In the last few weeks I have ranted about Avis business practices, and even insinuated that Avis in Germany was preying on foreign travelers who decline insurance coverages. Meanwhile, Avis has made good.

On May 7 after 9:00pm I picked up a Mercedes C190 in Munich, Germany. The garage was very poorly lit. The car was black. I saw no damage of any kind when I did my brief cursory inspection. When I brought back the car less than three days later, the Avis check-in agent wiped the front bumper with her hand and found “damage.” There were some scratches on the bumper and underside of the bumper that I didn’t even see when she pointed them out. I took a close-up picture and they don’t show up. Even if I had inspected the car in full daylight with great care would I not have noticed these “scratches” and left them for benign.

Avis charged me 720 euros to fix this “damage.” I protested, but nobody was there with authority to hear me. I had a flight to catch and international security to go through. So I figured I’d handle it with Avis after I got home.

Avis then proceeded, through several iterations, that Avis Germany was only a licensee and they had no control over the situation. Meanwhile Avis  Germany fixed the “damage” and reduced the charges to 541 euros, 340 for lacquer, and the rest for labor. That still amounted to $715 for damage I didn’t do and could not proof that it was there before I picked up the car. All maneuvering got me nowhere.

So I found the name of Ronald Nelson, the CEO of the Avis and Budget Group (international), and wrote him a hardcopy letter. I could only find his name, not his address and place of business. So I addressed the letter to the customer service office. I told the CEO that after over 20 years of using Avis literally hundreds of times, I was leaving them now, as a result of this dispute.

Today I received a call from the Avis executive office telling me that they had reviewed the case, reviewed my history of business with Avis over the last 20 years and decided based on my business they could certainly afford to absorb this charge.  They credited my account with the $715 of the repair costs.

I appreciate this gesture. I am sure your average renter will not write to the CEO of the company. Your average renter also hasn’t brought the level of business to Avis that I have over the many years.

But nonetheless, thank you Mr. Nelson, and may your company’s support group improve its processes and services so others that feel mistreated have a way to get things put right.

I will use Avis again, and I will make sure I purchase the coverages next time I rent in Europe. This was too much work.