South Jersey grandfather finally gets refund after rental car repair dispute

For years, Richard Fiorani and his family have spent their summers chasing a shared goal: visiting every national park in America.

But during a road trip through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona last year, an unexpected rental car problem nearly threw those plans off course and left him fighting for months to recover nearly $500 he says he was promised.

A family tradition

Every year, Fiorani, his daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons hit the road together, visiting national parks and landmarks across the country.

What began with a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine has grown into a family tradition spanning dozens of states.

"The only two states we haven't been in yet are North Dakota and Hawaii," Fiorani said.

Their latest adventure included plans to visit five national parks across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Trouble on the road

Less than 24 hours after picking up an Avis rental vehicle in Texas, Fiorani said the family discovered one of the tires was nearly flat.

The next morning, they took the vehicle to a nearby tire shop.

"They said, 'Both back tires are terrible. They're all full of gashes and nicks,'" Fiorani said. "They told us it was not safe to travel on."

Fiorani said the family was more than 100 miles from the nearest Avis location, so they contacted the company for guidance.

According to Fiorani, an Avis representative instructed him to have the tires replaced, save the receipt and seek reimbursement when returning the vehicle.

The family paid nearly $490 out of pocket so they could safely continue their trip.

Fiorani said his daughter asked the representative over the phone to send that authorization in writing.

According to Fiorani, the email never arrived.

"That's when I realized I was going to have a problem," he said.

A reimbursement that never came

After returning home, Fiorani said he submitted his receipts expecting the reimbursement process to be straightforward.

Instead, he said his claim stalled.

"If I had put the tires on my own without calling them, I'd say, 'Richard, you're stupid, you shouldn't have done that,'" he said. "But we tried to do it the right way, and that's what really makes you mad about it."

Fiorani said he believed the missing written authorization made it harder to resolve the dispute, despite his efforts to follow the company's instructions before approving the repair.

After months of trying to resolve the issue on his own, Fiorani's daughter encouraged him to contact In Your Corner.

Avis responds

After being contacted by In Your Corner, Avis issued a full reimbursement to Fiorani.

In a statement, the company said:

"We have apologized to Mr. Fiorani for the inconvenience and the time it took to address his concerns and have processed a full reimbursement. Following a review of this issue, we determined that Mr. Fiorani's previous communications had been submitted through our customer survey platform rather than to our Customer Service team, which unfortunately contributed to the delay in resolving his reimbursement. We are reviewing our processes with our internal teams to help prevent similar delays in the future."

Lessons for consumers

Consumer advocates recommend always contacting a rental car company before authorizing repairs and obtaining written approval whenever possible.

Fiorani said his family's experience highlights why that step matters. Although they specifically requested written confirmation before replacing the tires, he said the promised email never arrived.

Experts recommend keeping copies of all emails, text messages, receipts and photos, obtaining a case number and confirming claims are being submitted through the company's official customer service channels.

For Fiorani, the refund was welcome. So was the peace of mind.

"It's good to have you in my corner," he said.

Now, he's focused on planning the family's next adventure and getting one step closer to visiting every national park in America.

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