Lowcountry lawmaker, others accuse rental car company of overcharging thousands
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – One Lowcountry lawmaker says he was one of a number of people who were recently victims of a car rental scam. South Carolina State Representative Wendell Gilliard says car rental company Avis sent him a large repair bill for damages to a rental car he says weren’t there when he returned the car to the Charleston International Airport.
The bill totaled more than $20,000 in damages to the rental car. Representative Gilliard says he the received the bill weeks later in March despite returning the car it in mint condition
“Took the car back no problem, got my receipt, it was a couple hundred dollars,” says Representative Gilliard.
Representative Gilliard rented a Lincoln MKZ through Avis for two days and returned it on January 27th. Weeks later, he was sent a bill by the company alleging thousands in damage. Gilliard says his accountant called him right away.
“She calls me back and says hey are you sitting down? I said well why what’s wrong now? She says it’s not twenty-one hundred dollars, it’s twenty-one thousand dollars,” says Representative Gilliard. “I said you’ve got to be out of your mind, you’re kidding me.”
Representative Gilliard wasn’t alone, he says he’s heard from at least seven others who received similar letters from Avis alleging significant damage to a car they rented and returned at the Charleston International Airport. Among those with similar experiences was Whitney Borreson who returned a car three days before Representative Gilliard.
“No damage whatsoever to it, everything was fine,” says Borreson. “I left it there at the airport like I should’ve. It’s like well this is ridiculous, I didn’t cause any damage to this car.”
Borreson was charged nearly $3,000, she says she complained and the charges were later dropped. Representative Gilliard asked the airport to open an investigation into the charges. From it, authorities uncovered nearly a dozen cars that had been taken by Avis employees and used for personal reasons.
“It was some employees after a customer like myself had dropped the car off, they would get in the car go party and whatever,” says Representative Gilliard.
Representative Gilliard says he’s still fighting the $21,000 charge and plans to draft state legislation to protect renters. He has also contacted the Better Business Bureau and asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to open an investigation.
“This thing is bigger than what it looks like on surface and we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” says Representative Gilliard.
Representative Gilliard is hopeful he can resolve the issue with Avis’s corporate office to avoid filing a lawsuit in court but says he will if needed to recover the charges. Representative Gilliard says at least seven others have reached out saying they had similar experiences.
News 2 reached out to Avis regarding the allegations, a company representative says the company is investigating the claims.
