Avis Budget GroupReviews of avis-europe.com

We hired a Golf but was given a Fiat Tipo 1.0l, we drove for 25km on the Auto Strada and suffered a blow out at 120km in between a lorry and the reservation. We tried to call the customer services at Kraków airport but no one answered and then attempted to call Warsaw customer services but somehow was transferred to Barcelona. I then called the uk customer services and reported this to them, unfortunately she was also based in Barcelona and only took bookings. She advised us to take the car back to Kraków as we had changed the tyre ourselves due to feeling vulnerable on the side of the road. We eventually got through to the representative at Kraków airport and she didnt even have the courtesy to ask if we were ok. We got back and requested a refund as we felt unsafe, she offered us a Kia but again this was a 1.0l vehicle and we refused the exchange. We asked again for a refund but was told that she cannot process this from her desk and we would need to speak with customer services. We have attempted to call customer services in Poland but can never get through.

We rented a car in Gozo from Avis/Budget from a place very near the harbour. We were greeted well by 2 members of staff, 1 Maltese and 1 Welsh (Ewan/Ieuan) The car we wanted was available, it was clean and had a few knocks and scratches. The details of all these knocks were written down and shown to me. We drove away with a full tank of fuel. After driving back to our villa a matter of 10mins away, we could not get the air conditioning to work. I took the car back, and Ewan/Ieuan said to me that he would have new cars back in stock in the morning, and we could swap if that was ok. He said he would call me when a car was available early in the working day the next day. We agreed to that. He called the next day to say that no new cars were available today, so we had 2 options. 1st option was to try again the next day, or 2nd option take it to a garage and get the AC checked over and hopefully fixed. As we were planning to drive round Gozo that day, we decided that i would take it to the garage as we had 2 teenagers with us, and having no AC in the car was a no no! I took the car to a small garage approx 15 mins away. I was told by Ewan/Ieuan that they would be expecting me. I got there and drove straight in, a mechanic looked at the AC and decided it needed refilling. He never said anything to me, mind you, apart from saying hello and why i was there, i never said anything again to him till the end. When in UK, my own car had a AC refill, and it took 15 mins max. This took nearly 3 hours! When the car was being refilled, the mechanic left the garage several times to move other cars, and fix them in the street including a refuse truck! After about a hour, he came back and looked at the AC, walked away and brought in a big merc truck into garage behind my car. After a few mins they decided my car was now ok, and wanted to move the Merc......it failed to start, and after another 1 hour wait it started and they moved it. Instead of getting my car out the way, they brought in another car!! OMG i am a patient person, but i was getting a tad miffed. Eventually i got out. A morning wasted, and instead of driving round gozo or sat on the beach, i was stood in a garage with now seating etc. I called Ewan/Ieuan, he was out, so a collegue talked to me, and after a language issue understood my problem. I asked for a refund, and was told i could return the car when finished with no fuel in it. A few days later Ewan/Ieuan called me and apologised for the nightmare morning, obviously it was not their fault, but a AC should have been checked before the car went out. He then said i could return the car with half a tank of fuel as a gesture of good will. I told him a colleague had already said i could return it with a empty tank. Ewan/Ieuan said that was ok. As it was we dropped it back with just under half a tank. As stated before, the wait at garage, and the haphazard way that garage did things was not Avis/Budget fault. The AC not being checked or the promise of a new car a day later was their fault. In the end of the day it was only 3 hours, but when you are on holiday, everything is planned and we lost 3 hours of our holiday. Ewan/Ieuan was great, as was Avis/Budget HQ who got back to me quickly also.

