Around a month ago, I rented a commercial truck from Avis here in Brisbane to help a friend move. The truck was a Mitsubishi Fus0 3.5T automatic truck with a hydraulic lift gate, which made it very easy to load and unload stuff.
Unfortunately, during the unloading process, the remote control (for the hydraulic lift gate) got caught between the truck and the lift-gate and got severed. You can see the damage below.
Because it was plugged into the main unit of the lift-gate, it also blew the fuse on the controls. The lift gate could not be lowered and we were stuck. I called them immediately and after about an hour, one of their mobile units came out to replace the fuse and we were able to lower the lift-gate. The remote of course was not working as you can tell.
I had shown the damage to a neighbor who agreed with me that getting the wire fixed would make the remote useful again. From the pictures above, you can tell that it was just the wire that got cut. Neither the main unit of the remote nor the plug at the end, were damaged.
When I returned the truck later in the afternoon, I explained to them what happened and filled in all the forms. I was told that they would not charge anything on my credit card until the damage had been assessed.
A few days later, I was shocked to see that they had charged me over $600 (the rental was only $225)! I called them up and I was told that this was standard procedure until they figured out what the exact cost of repair was, at which point the balance would be credited to my credit card.
Clearly, Avis has no issues and does not care about customers incurring credit card interest as they wait to get the estimate for repairs. Why couldn’t they just not charge me anything and wait till they got the estimate?
After many emails back and forth with a lady at Avis, I was informed that I would have to pay $200 for the remote control! I even have a copy of the invoice and clearly, they just got a replacement. I am sure that no one attempted to just repair and reconnect the wires on the remote and try and see if it works. They just sat on their backside and took the easy way out to get the unit replaced. Why should Avis be bothered right? It’s not their money. I am the one who had to pay for it.
On top of that, Avis had the audacity to charge me a late return fee, when in reality, I had returned the truck well within the time period, on the same day, before closing. Again, they dropped the ball and made me pay for it. Of course, after a few emails, they were “so nice” to credit that amount back. How big of Avis to do that for me (EXTREME sarcasm intended)!
So my friends, be careful if you are dealing with Avis Car Rental, here in Brisbane and anywhere else for that matter.
They have robbed me of $200! I was more than ready to pay for the repair cost or even get it repaired and returned to them. I suppose in their many pages of legal garbage (or better known as Terms & Conditions), this is not allowed or encouraged. I honestly believed (and still believe) that the damage could have been repaired for a fraction of what was stolen from me by Avis! Yes, harsh words, but I stand by it.
Whatever the case may be, I was very upset and disheartened by it all. I highly caution anyone who wants to rent anything from Avis. Even the smallest mistake will cost you a fortune. I hope someone from Avis will come across this post and learn that not all customers will walk away with their tails between their legs!
Be warned! Avis = NOT RECOMMENDED!
Thank Sri 🙂
Personally, what did you expect?? If the wires had been cut and most likely made contact with each other which means it could have shorted out the controller unit as well. So for the sake and safety of other customers, They would require having this unit tested so it does not shock anyone else holding/using it. This means having someone qualified to test it.. Not some one just wrapping it up with insulation tape.
If you walked away with a $200 bill, well you got away fairly easily.. I have no association with avis and have never hired from them, so do not take any assumptions on that as well. Simply.. you damaged company property and they have a procedure to replace it and ensure the safety of their customers.
Perhaps next time, try to understand a little more on the situation instead of just blasting the company…
Bradley, this was four years ago. I had been in Australia for only a little over a year at the time. I never denied my responsibility in this whole incident. AVIS could have done a better job of handling the whole situation. I am no sparky and understand that this wasn’t just an insulation tape job. There was no other damage except for the remote control because replacing the fuse took care of the main unit because the fuse did what it was supposed to do: protect the main unit without costing more damage. I am not putting the blame for the accident on them, rather the way everything was handled. I didn’t expect them to give me a free pass. This post was written in anger and frustration. If I were to rewrite it, I would still argue that they could have handled it better but not with as much emotion. We all learn and grow over time. Thanks for your comments.