Do not rent from this company! We were left stranded on the highway for hours in a broken down car. They never respond except to transfer you to the manufacturer because it was under "warranty" . We finally after hours had to resort to Uber cabs and head to enterprise. Yikes. read more

Really the best of the bunch at LHR. Transfer bus seems to be frequent and leaves as soon as ya get on. Quite a way from LHR T5 but really only 10 mins. read more

yes, horrible experience. this indian man tried to charge my card 800 usd for a 7 day small car rental. he did not disclose the charges. i booked in advance and also, my credit card number was compromised after this so the sales department women was committing fraud on my account. horrible customer service, illegal uses they did not disclose the car that was booked was a stick shift. i will email the manager. all these people in london try to steal money from tourists please beware and stay away from this country. full of criminals and theives!!!! read more

Disgusted with avis. 1 star is too much for them. On arrival at desk at birmingham airport i provided driving licence as requested but staff asked for paper copy insisting it was an Irish driving licence. Licence was clearly a UK licence however staff member gave me licence back saying he would not be supplying me a car.  No help, no solutions from avis as to what he was requiring. Simply returned licence and served the next customer.  I asked if he was leaving me, my wife and 3 kids (all under 10) stranded with no vehicle and he ignored me and continued to serve the next customer.  No requirement on Web site or confirmation email requesting paper copy of licence until we arrived at Birmingham.  Thankfully europcar were next door. They took my licence, checked no endorsements on same website avis use and supplied us with a vehicle. Avis = unreliable, untrustworthy and happy to turn away a family of 5 without any help or advice. read more

Briefly, rented a vehicle via a third party. Paid all insurances and carried two additional travel insurances which covered policy excesses. Picked up vehicle, was advised that there would be a refundable excess charge to my credit card that would be credited back on return of the undamaged vehicle only to find that it was in fact further insurance coverage that I already had that they added deceptively and would not be refunded. A$700 taken by deception read more

Helpful and nice despite the pain of having to get a shuttle which you don't need at terminal 5

Rented vechicle on line from Avis at Terminal 5. After arriving from the US was told that the vehicle in question was not available. Typically they upgrade me. I was told that the Mercedes-Benz compact car was equivalent to a Ford so if I wanted anything better would have to upgrade. The Ford wouldn't even fit my luggage in. By the time I left I ended up with the next car up, or so they said. My cost went from 185 pounds to 900 pounds as they added on every insurance you could think of. Rather than upgrading at a reasonable price I got a bait and switch . On complaining to Avis UK I got the runaround with no real apology. Never had this problem in the multiple times visiting my home. The sad part is that for any foreigner visiting England this is your first welcome. Do not use Avis in the terminal. Go to Avis at Terminal 4. Only a short bus ride but so.much more choices. Maybe even better go with Hertz. I will be. A car the size of a Ford fiesta cost me more than my ticket from Maryland to the UK and I got food wine and a movie... read more

We reserved a car from their main location and their T5 location on our most recent trips to London. For the main location, there was a bit of a wait (as is the norm in most airport rental locations). However, staff were great, they apologized for the wait and offered us water. Overall, staff were attentive, relatively friendly and the process was smooth from then on to returning the car. read more

Could not believe how bad the service was from Avis Europe. I rented the car online before my trip. When I went to pick up the car the contract was not in English, so when I asked questions about charges to my credit card I was told that it was simply a security deposit and I would get the funds back. When I returned the car 10 days later there was a 2.5 times extra charge for extra insurance coverage that I did not ask for, needed or wanted. As they already had the funds charged to my card there was nothing I could do. Complete rip off and obviously the employees are on some form of commission. When I complained to their customer service I received a form letter as a reply. They obviously don't care about customer service or looking after their customers. Strongly suggest you use Europcar. I have never had any issues with them and their service is great. I wish I had sent the extra few Euros this time instead of going with Avis. read more

