Avis Southern Africa Arvostelua 

Where to start? I have been using Avis since 2001 and have always found them superior than the competition in car choice and service at the counter. But the backoffice, it's like speaking to a brick wall! When I picked up the vehicle n question there was an issue with the system and the lady promised to send me invoice via email, this never happened and unknown to me my normal accident waiver was removed, unfortunately for me I returned the car with a scratch which I pointed out. Much later I received a letter threatening me with legal action out of the blue, they had my credit card and couldn't explain the costs, this was the start of sending emails into a black hole. I acknowledged that money was owed to Avis and they just had to send me an invoice of all the money I had already paid and the money owed. Nothing...,rinse repeat , now 2 months later another letter threatening summons. I have just paid the thing now as the numbers have magically corrected.

Details of Dispute

1. Car was given to me with a three quarter tank of petrol – your Tzaneen agent, noticed that the tank was not full and said that maybe after driving awhile the petrol should calibrate to read full. What nonsense. I topped up the tank at Kranse Kop and the gauge went to full.
2. The agreement was to be emailed to me – it was not received.
3. The vehicle was taken from the Tzaneen branch on 23.04.2020 at approximately 12h00 and was driven to my home 10km away. The vehicle was then driven to Johannesburg at 11h00 on 24.04.2022 where we had a booking at the Peermont hotel (Emperors near OR Thambo), this distance would have been about 520 km .
4. On 25.04.2022 the vehicle was driven to OR Thambo maybe 5km where the vehicle was dropped off at 11h00, because we were flying to Cape Town @13h30. I have been billed for 1491km, which is basically the distance I would have travelled to Cape Town by car. I had 600km free. Therefore I wish to have the full R2705.68 (which would also have been the cost of an air ticket) refunded to me as a matter of urgency.

I have spoken to Customer Services – Thebogo and Tzaneen Avis – Molly and apparently the Avis OR Thabo need to investigate – Why as a customer do I have to make the calls and why do I have to wait for a refund when there is clearly an error.
2 and half months and no response????

Arriving at the desk the car booked a week in advance was not available. I eventually got a car with multiple damages acknowledged by the contact signed with Avis. After returning the car I received my invoice as usual. SIX DAYS later a large amount is debited from my credit card. I call to be informed that I need to pay for the crack in the windshield that was already there when I rented the car.
I wrote on facebook where the company replies where the public can see "something is done" and then nothing happens further.
I called Gina De Abrue the manager of Lanseria Avis, to be told she is in a meeting and she is now ignoring my calls.
Looking at all the other horror stories online I guess I am in for a long ride!
I will never rent from Avis or Budget again and I will caution everyone in doing so.

I have zero tolerance for "upselling" fraud. I made a reservation for a Volkswagen Polo in the Johannesburg airport Avis office. I got exactly that, but somehow, the car I received was a better version of the same model (?). Unknown to me, I signed a contract with a higher price. No one told me. Obviously, I thought I was signing for the original reservation. Call me naive, but I really didn't pay a lot of attention to the price details in foreign currency in the hurry of leaving the airport. I was getting exactly what I made a reservation for: a Volkswagen Polo. That's all the information I needed. When I was billed I noticed the discrepancy. This is my major concern about this office: they were never in my side. They deflected the blame of this fraudulent practice to me. "You signed the contract". There was ample discussion with multiple emails back and forth. Never a resolution. No accountability. No management. No real customer service. No genuine intent to settle and figure out how to fix this practice.

Everything worked fine! Very friendly and helpful in Cape Town and in Port Elisabeth and when I wanted to extend the rental for one day per phone it was no problem at all!

I would rent there again.

I recently booked a vehicle with Avis Luxury cars Cape Town Branch for my birthday weekend. The experience was 100% from the beginning to the end. The vehicle I rented was 100% in all aspects. I dealt with Shaheed, Lesley, Dalinda and Raza, they were professional, friendly, and hands on and well informed especially Shaheed. The vehicle model was a VW Golf 8 GTI. Their vehicles are new, well taken care of, looks and feel like pure luxury. I would recommend to friends and family to use Avis Luxury cars for any occasion.

Rented a car and according the voucher taxes and one way fee was included in the price. But afterwards I still got billed for taxes and one way fee at a cost of over 3000 ZAR. Two months later and a lot of mails later I still have not gotten my money back.

Firstly I returned the car with a full tank, and even gave them the receipt as proof. Yet Avis still charged me R490 for 25 litres! And on top of that, a refueling service fee of R21.74 (before VAT).

Secondly, a stone cracked the windscreen a few days before I returned the car. I did not have insurance and was happy to pay for the replacement, but was surprised to see that Avis charged me more than double the highest quote I got for an OEM windscreen! Had I known this, I would have had the windscreen replaced before returning it.

Last but not least, I was charged twice for an additional driver because Avis split the booking into two separate rental agreements. In future, I will think twice before using Avis for sure. What looks like a good deal in the beginning turns out to be NOT SO.

