Never leave behind an item in a rental because you may never get it back!
I apologize ahead of time for the long post, but I am hoping AVIS MANAGEMENT sees this and can help us....
We rented a vehicle from Avis at the Auckland, NZ airport from 28 JANUARY 2026 to 11 MARCH 2026 (reservation #33969584 US5) without any problems. However, when we returned the car, I had accidentally left my ($200) leather wallet in the car, and it feels like it's becoming impossible to get it back (they will only hold it for 60 days).
We realized I'd left it behind while we were waiting for our 7:45 pm Air NZ flight, so my husband hightailed it back to the Avis airport office (I believe this was around 6:30 pm on the 11th) and was told by the customer service rep that "the car is at the wash rack and we have the wallet under lock and key but the only individual--Teresa--who can release it has just left for the day". WHY is there only ONE person who can do this?!! That was ridiculous!
And there is NO WAY to speak to someone on the phone IN their office!!! Even the Lost Property Office for the AIRPORT told us they don't have a number to reach the Avis office!
When you ring their customer service number, the voicemail said to send an email if it's regarding a lost item, which we did immediately, along with entering a lost item report on their website. We heard nothing back. We sent two more emails and finally received a "generic" reply on 19 MARCH that our email is in their queue for review, and it wasn't until 25 MARCH (referencing Lost Property ID number 83607) that they finally responded offering two options that we're unable to do since we live in the US and not NZ (one of which was to come to the airport to pick it up).
Then we received a response on 30 MARCH from another individual who told us another option we had was to email them a shipping label by getting it through the NZ Post. I replied the same day with some questions, and got the auto reply that the email was in the queue once again. As of today (7 APRIL) I've still not received a reply, so I finally decided to try sending them the shipping label today and got the usual auto reply, so who knows how long until they get the label and I find out if it works out or not.
I could understand this dragging out forever if I was dealing with an Avis in a big city like Los Angeles, but NZ is a small country and the Avis at Auckland airport is a tiny office compared to somewhere else in the world. Like I said, I hope management sees this and helps us get this taken care of!!!!!