Avis Southern Africa Reviews 147

Can't give them 0 stars. I researched and based on our needs booked a Toyota Conquest because we were going to drive all over the place and it is specced in one engine size:

Fuel tank: 55 L
Engine size: 1.8 L (138 bhp)
Boot-space 361 L

I got a ripped-off with the usual Class C "equivalent" Hyundai Venue: (sorry that is all we have or you will be stranded)

Fuel tank: 45 L
Engine size: 0.998 l (82 bhp)
Boot-space: 350 liters

What as ripoff, in ALL aspects a lesser car. We struggled on the motorways behind lorries and the car was so powerless to overtake, I hated driving every moment we were there. We even struggled with the odd boot-space in fitting our suitcases.

grrrr how horrible.

I have given them one star because I can’t give them any less

This is an evil company that should be hounded out of business

We complied with all their rules and then after returned to the U.K. they started taking charges from our credit card with no explanation

Eventually we were told it was for admin for traffic violations

When we asked for evidence we were told thy we could request that but then the South Africa authorities would chase us in the U.K.

We had no traffic violations

We did work it out though

The car has a device on the windscreen that auto pays motorway tolls. These tolls cost about £1.50 a time

You think this is a massive convenience until you get home and find Avis charges £18 a time for this £1.50 toll as an ‘admin fee’

I would not use this company again if my life depended on it

Review for Avis Car Hire South Africa – Unsafe Child Seat!

I had a deeply concerning experience with Avis in South Africa when renting a car with a child seat for my 15-month-old. The car seat they provided was completely inadequate and outright dangerous. It was so flimsy—lighter than a shoebox—with no proper padding or support. It felt like a cheap piece of plastic rather than a safety device meant to protect a child.

The seat offered zero protection in the event of an accident. There was no proper head support, and the overall structure was so weak that I can’t imagine it providing any real safety in a crash. Worse still, the straps were far too short, leaving my baby cramped and uncomfortable. Because of the poor design and lack of cushioning, she ended up with bruises on her lower back and bum after just a short time in the seat.

I was absolutely shocked that a major rental company would provide such an unsafe product. Child safety should never be compromised, yet Avis completely failed in this regard. If you need a car seat for your child, I strongly urge you to look elsewhere—this was an unacceptable and dangerous experience

Schlechter Service, unberechtigte Zusatzkosten. Bei Abholung in Cape Town Airport 2 Stunden Wartezeit - erst eine Stunde in der langen Schlange vor dem Schalter, und dann eine weitere Stunde, weil das Fahrzeug nicht verfügbar war.
Und dann eine echte Frechheit: Bei der Abrechnung 90 Euro zusätzlich abgebucht, weil wir zu spät zur Abholung gekommen seien. Wir waren pünktlich, aber Avis hat seinen Service nicht im Griff.
NIE WIEDER AVIS SÜDAFRIKA. Wir können nur abraten.
--
Poor service, unjustified additional costs. When picking up in Cape Town Airport, 2 hours waiting time - first an hour in the long queue in front of the counter, and then another hour because the vehicle was not available.
And then a real cheek: an additional 90 euros were charged on the invoice because we were late for pick-up. We were on time, but Avis does not have its service under control.
NEVER AGAIN AVIS SOUTH AFRICA. We can only advise against it.

Tried since Dec to pay my account. Asked numerous times for an updated invoice as the one I have is R0 and the one they keep sending me is R0. They keep trying to use my expired Credit Card which I am being charged a fee of R8 per each day since 16 Dec 2024. I have sent in the excess of 30 emails to try pay the account. Do not use them. Frontline service is amazing, customer care is awful.

I rented a car from Avis SA in January, i was stopped by the police on a random check, only to be told that the tax disc displayed was out of date, i was a little surprised as i use a large company not to have any issues. The next day i was parked and when i returned i had a pink fine ticket on the windscreen, for not displaying a valid tax disc! I emailed in to customer services, and to date no reply.
When i returned to the UK i received an email from Avis saying they were taking the fine from the credit card details they have for me, which they have duely done.
I have now sent 5 emails asking for this to be refunded but they havent even had the decency to reply. the number on their website doesnt connect.
A total disgraceful organisation and i shall never use them again, i have already cancelled 2 other bookings with them.
AVIS PLEASE REFUND ME for your mistake!!

After we returned the car, we received an invoice charging for child car seats that we did not have. Credit card was charged and we are now facing a fight to get a response from Avis.

I recently had an extremely frustrating experience with Avis and feel the need to share my complaint after being completely ignored for over a month.

