Avis Reviews 

We arrive to find out that they had given our car to someone else. We spent over an hour waiting while the tried to clean and sort out another car.
No apologies or explanation.

I won’t use Avis again

Awful and unfriendly service. My plane arrived 30 minutes early and they refused to give me a car- unless I paid a premium. They said I had to wait until the exact time I had reserved. I’ve traveled a lot and have spent years in France- but never have I encountered this. They take pleasure in saying no.

Avis France is the worst. Half of the locations are franchises, not really Avis locations and they won't help you ('we aren't really Avis, we are independent proprietors so we do anything and we can't even get through to Avis to help you solve this'). The telephone customer service also never answers their phones, and when you finally get through after over an hour of waiting, they still don't know anything and can't help you. The car I got was recalled for mechanical issues, so I returned it to a nearby AVIS location. They said I had to go back to the airport where I got it, which was over a 2 hour drive in Paris traffic - but they gave me a car that was faulty? I have never seen such a mess. And then they tried to give me an upgrade as an apology, but that car never even got off the lot as there was some issue with the navigation system and none of the staff knew how to deal with the electric charging. I never seen such incompetence (I had a 1 month rental). Too bad, as I used to be a loyal business customer of Avis.

I rented a car from AVIS and returned it without any damage, I even had three witnesses. Days later, I received a €600 bill with photos showing damage on the car, taken in a different location than where I returned it. AVIS never contacted me during or after the rental. This is outrageous and feels like a scam. I strongly advise against renting with AVIS. They take money from your credit card without proof and offer no way to dispute it fairly. One star is too generous.

J’ai loué une voiture chez AVIS et l’ai rendue sans aucun dommage, avec trois témoins à l’appui. Quelques jours plus tard, je reçois une facture de 600 € avec des photos prises ailleurs que sur le lieu de restitution. Aucun contact de leur part avant cette réclamation. C’est tout simplement une arnaque. AVIS débite votre carte de crédit sans preuve valable et sans possibilité réelle de se défendre. Une étoile, car on ne peut pas mettre zéro.

Ich habe ein Auto bei AVIS gemietet und es unbeschädigt zurückgegeben – drei Zeugen können das bestätigen. Einige Tage später erhielt ich eine Rechnung über 600 €, inklusive Fotos vom Fahrzeug an einem völlig anderen Ort. Ich wurde nie kontaktiert oder über einen Schaden informiert. Das ist Betrug. AVIS belastet Ihre Kreditkarte ohne Beweis und ohne echte Möglichkeit zur Gegenwehr. Ich rate dringend von einer Buchung bei AVIS ab. Ein Stern ist noch zu viel.

VOLEURS /THIEF
Prélèvement de 400€ pour avoir soi disant rendu la voiture avec des odeurs de clope ce qui est bien sûr faux personne ne fume !!
They took 400€ on our bank account for nothing

Avis Bastia: Pre-Charged €2500, Delayed Refund, Poor Communication & Compliance Issues

I recently rented from Avis Bastia Airport, and it was one of the worst car rental experiences I’ve had. I was charged €2500 for an alleged accident, despite my rental car having no damage, and faced major issues with their communication, transparency, and compliance.
Unjustified €2500 Charge Without Damage

I was involved in a minor alleged accident with a third party (a motorcyclist), yet my rental vehicle sustained NO damage.
Despite Avis' own terms stating that excess is only payable if the rental vehicle is damaged or stolen, they immediately charged the full €2500 excess before any investigation was completed.
Avis later claimed that excess is always charged in any accident, even when the rental vehicle is undamaged, which contradicts their own terms and standard industry practice.
I had photo and video evidence from collection, the scene of the alleged incident, and return—clearly proving no damage.
After much back-and-forth, Avis confirmed they would refund me—yet they failed to process the refund until I chased them a week later.

Misleading Insurance Certificate Issue

The Certificat d'Assurance (insurance certificate) inside the car was expired by three months, raising serious concerns about the vehicle’s legal compliance.
Only after I raised this issue did Avis claim that as of April 2024, the insurance certificate is no longer mandatory.
If this was the case, why was an expired certificate still inside the car, misleading customers?
Avis never informed me at the time of rental that the police could verify the vehicle’s insurance via the license plate, which could have avoided unnecessary concern.

Refusal to Correct an Administrative Error Until It Suited Them

Avis misspelled my name on the rental agreement and invoice, which I flagged immediately.
They refused to correct it until AFTER the case was closed. If the refund had not been granted, this error would have prevented me from claiming the excess back through my insurance.
Avis later admitted that they could have corrected it but chose not to, in case I needed to claim the excess through my own insurance—effectively prioritizing their convenience over customer service.

