Warning to those renting from Avis

[Texasmomof3]

We rented 2 cars from Avis to use for the day after we got off the Dream cruise over spring break. My husband was ahead of me going thru the tolls and paid for both cars but didn't get a receipt (we never have) going to Downtown Disney and back to the airport. Found out later that they were charging us for the tolls saying we had not paid for either car. From now on we will be getting receipts which will slow things down but oh well. We had no issues with the cars we rented from National the 5 days before the cruise doing the same thing and my husband was paying for 4 cars following him then. We have rented cars in Orlando so many times and never had a problem till then. lesson learned.

 

[Mich Mouse]

Where are the transponders? I've been going to FL at least twice a year for the last decade, renting from National or Alamo and never knew about them.

Do all the rental companies have them? Would the charges be on your receipt when you return the car or do they bill your cc later on?

 

[ibob52]

Being from California (southern) I am not much familiar with Toll Roads ... On the way from MCO ... there was a sign stating the far right lanes are for cash only (tolls) = when I saw the sign it took awhile for me to process (2-3 seconds) by then it was too late and I had just *blown by* the toll (area/booth) ... oh well = I will be getting a Toll (adjustment/fee) from Alamo = sometime soon.

In California we call (Highways) = Freeways ... Doh.

** Alamo = Toll charge just added to my credit card (online) = $2.75 ($2.00 fee + .75 toll) **

 

[gmeh1]

Where are the transponders? I've been going to FL at least twice a year for the last decade, renting from National or Alamo and never knew about them.

Do all the rental companies have them? Would the charges be on your receipt when you return the car or do they bill your cc later on?

National and Alamo do not have transponders, they have something called Toll pass. I posted a link to it a couple of posts up. It wil show up on your credit card a week or so after your rental ends. You are not charged unless you use it.

 

[gmeh1]

Being from California (southern) I am not much familiar with Toll Roads ... On the way from MCO ... there was a sign stating the far right lanes are for cash only (tolls) = when I saw the sign it took awhile for me to process (2-3 seconds) by then it was too late and I had just *blown by* the toll (area/booth) ... oh well = I will be getting a Toll (adjustment/fee) from Alamo = sometime soon.

In California we call (Highways) = Freeways ... Doh.

Yep , you will be getting a 2.00 charge plus the toll (assuming you only used it one day for one toll.)

 

[delilah]

We too rent exclusively with Avis from multiple areas in Florida 3-5 times a year, because I too get corporate rates that don't compare with the other companies. I think the word "scam" implies they did it on purpose. Why couldn't it have just been an over sight? The people who are cleaning and checking-in the cars don't really care if you use the auto-tolls or not. The person who had the car before may very well have used the transponder, thus it was left in the on position. I don't think there is a scam!

gmeh1--There may not be transponders in EVERY rental car, but there is a means to capture those unpaid tolls. By not having a transponder is where the trouble begins. I received bills from National for unpaid tolls because they captured the plate number. However, I stopped at every single toll booth and had receipts to prove it. Then there was the bill that came for tolls at times I was not on the highway...that was the scam with rental cars and tolls a few years ago. I'm not saying the transponders work perfectly, but at least the renter has the option to turn it on or off. If one finds it on and doesn't want to use it, then they need to turn it off.

Hon, I can't see how much more "on purpose" it can be to have something that has a posted price of $1.25, and then to charge an unsuspecting customer either $4 per day in addition to the posted tolls and/or to consider buying something (a transponder) for $25 that has absolutely no utility when the customer is at home. I can just see it--packing for FL next time, and looking for the transponder. If the whole concept of this doesn't sound scammy or fishy to you, fine. For the record, I have been driving for 40 years, and I have never had a parking ticket, or moving violation, or failed to stop to pay a toll ever, anywhere. Really, I am a law abiding person, but it sticks in my craw to have to pay an additional $28 for a 7 day car rental for a total of $5 posted tolls. By my calculation, that's a 640% mark up. If I posted a price for my services, then forced customers to pay 6.4 times as much, I'd go out of business in no time.

The original intent of my posting was to warn fellow travelers of this situation, nothing more or less. I was trying to help people who possibly don't live in FL or a state where they have transponders. I see on this board, within the past few days, that other people have made much the same observation that I have. One person rented from National, and was charged an additional $37 for the duration of their rental.

 

[kneemeister]

You would think, that they could do what Ohio has done, They have mounted payment machines on the side of the old boots to pay with cash or Credit Card if you dont have an EZ pass. Of course Florida has made its living scaming the tourists.
I do understand the use of open tolling on new toll roads as the cost of gantries to mount the cameras and antennas on, is much cheaper than toll booths. The use of open tolling began in Toronto. And at one time Penn. was proposing converting I-80 from a freeway to a tolling system that only charged you if you passed two gantries several exits apart. So local trips would be free.

I drove south of Orlando on the turnpike a couple years ago with an Alamo rental and got off the turnpike and almost hit the gate as at that exit the plate pass system was not installed, It was still cash only at that exit.

 

[OKW Lover]

We rent from Avis at MCO probably 4 times a year. As much as I dislike the convenience fee, I don't believe this case was a systematic Avis scam. Much more likely that the previous renter had turned it on and the people doing vehicle turnaround at MCO missed turning it back off before putting it on the outgoing lot.

A good habit to get into when renting a car is to do a walk around to note any damage before driving off. Just add checking the transponder to your routine along with adjusting the seats, mirrors, etc.

 

[delilah]

You would think, that they could do what Ohio has done, They have mounted payment machines on the side of the old boots to pay with cash or Credit Card if you dont have an EZ pass. Of course Florida has made its living scaming the tourists.
I do understand the use of open tolling on new toll roads as the cost of gantries to mount the cameras and antennas on, is much cheaper than toll booths. The use of open tolling began in Toronto. And at one time Penn. was proposing converting I-80 from a freeway to a tolling system that only charged you if you passed two gantries several exits apart. So local trips would be free.

I drove south of Orlando on the turnpike a couple years ago with an Alamo rental and got off the turnpike and almost hit the gate as at that exit the plate pass system was not installed, It was still cash only at that exit.

Illinois, where I grew up, has had unmanned tollbooths ever since I can remember, and that goes back to about 1964. Whenever we went to Brookfield zoo, we got our thrills throwing our penny collection into the tollbooth. But, more recently, the unmanned tollbooths don't take pennies.