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August 2025 by Varvara Ladage
Had great customer service and a good car.
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August 2025 by JShankz
If you search Google or Reddit for “Avis” and “$450,” you’ll find far too many similar cases. Beware of the scam. Here is another one of those cases:
I rented a car from Avis (Midway → O’Hare, August 1–3, 2025). The vehicle already had a strong marijuana odor at pickup, which I verbally reported to the counter agent. They had no comparable replacement vehicle available, so I was forced to use it for the weekend, enduring the smell the entire time.
My official rental receipt shows I returned the car on August 3 at 7:23 PM. At 7:25 PM, I received Avis’s “We Value Your Opinion” survey email confirming the rental was closed. However, the “Damage Capture Report” Avis uses to justify a $450 cleaning fee is dated August 4 at 2:49 PM — nearly 19 hours after the vehicle was returned.
Avis admits in writing: “We have no prior documentation of the existing smoke smell” — meaning they have no record of the vehicle’s condition before my rental. Yet they maintain the charge without solid evidence and with a broken chain of custody.
This is a clear example of an abusive practice. Avis should not charge a customer for a pre-existing issue they cannot prove originated during the rental.
I rent many cars through my company and will not be using Avis ever again in my life.
I have filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will escalate to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau if needed. I will also share this experience publicly so other customers are aware of Avis’s abusive billing practices.
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August 2025 by Latisha Cooper
Rented a car from the Midway Airport location. Antwanette was great! She saved the my day!
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August 2025 by Mark Fillmore
Terrible customer service, very unprofessional and not helpful in any way. I have rented from many other Avis locations and always had wonderful service, definitely not this one , I was overcharged , I returned the car with a full tank of gas. And charged again on returning the suv, will definitely not recommend Avis at midway
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August 2025 by Vytis Aranauskas
Avis Midway location is just something else. Rude, ignorant staff, barely moving and very mean to customers. Just sad that these days you see that.
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August 2025 by Nick Solish
Currently waiting in a 30+ person line. One person at the counter despite there being ten registers. It’s 2:00 pm on a Saturday and every other rental car counter is open. I strongly recommend NOT booking with them ever.
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July 2025 by John Pierce
Wonderful customer service. Fast easy check in and check out. Definitely the best experience I've ever had at a rental location.
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July 2025 by nhu tran
Bad services ever,
We rent a car with fee , not getting the car for free
Please respect and service well
Never choose this brand again
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July 2025 by Krish
I’ve booked Avis many times in the past but didn’t have such a bad experience before. We were asked for 2 forms of ID. we don’t travel we our passports in hand for domestic travel as we have USA drivers license. I’m not sure if it’s the system or what, but had to wait for 2 hours to finally get a car from National. Avis and budget didn’t give car
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July 2025 by Ibrahima Fall
Well manners/
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July 2025 by Sandy
The only reason why I'm giving them1 stars customers service, particularly the (800). The staff at service desk was phenomenal, the staff in the parking lot was phenomenal . When u called they hang up on you. Calling the 1- (800) number is horrible i called about my 👿reservation yesterday. I had a reservation with a different car company. They switched it, they told me that rental insurance was included with the car. So when I went to pay for my car, that was not the case. I called 1( 800) number In front of the young lady, at the desk, she said this happened yesterday, I showed her the email, she said that the customer service reps the( 800) are just trying to get a commission. So the man on the phone claim, he will refund me my deposit within seven days. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and file on the complaint.
Not only did I did not get the vehicle that was promise to me.I had to go 2 different cars, just to get a car to get out of there, very disappointed never ever will use Avis!🤬
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June 2025 by Drg Outbreak
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE RENT A CAR FROM THIS PLACE i have a fully paid for 760 dollar reservation that a i placed more than a month ago and they said there are no cars that its first come first serve now im sitting here stuck in the rental building with no way to get to my hotel unless i pay 126 for a uber this is ridiculous
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June 2025 by Bill Schultz
13 people in line, 1 person on the counter.
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June 2025 by Denise Kaiser
Took the car in the spot that I was given, but on exiting it wasn’t the right car. Charlotte who was handling the exit gate untold me not to worry she would fix it; and she did…she was Amazing!!
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June 2025 by Boyella Boyella
I rented a vehicle through my corporate travel, from Avis at Chicago Midway, in the first week of May for 2 days.
While I returned the vehicle in absolutely perfect condition, their billing department sent me an email a week later, claiming that the car had been returned in bad condition, requiring $450 of cleaning charge. I contested, and they sent me a damage report having pictures of damage of dirt, sand, etc. However, what damage report mentioned is not me, not my car, different location, and dates of rental of someone else. I replied, pointing their unprofessionalism and lie. Without any acknowledgment, they sent me another report showing my name, claiming this time that it was smoke smell damage. I don't smoke, nor were there any other passengers with me. Once again, the report blatantly was cooked up because the return date and employee ID who performed the checking were wrong. At this time, I realized they were manipulating to charge me with a lie to get money.
I have complained about them to the right forum and authority for action. I researched further, and this clearly seems to be their method of unethical practice to falsely charge many customers of cleaning charge.
Wish I could give them a ZERO star, never will go for rental with them.
Update: June 10, 2025
When the charge was disputed by me, showing their damage reports to proper authority within my company, they concluded the blatant discrepencies and unprofessional approach of AVIS (Chicago Midway). It has been then escalated to AVIS management by my company and promptly the charges were taken off. Prior to this, AVIS Chicago Midway folks responded to the dispute (raised with Credit card company) and conveniently replied to the complaint, not showing the damage reports as proof because that would have caught them lying. Instead they made totally different cookie cutter statements with couple of pictures that have no relation to what they claimed in first place as damage.
I caution anyone renting with AVIS at Chicago Midway to think twice, if you still rent, ensure when you return, take video/pictures as proof.
