I rented a car from Avis through Priceline and prepaid. The agreement was for $124.82 total. I returned the vehicle early and did not contract for any additional expenses. Yet when I returned the car I was charged an additional $326.15 without any explanation on the reciept. My rental rate on priceline was $22.00 per day and on the contract at pickup it showed a rate of $21.74 per day. Yet my retrun reciept suddenly charged me a rate of $83.99 per day plus additonal fees, a so called concession recovery fee, plus taxes, which was never a part of either the contract nor the agreement through Priceline. The local manager has no explanation, but says this is the computer systems of Avis national. As a result all I can say not only are they thieves committing criminal acts, but obviously organized criminals to boot!!!

On June 24, 2010, I rented a vehicle in Baltimore, MD for one day. At the time that I picked up the rental vehicle, the computer system at the rental location was not working and so the person at the Avis counter filled out the rental agreement by hand. I have included a copy of the rental agreement with this letter.

The booking was for $53.99 as shown on the reservation that I made. I was very surprised therefore when I received my credit card statement which showed a charge from Avis of $135.48. I contacted Avis customer service to inquire about the charge. Customer service claimed that I had not returned the car to the Sheraton Hotel in Baltimore, but had instead driven it to JFK airport where I returned it at 9AM on June 25.

I disputed the claim that I had taken the car to JFK. As proof, I faxed to Avis customer service my boarding pass for a JetBlue flight from Baltimore to Boston at 11:30 AM on 25 June, a bus ticket from Boston to Portland, ME as well as other credit card charges which indicated that I could not have physically driven the car to JFK. I also followed up with Avis customer service on multiple occasions by telephone. I have asked for a copy of the modification to the reservation which should have been processed if I had actually taken the car to JFK instead of returning it to the Sheraton in Baltimore, but I was told that such a document does not exist. Although the representatives told me that they would look into the matter, the charges were never reversed. Finally, I got my credit card company, Chase involved and they agreed that I could not have taken the car to JFK and refunded the charges.

Just recently, I received a letter and a message from Avis. The charge which were refunded to me by Chase have now been sent to Avis collections. Avis collections claims that I owe Avis $80 after Avis “adjusted” the charge to $108. However, this does not make sense. If my original rental was for $53.99 and I owe $80, then how was my account adjusted to $108 as collection claims? Clearly, there is a lot of confusion over this reservation on the part of Avis.

Avis customer service can only claim that I took the car to JFK. They can neither provide a return receipt nor proof that the original contract was changed to allow me to return the car to a new destination. On the other hand, I can provide a signed return receipt to show that I returned the car to Baltimore and I can provide my boarding pass and credit card statement to prove that I purchased a flight from Baltimore to Boston. What I believe happened was that due to the problems with the computers at the rental location in Baltimore, the Avis representative made a mistake. After I returned the vehicle to the Sheraton in Baltimore, she rented it to another customer who took it to JFK. Rather than to admit a mistake and despite the overwhelming proof that I provided that I could not have driven the car to JFK, Avis customer service has continued to aggressively and falsely claim that I owe Avis money.

I went to return my vehicle on Nov. 12 and the customer service representative said my total was different then on my copy of the rental agreement. When I asked why he said it was because of the insurance I declined. Apparently instead of removing it from the agreement like I asked when I rented the car he added it to the agreement. When I told him I wouldn't pay for it he assaulted me twice and proceeded to yell and scream at me that I was a crook and a lair in front of customers and other employees. When I asked to speak to a manager or corporate he refused to give me a number to call or his name.

I hired an Avis car a few months ago and returned it to San Francisco airport. The bill had been prepared by Avis in expectation of me using my Australian credit card, the card i used to book the vehicle. The amount in US dollars was converted to Australian dollars at a rate of its own choosing (gouge #1, no hotel or other place in California did this to me). But i didn't pay with that card, I specifically told the clerk I was paying in US dollars (a debit card). He then did another currency conversion and put that against my US debit card. This round-robin cost me $60. Avis has stonewalled me and my bank (because I lodged a complaint). But I am telling everyone I know. My travel agent said"they do stinky things over there.'' I only experienced this one "stinky thing'', although it was generally irritating that hotels and so forth would only accept payment of accounts from the card used to make the booking. Avis was a sour note to an otherwise fantastic trip.

I PURCHASED MY AGREEMENT THROUGH PRICELINE.COM, UNFORTUNATLLY I FORGOT MY ITINERARY AT HOME, WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT THEY HAD NO RECORD OF MY SCHEDULED CAR. SO THE GUY AT THE COUNTER MADE UP A NEW AGREEMENT AND WAS NICE AND SAID HE WOULD GIVE ME AN UPGRADE FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. I INFORMED HIM THAT MY INSURANCE COVERED RENTAL CARS. MY TOTAL RENTAL CHARGES FOR THE CAR WAS TO BE $171.81. THAT WAS WHAT BOTH RECEIPTS STATE, GAS TANK WAS FULL AT RETURN AND I HAD UNLIMITED MILEAGE. WHEN I RETURNED HOME I CHECKED MY STATEMENT AND I WAS CHARGED $171.81 AND WAS ALSO CHARGED $195.93. THE AGENT THAT WAS GIVING ME SUCH A GREAT DEAL SAID HE WAS GIVING ME AN UPGRADE AT NO EXTRA CHARGE FLAT OUT LIED. AVIS NEEDS TO MONITOR THEIR AGENTS BECAUSE THE ARE NOT HONEST WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS. THE CORPORATE OFFICE DOESNT SEEM TO MIND THAT THE HAVE DISHONEST PEOPLE WORKING FOR THEM EITHER. I CALLED CORPORATE OFFICE THEY TOLD ME TO CALL ARIZONA WHERE I RENTED THE CAR, AND I STILL DID NOT GET ANYWHERE.
DO NOT RENT FROM AVIS