TL;DR: My experience at this Avis suggests quite strongly that the agent here - who also appears to be the owner - is dishonest, tacking on unwarranted additional charges. Since there are plenty of options in the area, I see no reason to rent from here again.
Full details:
I rented a car from this Avis location, declined the fuel option and agreed to return the vehicle with the same amount of fuel it had at the start of the rental period. The agent/owner reminded me of this during the vehicle inspection before I left.
I returned the car with the same amount of fuel - or perhaps a bit more - than it had upon pickup. The agent/owner specifically asked "and you refueled the vehicle?" to which I said yes. He inspected the car, seemingly found everything in order, charged my card on file, and I left.
Upon returning home I noticed a $13.99 "Under 75 mi flat fee" was added. This was not disclosed anywhere or discussed at any time - not when I picked up the car, nor when I returned it.
Reviewing the rental agreement and Avis' website, it appears they have an "EZFuel" program* where a $13.99 flat fee is added if you do NOT return the car with the fuel replenished. Of course that did not apply in my case, yet I was still charged this amount, even though the agent/owner confirmed I did refuel the vehicle, both in asking me and is his own visual inspection.
It seems pretty clear to me that this guy was trying to sneak the $13.99 fee past me, which I find deplorable - I don't know how one could interpret the events differently. Under no circumstances would I recommend renting from this specific Avis location - customer trust and respect should be worth more than $14 bucks.
Unfortunately, the response from Avis Corp. was underwhelming as well. While they credited back the amount in question, they also treated this issue as though I were at fault, saying "I apologize if you were unaware of this program." Of course, my awareness of this program is irrelevant since I returned the vehicle full of gas as required to avoid the charge. Not the kind of customer service I was expecting or hoping for. read more