Lack of Written Communication & Transparency

Avis claims they left me a voicemail (which I acknowledge), but this does not justify their failure to reply in writing to serious financial and legal concerns.
A charge of €2500 is not something customers should have to chase repeatedly with little to no response.
They repeatedly failed to provide clear written explanations, leading to unnecessary frustration and delays.

Final Thoughts – Avoid This Location

While I eventually got my refund, this should never have escalated to this point in the first place. Avis:

Charged me €2500 despite no damage to the vehicle.
Contradicted their own terms on excess charges.
Provided a legally questionable rental car with an expired insurance certificate.
Ignored requests to correct an error that could have cost me money.
Failed to provide timely, transparent communication.
Failed to process the refund when they initially said they had, requiring me to chase them.

This experience has left me questioning whether I even want to return to Corsica, as this unnecessary stress overshadowed my trip.

I strongly advise others to be extremely cautious when renting from this Avis location. Check your documents, take photos, and prepare for poor customer service if something goes wrong.

Hired a car in Milan which we were told had winter tires and snow chains in the boot. Drove to France and up towards the mountains - car not gripping. Turns out no winter tires and worse still no snow chains just 2 ill-fitting snow socks - one of which came off. My problems were then added to when the car was broken into and the rear window smashed. Called AVIS in Grenoble - they couldn't have been less interested. Totally unhelpful - told me they couldn't help, no replacement car and suggested I drive to another AVIS 90 minutes away. So I did - drove to AVIS at Geneva airport - similar experience. In the end they begrudgingly gave me a slightly larger pair of snow shoes. AVIS do not care that I have to drive the next 4 days in a cold snow resort with a window missing at the back of the car. It is just astounding how bad their service is. Will be making a formal complaint when I get home. Disgusted.

Absolutely shit communications and the most unhelpful people. They changed the time to drop the car off so messed the last day of my holiday up (booked the car til 1pm and paid for that but they said we had to drop it back by 9am instead) Had an issue with the tyre and had to wait over 3 hours stranded on the side of the road. The numbers they gave me were invalid, the email didn’t work and couldn’t get hold of anybody. Ended up missing the tours we had already booked and paid for so lost money for that which they won’t reimburse and sent an email listing a load of prices but in French with no translation so no clue what it says or what it’s about. I asked for an English copy but they are now ignoring me. They saved my card details as well so they can just help themselves to more money than what was agreed. Not happy at all with them and won’t be using them

Rented at AVIS Nice airport in December 2022. Thirteen! months later, January 2024, I get an invoice for administrative costs from AVIS for four speeding tickets. But all four offenses are for the same day the same second! I write to AVIS that this is impossible, but hear nothing back. Also, I never recieved a speeding ticket from the local police. Now, 11 months later, I get four invoices from a German debt collecting company demanding me to pay 4 × 153 Euro! My advice, never go near AVIS, it is a greedy and unfair company.

Paris Beauvais rental - Arrived to no one at desk, had to stand around for more than 40mins .. Staff arrived, no apologies and car wasn't ready even though flight had been delayed and car should have been ready an hour earlier. Male behind desk early 20's fair hair and Goatee, extremely rude, we had booked a car with 5 person capacity and manual and was then told we were getting a Yaris Automatic .. Ended up arguing as we couldn't fit in Yaris with the bags. 2 other males behind desk and constant chatter in French and sneering at me. Car then changed but told I would have to pay for rental straight away and not at end of rental, I asked why would this change and was just told that's the way it is now. Got car changed and went on our way, returned car to an empty office and was glad to see the back of Avis and their employees .. 2 months later we now have been charged the same amount on our credit card, currently trying to deal with Avis re fraud / double charge and they are impossible

I recently returned a vehicle to Avis (Paris CDG) and realized after leaving that I had accidentally left behind some new purchases: ceramic cups. I reached out to Avis multiple times via phone and email but had trouble getting a response. After persistent follow-ups, I was finally told that if the items weren't reported as found within 15 days, they would consider the case closed.

It was frustrating to feel ignored during this process, and disappointing that there seemed to be a lack of follow-through on the part of the staff. It would have been helpful if they had communicated more effectively or taken the time to check with their team members who handled my reservation. This experience has left me wondering about the company's commitment to customer care and the values of those who work at Avis.

I know we at some point need the convenience of renting a vehicle but I will never give them my money again despite the travels I do.

