Don't rent from Avis Car Rental
 

Don't rent from Avis Car Rental. I recently did and they added $171 to my bill without my knowledge. The clerk at the desk added insurance and other extras to the contract even though I clearly said no to all the extras they were pushing on me. The clerk said ok, told me what boxes to check and sign on the screen which unbeknownst to me included the very extras I declined. THEY MISREPRESENTED THE CONTRACT TO ME. When I found the charges on my credit card bill, Avis refused to correct the mistake because it appears on an obscure line of the contract. I have since heard of many other similar complaints on Avis.

Don't rent from Avis. If you do not take my advice, then make sure you carefully examine every line of their confusing contracts to ensure they have not snuck in additional charges that you didn't want. This happened at the Avis in Orlando airport, but after dealing with their customer service department for three weeks, I would caution against choosing Avis anywhere.

Yawn, yet another 'not responsible for my own actions, someone else is', post.

Typical new poster rant in multi locations. First pull up your big girl pants, read the contact, then sign it.

It was presented on a computer screen where he directed me where to click after I said no to this or no to that. Then printed then signed the screen where he said. The contract that it resulted in was columns of text and numbers. Including four obvious declines. the added stuff seriously not so obvious. No bottom line. Did I scrutinize it… no should I have… yes. Still it was misrepresented to me and I would never have expected that so yeah now I know and thought it worthwhile to share so that others could be aware. I do take responsibility that I should have read it again before I walked away. That much of it was my mistake and could have easily happened to lots of other people. Just don't trust that the rep behind the desk has your best interest in mind.

Your title should be something like >> Don't be a putz and be sure to read a contract before signing it<< . . . <i>not</i> >>Don't rent from Avis Car Rental<<

Wow.!!! Didn't realize this was a teenage- high school mean girls club forum!!! For real people? Why don't you worry about your self proclaimed superior selves and don't go on forums unless you have something helpful to add !!!!

OP put this same rant on the US forum - it got 42 responses!

Too late. I use Avis all the time without any issues.

And if you had had an accident you would of been kissing the car rep for 'making' you take out the extras. I say better to be safe than sorry in a hire car.

I have usd Avis dozens of times without any problem. That said, it always pays to assume that all car hire companies are con artists who will attempt to rip unsuspecting customers off at every opportunity. check everything and trust no one!

We too used Avis on a recent trip to Germany.

We prebooked including whatever insurance we wanted, and when we picked up the car we weren't asked to accept anything extra. Also, we had a real contract to sign, not a screen.

Actually the OP has a good point about signing a screen - don't. insist that they print it off so you can read it.

<i>Too late. I use Avis all the time without any issues.</i>

Same here. Avis is my go to for U.S. rentals.

<Actually the OP has a good point about signing a screen - don't. insist that they print it off so you can read it.>
After you sign the screen, which displays a copy of the contract, they give it to you in paper. If you can read the screen, what is the advantage of requesting the paper before you sign?

Btw, the OP backed off many of her comments on another thread and accepted reponsibility for not having read carefully enough.

the point, NewbE is that it is IME extremely difficult to read things properly off a screen, and there is an unspoken imperative to read it quickly.

If they can print it off anyway, why not do so before you sign and let you read it carefully at your leisure?

annhig, I understand your point now.

that's good, NewbE. as a lawyer I am perhaps more careful than some about what I sign and more alive to the tricks that some companies use to stop us doing so.

wanting you to sign a screen seems to me to fall into that category.

Let's be honest, most people are in a hurry when they arrive somewhere and then head straight to a car rental. They don't read the contract whether on a screen or on paper.

What they shouldn't then do however is complain about their OWN behaviour problem. The only 'I joined this travel forum to rant' type post I have seen more often is about travel insurance. Yet again, a case of not reading the contract.

It is human nature to always want something to be someone else's fault. Most people are very good at blaming others rather than themselves.

anhig, this may be a quibble, but I do not regard the screen as a "trick" to prevent you from reading something. In 2014, the ability to read a screen is a life skill.

Of course, as a customer you have every right to request paper. I do think, though, that the problem is not the medium but the tendency of most of us travelers to hurry through the tedious process.

In 2014, the ability to read a screen is a life skill.>>

I don't disagree with this, but it's rather different reading, say, the terms and conditions of an airline company in your own home to trying to take in the small print on someone else's office computer.

Perhaps my job makes me more suspicious than most of some companies' motives.

Maybe this is where I should say that I do not read the entire rental agreement at the car rental counter. I may have when I first started renting cars. But at some point I researched my CC's insurance coverage and simply automatically declined all additional coverage; I used to decline the "return gas tank full" option when they charged twice the going rate, but now I occasionally accept it; and I make a good effort to examine the car for dents and dings and scratches and document any I find.

Oh, and I check the total at the bottom of the contract to make sure it matches my quoted rate.

That's it. Should I read the whole thing? Yes. I think I've been lucky to not have any disputes arise.

NewBe - that's the sort of honesty which many of my clients find difficult! but I think that it's true of most of us when we are familiar with something. I can't say that I read every word twice. but I definitely prefer to have the paper version for me to skim through than something on the screen.

may be it's my age?

Bear in mind that most of the world does not have credit cards which provide car rental coverage. That is basically a N. American thing that some CC providers include as a 'perk' with their cards.

That means that when they rent, if it is a rental company they are not familiar with, they must read the contract including the insurance coverage to know what they are signing. It is also a good reason to always rent with one of the big boys like Hertz. Learn the rules once and you're fine every time after that.

Oops, should have put Avis as that is who the OP is complaining about.

Sojourn, I did know that about insurance coverage, good point.

annhig, it may be age, but I think it's habit. I prefer reading paper, too. I only said what I said because nowadays screens are unavoidable.

More honesty: when I am stuck behind a person in the rental car line who is asking every question under the sun, I fume. Haven't they ever rented a car before?! Not nice, or even smart, I know. But having driven, walked, flown, and walked some more, I want to get my trip properly started!!