Avis Reviews 700

Waited 35 minutes for a bus to take us to the office then another hour to get processed, 3 out of 8 desks open. Very pleasant lady served us, but when we left queue was even longer. Will never use again.

We booked Avis pick up Tenerife Airport South via a BA flight booking. It's a long walk to the coach stop! The rental centre is 10 min drive away. The rental papers sent by BA included CDW, but the hire car office told us that, as Avis rented the cars from a third party company, the rental did not include even CDW or any other insurance. To exclude any issues (Tenerife is notorious for theft of car contents) we would have to pay for all insurance or be liable for €2000 per issue ie per scratch etc, up to a maximum of the total value of the car. We have never experienced this before, let alone from such a prestigious car rental company. Avis really needs to get a grip on this. We walked away, hired elsewhere, and intend to recoup our deposit payment from BA.

I made the mistake of renting here a second time (Reservation No. 3083-3265-IT-1 PP).
I’m an Avis Presidents’ Club member and rent constantly all over the world, always with excellent service — but this branch is a different story.

Everything that could go wrong, did. My flight arrived late in the evening, and I called several times — hours in advance — to arrange key collection from the after-hours drop box, as is standard and perfectly normal at airport locations like this. Nobody ever answered my calls or emails.

When I came back the next morning, they told me they “don’t have phones to receive calls.” Seriously? The rental had been canceled but still charged, and it took a long discussion before they finally handed me the car — an EV with a battery far from full.

The invoice again shows a lower amount than what I actually paid, creating serious accounting issues. They claimed invoices aren’t issued for prepaid rentals — something I’ve never heard of anywhere else with Avis.

Even the staff at the counter were unhelpful and unprofessional. My honest advice: go to the Sixt desk next door. It might cost a little more, but it will save you endless frustration.

Do not use them. I was bullied, lied to and frightened into buying their extra insurance even though I had my own policy was told it was not valid . Cost Ann extra £139 for a week . The Ts and Cs are impossible to understand . All very upsetting

Awful service. I rented a car in Recife (Brasil) through Avis and they duplicated my credit card in the office. The post sales customer service was absolutely useless, just saying I had cancelled my reservation. Terrible support.

Worst office ever most unfriendly staff totally incompetent
Housewives without any qualifications

The car I received fro Girona was leaking oil, and on arrival at my destination I checked the oil levels and realised it was empty. Tried putting oil in, but it just poured straight out. Phoning the helplines was painful, a very rude lady on the uk helpdesk told me to call the roadside assistance. When the roadside assistance arrived, I was told I would have to claim on my insurance. So I ended up driving the car 30 minutes back to Girona.

The team at Girona did offer a replacement straight away (although the car was smaller). But they then had the cheek to try and charge me for the fuel I had used!

I had recently booked a car with Avis in Fuerteventura and have only positive things to say about my experience.
The car was quite decent and new (Skoda Kamiq). The check in took about 5 minutes - I have had some quick ones in the past but I think this was the quickest. The check out went smoothly without any negative "surprises".
I have hired cars dozens of times and, to be honest, I always worry a bit if everything will be ok as some companies are absolute pirates and will do everything to steal some money from you. So far I have been lucky (even with the pirates) apart from my 2 experiences with Europcar.
When things go well, I think this has to be recognised. In my case Avis did really well.

Had to wait about 90 mins to get my car after a long flight from Australia. It should have been ready for me as I’m an Avis Preferred member.
Was happy with the car but returned it an hour or so early (as had been agreed) and expected a small refund as had also been agreed.
I was catching a train into London so left the Avis desk promptly, having just done 138 miles over 3 days, no damage to the car and I’d filled the tank up with petrol. Unfortunately I didn’t check my emails until I left. To my horror I’d been charged over £970 instead of the agreed under £374 (as I’d bought the car back early). I quickly contacted their helpline and waited 30 mins for them to take my call and the guy couldn’t tell me why I’d been charged so much because the invoice hadn’t been processed. A waste of time.
When the invoice was received it confirmed the massive over charge. I wrote to Avis but they have only logged the enquiry and haven’t dealt with my complaint. They’ve overcharged me by over £600!
This was the first of several car hires with Avis whilst I’m travelling in Europe & the UK. I picked up a car from Gatwick airport about a week later and the staff member there said that Avis Heathrow must have keyed in the wrong code. The cost should have been reduced as I returned the car early. She said that this happens all the time at Avis Heathrow, ie. Big overcharges. It sounds like there’s a racket going on. I’ve re-written to Avis as it’s been nearly 4 wks. I think they should refund me the whole amount as it’s caused a lot of time and stress.
If you hire from Avis then I suggest you check the final charge before you leave their office!

I rented a car from Avis in Palma, Mallorca. I paid the full rental amount in cash when I arrived — everything was clear and paid. They also blocked €519 as a security deposit, which I approved and which was released after I returned the car.

The problem? Four days after I returned the car, they charged my credit card €455 for no reason.

I returned the car on time, on July 6th, and I even asked their staff at the return area to inspect the car. The supervisor told me, “no need, just drop the keys.” I have my boarding pass that proves I left Mallorca the same day — so there is no way I used the car an extra day.

And about the fuel? The tank was almost full — just one bar missing, probably 2 or 3 liters. They could have charged €20–50 maximum, but they charged €455. No explanation. No proof. No warning. Nothing.

