Avis

I booked a car from the Australian website in my husband’s name (he was going to drive) for hire in Sep ‘26 in Mallorca for €283.07. When we arrived to collect the car, what should have been a seamless process turned out to be a very stressful experience. They wouldn’t accept payment for the booking using my credit card, so we had to change the… Read more

booking name to mine, which was fine except for the fact that they wouldn’t honour the preexisting booked price and the new price increased to €666.09 which also included an additional diver charge for my husband. In all the stress and confusion I also forgot to add my Qantas FF number to the booking. We ended up paying €583.75 when we returned the car. So that was an extra €300 from the original booking. Absolute highway robbery and lack of integrity and shady business practices by Avis. I’ve been sending emails asking for my frequent flyer number to be included and asking for the matter of the price increase to be reviewed and addressed but no replies as yet.

Perth airport pick up. Over an hour to pick up the car , booked car must have been given to someone else. Vehicle upgrade questionable waiting 20 min to get it washed. Seems to be a regular thing here. Should have hit an uber Show details

DO NOT USE AVIS. TOTAL RIP OFF I Booked a car at London Heathrow airport through Avis in Australia. Got confirmation email with the correct price. Soon after I got a call from Avis UK sending contract for over twice the price !!!! I will call my credir card company to explain the rip off and cancel. Never again Avis !

Avoid - we were charged a significant amount for an alternative car when the one we booked was unavailable – We are currently having a terrible experience dealing with Avis Cairns Airport. We originally booked a Suzuki Swift as a low cost option for our week-long trip in July 2024; however, when we arrived at Cairns Airport late in the evening we were told… Read more

that the model we had originally booked was not available and were instead provided with a BMW SUV. We have had similar experiences in the past with other car rental agencies (including Apex and Europcar) where we were provided with an upgrade at no additional cost due to the car we booked being unavailable. To our horror, Avis subsequently charged us an additional $700 for the upgraded vehicle. After much back and forth with Avis, they have insisted their contract allows them to charge us this additional amount for the upgraded vehicle. We were not informed of the additional charge when we picked up the car. We saved and budgeted for this holiday, and to have been charged the extra $700 has been so heartbreaking.

I rented a car from Avis/Budget in Queenstown, New Zealand, and it turned into one of the most frustrating customer experiences I have ever had. I returned the vehicle in good condition and have timestamped photos taken immediately before drop off… Read more

clearly showing there was no damage to the vehicle. Despite providing this evidence, they refused to properly consider it and continued insisting I was responsible for damage that I did not cause.

The whole process felt incredibly unfair and one sided. Instead of genuinely investigating the matter or treating a customer reasonably, they appeared more focused on charging excess fees than reviewing clear evidence objectively.

Being accused of causing damage despite having timestamped proof to the contrary has been extremely frustrating and stressful.

Apparently they do not bother listening to customers once they decide to pursue a claim. After reading reviews online, I was shocked to see how many people have had similar experiences. Their ratings across multiple review platforms are terrible, which now honestly makes sense to me.

It genuinely feels like there is very little protection for customers’ rights and interests in situations like this, even when clear evidence is provided.

I would strongly caution others to thoroughly photograph and video every angle of their rental vehicle before and after hire because if a dispute arises, you may find yourself fighting to prove your innocence even when you have evidence.

Very disappointing experience overall.

Got AVIS KIA car at Devonport airport port and came to Hobart and returned it there in Hobart at 133 AUD( plus filled petrol for 40AUD). THE car WAS IN SUPERB CONDITION. Great experience. 100% satisfaction with the service from AVIS. Kasun Samarakoon Show details

Very easy and quick process at the airport. Convenient location and friendly staff. Very happy with the car I got as a mystery car. Show details

Mary at Avis Adelaide was very helpful. Quick and easy to get our car. Easy drop off at the end. Highly recommend Avis Show details

Very disappointing experience with Avis Airlie Beach I have used Avis many times in the past without any problems, so this experience was particularly disappointing. When I asked about hiring a small car for two days, I was told there were none… Read more

available and was offered a much more expensive 4WD instead. However, I checked online immediately and booked a Toyota Corolla. Five minutes later, I returned to the office and was told they actually had a Corolla available — it just needed cleaning. This left me with the impression that I was being encouraged to take the more expensive option. Unfortunately, there were further problems. The car key had a flat battery and had not been checked before the car was handed over, leaving us unable to start the car after shopping. The staff did apologise and replaced the battery. The biggest issue came after returning the car. We returned it on time and with a full tank, but a few hours later I discovered that my credit card had been charged almost twice the agreed amount. I had to return to the office to raise the issue. The staff member acknowledged that a mistake had been made and said the manager would arrange a refund. I am still waiting for the refund and have received no further communication. What concerns me most is that if I had not checked my credit card, I would not even have known I had been overcharged. Overall, a very frustrating experience — particularly from a company I have previously trusted. I hope Avis addresses this promptly and reviews its procedures to prevent similar issues happening to other customers.

Very disappointing experience with Avis. I booked a two-day rental in Sydney and purchased full insurance coverage. The insurance rate was clearly stated in my original rental agreement. However, after returning the vehicle, I discovered that Avis had applied a higher insurance rate in the final settlement, resulting in an overcharge of more than… Read more

AUD 30.

