino.

The cost of the car increased measurably from 881 euro to 1200 euro.

There was no possibility of any assistance from the Avis agent at Rome Termini.

I have always used Avis (last year I rented in California) and I have always known Avis to be helpful and kind.

Sincerely,

Margaret Lombardi

[protected]@gmail.com

May 15, 2022 to June 12, 2022

I picked up a rental at Muskegon Airport, 101 Sinclair Drive, Muskegon, MI 49441. I had reserved the rental online via AutoRentals.com. I had reserved a New Volkswagen Jetta for a reasonable rate for gas mileage reasons. I was given a high mileage Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 28,000+, this car had a multitude of damage to it and the stench in it was horrendous. When I noted what it was and it's condition I requested another of the multiple vehicles in it's lot. The female customer service rep became aggressively rude and declined doing a damage review and the vehicle had less than 1/4 tank of gas. She offered to go fill it up if I wanted to wait, uh of course I didn't want to wait for an unstated amount of time. I had to take multiple photos of the vehicle then go fill the tank with fuel before I was able to depart on my trip.

The real issue is the transmission was malfunctioning with severe slippage on numerous occasions during my long trip of 1850 miles. If you know anything about mechanics and automotive transmissions, it could have failed at any moment during my trip often in very remote locations. Hence, Avis should have provided the vehicle I had reserved. The other issue was gas mileage. The Outlander got around 24 mpg compared to 36 mpg of a Jetta (why I reserved it).. Do the math it used about 26 more gallons during my trip. I paid an average of 4.759 for gas so this malfunctioning high mileage vehicle cost me $123.73 more for gas plus the stress of worrying about the transmission failing at any time.

Finally I returned the vehicle 2 days early and Avis raises it's rate to assure it gets all of the original quote. I read the small print. This is pitiful and honestly a rip off. OK, don't credit the full per day rental amount but give the customer some rebate for early return. I WILL NEVER RENT ANOTHER AVIS vehicle AGAIN in my future ventures. I should receive a refund for a malfunctioning vehicle which if you read their contract is assured.

Details of my rental agreement #[protected] Original contract quote was for May 11 to June 14, 2022 for $1220.00 I originally reserved a Volkswagen Jetta exclusively for gas mileage and comfort of driving. I was given a very high mileage Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. I also checked the tire pressure which was all over the place, 4 tires had a wide range of pressure, so I spent additional time balancing all four pressures. It is my complaint I was given a vehicle not in a standard quality of mechanical state that had a horrendous stench, hadn't been appropriately checked, fueled or given a damage review prior to my departure. It malfunctioned on a multitude of occasions which caused a high level of concern and didn't allow normal driving for most of my 1850 miles of use. It also used far more gas than the Jetta I had reserved.

I understand customers often don't get the vehicle they request, however other Rental Companies do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer with the alternative. This agent aggressively denied any alternatives and basically stated it's this or nothing. She also was very rude regarding my concerns about the damage, doing the damage review which I believe is the customers Legal right to assure there is no consequence, then rude about the low level of gasoline.

The malfunctioning vehicles cost me time and stress for my very long trip around the Midwest. I couldn't drive it normally like a vehicle in standard mechanical functioning condition. Avis should reprimand their representative, she was the worst customer service representative I have EVER encountered in my life. If I were her manager she would receive a warning about this behavior. I understand people have issues that cause their negative behavior, but I did nothing but request standard, legally required service. I paid enough, probably more than most customers, Avis should be willing to accommodate simple requests for alternative rentals.

The first vehicle a (Toyota 4Runner) I rented smelled like smoke and called customer service and was advised to bring back. Exchanged it for a Kia suv and got in a rain storm and car was all over hi way and we discovered the front tires were showing the steel belts and had no tread. Very dangerous for everyone. Then from 2:00 pm to after midnight I was on the phone with customer service waiting for a tow truck because it was unsafe to drive. Missed a lot of my vacation plans with family and was unable to go to events we had planned. Finally exchanged it for a Ford Edge

A coworker dropped the key to my rental down an elevator shaft, I thought it shouldnt be a big deal I would just call the branch and get a replacement key. 5 hours later I gave up and just had them tow the vehicle back to the airport.

1. There is no way to get ahold of the Avis branch in the Airport. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Especially since it would have taken a 5 minute conversation with them to have fixed my issue. But when you call the only options that you are allowed to choose from send you to the call center.

2. Call center cant even get ahold of the branch, again completely ridiculous. They finally answered and told me that it was Roadside assistance issue. Ok fine, transferred me there

3. It is not Roadside assistance it is the branch issue, was told that I would be transferred to the branch, finally going to get it resolved...nope

4 transferred to the branch which dumped me right back into the telephone que which only options send to you to the call center, who tells you its

Roadside assistance issue, who again tried to transfer me back to Honolulu.

I finally gave up and told roadside to tow the vehicle back to the airport in honolulu and I would have to go in and pick up a new one. Only to get there and have the lot attendant ask why I didnt just call cause they have spare keys.

ridiculous, unnecessary inconvenient and utter waste of 2 days all because the people working at the honolulu branch cant be bothered to answer the damn phone?

