Avis Budget Group Reviews 212

NWI airport uk. Incorrectly Refused rental
By 2 staff at Nwi who just bssd their answers Really poor but it’s the utter arrogance that gets me .Funny how customers have to treat them with respect but they feel that gives them cart Blanche to treat customers like something under their shoe or they can rinse for insurance.
3 weeks later still no resolution or response.

Avoid

We hired a car from Oslo airport through Avis. We had paid for insurance and rental through booking.com and then additional insurance when at the airport. We returned the car with zero problems early in the morning before the office was opened. They sent us photos of a smashed and bet wing mirror (it wasn’t) and demanded money for something damaged underneath the car. They hounded us for £350 which has now turned to £450 and all in all it’s been a terrible experience. We’re shocked by the thieves of this company especially from Norway. Please NEVER hire a vehicle from Avis at any airport. As is evident from the reviews here, they are complete thieves and I for one will never use them again!!!!

Dreadful bullying behaviour by agent at Vienna airport. He was smiling while he attempted to charge me extras without explanation. When I queried them he cancelled the booking which I had already paid for. He clearly enjoyed causing us distress. We had a young child with us and a three hour drive to make. He delayed us by a hour and we were forced to rebook with another company, costing us 1000eur. There is a clear pattern of this behavior based on other feedback online. I can only surmise that his behaviour was illegal discrimination because he treated others in the line very differently. Avoid at all costs.

Prepaid car rental via EasyJet was refused at the desk due to a credit card technicality, despite having valid payment options available. No help, no solution, only pressure to take a new car at more than double the price.
Staff was unhelpful, stressed, and contradictory. EasyJet sent us back to the desk, the desk sent us back to EasyJet. In the end we were forced into paying €644.07 extra just to continue our trip.
Afterwards, both Budget/Avis simply hid behind terms & conditions and refused responsibility.
Terrible customer service, zero flexibility, very misleading process.
I strongly advise against renting from Budget/Avis at Geneva Airport.

I have sent about 6 emails to Budget/Avis and all that I have received as a reply is a ref number of 884444D66, that was at the end of October, I have tried to contact them since but without success.
My queries were that was 2 extra charges also that the car was in a poor conditions, large dents and scratched. I didn't have time to reject it as I was on my way to a meeting. The hire was from Faro (Portugal) airport.

When I picked up the vehicle they blocked out a 500 euro deposit. I returned the vehicle and they inspected it and said they had unblocked the deposit which would show in a few hours back available in my account. It didn’t. 5 days later I phoned customer service who said it would be in that afternoon as it sometimes takes a few days. Guess what? Nothing. So, I phoned my bank and they said they had not received notice from them whatsoever which meant I had to wait the full 10 days before my money was returned. Avis Budget reassured me not once but twice that they had issued the refund. It was clear they hadn’t. The bank verified this.

I had been experiencing issues with booking a car online and so I called the Central Reservations Team at Avis Budget and spoke to their representative Nicholas.

Nicholas took the time to listen to my issue and in my opinion, he went above and beyond to look to resole the matter for me. He was very patient and I in no way felt that I was being rushed. These days, many people are quick to complain but less likely to let others know when they have received excellent service which is what I received on this occasion.

Nicholas is a credit to the Central Reservations team at Avis Budget and I hope this review is recogonised by his peers.

Well done Nicholas

Apalling service. Car broke down and was towed away. We paid extra for the insurance for cover for new car in this situation but no one picked up the phone ALL DAY. Wasted a day of our holiday and had to ask a relative to go to the original hire place (we were stranded 150 miles way) to speak to the manager. Then they charged us for the day we had no car. ECRCS were hopeless and sided with them because they offered us an ugrade next time. Like I would EVER use them again. NEVER NEVER NEVER use Budget Ireland,

I booked a seven-day car rental through a website called Holiday Autos, which included full insurance coverage. I collected the car from Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia on August 21, 2025. The vehicle was provided by a company named Avis Payless Cars. I arrived at the airport around 8 o'clock in the evening, and the representative asked me for a €400 deposit and an additional €95 for crossing into another country. I paid a total of €495 with my credit card.

Upon my return on August 28, 2025, the car company conducted a full inspection of the vehicle. The handwritten notes on my invoice indicated that everything was in order, but I was refunded only €256.18. I sent multiple emails to Holiday Autos and Avis regarding this issue. Eventually, I received a response stating that €238.88 was charged for insurance by Avis .I was not informed about this insurance charge, nor did I request it, as I had already purchased insurance from Holiday Autos.

