Metro Atlanta man says rental car returned after 10-day vacation, Avis charged him for 57 days

CANTON, Ga. — Someone took a 57-day cross-country road trip in an Avis rental car, but the man stuck with the bill says it wasn’t him.

“If I’m going to steal a car, I’m not going to steal a Ford Edge,” Chip August told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray.

August rented the car from Avis in June here in metro Atlanta for a 10-day vacation to New Jersey.

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He says he returned it back on July 10 to the Canton Avis location.

But according to his Avis bill, the car was picked up in San Antonio, Texas for a 2,300-mile trip.

Avis alleges August kept the car for 57 days.

“That’s what they think that we drove it around a month and dropped it off in Texas, even though both of us have like full-time jobs here in Georgia,” August said.

He says he called the Canton Avis location back on July 10 to say he was running late.

“I was going to be 2 hours late returning it, so I called in and he said, ‘No problem, put the keys in the in the center console and we’ll be good,’” August said.

But several days later Avis sent a demand letter for the return of what the company now considered a stolen car.

Back in 2022, Channel 2 Action News told you about the same thing happening to an Avis customer at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

In that case, Avis even acknowledged that surveillance video showed James Hagerman returning the car, but Avis would not refund his money until Channel 2 stepped in.

“I said, so when are you doing the refund and they said oh no there’s more refund,” Hagerman told Gray in July 2022.

In this case, Avis has already charged the credit card more than $4,100.

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And just last week added a several hundred-dollar dog cleaning fee.

August does not own a dog.

“Finally, their car turned up and they charged us for every day that it was gone. Plus, the dog fee,” August said.

Avis stands by the decision.

When contacted by Channel 2 Action News, Avis sent a statement saying “The location where the customer rented from in Canton, GA, does not accept after-hour drop-offs as posted on the location door. The customer admitted that he left the car unlocked in an unattended parking lot, with keys inside, outside of our normal business hours. Avis never received custody of the vehicle.”

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