AVIS RENTAL COMPLAINT

SUBMITTED TO AVIS ON 5th February 2025

COMPLAINT

Booking Confirmation Number: 1*** ZA O PP Collection 11.1.25 Thohoyandou.1 – 13.1

DRIVER: THINAMAANO NDOU CARD HOLDER: YVONNE JACOB

I live outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo. On 10th January, upon learning that I had suffered kidney failure, my dear friend Yvonne Jacob who lives in Roodepoort booked a car with Avis in Thohoyandou for the following morning so that my son, Thinamaano Ndou, could rush me through to Life Flora Hospital. She booked it in her name, used her credit card to pay and provided Thina’s name and ID number as being the driver who would collect the car in Thohoyandou. This is all shown clearly on the booking confirmation.

However, on the morning of the 11th she received a phone call from your call centre to inform her that there was no car available, and that anyway the car could only be collected by the person who paid for it. As Yvonne lives in Roodepoort this was clearly not possible. A number of calls ensued between Yvonne, your call centre and a lady called Pindula based at your Polokwane branch, who confirmed that the car had anyway not yet been ordered could only be collected - by Yvonne herself - on the following Monday morning. As I was in urgent need of medical attention, we were left with no option but to cancel the booking and find alternative transport – which we did.

Considering the circumstances, especially the fact that it was clear from the onset that the person paying for the car was not going to be the driver, and that that there was no car available anyway, it is surely outrageous that you have the gall to charge a cancellation fee. A full refund is anticipated without delay; in truth, financial compensation for the hire of the alternative vehicle is warranted.

Please rest assured that we will not be using your services again. This was only the second time I have made use of Avis, and the first time was just as much of a fiasco.

Yours truly Fiona Nicholson Consumer Activist