Avis Budget Group Arvostelua 314

I rarely leave reviews unless the experience is bad enough that I would not want to deal with the company again—and unfortunately, this is one of those cases.

My experience with Avis Budget Group has been extremely time-consuming and frustrating.

Over multiple rentals, I was provided vehicles with serious issues, including:

* Unsanitary conditions (including insect presence)
* Mechanical problems (warning lights and drivability concerns)
* Safety concerns (severely worn tires)

I reported these issues at the time, but no proper resolution or replacement was provided, which directly impacted my ability to use the vehicles for work.

What followed was even worse.

I spent over four months going back and forth with their team, dealing with delayed responses, repeated follow-ups, and lack of clear communication. Only after significant escalation (including formal complaints) did they confirm that a refund was approved, with a stated timeline of 3–5 business days.

It has now been over 10 business days, and:

* No refund has been received
* My bank confirms no transaction was ever initiated
* Client Relations has stopped responding

There is also a discrepancy in the refund amount:

* Requested: $1,213.59
* Referenced by the company: $910.10, with no explanation provided

After months of effort and escalation, there is still no actual resolution.

This reflects a serious lack of accountability, communication, and follow-through, especially after a resolution has already been confirmed.

I would update this review if the issue is properly resolved, but as of now, this has been an extremely disappointing experience.

I prepaid a rental in Madrid back in December at Avis's "Pay Now" promotional rate — clearly listed as the full estimated total. I picked the car up in March, used it for a week, and returned it to the same office, exactly on time.
When the closing invoice came through, Avis had quietly re-rated the entire rental and tacked on hundreds of euros in new "office surcharges" that were nowhere on the rental agreement I signed at the counter. The same line item that was €15.93 on my signed contract somehow ballooned to €231.92 on the closing invoice — a 1,400% increase with zero explanation. On top of that, they re-charged me for the rental itself, even though I had already prepaid it in December. Between the inflated office surcharge and the re-rated rental, I ended up paying nearly €400 in additional charges I never agreed to and never had disclosed.
When I called customer service to dispute it, I could barely make out a word the rep said over the background noise on her end. She "opened a case" and told me it could take two weeks to even get a response. That's on top of the fact that I emailed and no response. So now I'm out hundreds of euros, can't get a straight answer, and apparently have to wait up to 14 business days to find out whether Avis intends to honor the price they sold me.

If you book with Avis, screenshot every line of your reservation, photograph every detail of the rental agreement, and review the final receipt. Their pricing is not what you agree to...

Choqué par l'attitude de Avis/Budget…
Pour faire dans l'anti-commercial, il n'y a pas mieux !!!
J'ai loué chez eux environ 100 jours dans l'année écoulée et il m'arrive tout d'un coup une (pas du tout) drôle de mésaventure... je tiens à préciser que j'avais heureusement souscrit à une assurance couvrant entièrement ma franchise.
Lorsque j'ai rendu un véhicule le 20 avril vers 11h à l'agence Budget de la gare Montparnasse Paris, il n'y avait aucun agent pour faire l'état du véhicule. Environs 4h plus tard, j'ai reçu un mail me signalant que j'étais débité sur ma carte AMEX du montant de 365.98 € (en fait j’ai été débité de 397,33€) pour une rayure à l'avant droit du véhicule. Très étonné du fait, je suis retourné à l'agence pour constater qu'il y avait effectivement une petite rayure d'environs 3cm sous le pare choc avant droit et absolument invisible, à moins de placer sa tête à 20cm du sol !!! 
Je leur ai précisé que personnellement je n'avais perçu absolument aucun choc lors de ma période de location et que cette rayure insignifiante était vraisemblablement déjà présente lors de ma récupération du véhicule… je leur ai demandé de faire preuve de tolérance vu ce dégât ridicule et, je le répète, quasiment invisible sous le pare-choc.
Ils n'ont rien voulu entendre, rétorquant que j’aurai dû dans ce cas le signaler lors de ma prise en charge.
Je reconnais qu'il ne me serait jamais venu à l'idée d'aller regarder sous le véhicule !
Je suis choqué par cet excès de zèle et je pense que le comportement de cette agence frise la mauvaise foi.
Un comportement tout à fait anti-commercial qui n'engage pas à re-louer chez eux...

Absolut enttäuschende Erfahrung mit Avis Budget Group.

Nach Verlust des Autoschlüssels wurde ich komplett hin- und hergeschickt, statt dass mir geholfen wurde. Am Schalter wurde mir ein Dokument zur Unterschrift gegeben, angeblich nur für den Ersatzschlüssel – im Nachhinein stellte sich heraus, dass ich damit eine Rechnung über mehr als 1.000 € unterschrieben habe, ohne dass mir diese gezeigt oder erklärt wurde.