***IN FRENCH***
J'ai récemment retourné un véhicule chez Avis (CDG) et je me suis rendu compte, après être parti, que j'avais accidentellement laissé des nouvelles tasses en céramique dans la voiture. J'ai contacté Avis plusieurs fois par téléphone et par e-mail, mais j'ai eu du mal à obtenir une réponse. Après plusieurs relances, on m'a enfin informé que si les objets n'étaient pas signalés comme retrouvés dans les premiers 15 jours, le dossier serait ferme.

Il a été frustrant de me sentir ignoré pendant ce processus et qu'il semblait y avoir un manque de suivi de la part du personnel. Il aurait été utile qu'ils communiquent plus efficacement ou qu'ils prennent le temps de vérifier avec les membres de l'équipe qui avaient traité ma réservation. Cette expérience m'a fait douter de l'engagement de l'entreprise envers le service client.

Je sais que, parfois, la location d'un véhicule est une commodité nécessaire, mais je ne leur donnerai plus jamais mon argent, malgré mes nombreux voyages.

Double charged for a rental. When the credit card company intervened and had them refund us, they charged us AGAIN for the same rental at a different amount and claimed we had paid only a percentage of the price, and then proceeded to claim we returned the vehicle a day later (without providing any proof, obviously).

Double charged for a rental. When the credit card company intervened and had them refund us, they charged us AGAIN for the same rental at a different amount and claimed we had paid only a percentage of the price, and then proceeded to claim we returned the vehicle a day later (without providing any proof, obviously).

No words, THIEVES 100%, we forgot our bag in the back seat at 4 am. We made them aware as soon as they open. No one to help, no one to answer the phone. We called them for 24 hours, emails and never a response. A family member finally drove there the next day and were lucky to get the bag back but An employee of their company stoled all the cash but left the wallet empty of course, jewelry’s and iPad and Apple Watch ! We were told at pick up that an inventory was done to the bag what they meant is that they went shopping inside! Don’t rent from them. Renters be aware if something goes wrong they won’t be there to help you!! 5 days later still no communications. Horrible!

2 Avis Spain rentals in 2024, twice there were Eur 800 of extra charges. Bogus charges.
During rental, you cannot reach any help by phone. Email help is useless. Customer service is non existent. Car didn't come with the required decal. The charges don't correspond to T&Cs. etc. Really awful.

For several months now, AVIS has been terrorizing me with demands to pay a fine that has already been paid.
I have proof of payment from both the company itself and my bank, yet I continue to receive threatening emails claiming they will pass my information to collection agencies.
The messages come from various email addresses, in different formats, with varying information, different payment amounts, and even different payment details (account, recipient name, etc.). The whole communication looks like a scam.
My inquiries are completely ignored: I submitted a support request three months ago, and there has still been no response. All emails are automated, with no way to reach a responsible person. It seems that the only way to resolve this is through a complaint to official authorities.

After successful return of the car at AVIS Calvi Airport on 22. Sept. 2024 the reservation of the rental deposit 200 EUR is not yet cleared until today, 14. Oct. 2024.
This is not acceptable!

I have one BIG complaint (the car and staff were fine) - I extended my 2 week rental by one week - and the daily rental price FOR THE WHOLE RENTAL, not just the additional week DOUBLED!!! I am a lawyer and understand that their T+Cs will cover this however, when the difference is that large, it should have been pointed out in advance. I could have moved to a smaller vehicle or gone to a different company for the last week. As a President's Club member, you'd think the customer experience would have been better.

I am a top-tier (President's Club) long term Avis customer.
In August 2024 I reserved a guaranteed model car from Avis Lyon Part Dieu. At the rental station I was rudely informed that the car model was not available, and a lower-class car was instead offered. No apologies were given, and instead the staff dismissed me by claiming it must be a website issue and to either take what they had, or just cancel. Having no other options, I took the lower category car being offered. The car was billed at a cheaper price, being a lower category, but despite that clearly shown on the paperwork they didn't refund me at all.
I filed a subsequent claim via email, and over a month later, after chasing several times where customer service kept saying "we're waiting for the local agent to get back to us", I was simply told to try and ring the rental station in France directly and that they couldn't help any further. Eventually I had to raise a claim via my credit card to get my money back.
This experience is closer to a scam than it is to just plain bad customer service. As a long-term, top-tier customer I'm simply appalled by the whole situation and how badly it's been handled by Avis.

Une queue impressionnante à l'aéroport de Bastia. Entre 1 à 2h d'attente. On se croirait dans un PVD. Scandaleux !