Books & paid 7 months in advance for a Peugeot 308. Thought the process would be easy. Arrived Jet lagged & tired, expecting a here's your car, sign here, But No. A 308 was not availible although there was one right behind me, we had to go through the process of how about a Lexus, no thank you, boot too small, how about a Mercedes cla, 78 pounds extra per day, how about a Santa Fe, too big, no thanks, ok a C200, err no , after 25 minutes we were offered a car in the same category - with a small luggage capacity so we opted for the C200. Until now the process included VAT but now everything is an extra, VAT, airport location fee, consumer extras (who knows?) 37 pounds per day extra + VAT, Aiport location fee nearly 400 all up & so on. We e mailed Avis 7 Times in the last 14 days & have spent 2hrs trying to make contact by phone. We had one e mail back 14 days ago to say they would look into it but nothing since. This is the worst customer service ever. Finally posted something on Avis's web site last night & the nice people @ Avis US replied, not UK the US. Speed of Responce would of saved a lot of hassle & I know when we return the car tomorrow they won't care a stuff. read more

I like to start with the good: 1. 'Friendly staff'. Unfortunately, the rest of our experience negated any 'good' stars. The bad: 1. SLOW...My husband and I have never experienced such slow service from a car rental company before (except maybe the last time we hired a car after arriving at Heathrow airport). Even though we booked the vehicle, online, in advance and provided ALL required information prior to pick-up, it took over an hour from entering the Avis office to actually getting keys to the rental vehicle. 2. The AVIS associate failed to mention that the U.K. car rental industry charges an additional fee ($116, in our case) for the spouse of the driver to be included on the rental agreement. I called customer service, about 20 minutes after we got the car and realized what the charge was, and requested that I be taken off the rental agreement (It was highly doubtful that I was going to drive the car, anyway) and AVIS denied my request and charged us the additional ($116!!) amount. 3. Returning the car was again, a very slow and unorganized process. Overall, our experience with AVIS at London Heathrow Airport was surprisingly unorganized and inefficient. read more

It was a great experience until 3 months after we returned the car almost $300 was taken out of of account without any notification!!! We wrote an email asking for answers and explained that because we live in Australia ringing the UK and waiting on hold is not great. 10 days later no response so we rang and were told via automated response to email the same email address that had not responded! Rang back and when to bookings where we did get a hold of a real person who transferred us to someone who took our details and told us someone would email about it in around 10 days. No response as to when we would get our money back if ever. We paid in full up front before we got the car so yeah. Rubbish service after the fact and have had to contact our bank to contest the charges but that will take between 4 and 6 weeks!! Never again! read more

Sunday 21st Dec 2014. Walk in to T5 rental office at 0600, car hire only choice i had due to let down by taxi and trains not running until 1000 to Preston. Clerk did say that the cars for walk in were very expensive. but £ 465 ($750) for a one way car hire to Black pool in a 1.2 L Vauxhall Corsa is robbery. to add insult to injury, when i took it back to the Black pool office at 0930 on Monday morning, they charged me the additional 3 hours from 0600 to 0930. BANDITS, i can afford it, and have utilised AVIS and AVIS Prestige, many times in the past. NEVER AGAIN, this going on every social media site I can find..... read more

Terrible experience. Oil light came on 1 hour into journey so was sat waiting for AA for an hour and then charged GBP15 which I had to claim back. On return, was immediately shown a scratch (it was almost as though the employee knew it was there!) and asked to sign to admit culpability. Refused and eventually manager said he had taken care of it. Several weeks later, receive an invoice for scratch. Will be disputing through AMEX. Be aware that although the Avis rate initially may seem good value, they will scam you anyway they can and the hassle is not worth it. read more

