Abraham Jewett  |  August 17, 2022

Category: Fees

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Avis logo on a wall - Avis class action setttlement
(Photo Credit: ricochet64/Shutterstock)

Avis e-toll fees class action lawsuit overview: 

  • Who: Avis Budget Group has agreed to a $45 million class action settlement with Jose Mendez and a class of its customers. 
  • Why: Avis Budget agreed to the settlement to resolve claims it charged its rental car customers secret extra fees for using its electronic toll-payment service. 
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court. 

Avis Budget Group has agreed to pay $45 million as part of a settlement resolving class action claims it charged its rental car customers secret extra fees when using its electronic toll-payment service. 

Avis Budget — which was doing business as Avis Rent A Car System LLC and Budget Rent A Car System Inc. — along with its private contractor Highway Toll Administration LLC made the agreement with a class of customers led by Jose Mendez. 

The company has agreed to pay as much as $45 million to resolve the claims and cover all of the associated costs with the complaint originally filed by Mendez in November 2011. 

Mendez, in his class action lawsuit, argued he had not been informed that he would automatically be enrolled in an e-Toll subscription and subsequently be charged a “convenience fee” of $2.50 per day and up to $10 per week, reports Law360. 

Avis Budget allegedly charged extra fees for e-Toll pay service

The fees, Mendez claimed, were charged to him regardless of whether or not he made payments on any tolls he incurred while driving on the highway. 

Class certification was granted for the class action lawsuit in November 2017, while a subsequent challenge by Avis Budget was denied and then later upheld in August 2018 by the judge overseeing the complaint, reports Law360. 

Avis Budget had attempted to make a defense based on a statute of limitations, with the company unsuccessfully arguing more time had passed than would be allowed for certain class members claims. 

Multiple mediation and settlement sessions preceded the current proposed class action settlement, reports Law360. 

This is not the first time Avis has been the target of a class action lawsuit.

In 2019, Avis rental car drivers asked for class certification for a separate class action lawsuit accusing the company of charging drivers undisclosed fines and fees for traffic violations.

Have you been charged an extra fee for using Avis Budget’s electronic toll-payment service? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiff is represented by Joseph J. DePalma and Jeremy Nash of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC and Judith L. Spanier of Abbey Spanier LLP.

The Avis e-Toll fees class action lawsuit is Mendez v. Avis Budget Group Inc., et al., Case No. 2:11-cv-06537, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.


Don’t Miss Out!

Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!


Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

32 thoughts onAvis class action over e-Toll fees settled for $45M

  1. David St John says:

    Count me in on the fuel surcharge. I caught them once, but who knows how many times I’ve missed it. Also – $85 to fix a flat tire when I think it was on its way flat from the onset. Quothe the raven, nevermore!

  2. Josh says:

    Just received my PayPal payment for a whopping $3.37. :D

  3. Rossi E Williams says:

    Add me

  4. Mark Carey says:

    Thank you for pursuing this lawsuit against Avis for the e-tolls. There is another matter that caused me to stop using Avis. Up until 2022 I had a business and personal account with Avis. But, they often charge an automatic fuel service even when you return the tank full. Every time I complain they tell me there is a glitch in their software and they are in the process of fixing it. I heard that from them for at least 5 years. Until I recently retired, I was using Avis rental cars almost every week. I am sure that I have missed catching this expense on my invoice several times. I have complained in writing and by phone at least a dozen times over the years and they never fix this. The last time was when I complained to Avis at the BWI airport via email in October 2022 and I got an automatic response back from the Avis airport manager (Aponique Fangou). I then complained that he does not really take my complaint seriously because all I received was an auto response that said he regrets not meeting my expectations. He didn’t respond to my subsequent email either. I told him that I am surprised that they have not had a class action lawsuit filed. This has happened dozens of times to me over the years which means it must have happened thousands of times with others. The last time it happened I wrote that I am unsatisfied with their unwillingness to automatically charge fuel service and that I have had enough and am going to drop my Avis accounts set up accounts with other car rental providers. While I am not an attorney, this seems to me a perfect situation for a class action suit. Until they get sued they are financially disadvantaged to fix this “unintentional” charging glitch.

    1. Mary Walker says:

      The same thing has happened to me. It’s automatic if you don’t drive over 75 miles. I’m sick of this. We definitely have a class action suit on Avis ripping consumers off on bogus fees.

  5. Olivier Fischer says:

    I’ve been renting from Avis for over twenty years, and most recently every week since 2022. I’ve always thought since being charged for tolls were extremely and overly costly.

    1. Debbie Porter says:

      I still have most of my paperwork—I am missing one or two only—but reading about this lawsuit reminded me about trying to fight them on these charges. I accidentally got on a toll road and quickly got off, but was still charged an astronomical toll fee. This was August, 2017 in particular, but there have been others. I would like to participate in this lawsuit.

  6. Preston Zen says:

    Add me to this as well

  7. Rosa M Pacheco says:

    Please add me

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.