BE CAREFUL WITH AVIS/BUDGET&TD BANK/VISA OVERSEAS

My tale of woe began in October, 2008, when I went on Avis.com and rented a car to use in Portugal.
On 10/18/08, at Lisbon Airport, I took possession of a Opel Astra 1.3 Cdti 4P with 11,937 km. I took the CDW and theft protection not the super CDW. For the 4+ days my cost would be $265.10. You will note that in addition to fines or penalties for road violations, I am responsible for “the repair costs for damage to the ‘vehicle’ resulting from a crash, collision or rollover….”
Approximately 15 miles from the Lisbon Airport, in the town of ESTORIL, my clutch went dead. After about an hour, a tow truck came and towed my vehicle away. I took a taxi to the Avis in town. Their representative told me they have had a lot of problems with this car because the engine is too small for this vehicle. I received a new car and went on my merry way.
On 10/22/08, I returned the car to Lisbon Airport. I could not get a final bill because the paperwork was not transferred from Estoril. I got a receipt that the car was brought back in good condition, the GPS was returned and the car had a full tank of gas.
I received my Visa statement from TD Bank in late November with the bill being due 12/15/08. On it dated 11/17 was a charge from Avis for $2565.31.
Obviously astounded by the charge, I sent an email to Avis’ customer service. I did not get a reply. I sent a second email and followed up with a phone call. I left a message. No response. Therefore, since the 12/15 due date was approaching, I called the bank to put in a dispute for the charge. They told me to pay the $265.10 I was originally required to pay. Sometime in late December, a rep from Avis called me to tell me that since I put in a dispute with Visa, they could no longer help me. I told them I reached out to Avis 3 times before I disputed the charge. That went on deaf ears.
In March, 2009, I received my Visa statement and noticed the charge was added back to my account. I called Visa and they told me that I should have received a letter dated 3/15/09 (it took me a month and a half to get this copy) telling me that my dispute was settled in favor with Avis and that they “no longer have dispute charge back billing rights in this matter.” They based it on the fact that Avis stated that “the cardholder is charged for the vehicle’s clutch, which burnt out throughout his rental period due to his inadequate use and had to be replaced.” THIS IS AFTER DRIVING ONLY 15 MILES.
There was no proof given that it was my use for these 15 miles which damaged the clutch. They just took the word of Avis. The fact that I drove the second vehicle over 600 miles with no clutch damage didn’t seem to matter. FYI, I also rented another car for 3 days in southern Portugal with Avis with no damage. The fact that there was no “crash, collision, or rollover” did not matter either.
When I got New Jersey’s Division of Consumer Affairs involved, Avis told them plainly that they are not responsible for Avis-Portugal because it is a franchisee even though one can make a reservation on Avis’ own website. Since the DCA only offers mediation, one needs two to tango and Avis-Portugal as well as Avis-Budget “has declined to mediate this matter.” Letters to TD Bank’s New Jersey headquarters Att: Mamie Prout, VP Chairman Service Ctr received no satisfactory response. Letters to Avis’ headquarters Att: Ronald L Nelson, Chairman/CEO went unanswered.
the moral of the story is to be careful when renting a car with Avis overseas. credit cards/banks sometimes do the vendors bidding not yours.

semelg said: My tale of woe began in October, 2008, when I went on Avis.com and rented a car to use in Portugal.
On 10/18/08, at Lisbon Airport, I took possession of a Opel Astra 1.3 Cdti 4P with 11,937 km. I took the CDW and theft protection not the super CDW. For the 4+ days my cost would be $265.10. You will note that in addition to fines or penalties for road violations, I am responsible for “the repair costs for damage to the ‘vehicle’ resulting from a crash, collision or rollover….”
Approximately 15 miles from the Lisbon Airport, in the town of ESTORIL, my clutch went dead. After about an hour, a tow truck came and towed my vehicle away. I took a taxi to the Avis in town. Their representative told me they have had a lot of problems with this car because the engine is too small for this vehicle. I received a new car and went on my merry way.
On 10/22/08, I returned the car to Lisbon Airport. I could not get a final bill because the paperwork was not transferred from Estoril. I got a receipt that the car was brought back in good condition, the GPS was returned and the car had a full tank of gas.
I received my Visa statement from TD Bank in late November with the bill being due 12/15/08. On it dated 11/17 was a charge from Avis for $2565.31.
Obviously astounded by the charge, I sent an email to Avis’ customer service. I did not get a reply. I sent a second email and followed up with a phone call. I left a message. No response. Therefore, since the 12/15 due date was approaching, I called the bank to put in a dispute for the charge. They told me to pay the $265.10 I was originally required to pay. Sometime in late December, a rep from Avis called me to tell me that since I put in a dispute with Visa, they could no longer help me. I told them I reached out to Avis 3 times before I disputed the charge. That went on deaf ears.
In March, 2009, I received my Visa statement and noticed the charge was added back to my account. I called Visa and they told me that I should have received a letter dated 3/15/09 (it took me a month and a half to get this copy) telling me that my dispute was settled in favor with Avis and that they “no longer have dispute charge back billing rights in this matter.” They based it on the fact that Avis stated that “the cardholder is charged for the vehicle’s clutch, which burnt out throughout his rental period due to his inadequate use and had to be replaced.” THIS IS AFTER DRIVING ONLY 15 MILES.
There was no proof given that it was my use for these 15 miles which damaged the clutch. They just took the word of Avis. The fact that I drove the second vehicle over 600 miles with no clutch damage didn’t seem to matter. FYI, I also rented another car for 3 days in southern Portugal with Avis with no damage. The fact that there was no “crash, collision, or rollover” did not matter either.
When I got New Jersey’s Division of Consumer Affairs involved, Avis told them plainly that they are not responsible for Avis-Portugal because it is a franchisee even though one can make a reservation on Avis’ own website. Since the DCA only offers mediation, one needs two to tango and Avis-Portugal as well as Avis-Budget “has declined to mediate this matter.” Letters to TD Bank’s New Jersey headquarters Att: Mamie Prout, VP Chairman Service Ctr received no satisfactory response. Letters to Avis’ headquarters Att: Ronald L Nelson, Chairman/CEO went unanswered.
the moral of the story is to be careful when renting a car with Avis overseas. credit cards/banks sometimes do the vendors bidding not yours.The moral is that a)Avis/Budget sucks b)Visa sucks