Anniversary Adventure 2021 - An Infuriating Postscript

Now that we're home from our amazing Anniversary Adventure Road Trip (seriously, go see all the cool stuff we did), it's time to review all of our spending to see how well (ha!) we stuck to the budget and make sure all the credit cards are where they should be. Everything was going great until I looked at my Visa, which I'd used to reserve the car a few months prior.

There's a $450 charge to this card from Avis?? It was paid in full in August, there shouldn't be anything additional, except some tolls. 

So I pulled up Avis' website and contacted Customer Service.

Whenever I have to contact Customer Service, I always make sure my emails are polite and thorough, and this one was no different. 

After a day or so, I got a reply back. And I was pissed. I was told that the vehicle was returned in such poor condition that they had to charge me a $450 Cleaning Fee, and send the vehicle to another location to be deep-cleaned (to remind everyone... It was given to me IN THIS CONDITION!)

This email included the Vehicle Inspection Report stating "Heavy" Smoke Smell, as well as photos to "prove" that we'd smoked in the car. (For those of you who are new here, I quit smoking in 2007, my spouse doesn't smoke, and neither of us smoke weed). 

The Driver's Door Instrument Panel (probably Chick-fil-A crumbs!)

Dust & Dander on the Steering Column

More dust and dander on the Instrument Panel

What I think is salt and glaze chips on the floor of the car

They are inferring that two weeks worth of regular car dirtiness is somehow proof that we smoked weed in this car. To a normal person, this is dust, dander, salt, and probably some donut glaze flakes! Or maybe some of that terrible white powder from Little Debbie powdered donuts?  It absolutely is not cigarette or pot ash!

Let's continue...

I replied back, with more information about my rental and that the stank wasn't mine but I took the vehicle anyway, because I wanted to be a "good customer." (I guess I was, good for an extra $450!)

Again, my email is stern, but reasonable, I think anyway. 

Okay, this is not okay.  So, I respond back that, no, these are not valid charges, because it wasn't my damn fault the car stank in the first place! 

And then came the pity email...

Here, Karen, we'll give you $100 if you just shut the fuck up, okay? No, I'm not gonna shut up, because this is on you guys!

No, this is not acceptable! Like, yeah, thanks for the $100, but I'm still being penalized $350 for someone else's bullshit here!! 

And then the final email response from them said, basically, fuck off. 

After fuming for a while, I did what any rational person would do... I disputed the charges with Visa themselves, via my bank. I sent an email to them, detailing everything from above. 

(I won't give you the entire rundown again)

And again, I was cockblocked by Avis. Their response to Visa said that I violated the strict rental policy regarding smoking in the vehicle as well as sanitation... WTF??? How is 37 grains of salt and a dusty dashboard a violation of sanitation policies?!? 

I replied back, thanking my agent for her assistance (because it's important to be nice to Customer Service agents!)

So, yeah, lesson learned. Lesson learned. Yes, yes, I know... I can hear you screaming from the beginning of this post that I should NOT have driven the car off the lot. My naïvety is showing quite clearly; I thought that the smell would dissipate, I thought that reporting it to the clerk when I returned would cover me. I'm the Mary Sue of my own life, and that "sunshine and rainbows" attitude cost me $350 in the end. 

I used to think that I just needed to be wary about the outside of the vehicle, doing walk-arounds, stuff like that. But I tell you what... from now on, I will be utilizing my cell phone camera to record myself the moment I start the rental pick-up process until such time as I am happy and drive off the lot. I will do a walk around on the outside. I will open the door and describe the smell. I will sit in all seats to do visual checks for any dirt or damage. Only once I do that will I drive away. And if anything is out of whack, I will go right back to the damn counter and be that Karen until shit gets fixed. I don't care if it takes me 3 hours and I go through five cars. If this is the alternative? I'll be a bitch all day long. 

And I'll record that, too.