This is not a review of a rental, but a tribute to the Avis staff at the Albany airport, who spotted an item I left by accident on their rental counter, and took the time and trouble to call me and hold on to the item until I was able to return to the airport. Big shout out to Steve and the rest of the Albany Avis Staff. Many thanks. Peter read more

My job booked my rental for me in advance, and this was still quite an unpleasant experience. The woman who "helped" me was beyond vague and I had to ask her what she meant at least a half dozen times. I'll take the blame for agreeing to the gas program, which again I had no idea what it was due to the employee sucking. I would chalk it up to her alone, although the guy next to me being "helped" by someone else was also dissatisfied and clearly frustrated with the experience. All in all, go anywhere else. read more

I am extremely frustrated with my recent Avis experience. First, I could not access my GPS on the second day of my rental because it required a PIN number. I did not know where to find a pin number, so I had to use my phone's GPS. I was late for my work meeting, and my phone ran out of batteries. Avis did not give me a refund because the representative said I should have been told about the PIN number at the time of rental and because I did not call immediately. Well, I was not told about the PIN number, and I did not call because I was already running late to my meeting. Second, I left a bag of homemade baked goods with a lot of sentimental value in the rental car. I called within 30 minutes of dropping the car off, and the Avis rep said she would check to see if the bag was still in the car. She never called me back. I finally was able to get through to the Albany store (instead of the national line where calls are directed if the local line is busy), and I was told there was no bag. There was no way the front desk could check with the people who clean the cars because apparently the cleaners do not have a phone. It is unbelievable that Avis does not have a better system for ensuring that patrons are able to retrieve their lost goods. Travelers are often in a rush and forget things. Avis should be aware of this and have a more responsible policy for communicating within the company and with customers. I will not be using Avis in the future. read more

Ok so i needed to rent a car a couple weeks ago and decided to try avis. So i prepaid the rental car i chose. Not long after that i received a confirmation email and read it. It said at the bottom in small print that i needed a credit card to actually pick up the car on the date i needed it on. Mind u i dont have a credit card. So i guess one of my issues are that they let me prepay it n took my money immediately from my debit card. And now i have to go and try to pick up the car and let them run my credit and get denied for my credit score being to low in order to get the money put back in my account. I tried to cancel the rental and this is what the customer service person told me i had to do in order to get my money back. Maybe it me but it just dont seem right SMH read more

I'm a "Preferred" member, reserved a full size car, and expected to get in a car and go. I waited in line for nearly 2 hours plus another 15 minutes of paperwork because their system was down. They didn't have anything in my car class - I was offered a Jeep SUV (unsafe - and I didn't reserve a truck) or a near beater Corolla. There was no upgrade to a premium or luxury car. So I took the Corolla. It was flashing "Needs Maintenance soon" messages throughout the 2+ week trip. Big fail - this - having a Jeep forced on me - happened to me in Hawaii too, so I'm done. read more

Stay away. I posted this to the Budget page as well but both these counters are managed by the same folks. My husband rented a car using a company discount and returned the car early two days before Christmas. He was charged an additional $100 dollars when we returned the car (the car was only $100 to begin with). Like any sane person he went to ask the manager what the additional charge was for. Rudest "customer service" experience I'd ever had in my 30 years of the life. The manager, Kyle Ronda, was a condescending jerk. Told my husband it was his fault that he hadn't read the terms and agreements and that this happens all the time. Says its their policy to charge people an extra 100 bucks for returning the car early but he'd waive it as a one time favor. I'm ticked at my husband, telling him this is why we should stick with the company we usually use, then Kyle butts in and says "You can have this conversation in private but if you continue to talk about this I'm not going to waive the fee for your." Wow. Just like threatened to not waive the fee unless we allowed him to censor our conversation - between the two of us - in a public place. This guy shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the public. I told him to shove and he then flounces off in a huff "fine I'm not waiving it" as though he's God. I mean what a prick. I wasn't even talking to him! We called the corporate office where they promptly refunded the fee and told us that it was actually a mistaken charge. Needless to say will never be renting from them again. Also did a little googling on this manager and some interesting stuff popped up - company should watch their cash registers around Kyle. read more

There's been countless times when I pick up a rental and the tank is less than full. Whatever right? Today I filled the tank but it was just a tiny bit below the full line and I got hit with a stupid fee saying that the tank was 7/8 full when it's more like 19/20 full. Whatever. Take my money, here's a * in return. You can bet I'm not renting from this branch when I return this summer. read more

Very pleased with the car good mechanical condition! This is rare with Avis. Also right next to the airport.

