Lowcountry lawmaker, others accuse rental car company of overcharging thousands

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A single Lowcountry lawmaker stated he was just one of a amount of persons who were being lately victims of a auto rental scam.

South Carolina Condition Agent Wendell Gilliard explained vehicle rental corporation Avis despatched him a massive maintenance monthly bill for damages to a rental motor vehicle he states weren’t there when he returned the car to the Charleston Intercontinental Airport.

The bill totaled far more than $20,000 in damages. Rep. Gilliard says he gained the invoice months afterwards in March regardless of returning the motor vehicle it in mint situation

“Took the motor vehicle back no trouble, acquired my receipt, it was a pair of hundred bucks,” reported Rep. Gilliard.

Gilliard rented a Lincoln MKZ by means of Avis for two times and returned it on January 27th. Months later on, he was sent a monthly bill by the organization alleging countless numbers in hurt. Gilliard reported his accountant named him right away.

“She calls me back and suggests hey are you sitting down down? I said properly why what’s completely wrong now? She suggests it’s not 20-just one hundred dollars, it is 20-a person thousand pounds,” states Agent Gilliard. “I reported you’ve got to be out of your brain, you’re kidding me.”

Representative Gilliard wasn’t by yourself, he says he’s heard from at least seven other individuals who obtained identical letters from Avis alleging considerable hurt to a motor vehicle they rented and returned at the Charleston International Airport. Amongst those people with identical activities was Whitney Borreson who returned a vehicle three days ahead of Agent Gilliard.

“No damage in any respect to it, everything was fantastic,” suggests Borreson. “I still left it there at the airport like I should’ve. It’s like properly this is preposterous, I didn’t lead to any damage to this car or truck.”

Borreson was charged almost $3,000, she states she complained and the rates were being afterwards dropped. Consultant Gilliard questioned the airport to open an investigation into the costs. From it, authorities uncovered approximately a dozen autos that experienced been taken by Avis workforce and applied for particular good reasons.

“It was some workforce after a consumer like myself had dropped the car off, they would get in the cargo bash and whatever,” states Agent Gilliard.

Agent Gilliard says he’s nonetheless preventing the $21,000 demand and options to draft condition laws to protect renters. He has also contacted the Far better Company Bureau and questioned the South Carolina Legislation Enforcement Division to open an investigation.

“This issue is larger than what it seems to be like on the area and we’re likely to get to the bottom of it,” suggests Consultant Gilliard.

Representative Gilliard is hopeful he can take care of the issue with Avis’s corporate business office to keep away from submitting a lawsuit in court but says he will if wanted to recover the rates. Representative Gilliard suggests at the very least seven other folks have arrived at out declaring they had equivalent experiences.

Information 2 reached out to Avis about the allegations, a business representative sent us the adhering to assertion: “Avis Finances Group has contacted the prospects impacted by this make any difference to solve the challenge.”