Avis Reviews 

Sicily what a beautifull part of the world. Amazing holiday, delicious meal, nice accomondation also quite polite people. Only one horrible experience - Avis Italy. As Avis preffered member choosen Avis because travelling all around the world always using Avis services as guarantee that some international standards must be adhered.
Avis Italy is only one place that this is not simply working. We rent a car in Palermo waiting hour to pick up vehicle. There was small damage to vehicle i immediately notify Avis guy but he told me that in Italy there is it so that small damages dont have to be included in rental contact. Suprisingly i havent experienced this "rule" anywhere in Europe but ok i was tired and had Sleeping child there.... After 14 days when i returned car in different location Trapani, guy picked up a car claimed rental contract is clear there should be no damages to vehicle. There was also still that small damage as i picked up as Palermo guy told me this is fine. I was angry and complained immediately but Avis guy seems really enjoying and laughing that they have another victim. What a business. 30 mins after i handed over a car my credit card was charged 2200 euros. I was furious what an amazing end of holiday.

When i returned i complained - no e-mail reply at all
- phone eng customer service waiting for 30 mins than finally some answer representative has not been able to tell me what was the reason for charge, how many euros was charged, what was damage. And finally i requested some ticket number of claim and her name - She refused to provide her name :) Only statement was that i will receive e-mail with final decission within 14days. Till now after 4 months no mails at all. absolutely unbelievable that this is possible to run such as companies within EU. Fortunately i made complaint to my bank explained everything regarding that card transactions and suprisingly after 4 months of investigation my bank returned my money back. To be honest i thought money are lost. So suggest all victims of this "rental company" complain and urge your bank. Mine was Reiffeisen probably know how this Italy scam working. God knows how many customers had this small damage charged. No rental just damage company :) Good luck to everyone with Avis Italy.

P.S : My advise :
- always make photos pick up , hand over car. (for banking purpose and complaint to bank). Complaining to Avis is useless they know why they are not replying. If there are also minor damage always note in car contract and let it signed with responsible person - signature plus his / her name.
- use debit card, no credit card dont leave there any huge balance because they are always charging after you hand over car.

After booking a car online with complete cover and full endurance, we got to avis in Rome Airport and were met with incredibly incompetent staff.
Being an international airport one would expect someone to talk passable English.
But then the problems started. First their entire system was down, no internet, no nothing.
We showed them the booking, they didnt have the car.
We were then told only option was for us to get a big 4x4 jeep 3x the price. Also suddenly insurance was not covered and was extra €200 a day - apparently not including all needed or 'protection'. It would have come to 5X our budget and we were not able to accept this. I felt very uncomfortable and knew something was up - they were trying to con us.
So I cancelled it, we weren't getting anything we asked or pre booked and it was a nightmare trying to talk to the personnel at Avis Rome Airport.
We then went round to Europcar who were AMAZING and set us up with full cover and perfect car at same price I was originally quoted by avis.
Never ever going to book through Avis in Europe again.

After studying Avis’s modus operande, it appears they have some sort of “scam quota” to meet!
I’m based in Australia and don’t seem to have much of a problem here. However, each time I rent from Europe I got scammed one way or other.
I’ve decided to make it my mission to expose Avis questionable practices. I’m not sure how to proceed but am exploring some sort of class action . The difficulty is gathering data of real names and contacts Although Online complaints On Avis such as this review platform are numerous.
My case involves Avis Croatia .
I bought independent insurance (insurance from insurance co independent from Avis insurance offerings which is available online at a fraction of the price ). Many of these insurance companies are familiar with Avis’ scams and know how to manage them. As such Avis will other means to scam their customers .
My case was fairly minor . A car was delivered to me with 3/4 tank of fuel and they will make yoU sign documentation confirming that the tank is full before delivering the car. Upon delivering the car and discovering the tank not full , I was told to dive the car for half an hour and the gauge will come back up ! If it doesn’t just return at the same level . Upon returning the vehicle Above the level I picked the car up at (above 3/4 tank ) I was charged some EUR 100 ( more than the cost of a full tank) despite calling through to Avis and speaking with several managers on the day of picking up the car confirming the 3/4 tank incident.
I was shocked to witness the extent Avis will go through to support the scam. To have this matter resolved, I’ve sent some 30 to 40 emails to various Avis divisions each attempting to brush off the matter. As I mentioned to them, it’s not the money issue as The cost of my time writing to Them is far more . It’s the principle and my crusade to ensure this practice is stamped out for good. I have requested for Avis to refund the scammed amount to a recognised charity of their choice and provide me with a receipt and a letter of apology and that’s still forthcoming .

Any ideas on how We can proceed with some form of class action anyone ?

