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AVIS/BUDGET International Issues in Sicily

Rented a 9 passenger van and an SUV from Avis/Budget in Sicily for a very special family vacation with three generations. The SUV was great but we had mechanical problems with the passenger van that caused us to need assistance from their roadside assistance. We went back to the Avis/Budget rental store and they told us to contact their roadside assistance and then call customer service to have them refund the money if they pick up/tow the car. We rented two additional SUV's from them as they had no more passenger vans. We had to try to coordinate with roadside assistance for two days in Italian to have them come look at the van. They finally coordinated a time and came with a tow truck and took the vehicle, giving us a receipt. Didn't even look at the vehicle and we could not communicate with them.

We proceeded to call customer service and they said that they could not refund us the money yet, even though we rented the two additional cars ourselves from the Avis rental store. They stated that you could not directly speak with Avis/Budget international customer service. They forward the info and case number and someone "will get back to you via email in 7-10 days.
They proceeded to withdraw the entire amount plus $300 from our bank account. Four phone calls back to this "customer service line" that is apparently not a customer service line, a dispute investigation with our bank and over 6 weeks later and we still have not heard anything from them. Finally reached out to the executive board contact form on their website and got a customer service representative to reach back out. They will not refund the money only the $300. Still in the process of disputing this.

If you have no car problems I am sure you will be fine but if you have any issues that require roadside assistance or contact with their international customer service, please be aware it is impossible to get support and they will take hours of your time trying to resolve the issue.

Posted by
2960 posts

How did they withdraw money to your bank account? Were you using a debit card for all this? So well that’s why you use credit cards because they can’t get your cash and you also can dispute the charge.

Posted by
7323 posts

I'm not sure there is international customer assistance? I know many think if they rent from a major rental company in Europe they will get good service. However, the companies in Europe are only loosely affiliated with the companies in the U.S., so you can't get help through the U.S. Whether its Autoeurope or Costco or some other 3rd party, car rental is when I do like to go thru a 3rd party. Exception, I'll use local car rentals if they come highly recommended by local folks. That is what I'm doing in England.

Posted by
996 posts

OP, I'm sorry the company is giving you a hard time. Thanks for sharing.

Lesson to all of us. Always use a credit card for car rentals, apartment rentals, etc...so you have some recourse when things go wrong.

Posted by
1314 posts

If you did use a debit card, I hope you notified your bank and closed that card down immediately. I hope you find an effective recourse. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Thank you for alerting those of us here.

Posted by
2 posts

Yes unfortunately I was exhausted and mistakenly used my debit card instead of our Amex. That will never happen again. lol And I have created a dispute with our bank.
Yes there is supposedly an international customer service but you just can’t speak to them directly. They only create “case numbers” and email… just wanted others to be aware of this.
Helpful advice from you all though! Will only use credit cards and local companies or at least ones with international customer support going forward!