DO NOT RENT FROM THE ALBANY NY AIRPORT LOCATION. They charged me a $74 refueling charge on a vechicle that I brought back with a full tank. Then because I when I filled up I paid cash and have no bank statement to "prove" that I filled the tank they will not reverse the charge. I am pretty sure this is a revenue stream for them. DO NOT RENT FROM AVIS. I am sure that I am not the first person to encounter this practice. read more

Worst customer service ever with little to no knowledge of their job or company procedures. Every time I step foot or have to deal with this location I get more angry. The behavior of most of the staff is appalling. They don't know how to do the most simple things like a mini lease or maybe just refuse to and just pretend they don't know. They are taking 0 precautions trying to avoid contact and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are risking lives of so many people! I was forced to enter the location and be subjected to the agent tell me I didn't have a reservation when my keys were sitting on the counter the whole time! As a preferred member I had checked in and picked my car on the app. Over the last week I have called the location phone 60+ times and they refuse to answer calls. Avoid this location and post your reviews to let people know what is happening. They are not being held accountable for their negligent and abusive actions read more

Do not rent here---no matter how cheap they make your rental seem; total rip off!! Needed an SUV for 4 days for a family vacation, found a really good deal through Priceline for 45/day; reserved car for 4 days. Complaints: 1- Reserved a midsize SUV described as a Ford Edge or similar. Provided with a Chevy Equinox. Car was not clean when we received it and we requested another car; we actually saw a Ford Edge in their lot and requested that car instead. The representative said he could not find the keys to that car and would not rent it to us. We waited 20 minutes to see if the keys could be located but apparently they disappeared. The representative was not helpful in resolving the fact that our car was dirty and said we could either take the car or upgrade for 10 dollars or more a day. At this point we were already over 1 hr behind our travel schedule and took the Equinox for time sack. 2- The car was not old, less than 5,000 miles, but clearly had transmission issues, the car stalled when in reverse and hesitated with acceleration. We noticed this midway home from our trip to Maryland. We notified the agency of this finding upon returning the car, we felt we should have been provided a discount for a faulty vehicle but received nothing. 3-We extended our travel plans by one day and called to request an extension of our rental contract. They do not answer the phone! After 5 attempts I did reach someone who stated a rental extension would run 75 dollars a day although my agreement was for 45 a day...outrageous!4- upon returning the car and receiving the bill, my estimated 227 rental was now 420 dollars. This increase in cost was due to the one day extension, which is taxed seperate, as well as other ridiculous fees; 10 dollars for extension of rental fee and a 40 dollar restocking fee?!? I highly discourage renting from this company. If you do travel to Albany,NY airport, i would utilize other reputable rental companies such as hertz or enterprise; I have never paid so much for a rental car with such bad quality. Very disappointed! read more

Extremely frustrated and can not give them a lower rating. I'd booked a rental vehicle through Orbitz.com for Avis. Upon attempting to pick up the vehicle it was realized that Orbitz booked me through a location that isn't available to the general public. The manager, Chris Delaney, came over and stated there wasn't anything that he could do as the error was on Orbitz's end. Wanted to just charge me the rate of a person just walking up to the counter. I declined the offer and walked away very frustrated. I'd rented a vehicle from a different chain and went on my way. The next day it was discovered that Avis had charged my bank card over $1,500.00 even though they state that the transaction was cancelled. It didn't seem that Chris Delaney wanted to take ownership of the issue and pretty much said there wasn't anything that he could do and stated that he will definitely follow-up. It has been over 24 hours and I've not heard a word from him and still do not have a penny in my bank account as Avis has depleted it completely. read more

Most recent vehicle had exterior damage to the body and was not noted correctly upon the renting of the vehicle. Both lack of available staff and proximity of parking to other avis rental cars inhibited my ability to report the body damage prior to leaving the avis rental facility. Upon return I was told I had to fill out an accident claim form for said accident that did not occur on my watch. I assumed avis had a sophisticated enough of a system to have this noted on the vehicle each time the vehicle was rented instead of the "paper trail" process requiring 30-60 days to resolve. I have been a loyal customer with Avis for 4 years renting a car almost weekly from Avis and this is the first issue I have had with them. Unfortunately the way in which this issue was handled and the professionalism of this franchise I have decided that my business will be placed with a different rental company at this particular facility. I should not be made to feel guilty regarding body damage to a car that did not occur on my watch. I wrongfully assumed avis checks all cars and advises their rented of damage prior to rental, which is resulting in what will now be a lengthy process to resolve. read more

I wish I could give negative stars. RUN from this company. I see from other reviews here that they have done similar things to others. I rented a car from them online and prepaid. I even talked to an agent to make sure it was legit as I was flying across country with my children to albany and wanted to make sure I would have a vehicle when the gang landed. I got a receipt/reservation number and the money came out of my account IN FULL a month before our trip. I arrive in Albany, a single mom with 4 kids and was told by the counter agent they could not rent me a car because of my credit. I told him I prepaid and he said sorry, nothing we can do...which is apparently their company slogan. After complaining loudly saying what am i supposed to do now? I'm stranded with children. Just give me my money back so I can use it to try and rent another car...well, he then told me sorry, we can't give it back to you. It will be refunded to your card in 10-14 business days. They committed fraud and theft and left me stranded. I was never told I could be declined after specifically talking to an agent before I made the reservation and gave them my money. I will be looking into every governing agency, BBB and any social media to file fraud complaints and reviews warning other consumers. DO NOT USE AVIS AT ALL COSTS!!! read more

Gave out wrong sized car! Argued about size, finally had to show it to them on their own website and they had to agree. Make sure they give you the car you payed for! read more

Ugh, what jerks. They lie to you and tell you that the airport shuttles for other companies aren't running when they are. Who does that?!?