Area: Teramo e provincia (Italy)
Ho prenotato sul sito maggiore.it una AUDI Q2, Diesel, cambio automatico, 5 porte, sulla prenotazione era indicato in caso di non disponibilita' come alternativa una AUDI A3 Sportback con stesse caratteristiche. Al ritiro dell'auto ho dovuto accettare di prendere una OPEL COMBO 1.2cc benzina, cambio manuale. A mio parere la prenotazione on-line e' ingannevole e forviante. Ho preso l'auto solo per la professionalita' dell'agente incaricato. Esperienza di guida orribile.
Region: Teramo and county (Italy)
I booked through the maggiore.it an Audi Q2, Diesel, automatic gearbox and the web site shown an Audi A3 Sportback with the same features as a substitute in case of unavailability of the Q2. When I went to collect the car I had to accept a VAUXHALL COMBO 1.2, petrol, manual gearbox. I think that is a very misleading advertisement. I was very disappointed and I took the car only for the agent's professionalism but my drive experience has been horrible.

AVOID! AVOID! Booked for 2 separate periods in France and Switzerland . Both booking were changed by them without my knowledge. The receipts given to me were far lesser than what they charged me. The balanced were refunded but several days later they charged my credit card again without authorisation.

I reported this to ombudsman.

That is not even legal!!

Exploitation over rental cars and traffic charges.
Obviously a very lucrative partnership between local police and rental companies.
Also, be aware of the 48,80euros ''administration'' fee (??) to cover their ''costs'' of dealing with the fines.

BEWARE!! Do not book with Avis I booked a rental with Avis I paid over 2000$ a week to rent a car with them. I rented a 2019 Maserati q4 the car had issues if I turn up the volume on the radio past 22 the whole infotainment system shuts off. I got 1 ticket on a speed trap. And I received a letter in the mail saying that there is a 75$ fee to pass on my information witch I understand. I than received another letter saying that the fine of my speeding ticket with the Italian government is 1400 euros witch comes out to 2100$ Canadian. Also!! Every single month since September I have been receiving 2 fines every month for 75$. So 150$ a month in fines every month since. Avis sent me letters saying that there is only going to be one a one time charge to to transfer the information to the Italian government. But when I call Avis they literally hang up the phone on me every time I explain the issue. I have called the malpensa airport Avis in Milan over 20 times and every single time they hang up right on me or they say that they don’t know what to do and than hang up. I have tried to call the head office a bunch of times and every time I call I am on hold for hours or it just gets disconnected somehow where I don’t end up talking to anyone. I have already over 2500$ in fines because of one speeding ticket that was on radar. I have proof of everything and even letters I received in the mail from Avis saying directly on them that I SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED MORE THAN ONCE FOR THEM TO TRANSFER MY INFORMATION OVER. But I am still receiving 2 charges a month for 74$. The customer service with Avis is disgusting I have been trying to get someone to contact me back since October and I still have not received 1 answer to any of these fines that makes absolutely no sense. Avis you should be ashamed to do business like this. ESPECIALLY!!! With someone like me who wastes thousands of dollars a week for your top rental cars.

Avis Malpensa sent me invoice after 4 months & deducted amount directly from my credit card without my consent for fine which is not mine.

there is no customer care contact no or email available to communicate.

Extremely unhappy with this

We were scammed by AVIS Florence Airport. The car we were presented with had dozens of noted damages. They rely on you being overwhelmed by the amount of damage and thinking "well, if there are that many they must have thoroughly checked it", and then they ping you for the one or two miniscule scratches that they had not marked previously. They then charge HUNDREDS of euros to repair the damage, even though the blatantly have not repaired a single scratch before. I am confident that we did not cause the damage as we did not once park on a kerb, and am also confident that their repair estimates are completely bogus. I will NEVER rent from AVIS or their subsidiaries again and recommend you do the same. Outrageous.

We really have been robbed by Avis in Sicily.
Our car and insurance were paid by travel agency.
But on location Visa was not accepted for deposit because it was "electronic use only". Therefore we had to pay additional costs for gas and additional insurance. Even if we had an all in insurance.
Avis? NEVER again.

Shocking service, understaffed with junior personnel at Bologna Airport. Customers quieing like sheep whilst AVIS personnel behind counter avoid eye contact at all cost whilst sitting - apparently 'busy' (but not with customers). Very quick to take your money - afterwards you will be stuck. JUST had another shocking experience with them in Nice earlier during the week. DON'T think that because you rent a luxury car (E-Class) from these monkeys you'll get better service. After I paid on-line this morning, I got offered an Opel instead, as 'car is not ready'. When asked whether I will have to AGAIN stand in long queue after an hour's wait to collect the car I paid for, the answer is simply 'yes'. These guys give Italians a bad name.

BEWARE OF BUDGET/AVIS:
I hired a focus from Budget/Avis from Rome Fiumicino Airport in June 2019. They first tried to sell me an upgrade; second they tried to sell me extra insurance to cover the Collision Damage Waiver Insurance excess; I presented them with my UK Policy to cover this. They said 'but this is not with this company'. I insisted it does not have to be, so they gave up. On collection, the car had 27 individual marks, scrapes and damages. Being wise to what would have happened if did not diligently record all these (they would have charged me for repair, and every unsuspecting hirer for the whole season as well), so I photographed and marked them on the form provided and got them signed for by their staff before leaving the rental base. They should have done this themselves.

