Priceline Hotel: MIA Miami Midsize Avis

[tzm_oasis]

I have bid a AVIS car through priceline, pickup at 8:30 am and drop off at 7:00 pm the same day. The AVIS decide to charge me more than $100 in addition to priceline charge.

Talked to AVIS customer service, they said what priceline told them is that we should keep the car over night, because we returned the car the same day, the price no longer applies, but I do have the confirmation letter from priceline showing returning same day.

anybody have problem before?

Thanks

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please provide the full details of your rental:

City

Pickup Date and Time

Drop Off Date and Time

Car Class

Then please clarify:

Talked to their customer service, they said what priceline told them is that we should keep the car over night, because we returned the car the same day

Which customer did you speak to when you "talked to their customer service"? What dates and times did you actually pick up and drop off the car?

We'll then move this thread to the Priceline Car Rental section of the board and reply to you there.

[tzm_oasis]

City Miami

Reserved Pickup Date and Time 2009 Dec 18 8:30AM

Actual Pickup Date and Time 2009 Dec 18 9:02AM

Reserved Drop Off Date and Time 2009 Dec 18 7:00PM

Actual Drop Off Date and Time 2009 Dec 18 5:17PM

Car Class Mid-size

Wining price $50

[thereuare]

You don't owe Avis anything and i'd try one more time to resolve with them amicably at which point i'd just have your credit card company deal with them (but do try to deal with them directly first, as i'm always an advocate of only using your credit card company as a last resort)

When dealing with AVIS, fax them your winning bid confirmation from PRICELINE, and even if they claim that you own because you returned the car early, inform them that PRICELINE's terms do allow you to return the car early. From PRICELINE's HELP section select 'self service' and search for "return early" and you'll see the following:

You can always return your car earlier than your scheduled drop-off time but priceline cannot issue any refunds for unused time.

So of course you're not entitled to any refund for unused hours or days (not applicable in this instance anyway), but you're definately not subject to additional charges (which would be applicable if you returned the car late, but again, not the situation in this instance)

Let us know how it all ulitmatley works out.

Good luck, and please share your future wins with the board and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links here for your future travel purchases.

[frugalKansan]

I'm glad you posted this thread on this site because I too rented a car through priceline, and will need to turn it in early. I wasn't interested in a refund, but I sure don't want to pay anything extra.

[thereuare]

I'm glad you posted this thread on this site because I too rented a car through priceline...

It would be appreciated if you shared your win with the board... maybe your win will help somebody else, just as this thread has helped you :)

[tzm_oasis]

I faxed the reservation confirmation from priceline to AVIS. It took 24 hours for the fax to appear in AVIS system.

Now they said they have refunded all the extra money back to my credit card.

If you reserved the car for over night 1 day, and you returned the car same day, you may get into trouble. AVIS will charge you at a ridiculously high rate. This should apply to multi-day rental as well. For example, if your reservation said you are going to keep the car for 5 nights, but you only kept the car for 4 nights, you are in trouble. You may still be able to get back your money, but only after a painful fight.

When you pickup the car at AVIS, AVIS will ask you to sign a paper, at the bottom-right corner, there is a line saying "IF I RETURN THE CAR PRIOR TO THE DUE IN TIME SET FORTH ABOVE, I MAY BE CHARGED A HIGHER RATE." Is AVIS changing the contract between me and priceline?

The refund hasn't appeared on my credit card yet. I will report again if there is some money left un-refunded.

[thereuare]

Unless you have information that this is an ongoing problem, i'm going to guess that this was simply a mistake, which Avis has since corrected. I don't think you can make a 'blanket statement' and draw a conclusion from your experience/sample size of one.

[tzm_oasis]

The AVIS customer representative clearly told me that if I have reserved for 1 day over-night, and I returned the car the same day, I was going to be charged the extra money.

Also pay attention to the line "IF I RETURN THE CAR PRIOR TO THE DUE IN TIME SET FORTH ABOVE, I MAY BE CHARGED A HIGHER RATE." on that paper that AVIS let customer sign when picking up the car. If you see that line, better ask the AVIS staff the meaning of this line.