Venerus v Avis - Is This a Scam?

MysteryMan

I have just received a letter regarding a class action in USA involving Avis Budget.

I did actually rent a car in Florida between the dates mentioned and wondered if anyone knows if this is genuine and safe to follow up or is it some sort of scam?

Here's the letter.....


Thanks for any advice/information!

glennmiller1314

I've received a similar letter today. It looks like there was a genuine case but that could be an eloborate trap. Had a look at ScamAdisor and it gives a trust rating of 62/100.

The trust score of veneruscarrentalinsurance is fair. Why?

veneruscarrentalinsurance.com is probably not a scam but legit. We analysed the website and came with a review of veneruscarrentalinsurance.com of 62%. This trust score are given to websites with a medium to low risk. Our trust score is crawling the web for information to automatically determine a rating. We look at where the website is hosted, where the domain was registered, which technologies are used and 37 other facts. As the review of veneruscarrentalinsurance.com is done automatically we cannot guarantee that the rating is perfect. We always recommend you to do a manual checkof n ew websites where you intend to shop or leave your personal data.

Positive highlights

We found a valid SSL certificate    The website has a "registered till" date far in the future    DNS Filter labels this site as safe

Checked for malware and phishing by Flashstart

Negative highlights

The identity of the owner of the website is hidden on WHOIS.    The Tranco rank (how much traffic) is rather low.   The age of this site is (very) young.

We also hired a car during the period in Florida. I'll maybe make a diary note to look at this again in a months time and see what has happened.

Albermarle

I think I would balance the fact that if there was a payment, it is unlikely to be a significant sum, against getting caught up in a scam/ a lot of hassle/ending up on a suckers list.

aviscar

I also received one of these letters today, I had hired a car on Florida during this time frame was just hoping to check if it was legit or not

sheramber

Did you use a prepaid voucher?

Geoff_Pierce

I also received the letter today. I checked my travel history, and I did book a rental car in Florida with Budget in the timeframe of the claim.
Given that the other members who have posted in this thread also hired cars in Florida, it does look genuine to me- I guess they pulled our records from the computer systems.
The other reason why I think its genuine, is that the claim amounts are quite modest, in my case I hired a car for 17 days, which equates to about $110 + interest.

If it was a scam I would expect a rather more tempting offer, in the order of thousands of dollars, to entice me!

Hopefully a few more members who received the letter will follow the same route, and post their experiences here, confirming they too had booked cars in Florida during the time in question.

`Googling` the case supplies plenty of websites which confirm the legal action took place

GST54

I received one today and also rented a car in Florida during the period outlined.
Having done a bit of research it seems legit, but I saw a forum that stated that Avis Budget were forced to release customers details of those affected (via Affordable Car Hire ) many years ago. It came from a PO Box in Radstock which is not traceable, with no covering letter (odd or unprofessional).
At best it is legit, at worst it is a scam from a hacked list.
Given that the payout is $6.51 per rental day (increased to $7.46 if you claim early, REALLY), hardly seems worth the effort besides the risk of getting scammed.

Miss_LovesToSaveMoney

Me too

Has anyone signed up on the link yet? 

MysteryMan

Yes, I did pay by voucher.

Been on to the website and it is pre-filled with my information, including booking reference and date of car hire.

You are offered 3 options to get money (Mastercard electronic voucher, physical check(!) or bank transfer) It is only the last one that required any details.

Not sure how this can be a scam or how it would work and very tempted to go ahead.

Or, maybe, as suggested earlier to wait until near to the cutoff date (Jan 23) and do another ScamAdvisor check.

thriftyblonde

Hey! I received one today also but tried typing the Claimant ID and confirmation code into their system and it's not recognised. Checked and double checked my typing - still no go.... Other option looks like it's collecting data. Alarm bells are starting to ring maybe? Anyone else had a problem getting in using claimant ID and confirmation code?

55carolann

I’ve had this letter as well and we did rent a car from them in Florida during the time stated.  My first thought was it’s a scam and our details had been hacked, so I looked it up.  Apparently letters relating to this were sent out in 2016 asking if people wanted to opt out of the claim, although I don’t recall getting one.

My thoughts now are, either it’s genuine or their data has been hacked.  It’s not worth the risk for the small amount but I’ll hold tight and see what transpires.