Note of warning - AVIS Italy
Written: Apr 19 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: (Initially) Price.
Cons: Faulty advise on insurance, leading to the above price to be anything but pro.
The Bottom Line: Don't trust AVIS representatives advise on insurance, even though it's their expertise.
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| milanese's Full Review: Avis |
Dear all –
a note of caution for renting cars in Italy with AVIS. This letter has been sent to AVIS’ Customer Service Director and Marketing Director. If they reply I'll update this post with a hopefully better experience to share.
“Dear sir/madam,
It’s likely most letters you receive begin with “I feel compelled to share my recent experience with Avis” and continue rather indignantly. This one may not differ so much but my aim is simply to enlighten you as to why your company may lose business on occasion. As a relatively regular and loyal customer of Avis around the world (although I am not a member of your priority club or some such rewards programme), I have hired cars from your firm as they are generally well-maintained and fairly new and the global reach of the company instills some confidence when driving far from home. Sadly all such feelings of security were obliterated on a rental over this past Easter weekend. Doubtless you will tell me the Italian arm of Avis is an autonomous law unto itself as most multinationals seem to treat Italian offshoots for some reason (!) but this letter will hopefully be cathartic for me as well as informing you respectfully of your brand being tarnished through less professional service in other countries under your brand logo.
The rental location in question is Via Carlo D’adda 19, Milan. The staff were reasonably helpful, when giving my credit card details on pick-up I used my US Platinum AMEX, checking first with the manager of the office (Barbara) that if I waived your extra insurance that the AMEX would cover CDW and theft and she answered affirmatively adding that I would have to pay 850 or 1700 euros respectively but that AMEX would reimburse me. As a result I declined the extra 19 euro coverage charge. We were handed the keys and proceeded outside to the double parked, rather beaten-up looking, economy vehicle. I am not in the habit of complaining in general so the state of the car was cause for consternation solely for myself and my girlfriend and we didn’t feel the need to share it with the Avis employees inside as we just wanted a functional, cheap hire to get us to the Alps before the snow melted. Suffice to say the Chevrolet Matiz 1000 wasn’t clean externally and it smelt of cigarette smoke inside – in transit the gear box was very loose, there was no water supply for the windscreen wipers, the CD/radio didn’t work and, most alarmingly, the brakes were, to say the least, spongy. By the Avis standards I had grown used to this was disappointing but the car ran and that was enough frankly. I would not be writing at all if we hadn’t had a slight collision in the alpine town of Courmayeur. I immediately called Platinum AMEX to check procedure and they informed me that rental cars originating in Italy were exempt from coverage (one of only six countries apparently). Obviously as a card member I should have been aware of this but I feel the manager of the Avis branch should also have known, or at least told me to check I was covered for sure, instead of assuring me when I asked if the platinum card’s benefits extended to the CDW and theft insurance. I have relied on the Platinum card’s coverage for several years with Avis and was shocked when I discovered how I have been seriously under-insured in Italy (your records with show rentals by myself in Sicily and Sardinia within the last nine months alone).
I am left with no legal recourse in this event and I accept that entirely but the combination of the misinformation on picking up the car, the sorry state of the vehicle and the 850 euro plus 20% VAT collision damage charge for the weekend rental (when aforementioned vehicle was likely worth less!) has left me with such a sour taste that I won’t be hiring through Avis anywhere in the world going forward I am afraid. I hope this letter will help you with improved customer service in the future, particularly in Italy."
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
milanese
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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