I rented a car in Cape Town over december and returned it in the exact same condition I received it. However, upon returning the car, I was informed that I was being held responsible for damage that was already there when I collected the vehicle. When picking up the car, there was no staff member available to inspect it with me, despite my efforts to find someone. As a precaution, I took detailed photos at the time of collection, which clearly show the alleged damage was pre-existing.

When I was notified by them, I responded immediately with this evidence, but I have not received a single reply for over a month, despite sending two follow-ups requesting an update. Instead of addressing the issue, Avis has now debited an amount greater than my initial deposit, with no explanation or response whatsoever.

This level of service is completely unacceptable. Ignoring a customer after they’ve provided clear proof, then proceeding to charge them anyway, shows a complete disregard for fairness and accountability. AVOID THEM AND GO ELSEWHERE

I am truly surprised that Avis is still in business! Once a leading and prestigious car rental company, it has now evolved into one of the most questionable and disrespected in the industry.

As a long-standing Wizard member, I continue to hope for improvement, but time and again, I am disappointed to the extent that I feel compelled to warn others. Admittedly, their seemingly attractive rates have been a compelling factor to keep trying Avis.

My list of dreadful experiences dates back to 2019 when I was scammed with an unauthorized fuel charge in Croatia. In 2020, I was charged for additional days in Hobart. In 2022, a claim was made against me for returning a car with a missing wiper blade cap—a tiny item costing just $4.26 from Toyota. However, I was charged $86.40 plus an administrative fee of $250! That is daylight robbery.

The situation worsened in 2024 in London when Avis successfully debited a substantial amount from my credit card, which had been canceled. It appears that Avis is in cahoots with the credit card company.

The scams have become more sophisticated. In January 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa, I rented a car from CPT and locked in a price of R1950. Upon pickup, I was told there was an "administrative charge" of R300, a standard charge for all rentals. The person behind me warned me it was a scam, and the charge was finally removed, supposedly reverting to R1950. I asked for a copy of the contract, but she refused to provide a printed copy and said it would be sent via email. Upon checking the email, I noticed that another R400 was charged for an additional day's rental, as the return time was adjusted by 2 hours, causing the rental to register as another day.

Upon picking up the vehicle, I noticed that at least two other customers were arguing with attendants regarding minor "damage" to vehicles. Upon my return, they once again refused to provide a document with the final amount, citing excuses from printer issues to lack of manpower, despite the center being empty at 6 am. I sat there for almost an hour to get the final account reflecting the amount owed. While waiting, the attendant went through the car, lifting carpets and underfloor mats, hoping to find a flaw.

Avis internationally should be reported to the authorities as a scam.

Service Level: inexistent
Freundlichkeit: inexistent
Expertise: inexistent
Zustand des Fahrzeuges: inakzeptabel

Ive written before about a bad experience in 2023 from Avis, but since having the last rental in the UK, it became very apparent that a deeper dive into the actual financials was required. Upon investigation, again there were two charges of a invoice, take note, from 2023 to 2024, except for the UK. But, what is worse is a pattern was becoming visible on the spreadsheet, every second rental did not reflect on the bank statement, but luckily a screen shot of the bank app proved the transaction. Then theres the second amount which comes off for the same invoice which, as explained this would not show on the statement from the bank because the card was not physically inserted into a machine with its pin. Then on two sepperate occasions, another rental was added, two days after the initial rental, coming off the card without even having it physically used. It is now very apparent that there is a pressing need to ensure that only the invoice amount should be placed into a card, for those who wish to use them, but as for using them again, over R200k in deposits owing, they will never be used again.

Car rented from Avis, Cape Town from 8th November 2024 for 14 days. Rental arranged through Trailfinders in UK who paid Avis.
Returned home and in December noticed that 1750 Rand (£77) had been debited from my credit card by Avis. No explanation.
Have emailed Avis, Southern Africa a few times and got an auto reply email. No response, no explanation, nothing !
Very frustrating. Who do I contact ??? Lots of similar reviews.

I don’t like the fact that 2 days after getting the vehicle returned damage free, they have still not refunded the deposit. After all we live in a world of electronic banking. In the same way they debited me instantaneously, why can’t they credit me in the same way. Understandably, they earn massive interest payouts by holding onto millions of Rands in customer deposits by delaying payments. Looking at other reviews, it appears that this is a common customer complaint. It seems like this company is one big scam. My only regret is that I didn’t check trust pilot reviews before hiring the vehicle!

