Avis Reviews 

Arrived in Bordeaux to be met with a half an hour queue, as 2 people manned the Budget/Avis desk. No quick pass desk open, no key collect kiosk. What is the point of being a preferred customer? Car was soiled with a recent rear seat stain. The supposed full tank showed 750km however when I filled it for return it showed 850km.. No one to receive the car on return, one person manning the desk, so no handover. Not impressed at all.

I have rented from Avis five times and spent £1,500+ with them. On my most recent rental I asked the desk representative directly what fuel level I needed to return the vehicle with. He told me clearly to return it with "a little bit" in the tank and confirmed I did not need to fill it up. I followed that instruction, stopping at a petrol station before return to put fuel in.
Avis then applied a penalty charge that doubled the cost of the fuel. When I disputed this, pointing out that I had followed their own employee's verbal instructions, they refused to engage with the misrepresentation issue and simply repeated that the written contract required a full tank.
I received no callback despite being promised one within 48 hours, and the full disputed amount was taken from my account before any resolution was reached.
I have now filed a formal complaint with the BVRLA and initiated a chargeback with my bank. I will not be renting from Avis again.

They tried to overcharge when we collected the car (by about £350) and we really had to argue hard to get them to change it. After we returned the car, they then put through unauthorised charges on our credit card which they’ve not yet justified. If we get no response we will dispute it through the credit card. Terrible company!!

I cancelled my booking for car rental in time after departure of my flight and have not received my refund as stated by Avis in writing that it'll be paid within 7 days. I have been in touch several times and with trawler.com the car rental broker who say thats refund payment is between Avis and me. I will contact my bank for visa charge back!

Avis customer service. Waits of over an hour. Staff often unapologetic and unhelpful. (my deposit was not refunded, my bank had to draw back the money)

They didn't check the car at drop-off and waited until I left the office (and arrived at the airport) to inform me of damages, (which had already been present on the car and signalled on the contract) - subsequently charging me 300GBP.
A car rental classic con. Never again.

Overcharged - charged twice by Avis for additional driver at Kefalonia Airport, Greece. Avis counter staff were rude and unhelpful and refused to sort it out despite acknowledging I had been double charged. Only a small amount of money but why do car rental companies like Avis always seen to overcharge?

I had a terrible experience with Budget/Avis at Southampton Airport. I arrived 3 hours late for a prepaid booking. Despite the car (MG ZS, LB75SDO) being available in the parking lot , the agent refused to honor my original voucher just to force me into a new, significantly more expensive contract. The agent explicitly lied to me, stating that the "Fuel Up Front" option (£97.60) would be partially refunded if I returned the car with fuel left in the tank. Based on this verbal promise, I signed, but the contract terms actually state no refunds are given for unused fuel. They took advantage of the fact that I was traveling with my family and needed to start our trip. I ended up paying £387.70 for a rental that should have cost half that amount. Pure exploitation of customers in a stressful situation. Avoid this location!

They charged me extra when i picked my car up and told me it was a security deposit. They then refused to pay me ot back and said it was for multiple extras. I got scammed into paying for additional things i did not need.

Stay clear of these!

All booked in advance. Waited 20-mins in a long queue. Staff very rude and unhelpful - admin their end was the problem - they told us to go somewhere else!!! We told them to persevere and sort it out - they took 20-mins and finally we left with a car. I’d score it zero out of five but that wasn’t an option. These staff should be fired - look at the catalogue of poor reviews!! Why do Avis tolerate such reputational brand damage. We used Hertz previously and they were great. We will stick with Hertz from now on.

I was given an automatic car at Bremen Airport (after renting a manual). This was not mentioned at the hire desk.
Luckily we have two automatic cars in our family, so after a little bit of trial and error I managed to drive it away.
The display of this car was set to? Polish or ? Tschech? and I was therefore unable to attach my satnav device. I could not find a way to change the language.
Car always beeped when changing lanes. Very disconcerting when driving on a motorway.
Overall a bad experience.

Already reserved a car online prior to travelling on holiday to Orlando and had the correct amount ready to pay on card only to be told at airport that a $250 deposit would also be taken. We knew nothing of this as it doesn't state on any emails that this would be taken. Of course we agreed as it was after 7pm and we had our children with us including our youngest who has Special Educational needs and disabilities but the payment wouldn't go through.
The employee on the desk then said he could give us the rental for 8 days and we only pay for those days and then to get in touch so we could extend for a further 6 days as we needed it to get around but he could give us a free up grade but FAILED to mention it will cost us more and never said that this would not include the deposit.
Due to this we have now paid more to rent this than the original price we could have paid if we had just known about the deposit, also after contacting them about this they have said we didn't pay a deposit and we should contact our bank yet the money has already left the bank and what can the bank do if a deposit wasn't taken and isn't showing as pending still.
Used a smaller car hire company previously in Fuerteventura and never had this problem or any undisclosed fees. The price we saw and booked was the price we paid.
We will never use AVIS again and will recommend anyone and everyone to avoid this company.

I had a very frustrating experience with Avis in Geneva.

I rented a car for a ski trip and paid extra for a ski rack, only to find when I arrived that it wasn’t compatible with the vehicle provided. Despite this, I was still charged. I was told at the desk to contact customer service after the rental to arrange a refund.

Two months later, after multiple emails, I had still received no response. I eventually managed to get through to someone on the phone, who assured me the refund would be processed the next day. It wasn’t.

I’m now in the position of having to chase this again, wasting even more of my time.

The same issue happened with a child seat I had cancelled in advance but was still charged for.

Overall, this has been an extremely poor customer service experience — disorganised, unresponsive, and time-consuming to resolve. I would not recommend.

I am writing this to express my extreme disappointment with the damage department at Budget/Avis following my rental of a Kia K4 (LG26HCH) at Edinburgh Airport.
Upon return, I was issued an "Estimation des réparations" (File image_fab922.png) for £288.26 for a minor scratch on an alloy rim. I am contesting this for two major reasons:
• Incorrect Classification: Budget has categorized this scratch in the "26-50mm" bracket to justify a higher repair cost. However, technical analysis of my photos (image_fac444.jpg), using the tire’s sidewall ratio (Kumho 205/55 R16) as a scale, clearly shows the scratch is under 25mm.
• Normal Wear & Tear: According to industry standards (BVRLA), a scratch under 25mm on a rim is considered "Standard Wear and Tear" and should not be billed as a damage repair.
• Excessive Fees: The bill includes £76.30 for "loss of use" and £39.60 in administrative fees for a cosmetic blemish that doesn't prevent the car from being rented.
I have sent a formal contestation email with photographic evidence to fr.damageservices but I have received no response while the 14-day deadline for automatic charging approaches.
I expect Avis/Budget to review the evidence in my file, recognize the sizing error, and cancel this unfair charge immediately.

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