What is particularly concerning is that the additional amount was deducted from the debit card I had provided for the security deposit. The amount itself is not significant, but I do not believe a customer should be charged a different rate from the one stated and agreed to in the original rental agreement without any explanation.

I have contacted Avis multiple times by both email and phone requesting an explanation and refund, but have received no meaningful response or resolution.

Given Avis’s failure to address the issue, I am now reporting the matter to NSW Fair Trading and the ACCC, and will also dispute the incorrect charge with my bank.

This is not about the AUD 30. It is about transparency, respecting the agreed price, and how a company responds when a customer identifies a billing discrepancy.

I strongly recommend that anyone renting from Avis carefully check their final invoice against the original rental agreement, particularly the insurance rates and any amounts deducted from the security deposit.

The Avis car i rented had a flat battery I rang the number on the key which was Avis Dee Why as it was 6pm and they were closing was told to ring the NRMA for a breakdown. When I took my car at the end of the rental was charged $200 as i had rung the NRMA. I tried to explain that i followed their instructions and rang the number on the key but… Read more

they said i would have to pay the fee because i rang the NRMA. They also said I should not have got a new battery for the car as there was nothing wrong with it. I said the NRMA suggested i get a new battery as it was late by then and i was not wanting to drive around for one hour. I was tired and wanted to get home. Very bad customer service. THE NRMA RECOMMENDED A NEW BATTERY NOT ME. I AM OVER 70 YEARS OLD AND JUST WANTED TO GET HOME. They also said i should not have got a new battery and the NRMA had stolen a battery from them. They would not come out to service the car as they were closing. terrible service. i would never rent a car from avis again.

Very bad, very poor after sales service! No willingness to help with my request for assistance with regard to details, and or information, regarding an alleged parking infringement. Wish I could give less than one star! A number of weeks after I returned my hire car I was informed by Avis that there was an outstanding parking fine, incurred and… Read more

issued by the City Council, during my rental period and that a $35 admin fee would be charged to my card, as per agreement for their assistancewith the council. All I was given was an infringement number and a date of the fine and told to contact the council for further details. Also, I was given an Avis customer service number to call if I required assistance. Firstly, I contacted the council for a copy of the infringement and the image, both of which they said they had. However, I had to request for this information officially, which I did. Subsequently, I received correspondence from the council denying me this information, because of their Privacy Laws. I was officially told that the only party that can obtain these details is/are the registered owner of the vehicle. When I called the Avis "Customer service" (ha) to ask for help with this matter all I received was nothing short of rudeness, condescension, and what I could only describe as a childish interaction, even receiving the threat of being hung-up on because, supposedly, I was unable to understand their point of view. And all I was trying to get across to them was that they (Avis) were the only one's who can obtain this information for me. The second person I spoke to also denied my request to speak to a higher authority as he claimed "they would just tell me the same thing that he said". The end result, he did not hangup, he just left his phone on and refused to engage with me, even to the extent of talking to someone else, in his own language, whilst making comments and laughing. This lasted for over an hour before he eventually hangup. So now I have no proof that I indeed did get an infringement during my rental period and that this alleged find is not a mistake?

I booked my RSVP online and received a confirmation email. I attempted to pick up my confirmed car RSVP, and I was denied rental. I was rudely informed that there were no vehicles available. It was instructed that cars at the Airport will need a 24-hour RSVP to guarantee rental agreement. Customer service representatives stated that 3rd party… Read more

vendors are the worst and they aren't able to see accurate number of available cars. It is frustrating because there was plenty of cars in the parking lot. Someone should be training and monitoring team members. I wasted five hours waiting for a car rental.

DO NOT USE AVIS, they will defraud your credit card and then ignore your complaints Avis over charged my credit card, adding the previous drivers milage to my account, and then charging me for it. After 20+ emails, copying in everyone from ZA to Global Customer Services, plus Global and ZA CEOs, Avis just reply month after month that reviewing and… Read more

will get back, when in fact they are not, and just waiting for me to give up.

Avis stole from me, and then refuse to respond beyond automated responses.

DO NOT USE THEM, THEY WILL DEFRAUD YOU AND THEY WILL JUST IGNORE YOU

I booked an Avis car through Qantas using points. I collected the m/v at Perth airport and returned it undamaged with a full tank of petrol. The points were worth $324.61 according to the invoice. I assumed that would be the total cost. Avis debited me credit card with a further $387.26 representing surcharges, fees, additional insurance,… Read more

additional GST and a premium for picking the car up from Perth airport. None of this was explained to me at pick up. When I complained they justified the extra cost by stating I signed the contract, however much of these extra costs were poorly or not detailed (Avis contract looks like it was designed in the 1970’s - really poorly structured and difficult to read). I assumed when ordering the car, the Qantas points would be the total cost without added on charge - but it represented less than 50% of the final rental cost of$704. Never again. I feel that Avis was dishonest in their dealings with me, did not properly explain the total cost and their advertising through Qantas was deceptive.

