We booked a famous Michelin restaurant in Positano, and if we didn't arrive on time, we would be fined 30 euros per person. We went to pick up the car at 9 am as scheduled, but were told there was no car and we'd have to wait until 11 am. When we went back at 11 am, there was still no car. The whole day passed without a car, and we missed our restaurant reservation. The store staff offered no solutions that wouldn't cost us, and when it was his lunch time, he just left. Our two-day rental was ruined the first day, and we were fined 210 euros by the restaurant. The next day, there was still no car! We immediately switched to a new company and things got better. We booked a two-day full insurance rental but haven't gotten any refund till now. The car we rented temporarily cost as much as our original two-day booking, and we were still fined by the restaurant. Really want to cry.
I've rented cars many times overseas through QEEQ, but this experience with AVIS in Milan, Italy was the worst!! They claimed the model I booked was not available and forced me to pay for an upgrade to a larger car, without attempting to coordinate or urgently arrange a new one. They gave me two choices: either pay for the upgrade or cancel the trip with a fee! Due to my fixed plans, I was forced to upgrade to a more expensive model at an additional 25 euros per day for 7 days, totaling an extra 150 euros. However, they charged 200 euros upfront on my card. When I asked why, AVIS staff pretended not to know and said the computer showed that fee.
The AVIS staff were extremely rude and impatient throughout, with very poor English skills, showing no willingness to help unless I paid more. The AVIS rental location at Milan Central Station is very difficult to find. I waited in line for more than an hour because there were five people in front of me. When it was my turn, they said I was late! After the paperwork, I had to walk 15-20 minutes to the pickup point, which was in a tricky basement area. When I got there, I found plenty of Audi A1s and similar cars, but at the counter, they said there were no cars of the same model available. I asked the pickup staff about the idle Audi A1s, but they also didn't understand, stating these cars were normal. They told me to talk to the front desk, but I had already paid! It felt like they saw my urgent schedule and forced extra charges on me.
After 7 days, I returned the car in Florence at a combined rental and gas station. There were no AVIS staff present, so I had to call and have the gas station staff inspect the car. Once verified, they let me leave. AVIS staff never appeared. I asked for a return receipt and email, and the gas station staff said they would send it when they returned, but I never received it. Three days later, my credit card was inexplicably charged around 800 euros! I immediately contacted QEEQ's customer service to resolve the issue. They only recorded my complaint, saying that the Italian staff were not working and would need a few days to look into it. After over a week, I finally got feedback saying the last 800 euros charged was the deposit pre-authorization that wasn't processed before and was retroactively charged. A week later, AVIS reversed the pre-authorization. Regarding the forced upgrade fees, AVIS claimed it was because I was late and no similar cars were available, hence the upgrade. I pointed out their slow service; it took one and a half hours to serve five people, with only one working counter. I waited long outside, and when I tried to explain my time was up, the staff rudely sent me back to the line outside! Eventually, they found they had overcharged me by 60 euros for fuel fees and refunded that amount. No further explanation was given.
Overall, it was the worst car rental experience I've ever had! AVIS in Italy, supposedly a large international rental company, provided terrible service, with hidden and forced charges. I'll never choose AVIS again! Be cautious with AVIS in Italy! This rental experience was extremely poor!
We booked the vehicle for 8:30 am.
When we arrived at 8:35 the branch was still closed.
The clerks arrived only around 8:45 and the whole process until we left took over half an hour.
When we returned the vehicle we arrived at 9:15 am and the clerk asked us to wait until he was done with another customer. A process that took him a long time.
He then told us he owed us a high amount because we were late.
He said the vehicle was delivered to us at 8:38 ...
About QEEQ:10.0/10
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Customer Service
Great, will continue to use for my future bookings.
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