I realized I was not informed about these charges, and the representative who handed me the car was rushed, indicating that it was a busy day. He asked me to sign a document for the collection of the vehicle. Now they claim that I signed a contract for the insurance. I feel this is a scam; I was not properly explained the charges and was rushed into signing the paperwork, which led to my financial loss.

I encourage everyone to avoid this company. If you decide to rent a car, be sure to read all the documents carefully, as they may try to mislead you and take your money.
This is cheating company
Shaju Maliakal

My credit card has been double charged for NOK 546.5 for tolls after car was returned for service from 7 Sep to 18 Sep from Norway Oslo Airport
Despite chaser emails sent on no.budgetcustomercare....
there is no reply
They have given a phone number
+4766771010 but holding for hours there is no answer on options for complete leases
If not responded and refunded i will file case of defraud with Financial Services Authority of Norway
Finanstilsynet

My complain case ID on email is T8806B96E
Other references as follows
Leiekontraktsnummer :E375822705 Fakturanummer : 79019232 Dato : 26/09/2025
Reservasjonsnummer : 31091916AU2

Negative stars if I could. I rented a car from JFK in June; the car had a massive dent when I received it. I told the workers and they all said, don't worry, they would have marked that dent but take pictures in case. I did. 2 months later I get a bill, no questions asked, for $1300. I sent them my pictures and videos (annoying because this is now taking up a lot of my time). Person I spoke with on the phone said they sent me an email for the dispute. Never got it (later find out they wrote down a totally bogus email). I sent a SECOND email after getting a SECOND bill for the damage. I forward my first one. The lady, Tammy was incredible rude, likely never took a customer experience call in her life. This company, along with their workers are part of a huge "legal" scam that exhausts the customer, bullying them into paying or damage that they themselves didn't properly document. What a terrible excuse for a company in this "free market" enterprise. I hope you go out of business and shrivel under the wrath of excellent customer service rivals. Leave your jobs, Tammy and Jeff, you could do better elsewhere for the world.

My name is Elisabet Solórzano. On August 1st, I rented a car from Avis/Budget Car Rental at Gatwick Airport South, only for two days, and I still haven’t received the refund of the deposit I was charged. We returned the car in perfect condition and with a full tank on August 3rd. The staff member did not process the deposit refund automatically and told me it would be done within 7 days — without having informed me of this when I collected the vehicle.
I wrote to Avis in London and Spain, but no one has resolved the issue. Now, after 30 days since returning the car, I am still waiting for the deposit to be returned. I have never had problems with any rental company before, but with Avis Budget, two days of rental have cost me many hours of complaints, and no one from AVIS/BUDGET has solved anything. This is unacceptable and deserves to be reported.
I demand that you take full responsibility for your mistake and resolve it immediately. Otherwise, we will no longer trust your company and will proceed to file a formal complaint./Soy Elisabet Solórzano. El día 1 de agosto alquilé un coche en Avis/Budget Car Rental del Aeropuerto de Gatwick (Terminal Sur), solo por dos días, y todavía no me han devuelto la fianza que me cobraron. Devolvimos el coche en perfecto estado y con el depósito lleno el día 3. El encargado no me hizo la devolución automática de la fianza; me dijo que a partir de 7 días me la harían, sin haberme informado de ello en el momento de recoger el vehículo.
Escribí a Avis Londres y a Avis España, y nadie me ha solucionado nada. Ahora, después de 30 días de haber devuelto el coche, sigo esperando que me devuelvan la fianza. Nunca había tenido problemas con ninguna compañía, y con Avis Budget, 2 días de alquiler me han costado muchas horas de reclamaciones y ninguna persona de AVIS/BUDGET me lo ha solucionado. Esto es motivo de denuncia.
Exijo que se hagan responsables de su error de forma inmediata. Si no, no volveremos a confiar en ellos y procederemos a interponer una denuncia

