The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has fined the car rental company Avis one million euros for what it considers “abusive practices.” The department led by Pablo Bustinduy states that the fee charged by the company as administrative sanction management expenses when a customer is fined “imposes a disproportionate economic burden that breaks the contractual balance to the detriment of the consumer.” This has led to a sanction for violating the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users.
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The ministry asserts that the surcharge, which aims to manage the payment of the fine and communicate the identity of the offender to the Administration, contravenes the law because this procedure must be obligatorily undertaken by the company. Consumer Affairs details that “the identification of the driver responsible for an infraction constitutes a legal obligation of the vehicle owner” according to article 11 of the law on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation, and Road Safety. In the case of these companies, this obligation is fulfilled by providing the Administration with the identity of the renter or, if applicable, the rental contract. Avis charges between 33.88 and 45 euros to customers fined while using their rental cars for carrying out this procedure.
Therefore, the department led by Bustinduy concludes that articles 82, 87.5, and 87.6 (related to abusive clauses) of the law protecting consumer rights have been violated. Added to this is the presence of an “aggravating circumstance due to persistence in a practice previously declared unlawful,” which justifies the one million euro fine. Consumer Affairs refers to a court in Vitoria that declared this clause “abusive” in September 2020 and ordered the company to remove it, something that has not been done, according to Consumer Affairs.
The company states on its website that it charges “an administrative fee, independent of the amount of the fine, to cover the costs involved in the procedure.” Avis highlights that the administrative fee charge is made from the moment the fine notification is received. To avoid this charge, the company informs that “it is necessary” to pay the fine “prior to notification.”
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The ministry’s sanctioning procedure began with a complaint filed by the Basque Association of Consumers and Users (Acuv). On October 16, 2024, this organization reported to the ministry that Avis — along with another company in the sector, Sixt, about which Consumer Affairs does not confirm if there is any open case — was including these commissions in their rental contracts. The complaint requested a sanction for a serious breach of regulations after receiving “numerous complaints” from affected individuals. Additionally, Acuv noted that “these clauses were already declared abusive at the time” by a ruling that required “ceasing to apply them in current contracts and refraining from including them in the future.”
The ministry’s decision exhausts the administrative route but not the judicial one. Consumer Affairs points out that Avis can appeal the sanction in the corresponding courts.
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