Nicholas Chandler was rear-ended while driving an Avis rental car. Even though the other driver was at fault, Avis charged him for the entire time the car was out of commission. Can he get a refund?

Question 

I rented a car from Avis for one day and was unfortunately rear-ended by another car. It was the other driver’s fault. Avis charged my credit card for 29 days of rental for loss of use. My insurance covers loss of use, but my insurance company won’t pay because the Avis receipt just shows a 29-day rental and doesn’t mention loss of use. 

Avis told me on the phone that the charge is for loss of use, but they won’t give me a new receipt.

Sedgwick, Avis’s third-party claims service, is pursuing loss of use from the other driver’s insurance company. Sedgwick told me that they think Avis made a billing error because I was not at fault for the accident. I don’t understand why Avis charged my credit card for 29 days. When I call to ask, they just say loss of use. Can you help me get a refund? — Nicholas Chandler, Windham, Maine

Answer

Unfortunately, you’re on the hook for the vehicle’s loss of use. When you rent a car, you accept responsibility for the vehicle no matter who is responsible for the accident, and since your name was on the contract, Avis sent you a bill.

But the company made some errors when it charged you.

It looks like there was a series of miscommunications in your case. For some reason, Sedgwick only charged the other driver $1,222, presumably for repairs, leaving you responsible for the difference. And, according to your records, Avis would not send you a bill for the loss of use. Instead, it just appears as if you rented a car at the most expensive daily rate, which no one would do. (Related: Can I fix this Avis “fantasy” rental charge?)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that loss of use is highly controversial. The car rental company is charging you the maximum daily rate for what it would have earned if it had been able to rent the car while it was in the shop. But that assumes it could have rented the car the entire time. I believe loss of use is not a fair charge, even if your contract permits it. Many consumers, insurance companies and state regulators agree with me. We can discuss loss of use another day, though. (Related: Billed twice by Avis car rental? There’s a fix for that, travelers.)

You were a model customer. You had insurance that covered you and you responded quickly to Avis and Sedgwick when they asked for your insurance information. You drove the car carefully. You tried to work within the system to clear up the miscommunication. (Here’s our best guide to renting a car.)

I think you should have appealed this to a manager. I list the names, numbers and emails of the Avis customer service managers and Sedgwick customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. 

This was a confusing case. But after several conversations with Avis, it appears that there were “some issues” with the car rental location and the tow truck, which created some confusion in its internal system.

“We’re adjusting the contract back to a one-day rental and removing all the additional days that the customer didn’t have the vehicle,” a representative told me.

A short while later, you reported back.  

“Avis charged me one day for the rental as you mentioned and refunded me the rest,” you said. “The credit was posted back to my card this morning. This is incredible, and I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”