Beware AVIS petrol charges

northwest1965

We have always had a dollar.co.uk car when visiting the USA. This time Dollar did not have a pick up location for us, so we choose Avis.

On all dollar cars, we pick up full and take back empty. No extra charge.

With Avis, if you do this, it will not be made clear to you, after 10hr flight that you will be charged $9:eek: a gallon (of course before someone chirps in.....yes i know we should have sat and read T's & C's)

Sorry Avis, you won't be getting my business again

NiftyDigits

Thanks for letting us know that you are...a bit silly....for the want of a better phrase.
Most people actually prefer a Full/Full policy. That way you pay the the petrol that you use. With Full/Empty, you pay for the tank of petrol in advance. Did you? If you didn't, then I'm afraid that it has nothing to do with the T&C and everything to do with...naïvet!.
If you did not pay for a tank of fuel in advance, did you imagine that they gave it to you for free?? At the very least, you should have returned it at the level at which you took it.....or pay the penalty.

northwest1965

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Thanks for letting us know that you are...a bit silly....for the want of a better phrase.
Most people actually prefer a Full/Full policy. That way you pay the the petrol that you use. With Full/Empty, you pay for the tank of petrol in advance. Did you? If you didn't, then I'm afraid that it has nothing to do with the T&C and everything to do with...naïvet!.
If you did not pay for a tank of fuel in advance, did you imagine that they gave it to you for free?? At the very least, you should have returned it at the level at which you took it.....or pay the penalty.

with dollar you receive car full and take back empty, always have done so, since 1987!

It wasn't charged at the time, taken payment today

NiftyDigits

northwest1965 wrote: »

with dollar you receive car full and take back empty, always have done so, since 1987!

It wasn't charged at the time, taken payment today

This from Dollar:

How does the Prepaid Fuel option work?
If you mark the 'Accept' box on your enrollment form for the Prepaid Fuel option, you will pay for a full tank of fuel at the price set forth on the Rental Agreement, and you have no obligation to refill the fuel tank. At most of our locations the prepaid fuel charge is calculated by multiplying the stated rate per gallon charge in the Rental Agreement by the manufacturer's specified fuel tank capacity for the vehicle. There is no credit or refund given for any fuel in the tank at the end of the rental. If you decline our prepaid fuel option, please refuel within 10 miles and present your receipt or you will be charged for the fuel used.

If you receive the car full, you pay an agreed amount for the full tank.


With AVIS, you did not choose this option. So you had Full/Full. No charge for tank of fuel, just bring it back at the level that you found it. That is generally the cheapest option for the Renter. But you are complaining.

ferf1223

dollar.co.uk appears to require you to pre-pay for a tank of fuel (policy below) so you must have been charged each time previously when you picked up the car? the pre-paid rate is generally much better than the rate if you haven't pre-paid and do not return it full...dollar.com doesn't require pre-payment, but you can pre-pay if you want.

It's not just Avis, so I wouldn't fault them...just be careful when renting in the future that you know what you have signed up for. I know it's not the better option in terms of money saving...but I prefer to pre-pay as it's one less hassle on the day we head home...provided that the pre-pay rates are not silly, are reasonably in line with what it would cost to fill the tank once and we expect to use at least or close to a full tank.


Fuel Policy:
Your rental quote excludes the price of mandatory fuel purchase. Your vehicle will be provided with a full tank of fuel which will be charged at the equivalent of local pump prices when you pick-up your vehicle.
This charge varies depending on the vehicle model and price of fuel at the time of hire and will be in addition to the Approximate Total Price quoted for your rental.
You should aim to return the vehicle with as little fuel as possible because there will be no refund for unused fuel.
Please note that by paying this fuel purchase charge you do not need to refuel the vehicle prior to your return and will not be charged any refueling service fees by us.

Backbiter

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Thanks for letting us know that you are...a bit silly....for the want of a better phrase.
Most people actually prefer a Full/Full policy.

Pre-paying for fuel can be phenomenal value. Just to give an example: last summer I hired a full-size car from Dollar.co.uk for £36 for 24 hours from Key West Airport to Miami Airport. This included a full tank of fuel. We drove well over 200 miles before we returned the car. The rate without the Platinum option was £30, so the 200 miles worth of fuel - and upgraded fully inclusive insurance - cost us £6.
Opting for the Full/full policy would have been far more expensive.

PeacefulWaters

Oh for the good old days when you'd take a full tank, return with a partially full tank and be charged for the fuel used at a fair and pre-agreed rate.

The car hire industry needs regulating across the globe.

NiftyDigits

Backbiter wrote: »

Pre-paying for fuel can be phenomenal value. Just to give an example: last summer I hired a full-size car from Dollar.co.uk for £36 for 24 hours from Key West Airport to Miami Airport. This included a full tank of fuel. We drove well over 200 miles before we returned the car. The rate without the Platinum option was £30, so the 200 miles worth of fuel - and upgraded fully inclusive insurance - cost us £6.
Opting for the Full/full policy would have been far more expensive.

That's a relative bargain.
My point is that Full/Full is not considered bad practice. Full/Empty is in Europe, because of the horrendous price charged for a tank of fuel.
So one should check what option is offered, before making assumptions.

Foxtbh

Full/Full is best possible practice - I reject any car hire firm that does not operate this policy.