I stopped by the pick-up location where I made a reservation, (#31939048us1) 2 months ago, to reserve a full-size hybrid car from July 3rd-11th. The gentleman explained to me that it is a holiday and gas went up, so I probably won't get a hybrid. He said I'll probably get upgraded to an SUV. I did not reserve an SUV, nor do I want to drive one. I specifically reserved the full-sized hybrid. But now I'm told that a reservation is basically useless. I filed a written complaint with Avis, who responded via email yesterday, apologizing and assuring me that if I call a certain 800#, they will make sure I am guaranteed what I reserved. I called [protected] twice. The first time, the young lady assured me the guarantee and said that I would receive an email confirmation of the guarantee within 5 minutes. An hour went by without an email, so I called back. The gentleman that answered my call this time said the same thing that the everyone else was saying. He said there's no guarantee that I'll get the hybrid. Back to square one. What is the use of making a reservation? And why try to stick a lying pacifier in a customer's mouth? This is ridiculous and very unprofessional... especially for a company that's been around as long as AVIS.

Hello,

I reserved a car a month ago to be picked up on July 3rd.

Reservation # 31939048US1

I went by the pick-up location to see how comfortable the seats of this Prius Hybrid will be for my back. The gentleman at the counter explained to me that I will probably not get a hybrid. He will probably give me a free upgrade to an SUV. I do not want, nor can I drive an SUV. He explained that it being a holiday weekend, I will probably not get the car (or similar) that I reserved. He also explained to me that if he has a hybrid on the lot the day before or morning of my scheduled pick-up, but someone comes in before I get there at the scheduled time, then he will give it to that other person.

He instructed me to call the 800 number. He said that since I made the reservation online, someone at the 800 number can ensure that they have a hybrid car there for me to pick up. I called the 800 number and spoke with 3 people.

All 3 explained to me that a reservation basically means nothing.

So why is your company misleading the consumers like this? Why are you providing the opportunity to' reserve a car' that you have no intentions of fulfilling? This is misleading. And false advertisement.

Amanda Leinart

This rental (Ref# [protected] - San Diego / Feb 2022) was processed directly on the Avis website.

1.) I was charged MORE than the pop-up box amount >> $60/daily rate/Pay Now Price

Got a car hire by momentum insurance from Avis,tyre on the left hand side was in a bad condition however was advised there's a sparewheel,while driving I had a puncture on the same wheel then I changed to a spare wheel,I returned the vehicle and explained what happened,to my surprise Avis deducted about 730 from my bank account and when I asked ,Joyce mentioned it's for the tyre and they will be taking 1500 which was my deposit to dem in total they will take about 2250 which she said it's for the replacement of the new tyre,I explained to her that ur tyre was in a bad condition but she said unfortunately that's how they work and I should expect my invoice soon

I picked up a car at the Natural Bridge location in STL on May 4. I was running late for a meeting and my rental wasn't ready. The agent upgraded me BUT charged me $50/day extra it appears. She SAID it would be $20/day. I don't understand WHY I was charged ANYTHING. Avis didn't have my car. I would like to be refunded the extra. I made the reservation through AARP. I asked for a Midsize vehicle. I got a Luxury. My charges should have been $366.78 and I was charged $853.39. I don't want to have to take further action on this, please. Just refund the extra charges.

I pre-paid for a Avis rental car at LIR and for Allianz auto insurance for a trip to Costa Rica April 27-May 15 2022, purchased though Priceline, on May 8 2022, trip #[protected]. Avis confirmation #25540792US4. Allianz plan #PLIUS1253625127. When I went to pick up the car I was told I had to have more insurance or I could not get the car and if I did not pay an extra $15. a day for another insurance coverage I would lose my pre-paid car rental and pre-paid auto insurance so I paid it under protest as I was given no choice in the matter.

I booked an SUV with Avis on December 30th, 2021. The pick-up and drop-off location was the same, Juan Santa Maria Intl Airport, SJO. I had specifically asked for an AWD vehicle because of the steep terrain in Costa Rica. My traveling companions booked the same thing on the same day (we were sitting next to each other). We both were told it would be a “Nissan Qashqai or similar”.

Upon arriving at the car rental desk, our friends got a Nissan Pathfinder, and we got a Nissan Kicks. Not being familiar with the Kicks, I assumed it was simply a different name for a similar model. Our destination was a 3 ½ hour drive from the airport. It was not until we arrived at our hotel, at the top of a steep hill, that I realized that this vehicle was not AWD. This became apparent because the car could not climb the hill to the hotel (it was not paved). My family had to get out of the vehicle and walk up the hill as I struggled to get to the top.

Clearly, driving 3 ½ hours to go back to the airport and then another 3 ½ to return was not feasible. Being in a foreign country, it’s not so easy to find alternate locations for car rentals.

This happened 4 more times during our trip. As a result, we ended up using our friends’ Pathfinder for most of the trip. Also, the Kicks is a lower-grade vehicle than the one I had wanted.

Rather than complain at the airport on our return (there was a long line and we had a flight to catch), I submitted a complaint directly to Avis. Their response was basically "We did nothing wrong."

Not trustworthy.