When I contacted customer service, they kept sending automatic responses talking about the €519 deposit — which has nothing to do with this separate charge.

I’m now taking legal action and filing a complaint with consumer protection authorities. I will also share this experience across social media so others don’t fall into the same trap.

This was blatant abuse and theft. Shame on Avis. I will never use their services again, anywhere.

Preferred Avid customer renting for over 2 years monthly since accruing 6 points on my licence March and May 2023. 29th June refused car on basis of this. Oppositional and unprofessional staff who refused to give surnames and wrote christian names on scruffy bits of paper. Would not look at stated policies on line (6 points is ok) or explain why there had been no problem in preceding 2 years. Simply said they didn't have to give me a car and had no idea as to what I should do next in 33 degrees with heavy luggage. I had another booking coming up 19th July so my Office Manager, and then I, explained what had happened in complaints asking for clarification re forthcoming booking. Neither of us have had a reply despite hastening 3 times and "Customer Services" also saying they would do so. Asked Customer Services (once I finally got through) if they could confirm I would not be refused again travelling with 5 year old granddaughter tomorrow and they said they could not and best to cancel!!! Could not/would not help although agreed I would usually be permitted to rent a car with 6 points. Said could not contact branch in question to clarify, that they could refuse if they liked, that renting was down to each Manager's individual discretion and that they didn't have to give a reason. I have sent several messages through the App for preferred customers trying to clarify re my booking for tomorrow - no reply. Now I have cancelled it and booked with Europcar. £1300 booking lost and will not book with Avis again (last 2 years around 20 bookings without incident). Have raised a complaint with BVRLA.

Avis Alicante Airport, 10/10 service.
Arrived to collect a car which had been booked through Klook. Klook had completely messed up, couldn't be contacted and very much left us in the lurch. The Avis employee could not have been more helpful. She went above and beyond to help us and get us on our way. Many thanks for helping us in a stressful situation.

Had to add additional insurance which was not communicated before. Did the pre check and still all my details and documents were required.
Was not able to pay via credit card. Cancelled my booking and went to a different company where I got a car within 10 minutes and using he same credit card.

Although we returned the car with a full tank, they charged us nearly €100 for fuel. On top of that, they directly withdrew €360 from my credit card for a scratch on the front bumper, which was already covered in scratches as clearly stated in the check-in report. We’ve emailed several times, and still no reply. Totally unacceptable.

I tried to contact Avis Spain to get an explanation on a bill that wasn't adding up correctly. The agent gave a vague response mentioning that a percentage had to be applied to every element of the bill. When I explained to her that the percentage she mentioned didn't add up to the total, that they were sill charging me more that agreed. She claimed that she couldn't perform basic math while on the call. Didn't give any option to solve the incident, refused to give me a incident number regarding the call, and hanged the call

Avoid avoid avoid
Their service was extremely poor. They tried every possible excuse to charge us more money, even though we had already purchased full All-Risk insurance in advance. At the counter, they insisted that our All-Risk wasn’t “valid enough” and pressured us into paying again for a new version of “complete” coverage, using scare tactics about risks, liabilities, and coverage not applying through third-party platforms.

Even with the upgraded insurance, they charged us €350 as a deposit — and didn’t fully return it. They used various excuses to deduct money, without providing any real justification.

The car we received was far from clean, with visible scratches and dents all around it. Most of these damages were not listed in the rental contract. Only after we insisted, showed video evidence, and demanded that they include the damage in the paperwork did they reluctantly update the contract. But even then, they later withheld part of the deposit, citing unrelated reasons.

At return time, they refused to offer a replacement vehicle or a ride back, and told us we needed to take a taxi to the airport — which added extra cost and stress to our trip.

I’ve traveled across Europe extensively — Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain — and this was by far the worst rental experience I’ve ever had. I strongly advise anyone, especially travelers from Northern Europe, not to rent through DoYouSpain, and absolutely avoid Avis at all costs. They will find ways to charge you unfairly and make your trip more stressful.

To top it off, they even deducted €25 from my deposit for a car wash, claiming the car needed to be cleaned — something I’ve never been charged for before, in years of car rentals.

I will never use Avis again. Misleading charges, pressuring and scaremongering into paying extras. original booking amount was £103, ended up paying over £400 for hiring a car for 3 days! in comparison, another member of the party only paid £60 with another company! Absolutely awful and I'm surprised booking.com would endorse such a deceitful company. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I couldn’t give Avis a zero. Never use them - they should be prosecuted by consumer affairs. Use someone like sixt or even recordgo. The worst I have experienced in twenty years of car hire.

Absolutely shocking!! False advertisement about collection, made up stories about car being damaged, refusal to send information, overcharged credit card. AVOID AVOID AVOID.

We had a terrible experience with Budget/Avis at Ibiza Airport. Although we submitted our flight details in advance, their office was closed on arrival — without notice. We had to return the next day at our own expense. At the desk, the agent was rude and said they didn’t have to honor the booking because it was made through Booking.com. He even threatened not to give us a car. After delays and disrespectful treatment, we were given a smaller car than booked and charged for extras we couldn’t use. No apology, no accountability. This was by far the worst rental experience I’ve had — avoid this rental company, especially at this location.