Avis Budget Group, Inc. Reviews 

I would like to share my experience with Avis Car Rental to help other consumers make an informed decision.

I booked a rental car through Avis' Tax Free Program for Danish citizens living abroad. My reservation was made based on the terms and benefits advertised by Avis on their website, including:

Free child seats
Free one-way rental
Reduced excess of DKK 1,000
VAT included

Before taking delivery of the vehicle, I carefully reviewed the rental agreement and immediately noticed that the total price did not match the terms advertised on Avis' website. I informed Avis of the discrepancy and requested that the agreement be corrected by removing the charges for the one-way rental and child seats, as these services were clearly advertised as being included in the Tax Free offer.

Because the agreement did not reflect the terms under which I had booked the vehicle, I chose not to sign the rental agreement.

Despite this, Avis subsequently charged my credit card the full amount of DKK 18,970.48, including the following charges:

One-way rental: DKK 3,125
Child seats: DKK 1,249
Loss-of-use charge: DKK 340

This represents a total of DKK 4,714, which I believe was charged contrary to the terms and conditions advertised as part of Avis' own Tax Free Program.

When I contacted Avis to raise this issue, their response was simply that the amount charged matched the amount shown in their internal system. They did not address the discrepancy between the advertised terms and the charges applied, nor did they explain why I had been charged for services that were explicitly advertised as included.

The situation became even more concerning because the vehicle provided to us was significantly overdue for its manufacturer-required service. During our holiday, a service warning appeared on the dashboard, and an authorised workshop confirmed that the vehicle had exceeded its scheduled service interval. As we were travelling with small children, we had to change our holiday plans and limit our use of the vehicle for safety reasons.

In my opinion, customers should be able to expect that an international car rental company will:

Honour the terms and conditions it advertises.
Not charge customers for services that are explicitly included in the agreed offer.
Not charge the full rental amount after the customer has formally disputed the pricing and declined to sign the rental agreement because it did not reflect the advertised terms.
Ensure that rental vehicles are properly maintained and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements before being rented out.

I have asked Avis to refund the DKK 4,714 that I believe was incorrectly charged under their own advertised terms.

I am sharing this experience so that other consumers are aware of how my case has been handled. If Avis chooses to resolve the matter by honouring the terms under which I made my booking, I will, of course, update this post accordingly.

We booked a flight and car for a family holiday week and paid in advance for a rental car through Ryanair with Budget.
At the pickup desk in Croatia, I provided my booking reference and documents. These were accepted, and I reasonably believed I was completing the check in for my existing prepaid reservation.
However, after the rental, I discovered that I had been charged a second full rental under a separate contract. This resulted in two payments for the exact same vehicle and rental period, while only one car was provided and no additional services were given.
I contacted Budget to request a refund of this duplicate charge. Unfortunately, their response simply relies on the fact that a contract was signed, without addressing the key issue: why a second full rental was created despite an existing prepaid booking, and without clear explanation at pickup.
This is not acceptable. Customers should be clearly informed, especially when a prepaid third party booking already exists.
I find it difficult to understand how a large, reputable company that invests heavily in its global image chooses not to correct what appears to be an incorrect rental charge, particularly in a situation involving a customer acting in good faith
The matter is now being handled through the European Consumer Centre (ECC), I also intend to escalate this matter to the consumer programme on our public broadcasting channel and to consumer protection organisations such as TestAankoop.
I strongly advise future customers to carefully review any document presented at the counter, even if you already have a valid prepaid booking.

Please, be very careful with AVIS Budget in France since they ask for a "valid driving licence" on their web pages to make the reservations, but if you've only an electronic document instead of the physical one the day you intent to get the car, they cancel your reservation and keep your money !

AVIS LAS VEGAS AIRPORT agency that wanted to scam me by wanting to make me pay for a vehicle twice its price.

In the end, I was still scammed by OPTIONAL INSURANCE WHEN I HAD CATEGORICALLY REFUSED ALL INSURANCE.

Dishonest employee who told me she deleted everything but in fact not and lied about the bill

I contacted both Budget car rental customer services and Avis Budget escalation team over a week ago regarding issues around additional charges that the agent at Miami international airport would not allow me to decline although all insurances; taxes etc were paid as part of my rental package. Both sent form letter replies requesting the information already provided to them and neither have responded to my reply since (T2913AC35 / 97851983). This is not the service customers deserve or expect.

Very pleased with avis at harrisburg intnl airport, sooo easy to pickup the car , very nice car , was given a choice of 2 different models ,, a nice option , turn in was extremely simple , pulled in the guy walked around and said ok you are good to go , handed the keys and that was that

Smooth pick and drop off at Ithaca NY airport. Car was a Kia, clean, spacious, comfortable n practical.

