Avis Car Rental Reviews 46

Worse experience ever! More than 1.4 hours waiting for an agent at the counter. DONT USE THESE GUYSIN CANADA! Go with dollar, hertz, anyone!!!!

WOW! just WOW! I travel a lot and rent cars all over the world but Avis in Canada are by far the WORST company I have ever dealt with. The car they provided me with was as described (similar to a Rav4, well it was white and I have seen white Rav4s) however it was a very poor similar model, Bluetooth didnt work, air con/heating malfunctioned continually; electronic trunk release stopped functioning after a couple of days; meaning I had to clamber in the back over suitcases to open it manually every time I needed to use it and it had a slow puncture that needed to be topped up every four or five days. I returned the car on the agreed day to Vancouver airport and explained what the issues were but sought no further recourse as it had done a basic version of its job. A few days after I arrived back in the UK, I received my credit card bill showing Avis had charged my card £500 GBP. I rather foolishly attempted to query this with Avis, I say foolishly as this then led to three weeks and an exchange of 32 emails to establish nothing as they failed time and time again to address my queries directly or send me a detailed breakdown of the extra charges. After eventually contacting Avis in the UK an excellent chap named Nicholas, thankfully, managed to clarify things. Turns out the extra charges were for a late return of the vehicle. I had failed to predict the rush hour traffic in Vancouver, three months prior to arriving when booking the vehicle and as a result had returned it 83 minutes late, even though it was still the same day. The "day late fee" plus all the mythical "taxes", "recovery fees", "parking fees" was the cause of the issue, I will have to pay it as I can now see Avis' justification for it, I think it's utterly shocking that these fees exist but am even more shocked by the utterly appalling customer relations exchanges where they completely failed repeatedly to explain anything clearly. Somebody needs to learn that by simply repeating something does not eventually make it right and does not make it go away. I you want a tip, AVOID this shower completely and if you've already been sucked in, amend your drop off time to be midnight on the day of return, woe betide you if your psychic powers fail to foresee traffic issues. I wish there was less than one star I could award this lot.

Hello:

My family and I just rented an Avis Nissan Murano to/from YEG, returned Sunday Jan 14 afternoon.

We returned the Avis vehicle yesterday, before the Agreement terminated. We had to because the Avis vehicle lacked a block heater, a standard equipment item for the northern prairies here in Canada where in January it routinely goes to -30s, as it did during our rental. Avis sent us out without even a snow brush/scrapper.

This isn't good customer service.

I had the misfortune to hire a car from AVIS at Regina Int. Airport Saskatchewan, Canada on the 3rd of September agreement number 968859776 the whole experience was awful so much so that I will never hire a car from AVIS again and furthermore I will advise everyone I know and online never to hire a Vehicle from AVIS going forward, please see list of complaints below.

1. Rude service agent: When approached at the Kiosk desk in Regina after landing the agent was rude and dismissive, I got documents thrown at me and told to sign, my credit card was demanded, he then disappeared for about 20mins with my card.

2. Overcharging 1; Due to an unforeseen change to our schedule we were forced to alter our schedule and leave Regina on Sunday 17th Sept. instead of the original date of Monday the 18th When I asked the agent could he amend the booking to reflect the new dates and reimburse the extra days charge, he refused he cited some vague reference to being unable to amend internet bookings as he's not allowed and its company policy to retain any / all monies taken and he isn't authorized to change bookings etc etc, the message was clear he was keeping the money, this maybe company policy I don't know but it is certainly strange for a customer to be treated in this manner.

3. Overcharging 2 Service agent overcharged my card; Despite all documentation stating that a security charge of 500 dollars would be added to my card at pickup (I was prepared for that to be a mistake as the booking was in euro's and the amount of 500 euro's would be taken), however the service agent loaded 600 euros onto my card which he would not explain (despite their own rental agreement documentation stating that no more than 500 Canadian Dollars would be taken) and told me "that's the agreement take it or leave it".

