Travellers hit by exorbitant ‘premium location’ fees when hiring cars from Avis
CAR rental company Avis has hit customers with exorbitant “premium location surcharges” of up to 34 per cent just for hiring a vehicle.
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EXCLUSIVE: CAR rental company Avis has hit customers with exorbitant “premium location surcharges” of up to 34 per cent just for hiring a vehicle.
News Corp Australia analysis has found the company has deemed almost half of all its 236 Australian locations “premium” and has slugged customers accordingly.
While many hire companies charge this fee, usually it applies when travellers rent a car from popular locations including airports and train stations.
But a list provided to News Corp Australia of all the Avis locations showed many are away from airports, train stations and outside of the CBD.
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Despite this premium location surcharges still applied.
One customer revealed they were slugged an “airport concession fee” by Avis despite picking up and dropping off a hire car at Bondi Junction in Sydney — nowhere near an airport.
The customer was contacted by Avis and was told it was a “glitch” in the system.
Avis said they were looking into the issue and the customer would be refunded.
The analysis found premium location surcharges bite — for a five-day car hire at Canberra Airport where the highest surcharge applies, customers hiring a Toyota Camry can be charged an additional $48.
Consumer group Choice’s spokeswoman Sarah Agar said the fee is “opaque” and should be more clearly explained to travellers before they hired a vehicle.
“Avis needs to explain exactly why it’s charging these so-called ‘premium location’ surcharges,” she said.
“It’s hard to see how fees of up to 34 per cent simply for dropping a car off at a particular Avis location can be justified.
“Businesses should be transparent about the fees they’re charging and why, not ripping people off with inexplicable surcharges.”
Avis depots at airport locations are among those that charge the highest premium location surcharges.
This included Sydney (31.5 per cent), Melbourne (29 per cent), Brisbane (25 per cent), Darwin (25 per cent), Perth (24 per cent), Adelaide (21 per cent) and Hobart (19 per cent).
But an Avis spokeswoman defended the fees and said they varied depending on the location.
“This charge varies by location and is calculated as a percentage of the rental amount due to additional costs of operating at prime sites,” she said.
“Customer service is of paramount importance to us and we always strive to provide the best experience and value for our customers.”