Giovanna Boniface, a Vancouver resident, was left in shock after Avis charged her $8,000 for allegedly driving more than 22,000 miles (the Earth’s circumference is 24,901 miles) in just three days. Boniface had only driven around 186 miles after renting a car for a short trip in Canada. The massive bill came from an error in which Avis charged her for traveling 36,482 kilometers (22,668 miles), an impossible feat given the timeframe.
Boniface first noticed the charge while waiting for a flight to Paris and immediately tried to contact Avis. She faced difficulties, including unanswered calls and being cut off twice while speaking to a manager. Despite the obvious error, resolving the situation proved frustrating, leaving Boniface with a pending $8,000 charge while she was out of the country.
After two days, Avis finally reached out and assured her that the charge would be refunded. Visa, her credit card company, couldn’t assist while the charge was still pending, adding to the stress of the situation. Although Boniface was eventually refunded, she expressed disappointment with the lack of urgency and customer support.
Avis issued an apology but did not provide a clear explanation of what caused the error. The experience has raised concerns about the reliability of automated billing systems and the difficulties in quickly resolving such significant financial mistakes.
