I had a terrible experience with Avis customer service during my recent rental in Calgary. I booked a Standard SUV for a 9-day road trip, but I was given a lower-category vehicle instead. Despite being promised by Avis that "if we do not have your reserved vehicle class available, we will upgrade you at no additional fee," this was not honored in my case. Instead, I was downgraded without any compensation.
The email communication was a complete disaster. I had to explain the situation over 20 emails, and every response came from a different representative who seemed unaware of the previous conversations. I requested escalation twice, yet nothing happened. It felt like no one took responsibility for resolving the issue.
In the end, they offered a 100 CAD refund, which is a joke considering the actual price difference is over 300 CAD but shows they made the mistake and gave me a downgrade which took me 15 emails to prove. I was even told that my category was more expensive which was a complete lie. They also stopped responding altogether after I pointed this out. To make matters worse, they incorrectly charged me 850 CAD after the rental without explanation. While I eventually got this amount refunded, it had nothing to do with the vehicle downgrade, and no one ever explained why this charge was made in the first place.
Other rental companies like Sixt actually care about their customers, often following up to ensure everything was satisfactory. Avis, on the other hand, shows no interest once they have your payment. If you're a tourist considering Avis, I strongly suggest looking elsewhere.
Case Number: 67884096--in case anyone from Avis actually wants to fix this. read more