Avis has been pretty good to me, and I try to rent from the when they can.  However, this past weekend, I got caught by a little trick that I had not seen before.  A little sign at the Preferred counter caught my eye when picking up my car in Tulsa, but I didn’t think much of it.  It said something to the effect of if you drive the car less than 75 miles, Avis will automatically add a fuel charge of $13.99 if you don’t refuel the vehicle.

I refueled the vehicle as I always do prior to returning it.  I expected to drive more than 75 miles during the weekend, but as luck would have it, I only drove the car 68 miles.  As I was walking to the terminal, I took a quick glance at the receipt and noted I’d been charged an extra $13.99.  There was no discussion about refueling with the return agent as I’m accustomed to having, and frankly, I forgot to mention that I’d refueled the vehicle.  I stopped by the Avis counter in the terminal, showed them my refuel receipt, and they gladly removed the charge.

Be aware of this when renting from Avis (and anyone else), and check your receipts closely.  And make darn sure the return agent knows you refueled your vehicle.