4. Service agent refused to walkaround the car; when handing over the keys the service agent stated that "there are no scratches or marks on the car" at which point I became suspicious I asked specifically for him to walkaround the car with me and bring the inspection sheet to which he point blank refused despite other service agents being present, when I finally got to the vehicle and walked around it there were numerous scratches and marks on it (I have the photographs to prove it) , I was then forced to head back to the terminal and bring these to the service agents attention, when I insisted he recorded them on the walkaround sheet he became belligerent and rude and for a time refused, he only relented when a second couple entered the kiosk and stated they had the same issue of scratches and marks on their vehicle after being told the car was issue free, I can only assume that this is an effort to defraud customers of their security deposit, which may or may not be a corporate policy or direction, either way it left a very poor impression of both the agents and AVIS's corporate ethical standards.

5. Dirty Car; as if the above issues weren't bad enough when I opened the door I was met with foulest odor, the inside of the car was filthy and smelled of vomit, the car had clearly not been cleaned prior to rental, I went back to the kiosk in the terminal but low and behold the service agent was nowhere to be found, it is absolutely disgraceful that the customer should have to purchase anti-bacterial wipes and an air freshener just to drive a hire vehicle out of the car-park I was then forced to get the vehicle valeted just to allow my family to sit in it.

The whole experience was disgraceful from pick up to finish I don't expect such behavior from a international company such as yours, it ruined an otherwise pleasant holiday.

I booked a rental car with Avis through a third party provider. Clearly Avis has a relationship with this provider or it would not be possible. During my desk handover, I was made to feel bad for not booking directly with the Avis agent, despite my price being -$CAD 400 lower through this third party. I felt like I was getting an inferior service by going down this route, when I was actually securing a better deal.

I had booked in a particular class of car that wasn’t available at the time of my handover. The desk agent told me the replacement cat was an upgrade. When I checked later via the manufacturer websites, I found that the car I booked retails for $CAD 10,000 more than the replacement car. It was a small SUV, but definitely not an upgrade.

I had paid extra for GPS, and was assured that the car had it as standard fit. The reason I booked GPS was because I didn’t want the extra roaming charges from using map apps on my phone. When I started the car, the in-built GPS started up but required a software upgrade. Although Vancouver Airport had wifi, the car would not connect because it stated the network was not secure enough. I went back into the desk and explained my situation. The desk agent came out to the vehicle with his phone, and I assumed he would try to perform the upgrade by tethering to the phone network. He did not do this and instead, gave me a portable Garmin GPS to use for my trip. This device had a tiny screen and was very slow. It resulted in numerous missed turned during my trip. He told me I could download the update later when tethering the car to my phone. The reading I had paid a premium for GPS was specifically to avoid roaming charges on my phone.

Later, when I was able to connect the car to a secure wifi network at one of the places I stayed at, and performed the required software update, the message on the screen said it required a subscription to operate the the maps app. The car did not have this subscription.

Every time I use Avis I have problems. This time the desk agent downgraded me without a partial refund (the second time Avis staff have done this to me), did not know the car provided well enough to establish whether it had the GPS system I had already paid for, and then took a cavalier approach to facts to assure me that it did when it didn’t.

It resulted in major inconveniences on what should have been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

I work in the automotive sector in the UK which touches on the daily rental sector, and I am in a position to influence other people’s choices.

So I now know never to recommend Avis to others, and in fact actively attempt to dissuade other potential customers from using the company.

We hired a car from Avis via VIPCars.com from 29/6 to 13/7/23 and everything was fine. We took the car back on time with full tank of fuel and no damage to the car and got told everything was fine.
Then on the 28/8/23 my credit card got charged £73.80 twice that day and again on the 9/9/23 for another £74.32 without any warning or reasoning for the extra charges.
When i reached out to VIPCars.com about this they asked for my final bill, which i replied i cannot send you something i have never received which they then asked again for my final bill which carried on for several emails until they finally forward me my final bill, for me to then resend it back to them to look at. Still haven't heard anything back as to why these charges have been made which is over 6 weeks later after the car was returned.

AVIS took EUR 1000 from my creditcard account without confirmation and explanation.
My Rental agreement number was mistaken. I got the wrong confirmation after getting the car. When I delivered it in Calgary, yes, very very busy, I did not get an email with confirmation, but AVIS took EUR 1000 in two steps from my account.

