Avis Reviews 

I like the website but sometime it is difficult to use

Shocking is an understatement when it comes to Avis. It seems that the Heathrow branch are without a doubt the worst representatives of an already shocking organisation. It’s not just the attitude at the front desk, but the attitude on the phone is some of the most arrogant and disrespectful I have ever experienced. I would rather spend hours talking to HMRC than Avis. And that is saying a lot.
Currently I have unresolved complaints that have taken hours on hold, multiple emails with no light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a real shame because it is so easy for them to improve this but clearly management and owners have given up and accepted that any support and ‘customer service’ is the least of their worries. Cars get rented and renters suffer. Avoid and use SIXT who are often competitive and have been very helpful so far.

I feel like i was scammed. You would think that when you book a car rental on line the price you pay is the price you pay. Oh no that's not the case. When i picked the car up i asked for a pre loaded EZ pass then she said i had to pay a deposit. on top of what i already paid. Every time i passed through a Toll with EZ pass it said call customer service. My sim wouldn't let me call so i emailed. Have I had a reply ? Nope Have i had my deposit back ? Nope so all in a weeks car hire has cost Nearly $900. What a scam. This will be going on trip advisor in the UK to warn brits that you scam abroad. I will also be phoning the British head Office.
Also the car was filthy had a cracked bumper that on return i nearly had to pay for. I didn't see it on pick up as the car park was pitch black and id been up 20 hours. There was class under the passenger seat that my wife cut her hand on.
Ive rented cars many times and never had a problem. This was awful.

Our car rental with Avis from Athens airport was smooth and the Toyota Yaris was new. We did discover that the headlights even on high beam were inadequate for country driving, but otherwise the car handled well.
The return in downtown Athens however was a disaster. After much time in Athens traffic, we located the Avis return address in our contract. After 20 minutes in a queue, we were finally told that this was not the return address. We were not given the exact correct address, but a vague dot on a google map, and left to our own resources to find it. There was mention of an underground car park near the museum, and after much sleuth work, we somehow stumbled into a carpark, without one Avis sign as an indication that this might be the magic return office. We drove down to -1 level, and happened to see a few full parking bays with Avis signs. We removed the cones from one empty space, parked, and miraculously a charming Avis agent appeared from nowhere, inspected and accepted the car. There were other people also trying to return their rental at the first incorrect office- they too had to try to find the correct return location! A very stressful hour!

AVOID AT ALL COST !!! I've booked a vehicle with Avis to collect from Belgrade Airport, Serbia for 17 days in March/April 2026. On check in, I did not receive a usual document with the drawing of the car and existing damages, instead that was a very vague list of the existing damages unclear of which damage exactly is being referred to. On collection, car itself was very dirty and it was difficult to tell dirt marks from actual scratches. I've returned a car 17 days later only to be charged and extortionate amount for a single scratch (nearly 700 euros!!!). They've asked me to sign to acknowledge returning the car and the new found damages, but little did I know, that at the same time I was signing to agree to cover this whole amount in damages even I told the agent in charge of the check out that I don't agree with most of these charges. They've then told me to take any disputes with their head office which I did and HO have dismissed my dispute almost instantly.
The charges were:
- Damage recovery (400 euros), I've asked for two independent quotes from car mechanics in Serbia and they both came under 180 euros to remedy the damage so I was more then double-charged for the actual damage recovery.
- Vehicle idling charge - which was supposed to cover the time needed to repair the damage and during which the car cannot be re-used/rented out. This is a joke of its own as I've hired that very car with a massive scratch on the passenger door which will then point to the fact that as per Avis' principle it cannot be driven let alone rented out. I drove the car in myself and it was in driving condition and could (and probably was) rented out the very same day. This costed me around 90 euros ! First among the variety of hidden charges
- Airport surcharge (whatever that is) 90 euros
- Admin expenses (taking pictures of the scratch) 80 euros
- I've called asking to add border crossing to my contract few days after I've rented the car and asked customer service agent over the phone what the charge was (expecting it to be around 50 euros per country as with most other rent-a-car companies), they've never confirmed the price and have charged a random amount of another 80 euros (9000+RSD)
I've booked the car via broker and paid extra for full insurance cover because purchasing insurance directly with Avis pretty much doubles the price of the hire. Broker offered full protection for £5 per day. Of course they've refused to cover all of these additional 'admin' fees and have covered for the damage recovery only leaving me short for the amount of all hidden charges (350 euros). My advice to any potential users of their services is to either have good legal representation or previous experience in forensics, that's probably the best way to keep yourselves safe from the extortion you are bound to be subject to if renting with Avis.

No,issues when picking up the vehicle,the fuel tank was just above half and I was told to return the vehicle with the same amount of fuel.I returned the vehicle with the same amount of and was then charched ar refueling fee and the cost of the additional fuel.I will make sure I tell all my friends never to use Avis if this is the way they are going to treat their customers.I always use Avis for car rental, I will not be using them again and will delete the app

EUR600 charge and zero customer service.