On our recent trip to the UK, we rented from Avis at Heathrow. They are one of the only companies with rental car pick available at the terminals themselves. There is an airport tax that adds about $80 or $90 (US) to the rental, but it's well worth the cost if you value your time. Additionally, since we had booked to come into Terminal 2 and a last minute flight change put us into Terminal 5, I was able to call and change the booking to Terminal 5 (had to cancel and refund prepaid booking and then rebook, but we did it in about 10 minutes on the phone). Being able to walk out to the short-term carpark to pick up the rental was really, really a good move - and then doing the same on the return was equally easy. The car was great and very economical on gas, which is a consideration as petrol is much more expensive in the UK. I have three slight quibbles - 1) on the phone I was told that it would not cost extra to have a second driver on the type of rental I was doing. The guy at the airport wanted to charge us an extra 10 pounds per day for the second driver, so we didn't do it. I drove the entire time, but it would have been nice to have an option for my husband to drive. I'm honestly not sure whether the guy on the phone or the guy at the airport was correct. 2) The guy at the airport made a hard sell to get me to buy extra insurance - I didn't do it, but he was working hard to upsell me on various things. I had discussed this with the rental guy on the phone, and the guy on the phone clearly understood that US and Canadian customers are typically already covered for rentals. 3) When the original booking was canceled to rebook for T5, it was canceled for a full refund. However, I had to call to get the $50 fee refunded that they charge when you cancel a prepaid rental. Although I was told that it would come back on the card, it wasn't automatic, and I had to call. Not a big deal, but just one extra phone call. If you are thinking about who to rent from in the UK, especially at Heathrow, take a look at Avis. Being able to pick up the car on the airport property is a huge benefit in terms of time and hassle. read more

This is a review for both Avis and Budget as this location covers both brands simultaneously. This was the worst car hire experience I've ever had. At London terminal three , the shuttle to the Avis Budget office at Heathrow airport was the slowest to come. When we arrived, we were faced with a huge line. The line took almost an hour to clear. They then told us that the car was not ready. The manager told me she would come back and let me know when it was ready. I went out on to the parking lot and found that in fact the car was there and ready. All in all, it was an experience with Avis Budget that I will never repeat again. read more

Good experience, could've been great but let down by a different Avis location. Had a car rented for 20 days and arrived to T2 (after circling the airport atleast 7 times before landing...classic Heathrow). Shuttle was waiting for us and even though there was just 2 of us on it the driver saw nobody waiting and we were on our way. Got to the office within 5 minutes and got in to a busy office but no lineup. Got called up straight away and was met with the agent named Eddie. He was very friendly and a pleasure to work with would definitely come back to him again. Gave us a few upgrade options but didn't push unnecessarily hard when we declined. Sorted us out within 15 mins, explained all the options and didn't question our insurance coverage when we presented our own. We were on the road within 20 mins (after checking the car for damage). About a week into the rental our dash display froze and we called to get the car swapped out the Heathrow office was quick and prompt in getting the situation sorted and arranged for is to swap it out at the closest location to us. Unfortunately the location we got sent to (Tower Street in Coventry, West Midlands) was VERY ill equipped to handle the situation. Ultimately after 45 mins of waiting with no direction, the entire office (at least 7-8 ppl) was told there were no more cars available. We took it up on ourselves to go to Birmingham Airport and got it taken care of in 10-15. Once we arrived at Heathrow to return the car everything went well even though they were short staffed. Overall Heathrow Avis Coventry Avis read more

By far, the worst experience ever. We were charged for having me as an additional driver and when we tried to have me taken off, were told we were "Pompous Americans" thinking we could change the terms of our agreement. We were charged over 100 bps for a service we did not use. Inflexible and completely lacking in customer service. As a result, I will never rent from any Avis anywhere! BUYER BEWARE! read more

Worst rental service I have ever used. When I arrived to pick up my rental they asked me if I needed a GPS, which I had pre-booked and already paid for. When I told them I would need it, I was told it would be about 10 minutes and to "go get a coffee or something". After waiting for about 1 hour 45 minutes, I finally received the GPS. Only to get to the car and realize there weren't any accessories, making it useless. After going through 2 more GPS' I was finally able to leave. Upon returning my vehicle, I was approached by one of their employees, while still in the car, and asked mileage. He then reached through the open window, over me, and took out the GPS and the keys from ignition. I received miscellaneous charges to my account, in which I was told they would be returned. One charge was returned, only for two more to be taken out. After paying the initial booking fee, Avis had charged my account over $400 more than they should have. I have contacted their customer service to no avail. I will never use this company again and strongly suggest others to avoid them. read more

Possibly the slowest service I have ever experienced. 7 desks with only one desk maned.

