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“It was the other driver’s fault,” Nicholas Chandler explained. The Bostonian rented a car from Avis for a single day. During his possession, another driver rear-ended him. Both drivers were insured, but the at-fault driver’s insurance took over. Chandler figured everything was handled…until he opened his credit card statement.

Avis billed more than $7,000 for 29 days of “loss of use” for a not-at-fault accident

Suspiciously, the receipt Chandler received read 29 days of actual rental car use, not loss of use.

When Chandler reached out to Avis, the company confirmed the charge was legit and for loss of use. But when Chandler asked for a fresh receipt so he could inspect the charges, the rep wouldn’t send one.

Chandler also spoke with Sedgwick, the company that handles Avis claims. That rep felt the charge was unusual, since Sedgwick was already pursuing the loss of use from the at-fault driver’s insurance. The rep said they thought it could be a billing error.

Consumer advocate gets involved

Chandler told Christopher Elliott, who founded a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, that Avis held its ground. It insisted the 29 days were for loss of use.

Elliot, who contributes to the Boston Globe, stepped in to help. He contacted Avis multiple times to understand the bill and ultimately exposed an administrative error.

Avis billed for 29 days of the highest rental car rate and told the customer it was “loss of use”

“It looks like there was a series of miscommunications in your case,” Elliot responded. He found out that Sedgwick only charged the at-fault driver $1,222.

Per Chandler’s records, he’s not liable to pay Avis for loss of use in the event of a not-at-fault collision. 

So, it seems, someone at Avis created a charge for 29 days of the most expensive rental car rate in their menu. The loophole, which mimicked something like an “organic” rental car extension, allowed the company to charge Chandler’s card. By the way, that’s how I’m reading the tea leaves. Elliot didn’t comment on Avis’s intentions here. He did mention some perplexities between the tow truck service and the rental car location.

“This was a confusing case,” Elliot reacts. After multiple interactions with Avis, though, a rep told him, “We’re adjusting the contract back to a one-day rental and removing all the additional days that the customer didn’t have the vehicle.”

The result? Avis did what the rep committed to doing. Chandler told Elliot when the refund hit his credit card. “This is incredible, and I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”