This is all I can think of, other than feeling sorry for the customer
Avis car goes missing during rental
Tarikh Campbell shared his bizarre experience with Avis car rentals on Twitter. His car vanished from the Teaneck, New Jersey home he was staying at. Although everything pointed to the car being taken, it appears that Avis took the car away.
Campbell gives us a brief summary of the events that occurred:
Campbell flew from New Jersey to spend the weekend with family and friends on Friday, August 13. He rented a 2020 Toyota Camry at Avis Newark Airport.
Campbell planned to meet friends on Saturday, August 14th. He was trying to get to his car when he realized that it wasn't where he left it. The car was apparently parked in a safe suburban street with ample parking.
He called the police and they confirmed that there was no impoundment order. So he called Avis to see if the company could track it with GPS.
After waiting on hold for more than an hour, he was told by the emergency help line that Avis could not track the car and that he should file a report about a stolen vehicle with the police
A police officer was present to file a report. It was now 2:30AM. He had a flight the next morning at 9AM.
He took a Lyft to Newark Airport in the morning. He told Avis about it. He was informed that he would continue to be charged until the car was returned.
He returned to his home and thought of checking the EZPASS activity. His transponder was in the rental car. The transponder indicated that the car had left Newark Airport shortly after 10:30 PM the night before. This was around the time he noticed the car was gone.
He became suspicious that someone had stolen the car and why would they drive to the airport from where it came?
Campbells aunt, who lives in the same street as the car was stolen from, looked at her home security camera and saw that a red tow truck had tow the car the night prior.
After Campbell left Newark Airport's Avis office, Avis app showed Campbell suddenly that the car had been returned. Campbell was still charged for the late return fee.
Campbell was unable to get in touch at Avis. This is why he started a Twitter account. Now that the story is viral Avis has refunded Campbell's rental payment and is conducting an investigation.
My aunt has a home surveillance system that records the entire area from her front door to her street. She pinpointed the exact time the car had to be taken. A large, red tow truck drove straight to the spot where the car was parked. And stopped. pic.twitter.com/SVOlKk8ObY Tarikh Campbell (@tarikhcampbell) August 20, 2021
This is a miracle! It's amazing!
This story is so bizarre, but it also reflects the quality of customer service in car rental. I am curious to see what investigation uncovers, but a few things spring to mind.
Avis may have had a way to track Campbell's car since Campbell did not provide an address and no other information related to the rental was associated that address.
My only theory is that there was an order for the car be repossessed. Maybe someone rented it in the past but didnt return it. Avis works with third parties for repossessions and they never received the memo that the car was finally returned.
There are many theories. I think it could be Avis was not involved. However, I don't see any logic to this.
No matter what the explanation, Avis customer support here was terrible, as is the case with so many other car rental companies.
Avis has now reimbursed Campbell. But they owe Campbell more than a Lyft refund. They owe him some compensation for the inconvenience and aggravation and an explanation of the actual event and the steps to avoid it in the future.
Bottom line
While I don't expect high-quality service from car rental agencies, this Avis experience is exceptional. Avis at Newark Airport rented a car to someone. The vehicle was then towable from the property where the customer was staying. Avis did not acknowledge this, but claimed that he would continue to be charged until the car was returned.
Avis is now reportedly investigating the incident. I hope that the findings are made available to the public because this is a serious mistake.
What are your thoughts on this Avis car-rental incident?
