I booked a car rental on Expedia for £41. At the Avis counter, I was asked to sign what I was told was “standard rental paperwork.” I was not informed that I was agreeing to a higher price or any additional mandatory charges. The document was long legal text that is impossible to properly review at a busy counter, and there was no clear explanation that the price had changed.
After returning the car, I was charged over $100, with Expedia paying only £41 and Avis charging me the difference.
Expedia’s response is contradictory and misleading. They claim:
• this was a “split booking” (meaning Expedia only charges the base price), and
• that “additional fees may apply” and were in the rental agreement.
This is not transparency — this is hiding the real price behind fine print and legal wording. If the actual mandatory cost of the rental is over $100, that should be shown upfront on Expedia, not advertised as £41 and then corrected after the fact.
The only additional charge I knowingly agreed to was $8.99 for roadside assistance, which Avis clearly explained as optional. No other mandatory fees were explained at pickup.
This feels like a bait-and-switch pricing model: advertise a low price online, then rely on rental desk paperwork and legal fine print to justify charging much more later.
I will not use Expedia again and strongly recommend others avoid booking car rentals through them unless you want pricing surprises at the counter.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