I rented 3 days ago a SUV in Avis montreal aiport.

the SUV has skidded due to aquaplaning twice, even though I was driving at a moderate speed.

So I inspected the tires: the rear left one is at the level of the wear indicator, and as for the rear right tire, there are no grooves left at all.

The vehicle is therefore not roadworthy.

I am outraged by this situation that put my daughter and myself in danger.

I have naturally contacted Avis, various departments that have given me the runaround, and I've spent over three hours trying to get a solution.

I'm trying tomoroww to get an exchange of the car at quebec avis airport, but cant succeed to obtain a confirmation they have a car for me.

And Even worse, the person I spoke to on the phone at the Montreal agency said textually :
"In any case, it's your fault: like all French people, you must have driven with the handbrake on !!!!

I gather that Avis agency considers the French to be viewed as incapable fools, unable to notice the red handbrake indicator on the dashboard and think to themselves, "Oh yes, I need to release the handbrake."

I hope to receive a replacement car or a tire replacement tomorrow, as well as financial compensation, which I consider to be the minimum considering that they rented me a car that doesn't meet the minimum requirements of legality and safety maintenance, putting both my daughter and myself in danger.

to end, allow me a piece of advice :

make sure to check not only the overall condition of the vehicle but also the state of the tires and fluid levels (less critical, but our windshield washer fluid was also empty) before renting a vehicle from them.

or better idea use another rental location services

I wanted to share my recent experience with Avis Car Rental, as it has left me deeply dissatisfied and frustrated. In June, we made a fully paid booking with Avis for a car rental in July, utilizing the special rate offered for Bell Canada employees. However, our encounter with Avis at the office to collect the car was nothing short of distressing.
Upon arriving at the Avis office, we were met with unexpected resistance. The rental staff refused to honor the employee discount rate, claiming it had expired, despite our pre-paid booking. We calmly explained that as a pre-paid customer, we expected our reserved rate to be honored, but our pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. To our dismay, the rental advisor exhibited an impolite and uncooperative attitude, denying us the chance to speak with their supervisor or even consider the option of canceling our reservation.

Left without a viable solution, we reached out to Avis customer service in hopes of finding a resolution. Despite their assurance that there were no issues with our booking, we were unable to secure a refund or cancellation. It was a frustrating deadlock situation, with the weekend complicating matters further, as we couldn't seek assistance from Bell Canada promptly.

Feeling trapped and at a loss for options, we decided to visit the Avis office at the airport, where we repeated our case in the hopes of finding some help. After several attempts, we were fortunate to come across one kind-hearted airport rental advisor who took the initiative to reach out to Avis customer service on our behalf. Graciously, he explained the situation, and after much discussion, Avis finally agreed to refund our money.

While I understand that individual experiences may vary, I must emphasize the level of disrespect we encountered during this ordeal, particularly from Farraj Al Fadii, the rental advisor at Bell corner. The treatment we received was appalling, and it was disheartening to believe that such behavior exists within the hospitality sector in Canada.

Hard to add extra driver. Said we had to wait till Monday. Not helpful at all. When I returned to airport they charged me two hundred and fifty dollars because I didn’t return it to the original location. Ten minutes away

We rented at car from 26/06-12/07/2023 from your down-town office in Vancouver BC. When we arrived at Ucluelet on Vancouver Island I discovered that the rear tires had hardly any thread left. I checked the vehicle for damages when I picked it up but did not expect that it was necessary also to check the tires when renting from the worlds largest car rental company. I have rented many times through Avis but never experienced a car that was dangerous to drive with no thread left in certain places of the tire. So this time - not happy with the rental. I pointed it out clearly when the car was handed back at the office in Vancouver. I will rent from Avis again but suggest you look at the service check you give the cars before allowing them back on the road again.

Terrible returns at Calgary Airport. Pressured into leaving the car as quickly as possible. No signs or information or help given as to where to go for departures. I asked a member of staff who did not understand me so I gave up and just walked out of the nearest exit and found my own way there. Not the experience you want after a long drive to the airport.

