Avis Podgorica Charged Me €400 for a Scratch I Didn’t Cause and Ignored My Concerns

I recently rented a car from Avis at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro, and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating and disappointing rental experiences I’ve ever had.

Despite returning the car in good condition, I was charged €400 for a small scratch that I absolutely did not cause. It was raining heavily when I picked up the vehicle, and I had my 16-month-old baby with me—so thoroughly inspecting every inch of the car at pickup simply wasn’t possible.

What made things even more suspicious was that when I returned the vehicle, the staff member walked straight to the damaged area and immediately took photos—as if they already knew about it. It felt like they were waiting for someone to pin the cost on. This appears to be a deliberate tactic to generate extra revenue through unfair damage claims.

To make matters worse, there was no explanation, no discussion—the staff rushed through the process and due to the language barrier, I wasn’t even fully aware of what I was being charged for until after it happened.

I had originally booked a Dacia Sandero, but was given a different model. I accepted the switch thinking the original car might not be available, but now I suspect other motives were involved. While I waited at the office, I witnessed other Turkish customers also being pressured with unexpected charges and long delays. This didn’t feel like a coincidence.

We had also requested a baby seat, but what they provided was filthy, completely unsuitable for a child, and had a non-working seatbelt—not to mention no ISOFIX compatibility.

For a global company like Avis, this level of neglect, opportunism, and lack of customer care is completely unacceptable. I demand a full refund of the €400 charge and an investigation into the practices at the Podgorica branch.

No one should have to go through this type of exploitation, especially when traveling with a child. Avis, you need to fix this.