Do not hire a vehicle from Avis in the USA. I was not aware that Avis policy in the USA was to charge a daily fee regardless of tolls used or not. I thought I would be charged for tolls used after the return. This is what Enterprise did last year when I hired a vehicle from them from SFO. The $259.80 ends up as $320 with taxes, I only would have… Read more

spent maximum $20 on tolls. Even if you call it $30 you have made additional $290 off something not provided or 1000% overcharged. This is the definition of price gouging. Had I known that Avis behaved in such devious manner, I would have stayed away.

They tried to rent me a rubbish vehicle that looked like an RACV van with flashing lights and covered in paint damage. I asked them to check their other branches (Airport etc) for a better vehicle and two male employees flat out refused to assist me. When I contacted our insurer a women employee tried to interject claiming they had tried to… Read more

assist but this simply was not true. I went to the Fyshwick branch and was given a modern Prado with towbar with no hassles. Obviously this particular franchise (Braddon) has extremely poor reviews and I won't be coming back.

Very disappointing experience with Avis. I accidentally selected the wrong drop-off location when making my booking. I contacted customer service hoping they could simply update the reservation, but I was told they could not change the drop-off location and that I would need to cancel and make a new booking instead. As a result, I was charged a… Read more

cancellation fee of NZD $86.25. I found this extremely frustrating, especially since I was trying to correct what was clearly an honest mistake. A simple amendment would have provided much better customer service than forcing a cancellation and charging a fee.

While the policy may allow this, the lack of flexibility and customer-focused support left a very negative impression. Based on this experience, I will think twice before booking with Avis again.

1 star – the worst car rental experience I have had in 50 years Avis Rent a Car at Tullamarine Airport provided one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. It took more than half an hour just to get a car. None of our cards were accepted, and instead of checking whether their card reader was the problem, the staff member blamed… Read more

our cards. We had booked a hybrid vehicle, but were told we could not have one because apparently all returns were too late. We were sent back to the office, then directed to another location. During this process, an Avis staff member tipped a full cup of coffee over my partner and did not offer any compensation or meaningful assistance. We were then told to walk to a car space around 500 metres away, only to find the space empty. When I asked another representative for help, I was rudely told I would need to go all the way back to the office. After being redirected again, we eventually found a car, but it had not even been cleaned. Another representative finally helped and directed us to a different car, but we were then told we had not booked a hybrid, so no compensation would be offered. The whole experience was disorganised, frustrating, and completely unacceptable. I will never hire a car from Avis again, and I would strongly advise anyone travelling through Tullamarine Airport to avoid this branch.

Just dropped a car off at the “premium” cost drop off location at sydney airport. It’s essentially an area in the carpark, unsheltereded with no lights. This is unacceptable, dropped car off at 530pm in raging rain. I couldn’t see anything in the car and got absolutely drenched. Poor Poor Poor…don’t believe that you can gather your things together at this location, gather everything and pack nicely in the boot

I booked an Avis Car for pickup at Nice Centrale Station France. Customer Service terrible. Had to take all luggage up 5 floors to collect the car and get it down in narrow exits. Would not bring it to us for collection. Said too busy. Said printer was not working and would email rental agreement. Never emailed. Range 3 times in Business… Read more

hours to Nice office over 2-3 days in Bayeux - No answer at 10am week days. Hotel contacted Avis once for us and they answered. Said email was coming. never received. Was provided a Ford SUV Kuga Car steering dangerous on tollway. Checked Tyres 23 PSI to 26 PSI on tyres . Way under recommended 32-35 Had to put air in the tyres to fix the issue. Drop off at Avis near Paris fine but explained history with the hire.

Do Not use this Avis rental point. Plenty of other options in Nice.

I rented a Toyota Prado at the Alice Springs Airport Australia. The quote I received for the rental on the confirmation was AUD$2071.75. I was ultimately charged ~AUD$1,300 more than the quote when I returned the car. Problems: (1) the kilometers were not recorded so I was charged an unknown figure for extra kilometers; (2) I was charged extra for… Read more

"Roadside Assistance" when it was included in the "Complete Cover" I purchased; (3) I was charged extra for the Premium Location Surcharge and Admin Fee with no explanation. I have tried following up with Avis to no avail. I would NEVER rent from them again.

I recently had a frustrating experience with AVIS rental company that I feel compelled to share. I rented a car for the weekend, which cost me $329.53, in addition to a $200 bond and $96 for insurance. This totaled $625.53, all charged to my credit card upfront. When I returned the vehicle on Monday, I was shocked to see that AVIS debited the… Read more

full $329.53 from my card again. Naturally, I called their customer service twice to address my concerns. Each time, I was met with vague responses, being told to check with my bank instead of receiving any real assistance.

To make matters worse, I inquired about my bond, only to be told that it had been used to cover my insurance costs. I repeatedly explained that I had already paid everything upfront, but the representatives were unhelpful and insisted I contact my bank to figure out where my money had gone.

This experience was not only frustrating but also incredibly disappointing. The lack of proper customer service and the confusing handling of my payments have made me wary of using AVIS again. I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a rental car, as AVIS clearly lacks the support and transparency needed for a smooth rental experience.