I hired with avis OR Tambo, I did inspection and there were no dents and I did this inspection in their parking lot on my own no avis inspector was on site but when I returned the vehicle the inspector went in directly to the back of the vehicle on noted a dent that one wouldn't even see unless you focus on that area. I let them know that I hadn't bumped the car anywhere to my suprise I got invoice R6533 without a breakdown of what was done to the vehicle. This company scams people knowing very well they hold their authorisation. Until i know the damage that was fixed in this car and why they let us do our own inspection when there should be staff doing that.

The website offers reasonable prices. Once you arrive at the office, prices are almost doubled. On receiving your receipt they are doubled. Unfortunately, I gave them my credit card. I wish I had read the reviews before hiring Huge mistake. In future I will use Europcar

Avoid hiring Avis/Budget at all cost (as it will cost you being out of pocket). To explain this:- everything was fine from hiring car and return. But I have had money taken out of our credit card with no explanation. Also there was a incident with our car hire vehicle and a 3rd party (who was at fault- as they drove into our stationary vehicle at our hotel car park). We were charged for the damages on the vehicle and Avis/Budget said they would investigate and refund the money. After 1.5 years of emails and they have done nothing but dismiss my emails and dismiss my claim. This is very poor customer service and I like to warn people about this.

Also charged multiple times, triple for rental, double for speeding fines - still being charged again 7 months after rental - PLEASE DO NOT USE AVIS SOUTH AFRICA!

I picked up a hire car from Avis Port Elizabeth Airport at the start of my holiday and initially was quite happy with the service. The lady behind the counter was knowledgeable and friendly and provided me with a vehicle that exactly matched the requirements.

The booking was made through British Airways and prepaid, but credit card details had to be left for any additional charges.

On return of the vehicle, and after it was checked out to satisfaction by one of the Avis staff, I asked if I could pay the outstanding amount for zero excess cover by ZAR debit card as this would avoid non-sterling transaction fees on my return to the UK as well as reducing the spend on the card. Teh staff did not seem to understand what I wanted to do, but I was allowed to pay the amount in cash, for which a receipt was issued.

I should probably not have been surprised to discover on my return home, that my credit card had been billed for the amount already paid in cash, incurring additional non-sterling charges in the process.

That is where things got really messy. Every time I emailed Avis South Africa, I was emailed a pdf of the charges which I had not asked for, and it really appears that people in Avis head office can either not read or cannot be bothered. After all, they have the money, even twice, so why care?

Various emails have been fired across over 3 months now, at one point I though we were getting somewhere, when I was told that the issue had been referred to the rental location for review and that I should allow 3 working days for that to be actioned. That was the end of March and we are now in June, and no more has ever been heard, despite various emails on my part.

The end result is that I am left with a really bad impression of Avis customer service, and will NEVER use the company again for car hire, anywhere in the world.

If you do hire a car with Avis South Africa, do make sure that your card is not double or triple charged as getting the money back is proving impossible.

Ultimately, this amounts to fraudulent card charges which we can all do without.

Beware if you rent a car from this company. Both cars we rented had plenty of unrepaired dents, scratches and scuffs...no of which down to us. Check every dent and scratch when you check the car out and get a paper receipt when you check it back in otherwise you will end up paying for any damage someone else does or has done to the car. I have used this company before in SA many times, with many different cars and months of rentals and no issues, but would never use them in the future after recent experience.

Un vero scandalo, sconsiglio a tutti la sede Avis Sud Africana..Poco seri, dopo la riconsegna dell'auto, mi hanno addebitato sia il costo di un danno assolutamente non provocato da noi e non segnalato da parte loro al momento della riconsegna dell'auto, sia il costo della tassa di sola andata, assolutamente non dovuta come provato nel voucher di noleggio stipulato con Rentalcars. Sono ancora in attesa che mi vengano restituiti i soldi del costo della tassa di sola andata (quelli del danno mi sono stati rimborsati da Rentalcars in quanto avevo acquistato con loro la protezione assicurativa completa) dopo già un mese trascorso dalla riconsegna dell'auto.
Sconsiglio VIVAMENTE a tutti di scegliere questa compagnia di noleggio, MAI PIU'!

I am a well-known travel blogger in Italy. I rented a car and was charged for cleaning without being told I had to clean the car before return it, and, THEY FELL THE FORM AFTER I SIGNED!

It is not about the money (not a big deal at all) but the principle!
I feel like I have been swindled twice.

Once because nobody told me I had to return the car perfectly clean inside when I rented it. I know it is maybe in the contract, but a serious company like AVIS should explain such a thing at the picking up, even because is something most of the rental companies do not ask for.

Last but not least, because when I spoke to the employ at the return, he made me talk to his supervisor who told me to write the explanation and that everything was ok and I would have not been charged. HE MADE ME SIGN A DOCUMENT WITH MY DECLARATION AND NO CHARGE OR OTHER DETAILS WAS WRITTEN ON IT!

Furthermore, the car was not dirty. Just some sand was inside on the floor, definitely normal.