Booked a car in advance from the U.S. using a company discount. Arrived after 12 hrs travel to receive a hard sell from the customer rep to upgrade to a diesel because it would be cheaper since we would be driving to Scotland via Wales. Should have known better: when all was said and done we spent twice what we would have with the gasoline powered car. In retrospect, a tired traveller should not be subject to such sales tactics on arrival at a reputable car rental company. read more

Staff who checked me in very courteous (hence the two stars) but the car was dirty when I picked it up and the drop off queue stretched waaaayyyy out of the lot and onto the road. There was no space left to park the cars in the lot, there were no staff to deal with the issue, and the knock on effect was that the shuttle busses had trouble getting into the lot to pick up the waiting passengers. But that's ok, the staff assured us they were "trying". read more

i rented a Mercedes "premium" car from Cardiff and returned it to London Heathrow. The car was filthy with smears all over the seats and other vinyl surfaces and a huge greasy hand print on the inside of the windshield. That is what they call a "premium" car? This was the most stripped down version of a Mercedes i have ever experienced and is miles below my 4 year old pretty basic Mercedes. I should have gone economy and saved a bunch of money because these people obviously do not understand the word premium. what ever happened to truth in advertising? So, on top of supplying a crappy "premium" car when my circumstances changed and i had to return the car early, I got no rebate on the unused portion of my prepayment. When i called about the refund for the unused portion they refused as it was i the rental agreement that no refunds would be paid (or some BS to that effect). Bad service, bad cars and worse customer relations. Make this company your last resort! read more

Charged my credit card after I turned in the car for fees unknown. Will not answer any inquiries from me, do do yourself a favor and stay away from these crooks! read more

The worst customer service I have ever received renting cars, and I've been renting for over 20 years and all over the world. When I checked in I was told I was getting an upgrade, and that the car would be in row a with the flashers on and it was an Audi A3. He told me it would be there in about 10 min. There is no one out there to direct you, and after 15 minutes s and Audi A3 pulled up. We were the only ones there I assumed it was mine. When I checked out I was told it was the wrong car. He showed me on the back was the car details; I was not informed of this. I thought it was a simple process to either change over or to the car I accidently took or give me another one in the upgraded class (there were plenty sitting around). When I told the staff what happened she said she would find my car. After 30 min she came back and said she couldn't find it, and she had another car. She told me I wasn't getting the upgrade and I was getting what I booked. I told her I didn't think it was fair since I was told I got an upgrade. I also wasted over an hour of my time getting it sorted out. She couldn't or wouldn't tell me why the upgrade was taken away. I have NEVER seen a car hire company do something like this. I wrote to Avis, and I was told they couldn't deal with it since I still had the car. They said they only deal with issues after the rental was over. I was told my concern was forwarded back to LHR Avis and they would deal with it when I returned the car. I told him I didn't have time to wait and the airport and deal with this again. All I wanted was someone to explain to me what happened and why it happened. I have heard NOTHING. This is the most unprofessional group of people I have ever dealt with. I'm done with Avis, there are plenty of other car rentals that take care of their customers. read more

Counter staff are SCAM ARTISTS - we feel our credit card has just been ripped off €296 for extras we verbally told them we did not want and were not explained to us - at best their counter staff do not listen to you, at worst they rip you off if you are in a rush if your plane gets in late and you need to be somewhere quick. DO NOT USE AVIS unless you want your bank account emptying - we were charged €599 for 9 days car hire. Customer services are slow, I had to email 5 times and it took 28 days for them to respond. If you do use them I strongly recommend when the counter staff pass you the rental agreement to sign - write across it 'I DO NOT WANT OR AGREE TO ANY EXTRAS' and make the counter staff sign at the side of it - after all they make you sign so why shouldn't they sign too? Top tip is go through Holiday Autos and use their SCDW or pre book excess cover on Money Maxim before you rent, take photos of damage, fuel gauges, mileage, and please don't be foolish like we were and trust the counter staffs integrity like we did - in my experience they have none read more