Do not know why other had bad experience, but my was perfect. No additional charges, fast car pickup. Everything was perfect. And yes pleasent employees also :)

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

Two months on still not returned my deposit of £352. Absolutely do not book a vehicle using Avis UK - they are appalling. 11 emails to their so called customer service. Not answered my question. Not provided their complaints procedure on request. Have been given 4 different references numbers for my ‘case’. Will endeavour to advise anyone considering hiring a vehicle to avoid Avis

I have rented cars at their Danforth location a number of times and the service has been excellent. Syed is always helpful and goes out of his way to make sure you are happy. I don't go anywhere else when I need to rent a car.

Very irresponsible company and very poor customer service. I received confirmation email from them to pick the car up on Sunday, however when I arrived there the store was closed and when I called them they did nothing for me and they suggested me to pick the car from airport while airport was very far from me and when I tried to rent the car on next day they gave me higher price.They even didn't say that they will give me credit for the day I lost because of their poor service.

Absolutely Awful - Avoid!

I rented a car from Toronto airport for 10 days in August 2019, a car collided into the back of me on the last day, it was a "no fault" claim on my part, this has been confirmed. I tried to get advice from Avis via 3 close Avis locations as a tow truck arrived rapidly offering to tow me, advising Avis/budget use their services - I of course wanted to ensure I would be reimbursed before agreeing - Avis provided no help/advice on what I should do to handle the situation - I could not see anything obvious in the documentation! I hence used this guy and Avis refused to pay him and advised i should have purchased "Roadside assistance" which was never offered and I nor anyone I know have heard of this cover before! So I paid on my credit card to minimise risk/costs as the guy was going to take the car to their compound otherwise.
Since getting home Avis refuse to help me recover this cost of over $1000 tell me its my problem to recover directly, however it does not seem possible to do this as it needs to be the Avis insurance company claiming on my behalf (at no cost to Avis) I have been advised by the 3rd party insurance company that they will pay the bill if Avis claim it for me!
Shocking service, they are just not interested in providing customer service even at minimal effort on their part!

COMPANY THAT WILL STEAL FROM YOU :
On 03/21 I rented a truck from AVIS and paid 235.35 to use on 04/17 and return on 04/24. I fill the truck up at COSTCO and returned it back to Oakland airport CA full. When I park truck at AVIS return about 03:45 on 04/24 I took a picture of the gas tank showing it was full. AVIS to my surprise tried to charge me $57.56 saying they had to put gas in truck which was and out right lie. Great people of USA this is nothing more then CORPORATE STEALING from the great CITIZENS of the USA of which I am proud to from. I called my CITI COSTCO company and complain. They open up a case, I sent them the picture of the gas tank and told them the date I paid for gas which they can see on my billing statement and they reverse AVIS attempt to steal my money immediately. Now on the picture of the gas tank it showed the date and time picture was taken , about 2hr and 40 min before my flight so they knew gas tank was indeed full. To AVIS CORPORATE bosses who is passing along this obvious attempt to STEAL from me and the rest of the great AMERICANS to there personal who work for them. SHAME ON YOU

Beware of the weasel clause small print and online prepay.
Was in a hurry and booked online, did not notice any rules or anything. Rented for a week, but after 2 days my plans changed so wanted to take back. Called customer service and they looked up my reservation and said just take to the same place i picked up at. 5th ave. Calgary. And likely be charged $15 early drop off fee? I thought okay, so took off couple hours of work to beat rush hour downtown.
When I went there they told me rudely that I would have to keep it for 5 days more and no refunds? He didn't care what customer service told me and refused to even call them? He told me in the fine print weasel clauses it said no refunds on prepay? I never heard of this, if I had of know I would have rented otherwise. No where on the site does it warn you....except at weasel clauses at end of lengthy signup?
Buyer beware. Salt in the wound for customer service to tell me they would only charge $15 for early drop off, so I drove from Deep South to downtown 5th ave and lost a couple hours of work time as well. You would think they would encourage prepay, not discourage with penalty and no refunds? Crazy business practice and terrible not to warn you up front. Thanks Avis! Awesome customer service. Never again.

Hired a car for Canada, pick up at Toronto airport. Conned into buying $100+ of collision damage waiver, which had already been included in my package.
No response whatever to repeated emails asking for redress.