Back at home I've received the invoice and found a charge for cleaning.

I know AVIS is a serious company and I always write in my articles, really followed in Italy, to rent by serious and international companies, because they should be able to solve any issue.

I am ready to change this review in 5 stars as soon as the issue will be solved.

I apologize for my bad English (I use it only to travel), of course, I write in a proper and correct Italian.

Worse customer service ever
I have been trying to resolve an issue with Avis over a hire car now for several weeks. The communication and level of customer services is appalling. I would never use Avis again and in particular would advise against using the Johannesburg airport branch.If you do ensure that they inspect the vehicle with you before you go even if they say they are too busy. Otherwise you will find yourself with a hefty bill when you return the vehicle for alleged damage. My advice go elsewhere even if it is more expensive!

Disgusting service, I will just copy my email, I had to reverse via my bank, I will never deal with these thieves again.

Morning

We made a reservation via Mango as per reservation number above.

On collecting the car at Lanseria Airport this morning the following transaction was authorised off our Private Wealth business Visa card.

15 Dec 2018 08:00:47 491050******7538 AVIS RANDBURG 3,000.00

A short while later the following unauthorized transaction were reserved

15 Dec 2018 09:25:09 491050******7538 Avis Rent A Car 3,105.03
15 Dec 2018 09:25:11 491050******7538 Avis Rent A Car 3,105.03

And further attempts were made but declined as the card has a R10k limit.

I called and spoke to Tseselo at Avis Lanseria, he confirmed the unauthorised transactions and while I accept his version I do not accept his solution.

He states that it will be reversed within 24h time, totally unacceptable.

I spoke to FNB Fraud who explained that the merchant must call in and cancel the unauthorised transactions, I called Tseselo back and he claims he cannot despite having FNB on the other line stating he can.

My options are to report the merchant for the fraud, I explained this to Tseselo and he did not really care and states he will sort this out on Tuesday, when I explained that this was unacceptable he basically brushed me off and when I said I will not deal with Avis again he said that is fine.

I called your national call centre and spoke to Lucky and requested to talk to the team leader or manager, after been on hold for 10m22sec the id**t had transferred me back to Lanseria, not what I had asked for.

All our staff have a R10k limit on their cards for fraud prevention, Avis has reserved R 9210.06 of that so the card was declined for his accommodation, we also do not work over the weekends so now we have to go into FNB and lift his limits creating frustration and embarrassment for all involved.

So I will take Tseselo from Avis Lanseria’s advice and I won’t deal with Avis or Mango again.

Regards

WATCH OUT!!! This is how Avis Cape Town International Airport operates:

When you hire a car the inspector quickly skims over the car, my wife and I had to repeatedly point out quite obvious marks he inspector kept missing.

When we returned the car we were lucky enough to have two people THOROUGHLY inspecting the car. They one guy found a very slight dent the size of a 50p on the side of the door. This is something you cannot see unless you are at the right angle and the light falls on it just the right way. I know we did not have any damage at all and I know we missed it because you cannot see it so obviously we did not see that with the initial inspection, and no surprise our competent inspector missed that one when we picked up the car. What was interesting is that this guy knew that this mark was there, he came marching to the car and pointed to it... almost like he knew that car has this little money earner on the side of the door that no one knows about.

There was a documentary on BBC recently showing how car rental companies use exactly this tactic. Please be careful when using Avis Cape Town and make 100% sure you check every inch of the car for the slightest marks - DO NOT TRUST WHAT THE INSPECTOR DOES. If the car is not perfect when you return it and there are any marks you did not list it, they WILL make you pay for it, and every person after you that rents the car. Also, if you can, take photos and video of every part of the car just in case you missed something with your own inspection, you might be able to see it on a closeup photo later.

Remember, the inspectors know every mark on every car, and they don't repair any of them. If you don't have a mark listed on your checklist it is yours and you will pay for it. The first inspection is fairly brief and the return inspection is far more through. This is how they make more money so please be careful!

I booked with Avis South Africa/Namibia a 4x4 Toyota Hilux D/Cab
for a period of 37 days on 03.01.19 and p/u at Hosea Kutako A/P, Windhoek on 06.03.19.
The conditions read as follows: incl.: Airport/City surcharge; Local Tax; Rental Contract Fee; Theft Cover; Damage Cover; 4500 km free!!!!
Being back in Europe the Invoice showed as follows: 3800 km free instead of 4500 km that means N$ 16.310,16 instead of 11774,00 N$!
I wiper-blade, I replaced (with invoice) wasn`t honoured! Air Port Surcharge was also on the Bill, Damage Waiver was also charged !
All rentals (I`m a prefered Client) I had before in Southern Africa were top, but know.... not even an answer on my claims. I tried even to lodge my claim through AVIS AT/D/RSA, no real help!!!!
Another thing: Hosea Kutako Airport Windhoek is absolutely unsave for your valuables in your board case/Rucksack at the security check - a camera was stolen out of my Rucksack at the screening point!!!!! I thought I knew Namibia, I used to live there for a long time!