Wrongfully withholding of deposit and further debiting my account without my consent

Quite frankly, if I could give Avis a minus 10 rating on Hello Peter, I would gladly do so. Firstly, it is relevant to mention that Avis is the rental vehicle agency chosen by my insurer and as such was a third-party provider which was not my provider of choice. Upon being presented with the rental vehicle I was not initially informed of the “holding deposit” of R2000.00 which would I would be required to pay upon receipt of the vehicle (which collection took place at the panel beater). I was assured by the Avis agent/driver that the “holding deposit” would be exactly that, a deposit which would be held by Avis while the vehicle is in my possession and I was reassured by the agent/driver who delivered the vehicle that it is rare that deposits are not returned to clients, that deductions are made pro rata to petrol consumption, damages to the vehicle etc. Subject to the reassurance from this Avis agent/driver, I acquiesced to the deposit payment expecting the repayment upon return of the vehicle. It is worth mentioning that I received the rental vehicle from Avis on 23 January 2024, which rental booking was initially approved for 8 days until 31 January 2024 at 09:00. However, given that the panel beater’s turnaround time on repairs to my vehicle was extended, the rental vehicle period was extended to 7 February 2024 at 09:00. Leading up to the extension deadline my vehicle was not yet ready for collection and I contacted Avis who indicated that there would be penalties for not returning the vehicle on the date and at the time to which the turnaround time was extended. In light of my obvious reluctance to be liable for penalties, I arrived at the panel beater much earlier than 09:00 on 7 February 2024 in order to return the rental vehicle (even though I had not been informed whether or not my vehicle is ready) and waited for the repairs on my vehicle to be finalised on the day (7 February 2024) after having been told by the panel beater that my vehicle was almost ready. Notwithstanding the fact that the repairs on my vehicle were not done by the time that the rental vehicle had to be returned, I was informed that returning the vehicle at any later time or date would lead to the incurring of penalties unless the rental vehicle period was once again extended (this was after the panel beater contacted Avis telephonically to inquire into whether I can return the vehicle later and was informed that there is a driver in the area who would be collecting the vehicle roughly at the time that the delivery was due at 09:00 or shortly thereafter and as such I cannot return the vehicle any later). Accordingly, I returned the vehicle keys to the panel beater (who works in partnership with Avis) before 09:00 on 7 February 2024. While waiting at the panel beater almost the entire day for the repairs on my vehicle to be completed, I neither saw nor was informed of a driver who collected the Avis rental vehicle and there was certainly no request from anyone to do a post-rental inspection of the rental vehicle which I maintain had no damages when I returned the vehicle on time on 07 February 2024 (before 09:00), to the place of collection (the panel beater who works in partnership with the panel beater). On or about 8 February 2024 (a day after the return of the rental vehicle), I was contacted by Avis and informed that there were damages on the vehicle and that my holding deposit will be utilised to deduct the amount of the damages. I immediately placed it on record by way of telephonic conversation on or about 8 February 2024 and by way of email correspondence on or about 12 February 2024, that the vehicle was returned to the panel beater in the same condition that it was provided to me and that I accept no liability for any damages caused to the vehicle, given that I caused no damage to the vehicle. I indicated to an Avis representative that any alleged damages to the vehicle must have occurred either/or: before I received the vehicle; after I returned the vehicle to the panel beater’s premises while it stood at the panel beater before collection; by their driver who collected the vehicle from the panel beater or in another way by someone else. Further, I indicated to Avis that I was not present at the post-rental inspection which is the only way that Avis could have even started insinuating that I caused any damage to the vehicle which I fervently deny. I was told that my complaint would be investigated, however it would appear that this supposed investigation merely entailed sending me photos of damages on the vehicle that I had never seen and this was apparently the end what was clearly a sorry excuse for an investigation. Avis indicated that the rental vehicle “remains the sole responsibility of the renter until such time that it is handed over to the Avis representative”, however I handed over the keys to the panel beater (who works in partnership with Avis) as requested to avoid penalties. Essentially Avis is saying that I either have to incur penalties for the late return of the vehicle or I have to stand there and wait for the vehicle to be collected (which according to the photos of the damages which was taken at the panel beater, was a day after I returned the vehicle on 7 February 2024). This is absolutely absurd. On or about 22 February 2024, I received a damage report and quotation which indicated that the repairs amount to R2 200.00 and was told that my deposit would not be returned due to the damages exceeding my deposit amount. On 26 February 2024 an invoice amounting to R4 036.54 was sent to my next of kin contact (which Avis never even attempted sending to me) and on the same day another R2000.00 was debited to my account without my consent. Further to the above and apart from wrongfully denying me from the repayment of my holding deposit less the petrol consumption (which according to an invoice amounts to R222.61 for fuel and ) and etoll fees (which was roughly R77.81), I was charged another R2000.00 on 26 February 2024 as indicated above which was debited to my account without my consent. This notwithstanding the fact that there is a dispute surrounding the damages which should be properly investigated and resolved before Avis can even start withholding my deposit, not to mention debiting my account with more fees without my consent. It is also worth mentioning that the photo of the alleged damages which I am being blamed for is a small scratch on the front spoiler of the vehicle. The actions of Avis has been and continues to be completely wrong and have in fact been borderline ********, withholding my deposit wrongfully and further withdrawing funds from my account without my consent. I have requested the details of the relevant individuals from Avis’s dispute resolution department but this request has been blatantly ignored. If I cannot resolve this issue internally with Avis and in a speedy manner, I will have no other option but to seek external remedies to resolve this dispute.