Georgia police seized couple's car rental – Why they blame Avis for “insecurity” situation
While searching for the stolen car, Georgia police rushed a couple in California. Driver Noelle Wilson wants to know what happened. She and her partner just went to pick up groceries.
“My heart fell into my stomach,” Wilson recalled, sharing her story with ABC7 News.
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The officer asked about car registration. Wilson explained that she was driving the Avis rental.
She was surprised when the officer told her the license plate on the vehicle (the black Honda CR-V) was registered to another car: the White Chevy Malibu.
He said that's why he stopped her, wondering if she was driving the stolen vehicle.
It turns out that this is not the first time. The official broadcast a colleague who identified the problem.
“All their brand new cars didn't register them, they just threw different plates on the car,” said colleagues.
When the officer at the scene apologized to Wilson and her partner, he had to seize their rental car, leaving the couple high and dry.
They had to order Uber back to the holiday rental, but it turned out to be a minor inconvenience compared to solving the situation caused by Avis.
“Their negligence puts us in a very unsafe situation,” she said of the car rental giant.
Avis
Wilson spent a week trying to clear the matter with Avis so that she and her partner could return to California.
“What I always got was, 'We can't do anything before we go back to the car.' “How do I return to this seizure car? ”
To increase the insult of injury, Avis also accused Wilson of not returning to the vehicle, except for maintaining the entire duration of her rent, even though she did not actually use the car because it had been seized.
The week after getting the run, Wilson approached ABC7 News and the media reached out to Avis to comment.
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In response, the company reviewed Wilson's case, and a spokesperson confirmed that the incident “had happened due to a system error.”
More importantly, the company apologized.
“Aves Budget Group apologizes for the inconvenience caused to Noel and will refund the rent in full and cover the additional Uber fees incurred due to this incident.”
However, Wilson called the incident a security issue, not just inconvenience or lost money.
“Honestly, I think maybe we were pulled by someone else, the ending [this] The story will be completely different. ”
The officer who pulled the couple agreed.
“We ran VIN and the car wasn't even registered in the state. You would think a big company like this wouldn't happen,” he said in a phone interview with ABC 7.
Car rental and consumer protection
There are many consumer protection laws applicable to car rental, including the car retained on time and correctly retained, service pricing, disclosure of additional costs and the protection of your rights during the loss claim.
To avoid Wilson's own situation, you may have to do additional due diligence when you pick up your rental car.
You can verify your vehicle registration number (VIN) online, read your rental agreement in detail, and make sure you retain any documents related to the rent.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends that car rental customers find themselves in a situation where they suspect car rental fraud, report it to reportfraud.ftc.gov, or contact their state attorney general.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is without any warranty of any kind.
