DO NOT RENT A VEHICLE FROM AVIS

I will do my very best to keep the language as clean as possible. Right now I should be on my way to New York City to attend the #BetterWithPets Summit hosted by Purina. For the past few weeks, all I could think about was everything I was going to learn and take in from this event. The sights I was going to see on the way, the new adventures I was going to have with my husband. I wasn’t going to get much sleep with driving 16 hours there and 16 hours back, but I was going to learn a lot and have so many memories. However, for me things never seem to go as planned.

On October 8th, I reserved the car through Avis, pick up was for October 16th at 10am until October 20th at 10am, I booked the hotel we were going to be staying at tonight and then we were going to finish the rest of the drive tomorrow morning. We were going to sight see some and then go to the Purina Registration Event so we would be ready for the #BetterWithPets Summit on Tuesday.

I had everything in order at home, snacks and food to get our daughter through until we got home, my niece and her boyfriend were going to come hangout at our home while we were gone. Last night I got our bags packed and had a hard time sleeping because I was excited for the trip. This morning I woke up at 7am, finished everything I was supposed to have done and waited until 9:30am when my husband and I left to go pick up the car.

When we arrived at the Millington, TN Avis location where we were supposed to pick up the vehicle, there was a note on the door stating they were closed for good and they had two different locations to contact. We contacted both locations and they each told us to contact the other. At this time I was beyond angry and I contacted Avis Customer Service…

Avis Customer Service was not helpful at all! I spoke with at least 10 different people with each telling me something different. I was informed the Millington location closed for good on October 11th. They said I would have to go to another location to pick up this vehicle. I explained to them I was not informed of this and I expected them to make it right. They kept telling me there was nothing they could do. Well, they sure didn’t hesitate to take my money for the rental vehicle…

I kept demanding to speak with a Supervisor and I kept being told the Supervisor would tell me the same thing, there was nothing they could do… At this point I am fuming, I demand something to be done, I was hung up on… I called back, once again the run around… transfered to this person, transfered to that person, I was on hold several different times, I went back and forth with this company for almost 4 hours total.

I was scheduled to get the rental car at 10am this morning, about 10:45 I was told that my rental had been switched to the Memphis airport and I could go there to get the vehicle. I asked several times if I would have an issue getting the vehicle I was told NO. I was told my price that I had paid would stay the same, I wouldn’t be charged extra, I was told once we returned the vehicle I would be reimbursed for one day rental for the hassle… Again I was told I would have no problem getting the vehicle I just had to show them my confirmation number and I would be set.

My husband and I drove almost an hour to the airport to pick up the vehicle… Once I got there I was told I had to pick up the vehicle from the Millington location or I would be charged extra. I told the lady I spoke with Avis Customer Service and was told differently, she looked up the confirmation number and stated there is nothing on there showing I would get the vehicle for the price I had already paid…

I was given the number for Avis reservations, I called them, I was told there was nothing she could do about it… I told her straight up, this was their mess up not mine and they were going to do something about it… After several attempts of I can do nothing for you, I told her to cancel it, at this time it was 12pm 2 hours past my reserved pick up time, this was putting my husband and I at our first stop at 4am…

I was informed if I canceled the reservation I would be charged $150… to hell if I will be, I didn’t mess anything up AVIS did, I was there to pick up the vehicle at the location I made the reservation for… I was beyond pissed at this point, I still had to drive an hour home…

When I got home I got on the phone with Avis AGAIN I tried to be as calm as I possibly could be, but it was hard, they ruined my trip to the #BetterWithPets Summit and cost me money. I explained to this person EVERYTHING that had happened… She told me she could cancel it and give me a FULL refund, am I happy with that, NO but it’s something I will have to deal with. I was given a confirmation number and her name. She told me I would receive an email showing the cancellation.

I checked my email and from the looks of it, she made new reservations with a new location and a new pick up time… Something I never authorized, then I had a second email showing the new reservation she had made was canceled. It states I would be refunded all but $150 because I canceled…

First off, I showed up at the location I reserved the vehicle for, I had no intentions on canceling anything Avis gave me no other choice but to cancel the rental. I also had to cancel the hotel room for tonight in PA and I had to contact the reps for the event to let them know, I was no longer going to be able to attend.

Avis never once sent me an email or called me to inform me the Millington, TN Avis location was closed. Matter of fact on October 14th, I received an email reminding me of my reservations with the pick up time and location at the Millington, TN Avis.

Now, I sit here stressed out because this was a great opportunity for The Neat Things in Life and myself and as of right this minute Avis has cost me over $500.

And if that wasn’t enough to send one in depression, on our way back from the airport after a failed attempt to get a vehicle we had done paid for, our truck decided it was going to stop running, so I had to pay $65 to have the vehicle towed back home, which I would not have had to IF Avis wouldn’t have had me running all over the place in order to get a vehicle. So I sit here unable to attend the #BetterWithPets Summit feeling sorry for myself and not knowing what’s going to happen next.

Since receiving the email from Avis stating I was being charged $150 for canceling, I have contacted my credit card company and opened up a dispute. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT RENT A VEHICLE FROM AVIS. The only reason I chose to go with Avis instead of Enterprise is because I didn’t have the $250 deposit Enterprise requires on all vehicle rentals. I wish I would have found away to have that money because I would have ended up paying less for the vehicle for a longer period. Lesson learned I will never go back to Avis again and I will spread the word until I am blue in the face on how horrible this company is.