I have rented cars overseas many times through QEEQ, and this time with AVIS in Milan, Italy was the worst experience ever!! They claimed the car I booked was unavailable and forced me to upgrade to a larger car at an additional cost. There was no effort to coordinate or provide an alternative. You either paid for the upgrade or had your reservation cancelled! Due to my fixed itinerary, I had to pay an extra €25 per day, totaling €150 for 7 days. They initially charged €200 on my card, and when I asked why, the AVIS staff feigned ignorance and said it was the system's fault. Additionally, the service at AVIS was terrible, with rude and unhelpful staff who had poor English skills. If I didn't want to pay more, they simply ignored me. The AVIS location at Milan Central Station was very hard to find, hidden in a corner. After waiting in line for over an hour with five people ahead of me, they had the audacity to say I was late! After finally completing the paperwork, I had to walk 15-20 minutes to the pick-up point, which was a difficult-to-find underground garage. When I arrived, I saw several Audi A1s, the car I initially booked, sitting unused. Yet the counter said none were available. Even the staff at the pick-up point were confused as to why I couldn't use one of these cars. Having already paid, I was left with no choice but to comply. I was in a hurry and felt coerced into spending more.
After 7 days, I returned the car in Florence at a combined location with a gas station. No AVIS staff were present, and the gas station attendant had to check the car for me over the phone, confirming all was fine and letting me leave. I asked for a receipt or an email confirmation, but was told it would be sent later, which never happened. Three days after returning the car, I was mysteriously charged around €800 on my credit card!
I immediately contacted QEEQ customer service, who acknowledged my problem and informed me that the Italian staff hadn't started working on it yet. It took over a week to get a response, explaining that the €800 was a security deposit that should have been charged at the beginning but was instead charged after I returned the vehicle. AVIS later revoked the authorization. Regarding the forced upgrade charges, AVIS claimed I was late and thus no similar cars were available. I pointed out their slow service, where it took one and a half hours to process five people with just one working counter. While in line, I had tried to explain my situation but was rudely asked to leave and wait outside! After some coordination, they refunded €60, which had been overcharged for fuel. However, no further explanation was provided. This was the most disappointing overseas car rental experience, especially from a large company like AVIS. They were deceptive and coercive. I will never choose AVIS again! Beware of AVIS in Italy! This experience was extremely poor!!
Before picking up the car, I checked the store's reviews and saw many negative comments. It was indeed worrying, but fortunately, the car rental and return process went smoothly this time.
I booked three identical cars several months in advance, but when picking up, none were available. They said the cars were rented out and hadn't returned yet, and I might have to wait for hours with no guarantee of availability. We had to downgrade to smaller models, but the price didn't drop. It was twice as expensive as renting through other platforms.
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