Noelle Wilson, a San Lorenzo, California, resident, was on vacation in Suwanee, Georgia, with her girlfriend. The couple had picked up groceries for dinner when they noticed a police car following closely behind. She wasn’t speeding or driving recklessly, but was increasingly suspicious about the officer’s proximity.

“Right when I said, ‘Hey, this officer is tailgating us, ‘ his lights and sirens went off,” Wilson told ABC7.

The couple was scared. The officer’s body camera showed him slowly approaching the car, and telling the couple why he’d pulled them over.

“So the tag is coming back to a different car. Can we get the rental agreement?” the officer asked. The officer’s suspicions were confirmed when he ran the vehicle’s registration. The car Wilson was driving was a black Honda CR-V, but the plates belonged to a white Chevy Malibu.

The officer called in for more information and discovered it likely wasn’t an accident

The officer’s body camera recorded him talking to another officer over his car’s radio. According to the responding officer, the rental company, Avis, had done this before.

“All of [Avis’] brand new cars, they haven’t registered them, and they’ve just been throwing different plates on the cars,” the other officer said.

“We ran the VIN, the car’s not even registered with the state,” the officer making the traffic stop responded. “You’d think big companies like this, this wouldn’t happen.”

The couple wasn’t cited, but the officers had to impound the vehicle. Wilson said she and her girlfriend had to call and wait for an Uber.

“We were just really anxious and on edge the entire time,” she said.

The rental company was unwilling to answer questions

The couple made it back to California safely and decided to contact Avis for a refund. However, they ran into some evasive roadblocks. Wilson said the company either wouldn’t answer, kept transferring her calls, or would hang up on her. When they did answer, the company failed to offer a solution.

“All I kept getting was ‘We can’t do anything until the car is returned.’ How do I return this car that’s been impounded?” said Wilson.

So, she called the media. Reporters contacted the company on the couple’s behalf and were emailed a statement, along with a promise to refund the couple.

“Avis Budget Group apologizes for the inconvenience caused to Noelle and will be refunding the rental fee in full, as well as covering the additional Uber expense incurred as a result of this incident,” read the company’s statement.

The company blamed a “system error” for the plates mismatching the vehicle. A spokesperson neglected to answer how often this happens or how many cars have had plates from a different car. Wilson was happy to see a refund, but is disheartened that a solution didn’t crop up until the media became involved.

“I mean, I guess I’m glad I’m getting something, but it would just be nice that I didn’t have to go through news stations to get that,” Wilson said. “Their negligence put us in a very unsafe predicament. I honestly think if maybe we were pulled over by somebody else, the ending of the story would have been completely different.”