Stay away from Autovia / Ecovia !!!

_tagfc

Same experience here, just more recent. I just wish I had reviewed social media for posts about Autovia before I tried it as there are many people with similar experiences. In fact there are a few threads like this one right here on MSE, which is a clear indication that Autovia is still engaging in dubious practices.

Blatantly rude staff at Autovia in Turin bullied me to sign the declaration of damage even if I didn't agree with it, and I am now landed with a 370 Euro bill for a small dent that I didn't notice when I collected the car as it was wet from just having been washed. I have rented cars for more than 30 years with many other companies and this is the first time ever that I am being charged for damage, on a car that was clearly sublet from Leasys, so this is probably Autovia's business model being that the initial charges are very low. I am now trying to argue that the charges are too high for repairing a dent of 6mm in diameter, let's see how that goes.

There is a consortium of European car rental companies where complaints can be made, ECRCS Register a Complaint, but Autovia as a group does not subscribe to it, predictably. As Dukke says there is also a European Consumer Centre, European Consumer Centres Network - ECC Net - European Commission (europa.eu) where you can complain, which after Brexit refers you to the Home | UKICC - The UK International Consumer Centre (ukecc.net) for residents of the UK. Sorry but I can't post links yet...

cica1307

Hello i had the same experience,exactly like so many before me Autovia charged my credit card 6months!!!after i returned the car and for scratch i didnt make.My bank payed me the money back and now a year later they are sending me email saying they will take legal action.In a mean time i obviously canceled that cc.Does anyone have experience with that legal action?is that really happening?thanks

MontseSO

Hi, does anyone have any update to this? I've had similar with threats of legal action - how serious will I have to take this? Was was the outcome for you cica1307?

Worldtraveller1

I had a similar problem, initially given the wrong car to check and painstakingly went over recording all the damage to be told they made a mistake, this is your car! 
We went through the damage form, there was a lot of unrecorded damage that we pointed out and was told they would amend the form. We missed one area under the sill as it was parked against the office wall and could not see it. They charged the Credit Card and our bank reclaimed the money as they were satisifed it was not billable damage.

We have now spent since August battling with them. I was told they have photos proving the damage was not there at the time of the hire, but these have not been sent on. I have now had a letter from their lawyer saying I have to pay up plus legal costs of 120 euro on top of the 300 damages. Any thoughts on what I should do next?

jbrassy

Firstly, sorry to the OP for having to go through this experience. Sounds like a real pain. However, I would ask the OP: did you have car hire excess insurance? If you did have this insurance, this would pay out and ensure you are not left out of pocket. 

Separately, this forum is littered with examples of people renting from local car hire companies with prices that are too good to be true (Gold Car, Green Motion, Easirent, etc). They lure you in with cheap prices, then when you get to the car hire desk, they impose really high excesses on their insurance and go to great lengths to try and find damage on the car when you return it. I don't think it's true what other posters have said that 'all car hire companies are the same'. I have never had issues with Europcar or Hertz for example. 

In future, I would strongly advise:
1 - getting car hire excess insurance through www.moneymaxim.co.uk
2 - only renting from an established and reputable company, i.e. Hertz/Thrifty/Dollar, Enterprise/Alamo, Avis/Budget, Sixt, Europcar/Keddy. You will pay more, but the overall experience will be a lot more pleasant. 
3 - If you want to save money, use a decent price comparison site to find the best deal. I personally use Booking.com as Genius members get discounts, but Rentalcars.com is also good as you can get cashback by going through Top Cashback or Quidco.

If you do this, renting cars is unlikely to be a stressful experience.