Von den 1.038 € waren nur ca. 200 € Miete. Ganze 650 € wurden als „sonstige Gebühren“ berechnet – völlig intransparent und ohne klare Erklärung. Selbst auf Nachfrage konnte mir niemand sagen, wie sich die Beträge genau zusammensetzen.

Für mich wirkt das Ganze extrem unseriös und irreführend.
Ich kann nur dringend davon abraten, hier etwas zu unterschreiben, ohne jedes Detail genau zu prüfen.

I received a charge on my debit card on 3/12/26 at 9:19pm in the amount of $789.09. The next day I called because it gave me the location of the charge which was in Myrtle Beach, SC. They informed me that I had to call customer service. I called and spoke with multiple agents who could not find my name, card number, phone number, or email in their system. Finally I received an email this week that told me to call a different number, so I did. Once again I spoke with multiple people and multiple divisions and nothing. My bank told me that the charge was forced through and there was nothing I could do. I have never rented a vehicle from them, I don't even have a drivers license!

Please avoid renting from AVIS Budget in Grenoble to discourage their scammy practices. The staff will try to scam you with a smile on their face.

I got flat out scammed for €250 for a 6 day rental - 41784198GB1

This review concerns only the Grenoble Airport location - I had very good experience with them in many other locations. However there have been a large number of reviews reporting similar issues in Grenoble and the leadership doesn't seem to care.

I booked a compact SUV for 16-21 March 2026 for a trip to Les 2 Alpes (reservation 41784198GB1) for a total of €313. When I got to pick up the car, the lady at the reception asked where I plan to travel. When I told her the destination is Les 2 Alpes she informed us it was MANDATORY by law to have winter tires, which must be upgraded separately as the car we chose did not have them. This was a blatant lie, as the law in France requires (in specific mountain areas, including Les 2 Alpes) EITHER equipped winter tyres OR to have wheel snow chains/socks with you. We knew this and we were planning to either buy our own from a gas station or choose a different "snow chains" upgrade that was €90 for the entire rental.
However, the winter tyre upgrade is €45 + VAT PER DAY, as such the lady instructed us we must purchase that one - as she likely earned a higher commission on the upsale.

As we trusted the staff vs our own research in a matter concerning French road laws, we did pay for the upgrade totalling £250.
We later realised we got scammed however it was too late.

She could have been honest and informed us correctly, instead she was incentivized by the commission and chose to mislead us.

Furthermore, the first car she gave us did not even have snow tyres on. She said it does, but when we checked for the standardized symbols it was clear they were summer tyres. Only after showing this to her she gave us a similar car but with winter tyres on.

For anyone reading, you DO NOT have to have winter tyres IF you carry snow chains / socks while in those areas. Furthermore, officers CAN require you to fit snow chains / socks depending on conditions EVEN if you have snow tyres.

As an Avis President’s Club member who has booked exclusively through Avis for years, I’ve now had three serious incidents that show a disturbing pattern of poor billing and service:
issues:

I was charged a $50 cancellation fee after being told I “booked incorrectly” and even accused of making a reservation in the future, despite clear screenshots and timestamps.

I was wrongly billed for a parking ticket that was not my fault, and Avis refused to contact the local owner who had offered to take responsibility.

In Phoenix, I was given a visibly damaged vehicle and documented it with time‑stamped photos, yet was later told I was responsible for the damage and threatened with a charge.

Each time, I had to spend significant time fighting for a correction. The most recent case was escalated to executive relations, where I was told my account was “fully refunded” when it clearly was not, and they offered no meaningful goodwill to a loyal, top‑tier customer.

Given this pattern of opaque billing, poor accountability, and dismissive service, I have canceled all future Avis rentals and will be moving my business to another provider. I would not recommend Avis to anyone who values transparency and fair treatment.

Absolutely appalling, almost criminal. We returned our car to Bordeaux Airport Budget/Avis in perfect condition after a three day rental. Due to a long queue of traffic into the airport we were at risk of being late for our flight and handed in the keys, too trustingly, and told the guy everything was perfect. We should have waited for the car to be checked with us present. We had only driven the car twice, to our house and back to the airport, and the car had not been damaged. I queried the strange way the deposit had suddenly become a 'charge' on the facture, and after a long exchange of emails they have sent me a picture of a tiny scratch on a wheel hub that we have proof was not there before, from our own photos. It is invented and the 'repair cost' conveniently the 'exact' amount of our deposit. Now we are having to fight with them - our photos against theirs. It is so cynical on their part, and just plain crooked. Never ever use Budget/Avis. We were alarmed by the reviews but it was too late to change our booking. At Bordeaux the team seemed friendly and fair, but in the event they have invented damage to keep the deposit, the amount of the charge conveniently the exact amount of the deposit. It's so disappointing and just plain sad.