I am an AVIS preferred customer and have been for quite some time. I hire for 2-3 months at a time in South Africa, a couple of times per year.
On my last visit the car broke down with a mechanical problem and not an accident. However, AVIS still charged me for its repair.
I have contacted them twice in the last 6 weeks and apart from receiving the normal notification of receipt, nothing, no other further contact has been received.
I am disgusted with this total lack of care.

Same as most complaints. Returned the car at Skukuza Avis. Promised that the deposit held by them will be put back. 2 weeks and 7 emails later nothing! Telephones not answered. Time they are investigated by authorities! Surely its a scam! Why only them and not other companies? Please don't ever use this company!

Hired a car and asked for a price which then changed several times. Was charged at the higher rate insurance and then charged per km despite asking several times for unlimited. Customer assistants are so busy trying to get you through the system that they shove the signature pad in front of you without time to read it. I had to ask several times for the price and I didn’t check the cost per kilometre because I had asked the customer assistant very clearly for unlimited. I was charged an extra 1600 rand.

Be careful with this company.

Don’t let them rush you through.

Check the contract.

Despite long email conversations they wouldn’t refund me or honour the conversation I had with the customer assistant. In fact there was confabulation with the review done with customer assistant suggesting I had been informed about not getting unlimited kilometres.

Beware, there are thieves at work here. A few weeks after returning the car and giving me my deposit back, my credit card was charged R450. I was not given any warning, information or confirmation. After several emails to customer service, I got a reply that it was supposedly for the traffic fine administration fee. The email was anonymous (the name was intentionally removed from the footer of the email), where previous emails were signed by name and surname. When I asked for this ticket or any formal confirmation that I was charged this amount, I stopped getting any responses. Scammers.

Move with caution! This is the second time I have been taken advantage of by Avis. After being assured that I would only be charged for one day of rental and being ensured that returning the vehicle at a specific time the next day would not incure additional charges, I was charged an additional day regardless. After disputing this, I was told that I could enter a dispute which I did. A few hours later, I was invoiced for a second day...for a few extra bucks they manipulated out of me...can't say I am surprised being it the second time and giving them the benefit of the doubt for the second time at my expense...again! Go Avis!

Initially my experience with Avis was positive with no issues in booking and receiving a car however, after receiving my invoice my opinion changed drastically.

I filled up the tank of petrol and I took the car for a full wash to ensure that I would have no surprises on receiving my deposit back. Well.. I was still surprised.

I contact customer support on the 3rd of December to find out what the charges were relating to that were taken off my deposit.

The first customer support agent I spoke to said that she was unable to tell me what the charges were relating to and said that I should contact the branch directly.

I attempted to contact the branch directly multiple times but I was unable to get through.

I then contacted customer support again and spoke to a different customer support agent who was able to assist me.

After investigating the invoice the agent told me that it seems I was charged for toll gate fees. I asked them how this is possible as there are no e-toll systems in KZN. They told me that is it not an e-toll fee but an e-tag fee as apparently you still get charged for going through a toll gate because of the e-tag that is on the car (whatever that means). The agent started reading out a list of toll gates that I had supposedly driven through and I told them that is absolutely impossible, as I had only been through one toll gate the entire time I was using the car, and I paid cash for the toll gate.

They then told me that they would escalate the matter to the relevant department and that I would receive an update within the next 3 - 5 business days.

It has been 10 business days and I still have not received any response.

I have sent an email and received no response. I have called multiple times and every time the line is busy. I have given Avis multiple opportunities and ample time to rectify the issue or to just communicate with me before publicizing however, it seems they just do not care and are happy to steal my money, with no reason to justify it.

The fact that the invoice does not go through some sort of auditing process to ensure the correct amount is being taken from the customer is concerning.

The lack of customer service after you have given your money over is shocking.

A proactive resolution from Avis is non-existent.

At this point, I have written the money off as clearly I am not going to receive a refund, let alone a response, and I have written Avis off as an option to use in the future.

Sadly this company are just not up to it. The vehicles we used, yes there were 2, the first broke down, we're comfortable and quite new. However they were not up to arduous conditions that can be found in the Central Kalahari game reserve or Savuti roads in Botswana. The alu-cab camping gear on the back of the vehicle was at least 2nd if not third or fourth hand. And on the second vehicle it appeared to be cobbled together from bits of other camping backs. The support received when a problem occurred was poor and the onus was on us to get anything done. After years of using Bushlore for safari vehicles Avis was an enormous shock in terms of quality and service.