So far I can't get anyone to answer the phone to confirm my car rental through Hotels.com.

I made a reservation for a specialty car, Ford Mustang, for a special event two weeks before the date needed. Two days before the rental date I called to make sure that the car would be available and I asked "100% sure that it will be available?" and I was told yes. When I went to pick up the vehicle it was not available, I was told it had a flat tire and no one was available - on a Saturday afternoon - to change it. I was offered an alternate vehicle, a SUV, not at all like the sports car I originally requested. They did not have a alternate vehicle that would substitute as a sports car although there was a nice Mercedes sedan on the lot. I was charged the rate for a specialty car although I did not get one. The car we did get was supposed to be non-smoking but smelled of cigarette smoke and the car had not been washed. Staff was not available at the outside pick up bay for assistance. I don't believe Avis deserves one star. read more

If it were possible to give minus stars I would give the Avis at Albany Airport minus 10. After waiting in a line of 3 people for over half an hour, the agent processed my reserved rental fairly quickly. So no, I have no idea what took so long; however, there had been an accident at LaGuardia in New York City approximately 10 hours previous, apparently the flurry of business thoroughly discombobulated all the rental agents. I took my contract over to the garage and this is where Avis earned minus stars. There was a short line in the garage so once again there was a wait, 3-1/2 hours wait. The best I could ascertain was that the rush of business earlier used up all their ready cars and the garage agents were hustling cars from their supply lot as fast as they were able. On the other hand, one has to ask, why did they not restock their cars earlier. In any event, all the customers, including myself, put a good face on, smiled and made the best of the situation. Then I realized I was still waiting as persons who had come after me were getting their cars. I checked my contract and made sure my card had gone through, which it had. I kept trying to get an answer regarding why I was still waiting but all the agents did the "can't talk now, too busy" routine and I tried to tell myself to have patience and not be disruptive. Then the agents became very unprofessional toward me. They explained there were no more cars in the class I had requested (compacts) and I would get an upgrade but they would have to creat a new contract because the upgrade would cost more. What? I had never had this happen with Enterprise, the company I usually rent from. I made the reservation back in May I could not determine there was an Enterprise counter at Albany Airport so I went with Avis for price considerations. I needed the car for a week. I explained that they would have to cancel the first charge before running the card again. The Avis agent said they would, no problem. Well, they did not cancel the first charge, and the new charge was declined. Then they told me they could not rent me a car because they did not take my card anyway. Remember, almost 4 hours earlier the counter agent took the exact same card and processed it with no problem. They then sent me on my way, walking. You would think that was bad enough, but Avis had not finished ruining my vacation. Two days later I stopped screaming and went to another car rental company. Of course Avis never cancelled the charges on my card; so there I was, several hundred miles away from home, alone and with NO MONEY!!!!!!!! My bank put a hold on my card due to unusual activity - well, at least one mega heartless corporation was trying to help, even if that help was making things worse. So I call my bank and explain the situation so that was taken care of. I then called Avis to advise them that because they refused me service they had no right to my money, and they must immediately cancel the charges because at this point they were stealing my money. Of course the first two customer service reps with whom I spoke tried to tell me there was nothing they could do. Then I got to a supervisor who tried to tell me the situation I was discussing could not have happened. I insisted that it had, we went back and forth, then I was put on hold. This is where the whole episode became Kafka- esque. The next person to come on the line told me his name was Steven, and insisted he personally had rented me a car the previous morning at 10:30AM. I explained that I had taken a taxi Wednesday evening because Avis refused to rent me a car. I told him a few other things but won't bore you with all that. Steven put me on hold for several minutes then asked if he could call me back. I told him he had ten minutes or I would be talking to my lawyer. Steven called back very promptly, fully chagrined. However, he said there was no way to reverse the charges on my card, I would get a refund in a couple of weeks. I told him Avis had ruined as much of my vacation as I would allow. If my money was not back in my account by the close of business that day he and his company would be explaining themselves in court. The charge reversed the next morning, but I had been forced to borrow money from friends so I could get through four days of Avis hell, have you any idea how embarrassing that is? I know we are all supposed to be swimming in credit cards, I am not. I am an older person living on Social Security and part time work. Avis apparently only wants persons with Amex to rent their cars. read more

The staff is obnoxious, rude, and disregarding. Do not give them your business. They said I didn't have a reservation when in fact I did. I had to call corporate costumer service myself to solve the problem. read more