Avis trying to charge me €1,500 for a windscreen chip that was already there – what would you do?

Hi all,

Would really appreciate some advice on this as I’m getting pretty frustrated.

I rented a car from Avis in Spain and drove to Sierra Nevada and back (around 1000km total). Not long after picking the car up, I noticed a small chip in the windscreen and took a photo of it.

At the time, I didn’t think too much of it because when we picked the car up, we were told that minor damage below a certain size wasn’t an issue. Also, the car honestly didn’t look like it had been properly checked — it had visible dirt on it and a low windscreen washer fluid warning came up straight away, which made me think it hadn’t really been inspected between rentals.

When we returned the car, the office was closed with a sign saying “back in 5 minutes”, so we had no choice but to leave. By the time we got back, the check-in had already been done without us.

Then later I get an email saying there’s windscreen damage and they’ve put a €1,506 pre-authorisation on my card.

The frustrating part:

•	I have a photo showing the chip shortly after pickup

•	Their photos at return show what looks like exactly the same chip (same place, same size, no change)

•	We drove \~1000km and it didn’t get any worse

•	I wasn’t present for the check-in and didn’t get a chance to agree/dispute anything

•	They’re just saying “no damage was recorded before rental”

I’ve disputed it and asked them for pre-rental photos / inspection records, but so far just got a generic response.

I guess my questions are:

•	Is “no damage recorded” enough for them to hold me liable?

•	Does my photo actually help in situations like this?

•	If they don’t back down, is this something I could realistically win through a chargeback?

•	Has anyone dealt with something similar?

Feels like I’m being blamed for something that was already there, which is pretty frustrating.

Any advice appreciated.

Location: Toronto, Canada