They charged me 600EUR for a bodywork scratch I didn't sign to say I caused. Zero response from customer service after 4 emails. Will never book with them again.

I hired a car from Avis through a third-party company which ended up having some implications. However, even though I was frustrated with what had happened the Customer Service I received from Joe at the Norwich Airport depot was exceptional. It is very rare these days to receive exceptional customer services. He was polite even when I was showing frustration, he was calm, helpful I’m very friendly and I hope his employers appreciate what a good employee they have in Joe. Highly recommend.

complete rip off
car was faulty, after return they sent me an email saying it was damaged - tried to call hung on for 20 minutes - no response by email

Got car hire from Miami, just returned to a $128 bill for no reason. It said we agreed to the fee which came under ‘non package items’ which we didn’t because we weren’t asked or aware of any of this. Nobody will help us, will not be using again.

Broken key drop box left me stranded in the rain on a Sunday night with no way to contact anyone. Eventually had to keep the car and return the next day in my own time. No apology. I was then charged a late return fee (because of their issue with the return box) in addition to fake damage charges of several hundred pounds (fortunately I had photos). I sent 20 emails before getting a single reply and only had these issues resolved and refunded because I had the branch manager’s number. Their compensation offer was a €14 voucher on my next rental. Why would I rent again from you???

After all of this - two months later I receive a parking fine (which has doubled to £200 due to the time it took them to process). The fine was for parking the car where instructed on return. Again, acknowledged as their fault (presumably they hadn’t registered the car for parking permit, the third major incompetence here).

Every charge was eventually refunded, but only after weeks of chasing and hours of my life wasted. I was carrying nearly 10x my rental cost in fraudulent charges at one point. Never, ever again will I waste hours of my time on this company.​​​​​​​

I’ve got President’s Club membership but cannot book online as credit card details need to be updated to reflect my current card. However, it’s impossible to complete the task online - error message states “facade validation error” - whatever that means. Rang the customer services number and advised call wait would be 5 - 8 minutes……well 55 minutes later I’m still waiting to be connected and about to hang up and make my booking with Hertz. Avis = thanks for nothing..🤯

I've tried contacting them so many times, nobody ever picks up the phone, I'm left in the queue until their phone lines close.

I also submitted a ticket on their online portal, which has yet to receive a response.

Nice one Avis, I'll just completely avoid Avis/Budget for the rest of my life now.

Absolutely ridiculous. They struggled to take payment initially, which we thought was resolved (when they took payment in the correct amount as shown on our rental agreement!!) and two months later they charged a the card for an additional booking fee - which was booked through a third party initially AND they told us that the payment had all gone through when we picked up the car. Completely illegal, they did this without contacting us - just had random money leave my account. NEVER BOOK WITH AVIS THEY ARE A SCAM.

Trying to change a booking but is impossible as the app is uesless and I've now been waiting on hold for ....26 minutes.

Avis is my preferred rental company and I am part of their loyalty programme and paid for a years extra discount. Recently (April 2026) Avis were offering a 20% April Discount. Surprisingly, without logging in for loyalty benefits I was offered exactly the same car for £20 less than was quoted as a member. So much for loyalty and the extra £100 I spent!!

Left high and dry with no car. I booked via rental cars for a 5 day rental, I arrived at the desk presented my licence only to be told my residential address had failed a credit score. The booking had been paid in full and I had a card for a holding deposit so why a credit check mattered I have no idea. Agent was not bothered that I was now stuck at the aiport with no car and even though rental cars contacted them directly while I waited they would not release the pre booked car. Will never use again, unprofessional, unhelpful, uncaring

Rented from avis budget, on returning from drop off at my hotel, realised I had left my sunglasses on the car dash, the staff member from basel airport was super helpful, she checked the car for me and left my glasses by where I could get them as ilmy flight the next day was outside of their open times, thanks so much for this member of staff being so helpful!

Avoid using Avis – extremely poor customer support in an emergency.

We rented a car in France for a journey, but partway through the trip the designated driver had a serious fall and had to return home urgently for emergency surgery. Naturally, we contacted Avis to explain the situation and asked for help—specifically to add another driver so we could safely continue and return the car.

Shockingly, they refused. We were told this was “not an emergency” and “not their problem.” There was no flexibility, no empathy, and no attempt to help.

As a result, we were left completely stranded. We had to pay for a second rental car out of our own pocket just to get home, and Avis still refused to assist in retrieving their vehicle. Instead, they told us we would need to arrange and pay for towing ourselves.

This experience was stressful, expensive, and entirely avoidable if Avis had shown even basic customer care. In a genuine emergency, they offered zero support.

I would strongly advise others to think twice before using Avis—you may be left on your own when you need help the most.

Do not pick up your Avis rental car in London from 88 Eversholt Street.
My experience is that it takes at least an hour to get your car. The staff there has no notion of customer service, and they are there to raise every possible issue that could stop you from getting your booking, instead of helping you find solutions.
You do not fit in their box; then, you are out of luck.