DISGUSTED - DO NOT HIRE FROM AVIS MUNICH
We hired a car from Avis Munich and everything was paid for in advance. I'm an Avis preferred member and picked-up the keys at the desk in the airport. When we got to the car in a very badly lit multi-storey car park we found many marks on the bodywork and a chip in the windscreen so we found an Avis representative and pointed these things out to him. Many of them he simply said "This is not damage". He then proceeded to rub them off the car (with difficulty) and I'm thinking this car hasn't been properly cleaned. He did accept an obvious scrape on nearside rear wheel arch was damage and he accepted the chip in the windscreen was damage. I asked whether the chip in the windscreen had been repaired but he just ignored the question. As he accepted that the scraped wheel arch and the chipped windscreen were damaged we took the car and enjoyed our holiday. On returning the car at Munich Airport the (different) representative checked our car and she said the windscreen had a chip and that the offside rear tyre had a nick in it. I checked the tyre and sure enough there was a nick about 1cm long in the tyre. There was no way I would have detected this nick in the dark when I picked-up the car even though we thoroughly checked it with our phone torches. This representative seemed to know exactly where to look for the damage and we pointed-out that the chipped windscreen was chipped when we picked it up. It was then, to my horror, that I realised that although the representative accepted that the windscreen was chipped when we picked the car up I had no documentary evidence that that was the case. I then went to the Avis desk in the airport to complain to them but they were just interested in getting rid of us so they could attend to other customers. They told us that the camera on the exit to the car park would probably prove that the windscreen was already chipped when we exited the car park. They checked their records and confirmed that that car already had a chip in the windscreen recorded but that it was in a different position. I said that there was still just one chip in the windscreen so had the other one magically healed itself or moved to a different place on the windscreen? In the hope that their cameras proved us right we left for our flight. On getting home I checked my credit card statement only to find that I had been charged £1,076.97 and £31.77 for a non-sterling transaction.
Then I got an email from Avis showing that I was being charged a total of €1,332.79. This was made up of Windscreen €923.80, Tyre €298.18, Handling Fee €38.00 and €72.80 for the car being out of service. To say I'm disgusted is an understatement, firstly why did the give me a car that wasn't properly cleaned and was dangerously damaged? And why did they not record the damage give us documentary proof after agreeing it was already damaged. I know that the windscreen was damaged and I suspect the tyre was also already damaged when they gave me the car. This car was dangerous to drive for me, my passengers and other road users. Once they get your credit card they charge you anything they want to. I wonder how many others have been charged for this same chipped windscreen and tyre with a nick in it.

I have disputed the full amount of the charges posted to my credit card and have included those details below. I have also placed a block on any further charges AVIS may attempt to post.
If this matter is not resolved within 14 calendar days, I intend to:
File a formal complaint with the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Norway
Pursue recovery and damages through the Small Claims Procedure
File for additional damages, court costs, attorney fees, etc..

Please consider this notice a formal legal dispute and request for intervention by Avis Budget Group’s legal department. A prompt resolution would be in the best interests of all parties.

Very bad experience in my rental cal in Salerno Italy and return in Bari .When picking up my car the counter was very understaffed and the agents trying to use it to add charges . THEY added a GPS unit to my rental which I was not aware of until I retuned the car and saw addition charges . I ask the agent she I returned my car why the rental was an additional $150 for a six day rental . He indicated that I had a $150 deposit that would be credited in 7 days . Not true . I booked thru Expedia no help . Beware . I used Hertz in Sicily and they upgraded because my car had been damaged prior to my rental . The booking price and final prices was within Penny . Be selective many of these rental companies have unscrupulous business practices …

They charge you for damages that were already on the car when it was handed over.

Before I take over a rental car, I always film and take photos of any existing damage, just like most people do. Even though I’ve had documentation proving that the damages were not caused by me, but were already on the car when I received it, it has now happened three times since December 2023 that AVIS Oslo Aker Brygge has withheld money from my bank card under the pretense that I caused the damage. I’ve had to send in videos and pictures, wait a very long time to hear back from customer service, and eventually had to show up at their Aker Brygge office in person to get my money back.

The first time this happened, I thought it must’ve been a mistake on their part — that they hadn’t properly checked the car before renting it out. They apologized. The second time, I thought I was just unlucky to be hit by the same kind of error again. I complained, and in the end, had to show up at their office with video and photos (they claimed the documentation was unclear when I sent it by email), and eventually got my money back. I gave them the benefit of the doubt — I accepted that it was a mistake and not a deliberate way to scam their customers — but I became even more meticulous about filming and photographing when picking up a rental car.

And then it happened a third time! With an identical process.

It takes so much time and energy (and a lot of frustration!) to have to prove your innocence and end up physically visiting their office each time just to get your money back. I have no doubt anymore that this is a deliberate business strategy on their part. They don’t repair the damages, but charge multiple customers for the same ones. They’re hoping people won’t bother taking photos and videos of the rental cars.