On returning the car they presented me with a form to sign. On close inspection this stated 'Rental Estimate' which included the fixed price rental I had paid, and to which they had added 150 Euros Roadside Assistance. I confirmed I had not requested this and refused to sign the form and asked to see the manager. The woman then made a call and they backed down. About a month later I received a letter from Avis/Budget, posted in Bulgaria, saying they were deducting 48 Eros from my credit card account as an admin charge for passing on my details to Rome Police, implying there was some traffic offence. There was no information from Rome Police forwarded, no details of date, time or place, so I suspected this was simply a scam. I quick on-line search revealed this was a regular trick, and even if it is paid, nothing is ever heard from the police. Just so with me. I complete the Barclaycard dispute form, and finally this sum has been re-credited to my account. There was nothing in the Avis/Budget small print about such charges, and even if it is buried somewhere, this is simply a trick to rip off the customer. When I contacted Barclaycard I asked if they had many complaints about car hire companies. The guy said with despair 'two out of every three calls'.
So be warned: Budget /Avis are up to every fraudulent trick you can think of, but so are the rest. Next time I will contemplate driving to Italy from the UK as car hire is such a dire experience.

Will never rent with Avis italy or anywhere in the world. Sent me a ticket from a part of italy that we did not even drive to and it is impossible to to revers. They aslo tried to rip me off at all stages of the rental. How can avis let such a operation continue.

As a President's club/Amex member I was sent by them a 50% discount coupon, with very specific details on the cars excluded from the offer (only the PRESTIGE category). I tried to rent a car in another category (SELECT) but they refused to honour the discount. I even called customer service and they were fully aware of the scam, but still refused to honour the contractual agreement, knowing that in Italy suing them would not be effective.

All apparently good until hit by 200+ Euro hidden charges on a trip to Verona. 120 Euros airport surcharge for 'because we have to charge extra for an airport being an expensive place to operate'. We also fell for the 'we'll fill it up for you on return for cheaper than local prices' - forgot to mention they charge the same 77 euros whether it is empty or 3/4 full- as we were. Road tax charge of 20 euros. All charges hidden/obscured when booking. Avoid.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE AVIS IN ITALY.
If you do, be prepared for a two hour wait at the counter.
Being scammed into 'extras' that are not needed. We were forced to take 'scratch insurance' because the car we were supposed to receive was brand new. When we got to the holding yard, the car was covered in scratches and dents.
Conned into paying extra for a larger car with GPS built in. When we got to the car it had no GPS. When we complained we were given a portable GPS which didn't work.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. DO NOT USE AVIS ANYWHERE IN ITALY.

Please avoid it! My brother has just arrived in TREVISO and have paid before leaving Brazil the full amount to rent a car for five days. Arriving to the airport the confusion has started because his credit card did not have a name on it. Tried to offer different credit cards but NO WAY, it seems that the people that work there are not able to understand anything. To be very short, my brother lost the payment for 3 of the 5 days he had paid for, received back just 2 and has been told by their amazing customer service that he won't receive anything back. He had to rent a car from another company with the same absolutely card he used to book the car with the "amazing" AVIS. Please, anyone who has any plans to travel and to have peace of mind AVOID THEM.

Worst car rental ever. We waited for 2 h to get our pre-booked car, the staff was rude and we got a much worse model than we booked. The car broke down the first day and we were forced to spend time during our honey moon changing car. To top it off they charge 50 EUR for the “administration” of a traffic fine. I will never use Avis again.

We were seriously scammed by Avis at Rome Termini. After reading other reviews, it seems it's common practice at Avis Italy.

I believe the Avis Rome Termini staff are actually trained in how to scam you out of more money. And when you complain they start talking in Italian like they don't understand you (they do understand English).

Firstly, they didn't give us the car we had rented 5 months prior. They then charged us 4X what we had originally pre-paid in Australia before leaving.

We were meant to have an automatic and we ended up with a hopeless manual car.

The number of extra 'up-charges' that you have no say in is ridiculous.

We didn't need insurance as we have it through our travel insurance. Well, it wasn't even an option to not pay the additional insurance.

Then they did the Dynamic Currency Conversion scam where they charge you in your local currency instead of Euros so they can charge an extra 5%. What a rort!

Our pre-booking was meant to cost $750 AUD suddenly became $3,200. And we had no say in the matter because if we didn't get a car, our entire month's holiday would be ruined.

Avoid Avis Italy at all costs. I will never rent from Avis worldwide again!

Never again. Scammed by AVIS (Sicily - Catania) after arranging with AutoEurope

Added local taxes and airport charges despite being covered by voucher with AutoEurope.
Added damages of several hundred, despite photo evidence showing that damage could not been seen in photos.
Lied about the meaning of contracts and bills on check out and check in.