August 15th was my 50th Birthday. Via rentalcars.com I reserved a Mercedes-Benz C-Class GPS or Similar Premium. Upon arrival and check in with David, I was told that the only car available was a Peugeot. I explained that it was my birthday and I really preferred a premium brand car. David then took me outside and showed me a Peugeot parked outside. The outside of the car was dirty. I told David again that I was not happy about this. He said I could take an Audi, but that I would pay 25 euros extra. David walked me into the garage and we were met by Rachid. Rachid showed me a second Peugeot, presumably clean, and started explaining to me how the Peugeot was in the same class and equivalent to a Mercedes Benz. I listened to him for a while, but then interrupted him to say that I disagree. I do not know anyone familiar with premium car brands who could suggest that Mercedes and Peugeot are comparable. I told Rachid that it was my birthday and I did not want to argue and that I would just take the car. I returned to the office to complete my rental with David. I told David that I was a loyal and regular customer and that it could be an idea to just give me the Audi without paying the 25 euros extra. I regularly receive upgrades at this Avis location because I live down the street and the older gentleman who has worked there for over 20 years knows me well. David told me that if I was unhappy with his “customer service” that I was welcome to file a complaint!!! When I returned to the garage, Rachid was there with the key. I opened the Peugeot front car door to discover cloth seats. This was not a premium vehicle, as Rachid had insisted over and over again in our previous discussion! When I pointed out the cloth seats, Rachid did not like this at all. I do not believe that he respects women at all and the way he then started talking to me was 100% unacceptable. I then got angry and opened the rear left door to put my handbag inside. Rachid was still “mansplaining” to me in a loud voice. I closed the car door WITH ONE HAND and Rachid considered this “slamming the door” and began to lecture me on how to care for a car door. He continued to lecture me as I got into the driver’s seat. It was my birthday, and this man was ruining my day and my drive. From sitting in the driver’s seat, I closed the driver’s door hard so that I did not have to listen to Rachid any longer. He also considered this action as slamming the door. He told me that I could not treat “his car” like this and told me he was the “owner” of the Avis store. I am a regular customer so I knew that this was a lie. I handed Rachid the car keys and told him I would never rent from Avis again and that he had really ruined my birthday. Rachid then said that I would be banned from ever renting from Avis again. I left, but when I told my husband what happened he returned to get Rashid’s full name for a complaint. Rachid told my husband that he was the “owner” of Avis also. My husband clarified in Dutch that Rachid meant “eigenaar.” This is the moment when Rachid backed down and admitted he was a manager. Rachid said that I had slammed the car door 2 TIMES and that he had this on surveillance footage and that he would show it to my husband to prove his point. My husband agreed to view this footage to discover what actually happened in the garage. However, Rachid knew this was a lie too because I was INSIDE the car when I shut the driver’s door. I am a 50 year old woman closing a car door BOTH TIMES with one hand. It is ridiculous that my strength of force could in any way damage a Peugeot car door. Rachid then changed his mind on showing my husband the video footage, blaming COVID. My husband asked why Rachid offered to show the footage in the first place. My husband took a card from Rachid (a manager with no name on a card??) and we left without a car.

Rented a small car from Avis/Budget in Catania airport as Hertz were out of stock due to changing their fleet. The Corsa had so many scratches that they circled the entire car on the damage report at pick-up. When I returned the car a week or so later they pointed out what they said was a new scratch. They did admit it was just a few millimetres and perhaps wouldn't cost so much. A few days later, and without any supporting paperwork or invoice, a charge of over €300 appears on my card. They know that you haven't opted for their dumb insurance so want to recoup their costs. Fortunately I had my own Amex platinum insurance and they refunded the whole cost in a few days.

Having to write bad reviews is becoming tedious and more prevalent. This time my angst is with Avis. On the 2nd July I booked a car online to be picked up at Verona Airport, Italy. It cost £124 for a one way hire of a small car to be driven down to home and then return it to Ancona Airport about 300km+ distant. Arrived Verona in heavy rain, splashed our way via an uncovered walkway to the car rental building. The AVIS desk was shuttered closed (about 10.30am). A small notice said to ring a number. Fortunately we did have a phone with us. No Reply, Rang again, No Reply. An American couple also there were becoming very annoyed at not getting through either. So what to do? Nearly ALL the other rentals were open, including Europcar next door. Opposite were Hertz so made a new booking with them. Federica was charming and helpful and soon were on our way in a Panda. We arrived home 3.30pm after being away from our home for nearly 5 months due to Covid. Because our own car would not start (flat battery, not a surprise) so had to call Hertz again to extend the hire for an extra day. Spoke with Federica, no problem. I asked if Avis was now open? No, it was still shut with a queue of angry customers. Avis have also now posted an £88 fee for some reason on my credit card, so £212 for a car I could not even use!!! Message is clear, do not use Avis Car rentals – EVER

I booked through Ryanair. I paid the extra insurance only to be told that i had to pay again in Mallorca by Avis. I ordered a £40K car when I arrived they gave me a £20K claiming it was a similar size.

With Avis i got my worse car rental experience in my life! They stole my money by giving me much smaller car then I ordered! They never replayed on my complain and then they charged even more money then it was written on the contract! Very disrespectful company! They destroyed our family vacation! I RECOMMEND TO NEVER RENT A CAR FROM AVIS! I saw those reviews before I rented a car at Bergamo Airport in Italy but I thought that maybe it is fake but it is not! This company is the worse! Last time I rented a car from Alamo and it was 10 times better experience!

Booked last year through AVIS budget for two weeks of car hire in Florida in August. To be honest I didn’t realise that AVIS operates as separate companies - however they allowed me to book and took my deposit of just under £1000. Their policy says that this was fully refundable up to three days before the hire date. I cancelled the booking in April and have so far spent over two months trying to recover my deposit. I have been told numerous times that the booking has been refunded (it has not) and at various times that AVIS are prioritising refunds for American’s (I am in the UK), and that they cannot refund in GBP, even though I paid in GBP. This is of course all nonsense and really just AVIS trying to stall payment. This I can (just) understand but what I can’t tolerate is the utter contempt that AVIs are showing for their customers. Have now pursued through my credit card company.