Terrible experience with Avis/Budget. Rental booked from Canada for Italy. Of course, the international team has to take care of the issue I had. It took 5 months to get an invoice from Avis/Budget…I was charged an additional $2633 Canadian for my rental (my actual rental was less than that). They never reached out to me so that I could provide photos of a 2cm dent. They provided grainy photos and charged my cc on the date of the return. It’s now been 7 months and I’m still waiting for someone from their team to ask me for the photos taken when I picked up the car. Logically, before they charged me for the repair, they should have contacted me to notify me. Instead, after a visa claim and multiple attempts & contact with the better business bureau, I have my final invoice. Absolutely awful experience that has caused me much grief. I have lost hope that I will get my money back but I did tell them I would put terrible reviews on each and every platform that I can!

Megan MacKenzie called me today about my upcoming car rental. She explained the documents I needed to bring. She registered me for Quick Pass. She explained the insurance (£80 to cover all damage with no loss of deposits). She explained how to reach the depot with the shuttle bus. She was professional, informed and kind. 5 star customer service. Thank you

Siete una società di ladri autorizzati. Prima fate pagare CN bancomat e poi nn ti ridanno la makina trovando delle scuse dove il contratto ne meno sta scritto x le scuse k dite hai clienti sconsigliato xke siete dei ladri sconsigliooooooooooooo anzi fatteli morire di fame quelli meritano visto k rubano a persone k hanno bisogno di un auto il mio num di contratto è 4066-9854-IT-1 così guardate se è vero quello k dico
Ps ragazzi lasciate questa compagnia k sono ladri autorizzati vi rubano soldi

So I tried to prevent this as long as I could, but this company is absolutely terrible. Do not use. I was promised a refund over a month ago because of a terrible experience I had with one of the representatives at the Beavercreek location and now it’s going on two months and I have not received a refund and actually have to take legal action now as getting a lawyer and suing this company just to be able to get my money

AVOID PERTH CITY AVIS/BUDGET
The manager was unfriendly and unhelpful. Her demeanor was blank and she repeated the same sentence over & over again ("I need your physical credit card") & wouldn't engage in any sort of dialogue,
She refused to entertain any suggested solutions and offered none of her own then cancelled my booking while I stood in front of her dumbfounded.

She then added my name to their BlackList to prevent me ever hiring from Avis/Budget again.

Ive never come across behaviour like it before and will never do business with them again (even if I wasnt blacklisted).

Waiting over a month for my deposit back is unacceptable

Shame you can not give minus 5 stars. Disgraceful service, horrible customer service from south but also NORTH AMERICA. Do not ever use.
Our car broke! It wasn't serviced and batter was gone! Service took 2 days to exchange and we had to drive 200km with broken car, that we were told not to stop in any case by their mechanic! Then we had to pay for fuel and now instead of apology or refund they demand more money! Absolute joke of rental

Auto gehuurd in Kaapstad via Avis-Budget. Na thuiskomst bleek dat er € 116,- aan onbekende kosten is ingehouden van de betaalde borg (credit card).Na telefonisch contact doorverwezen naar kantoor in Kaapstad. Na diverse pogingen per mail tot op heden geen enkele reactie ontvangen wat de ingehouden kosten zijn. Zeer slechte service.

They just did not accept to give the car pre texting I had no justification of domicile. When I came back with justificatives they say there was no car available.

Ottimo personale molto gentile e simpatico, le auto sono nuove e molto confortevoli.

Would be even less than 1 star if I could. Reserved through a booking agency. Didnt get the car I requested, and ended up paying over double what I reserved, due to 'insurance coverage' I never requested. Reservation at the airport took over 1 hour to fulfill, as the clerks were goofing around, dancing and spraying perfume at each other. Couldnt verify any damage before or afterwards with anyone, so based on 'trust' which luckily wasnt an issue. Tried to speak to customer service about the excess 'insurance' charges and was left in the dark for over 5 months, before an email showed up advising there was no resolution and we were on the hook for the extra charges. Even spoke to a manager who said the same. Joke of a company and worst customer service I have ever experienced. Will recommend anyone and everyone to steer clear of Avis/Budget

Charged me £350 after I returned my vehicle - these were apparently 'agreed upgrades' which were not disclosed to me when I collected the car. Dishonest business practices, avoid.