Waiting in line for over an hour at FLL.....UNACCEPTABLE! Budget counter unmanned, directing you to Avis. Understood if you're partner companies, however, manage your workforce. You certainly could have more than 2/3 attendants on a Saturday @ 7pm. Everyone in line was complaining and exhausted.

Easy to pick up the car in Myrtle Beach at the airport,the associate was very friendly,very informative about my rental,took not even 5 minutes to get the keys at a great price,i will rent from them again in the future.For sure you have to make a reservation well ahead of time and follow up since sometimes the beachy town of Myrtle is quiet busy with customers renting all the cars.I had a terrific experience with Budget.

As I write this review I'm on holidays…
As I write this review I'm on holidays in Teneriffe, we hired a car from this company and unfortunately a bus ran into us we as good renters reported it got told we would have to pay up 625 euros
Then confusion took over between customer service and the local branch while counter staff only appeared to have the basic grasp of English when it suited them
Ruined the holiday
If it was possible to minus rate we would've have

On our trip to Italy, the airport car rental front desk recommended us to draw a damage insurance on the car though it was already drawn and included in the initial on-line booking. They made us believe that this part was yet to be finalized, so we accepted ended up paying for the same twice.
On top we needed 2 children seats. These was also requested on the initial on-line booking, but was only to be paid upon actual car handover, which is standard, but we ended up paying triple the rate for these even though the on-line booking stated a maximum.
Last, be ware of the airport tax - in Italy it is 18%, which, from out point of view, should have been included in the rate from the beginning - also a way for the car rental company to make the rate look very cheap instead of providing a realistic picture.

On my arrival in Serbia at the Nikola Tesla airport the clerk working first tried to con me into paying extra as he claimed he was doing overtime for me, this was false as I have checked before booking if the office will be opened at that hour or not, he was just trying to make some extra cash.

After I confronted him that there should not be an extra charge as the booking said so in the first place he accepted to continue without charging me.

After taking possession of the car and driving it for 5 kilometers or so one line from the fuel gauge went down, I knew right there that I was stolen for gas but after doing a full fill up and driving for about 60 kilometers before the line went down I was convinced that they stole the gas, probably driving for their own interest.
The above are a reality and and very despicable behavior of employees that bring shame to the name of your company and to their country, tourists need to be welcomed not conned.
This was reported to their office but they replied that none of it was true and I was "vulgar and coarse" in dealing with the clerk who was just a little thief.
Appalled how Budget chose to ignore a customer and stick with their lying little thief.

I booked this initially via British Airways/Avios/Avis and ended up with this shambolic shower of ****
I tried so many times to contact them. I was either ignored (email attempt - just being passed from pillar to post). Or on the phone completely misled/lied to? All I wanted to know, what if any 'extras' I'd be charged?
Needlessly to say on arrival, I was initially asked for an extra £18 per day (approx). I ended up paying about £8 per day extra. Some of it unspecified.
Since returning, I'm getting 'cut & paste' responses or being referred to T & C's . But no one is addressing the non/misleading pre booking problems.
I'd advise not to use unless you want to pay loads of unknown extras!

I rented a van on the 12/12/18 for 24 hours. On returning the van I was surprised to find that the van had superficial scratches on the passenger side of the van, specifically the sliding door that opens to the rear part of the van. I did not go out to inspect the vehicle with the assisstant at the Birmingham centre as I thought the van was completely normal on return. I had no incidents whilst driving and drove sensibly throughout my rental.

As you can imagine I was completely shocked to find this out. I offered to repair the van myself. The repair being for several, very superficial scratches, which having recently received to one of my cars, I know is a simple buff and polish job, and hardly expensive or time consuming. I was not allowed to remove the van from the premises and was informed that this would be done through your repair team. I was quoted £400. This is outrageous. I refused to pay this. You already had my £200 deposit which was not being returned. I refused to sign the acceptance sheet and was informed someone would call me to go through the claims process.

Now, monday 17th December, I have had £387 taken from my account, without warning, without communication or discussion. This is very unprofessional, and I did not give my consent for this.

Why has this happened? There is no way this cost was incurred in repairing the minor damage, that I was not even at fault for. Yes, I understand that I had the van whilst this occurred, but I was not at fault, and the fact you wouldnt even let me repair it professionally for a fraction of the price is disgusting. I am currently moving house, hence the renting of the van, and I have £0 in my account. Your unconsented transaction has pushed me into my unarranged overdraft, incurring charges. This is absolutely unprofessional, and I hope that you understand that having been a previously valued customer I will certainly not be returning again.

You cannot take funds that have not been agreed, especially when agreed that a discussion would take place before any said charges. I tried to call once these charges were made and I could not get through after being on hold for 20 minutes. I then tried your formal website complaint form, which just doesn't work. AVOID.

The worst car rental company ever. Avoid. You will be charged so many extras that an expensive alternative is better. The service is the worst.