Posted on 09/25/2013 2:27:01 PM PDT by topher
Avis' recent no show fee is designed to encouraged customers to honor reservations, not to collect a fee, and certainly not to collect a fee from a customer who actually shows up on time. I think that this is an Avis franchisee trying to skim a little extra cash. I would call Avis central reservations and ask them to straighten out their franchisee. Tell them you want it resolved today or you will have your lawyer bring an action against Avis itself when you get home.
Yes, tell them you are calling the DOT and the state attorneys general of your home state and the state of the airport.
What happens if you only deal with cash?
You may have bigger problems than just not being able to rent a car.
It could be that someone has stolen your identity and is using your good credit and ruining your Credit Score.
Contact each of the credit bureaus and notify them of your stolen identity. Contact all of your credit card companies and have them issue you new cards.
No car, you don't owe 'em a dime.
The credit limit on your card may be too low for their liking, but they can tell you that in advance. Get 'em on TV, you'll get the dough back fast.
In many instances, I would agree with you, but in this case, they deliberately led the customer on by not notifying him from the outset.
“Capitalism” is not an excuse large enough to cover fraud. Charging a “no show” fee, when he did show and they refused to serve him, is fraud.
sounds like you got declined by the CC company so Avis said see U, most of the time rental car companys require $300 hold on a credit card or Debit card and refund the difference after return of the car.
Hertz is somewhat better. They will charge you an extra $400 deposit.
Write a nice business letter to the CEO. You’d be ASTONISHED at how quickly you’ll get your money. That’s because the CEO hands it to somebody and says, “Bob, take of this.” And, they do.
You won't be renting a car from a major company. I've checked on that before. By turning their car over to you, they have greater financial risk than just the rental cost. They want to know they have a chance to come after you for damages.
” They charged me a $100 no show fee since they refused to rent me the car.”
Even though you did show up. I’m not a lawyer, but that sounds to me like theft by deception or something similar. I wonder what would happen if you filed a complaint with the local law enforcement authorities.
Beats me. They want access to your credit in case you bash up the car or try to run off with it.
Rental car companies put a hold on what amounts to a "damage deposit". If you damage the car, they already have an authorized amount they can charge to your credit card. If they don't use it, the hold automatically expires. This is why they don't accept debit cards for reserving a car -- because it would put a hold on deposited funds.
I don't know the exact amount, but it's on top of the agreed rental rate. And, if you don't have a sufficient amount of remaining credit, they can't authorize the charge. If you were traveling, other merchants (like hotels) may have authorized additional amounts to be "held", putting you closer to your credit limit.
However, while I don't think it was appropriate to charge you a "no show" fee, it may be in your contract to which you agreed when making the reservation and pre-paying. Dispute the charge with the credit card company -- they probably are already aware of Avis policies, and should be able to tell you if they will charge it back. If they aren't, they'll ask for Avis to prove that you agreed to a no-show fee.
Here’s another thing -
In CA I know they check your DMV record. Too many points and they won’t rent. This info is in you credit report but if you get a copy of it, it does not show up. I believe they can do this because they also offer insurance.
Not L.A. but LA. - Louisiana
I must now pay a NO SHOW fee since I did not show up -- at least according to Avis.
Maybe Avis is Obama's favority car-rental company...
A car rental is a $30,000+ loan. If you have bad credit companies are not likely to want to make you that large a loan.
Avis's fault, then.
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