Consumer sanctions Avis with one million euros for charging clients for fine management

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda has imposed a fine of one million euros on the car rental company Avis for charging its clients for fine management. As detailed this Wednesday by the department led by Pablo Bustinduy, the company charged a fee of between 33.88 and 45 euros under the heading "administrative sanction management expenses" to users who had committed a traffic violation while using a rental vehicle.

In the eyes of Consumer Affairs, charging this additional amount is an abusive practice. As established by article 11 of the law on traffic, motor vehicle circulation, and road safety, identifying the driver responsible for an infraction is a legal obligation of the vehicle's owner. Thus, rental companies are obliged by law to provide public administration with the identity of the renter or the rental contract. In practical terms, therefore, the company – in this case Avis – cannot impose additional charges on its clients, as it is a procedure that the law imposes on the vehicle's owner, which in this situation is the company.

For the Spanish government ministry, Avis's fees "establish a disproportionate economic burden that breaks contractual balance and harms the consumer." To all this is added that it is an "aggravating" circumstance, as it is a practice "previously declared illicit." Consumer Affairs refers to a ruling published in 2020 by a court in Vitoria, which had already declared this clause abusive and ordered the company to remove it, which it has not done. It is for this reason that the Spanish government considers the infraction "very serious" and thus justifies the amount of the fine.

With this decision, the Spanish ministry exhausts the administrative route, but not the judicial one. From now on, Avis can only appeal the sanction through the courts.

Origin of the fine

The case originates from a complaint filed by the EKA Consumer and User Association in October 2024. At that time, the Basque organization pointed out Avis and also Sixt for reintroducing a series of commissions in their contracts that had already been declared abusive.

In addition to the fee for managing fines – the only element sanctioned by Consumer Affairs – the Basque association also complained about the collection of between 44 and 100 euros from users for expenses related to the management of proceedings in the event of an accident with a rental vehicle. Both practices were reported to the Basque Institute of Consumer Affairs – Kontsumobide – and to the Spanish ministry.