New York fines Avis Budget for denying car rentals to people who lack credit cards

Published Aug 15, 2023 02:09PM ET
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By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York state on Tuesday fined Avis Budget (NASDAQ: ) Group $275,000 for refusing to rent vehicles to customers who did not have credit cards.
Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, said the civil fine resolved charges that the operator of Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car and Payless Car Rental violated a state law against requiring credit cards for vehicle rentals.
A probe begun late last year following a customer complaint found that 74 out of 106 Avis and Budget locations across New York insisted on credit cards, while 32 accepted debit cards.
Investigators also called dozens of locations and Avis Budget’s national call center, and were told repeatedly that a