Avoid AVIS Oslo Aker Brygge!

Myself and my family were going to Mallorca the first week in June, we normally book a car for a couple of days. The week before our holiday Air Lingus recommendations for car hire for 2 weeks the price was very good and it was with Avis budget Palma, my husband booked a petrol car for the 2 weeks and we could pick it up in Palma airport. When my husband went to collect the car they said he had booked an Electric car, my husband said why would I book an Electric car when I had never driven one and the car he booked was petrol, my husband said he didn't want the car and wanted what he ordered. The girl said would you like the change the car to petrol he said yes the girl then went onto say we would have to pay an extra 25eur a day to change the car, my husband said but I ordered a petrol car in the first place and you want extra money for your mistake. My husband said no he wouldn't be paying any extra they also wanted €22eur a day for car insurance my husband said no and the girl said if there was any damage to the car we would have to pay €2000.00 and that the car had to be 70% when we dropped the car back or we would have to pay €200. We took the car for the 2 weeks but having the car completely ruined our holiday the stress of trying to charge it was absolutely awful I cried most of the holiday, we even spent 2 whole days driving around looking for chargers. We went to petrol stations only to be told we had to have a Spanish driving licence, we went to a supermarket and we were told to download apps after apps, some of the apps wanted my husbands bank details, passport and driving licence details. We went to Palma and taught we could charge it in the car park only to find out we needed a certain card but you could only get it if you were a resident of Mallorca. Mallorca Doesn't have the infrastructure to cater for electric cars. We went to Cala dor they only had 2 charges and they weren't working, we were staying in PortoColom and they had 4 but only 2 were working but they were always in use. One day we got to charge out car for 4 hours within the 4 hours it went from 69%- 74%, at one stage we were at 20%and we didn't even know if the car would get us back to the airport, eventually we got to charge the car and had to leave it charge for 2 days. The stress over the car was awful and all I could do was cry. I'm not sure what Avis budget are trying to pull with tourists but the people in front and behind my husband when collecting the car had ordered petrol and were given Electric cars. I feel that nobody is hiring Electric cars so they are just telling people that's what they hired when they collect the cars, my advice is when hiring from this company screen shot everything take pictures of the car when you collect it and when dropping it back also take pictures of the Percentage in the car when dropping it back. Since I've gotten home I've been trying to contact this company to complain but I can't find any details to contact them. We have been going to Mallorca for years and never has our holiday been ruined over a car. When we collected the car we couldn't believe how many Electric cars were in the car park for hire, even the residents were we were staying said no one wants the Electric cars.

I rented a car from Avis Geneva airport, drove the car for a week, returned the car. When my credit card bill arrived, Avis had charged me an additional $1,000 UDS. After two weeks of calls and getting different stories from different customer service agents I am beyond frustrated. The last agent told me the additional charge was because the car had been in an accident. I have asked for proof of the accident, disputed the charged with my credit card company. Today I received a possible fraud alert for another charge from Avis. So I have file another dispute with this latest charge and cancelled my credit card Avis has on file. I was never able to get a human being on the phone to help me sort out this issue and was instead told to submit an email to their customer service department. Around and around we go. DO NOT EVER RENT FROM AVIS IN EURPOE. They are absolutely horrible and I feel there is a definite SCAM in their business. Because of this experience I will never use Avis in the US again (where I live). This saga is not over but I needed to let others know what my experience has been so far.

Title: Poor Communication & Unfair Fuel Charge at Avis Budget Edinburgh

Review:
I rented a car from Avis Budget in Edinburgh and found the fuel tank almost empty at pickup. I told a staff member (Rob), who said I didn’t need to refuel before returning the car, so I returned it empty as well.

Later, I was charged £55.12 for fuel without any prior notice or explanation. No prepaid fuel option was offered or documented. Customer service refused a refund, asking for photos I didn’t take because I trusted their staff.

The car was fine, but the poor communication and lack of transparency made this frustrating. Be sure to take photos and get everything in writing if you rent from here.

I hired a car from Nice airport France. Picked it up at 11pm and was advised that they "knew about damage" on the vehicle. I returned it two days later with a full tank of petrol and in the same condition. However when I entered the airport, I was charged £1000 for "damage to the vehicle" which I did not do! CS are useless and as I didn't take out their insurance protection, Amex are not on my side either. Hugely disappointed.