Laura/John sent a message to Ronald L. Nelson – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Budget Group, Inc. – email address that said:
Dear Mr. Nelson,
I am unsure if you are aware of the practices of the Avis subsidiary Payless. Recently (8/4-7) my husband and I rented a car from Payless in Oakland. We understand that is is a "lower end" car rental agency. What we didn't realize is that it apparently makes up the difference between their low rates and what they want to charge you by imposing trumped up "damages" on you. They claim that the passenger side carpet was so severely stained that it needed to be "detailed" and they charged us an additional $150. We did not have any food, beverages (except water), or animals in the car. Neither of us smoke. We noticed nothing while the car was in our possession. We have opened a complaint and so far we have gotten two "policy" explanations and had the ticket closed on us. They haven't once addressed our particular case or issue. We have contacted our credit card company to challenge the charge. Our next step is to contact the BBB and start posting reviews on the various websites available to us. Prior to doing that, I wanted to give you the opportunity to address this mistake (at best) and horrible business practice (at worst) that we seem to have fallen victim to. We appreciate you attention to this matter. Sincerely, Laura and John
