Video: Bay Area couple stopped by Georgia police for Avis rental car registration mistake

By Melanie Woodrow

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    SAN LORENZO, California (KGO) — A San Lorenzo woman was pulled over in Georgia because the license plate on the car she was driving didn’t match the vehicle. It turns out, it was a rental car and the problem is well known to law enforcement.

Noelle Wilson was visiting a childhood best friend in Suwanee, Georgia. The police officers she encountered were incredibly understanding but she worries the stop could have gone very differently.

In police body-worn camera video, it looks like Noelle Wilson and her girlfriend are in trouble. The San Lorenzo couple has just been stopped by Suwanee Police in Georgia.

“Right when I said hey this officer is tailgating us his lights and sirens went off,” Wilson said.

Wilson says her heart dropped into her stomach, but they hadn’t done anything wrong.

“So the tag is coming back to a different car. Can we get the rental agreement,” the officer said once pulling her over.

The officer said when he ran the tag it came back to a white Chevy Malibu, but the vehicle the couple rented is a Black Honda CRV.

He then radioed another officer.

“All of (Avis’) brand new cars, they haven’t registered them and they’ve just been throwing different plates on the cars,” the other officer said over the radio.

7 On Your Side Investigates reached out to Avis. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said, “After a thorough review we can confirm the incident occurred as a result of a system error.”

Avis would not answer additional questions about what that error was or how widespread it is.

“We were just really anxious and on edge the entire time,” Wilson said.

They had to get their groceries out of the rental car and ended up having to get an Uber because the officers said they had to impound the vehicle.

“We ran the VIN, the car’s not even registered with the state,” the officer said on the phone. “You’d think big companies like this this wouldn’t happen.”

The officers experienced some delays in the field while calling Avis and Wilson later had issues with them.

“I contacted 7 On Your Side one week after this happened because I was just getting the run around,” Wilson said. “Avis was transferring us we were being hung up on.”

Avis was charging Wilson not only for the days she couldn’t use the car but also for not returning it.

“All I kept getting is ‘We can’t do anything until the car is returned.’ How do I return this car that’s been impounded,” Wilson said.

Once 7 On Your Side got involved, the company sent a statement saying, “Avis Budget Group apologizes for the inconvenience caused to Noelle, and will be refunding the rental fee in full, as well as covering the additional Uber expense incurred as a result of this incident.”

“I mean I guess I’m glad I’m getting something but it would just be nice that I didn’t have to go through news stations to get that,” Wilson said. “Their negligence put us in a very unsafe predicament. I honestly think if maybe we were pulled over by somebody else the ending on the story would have been completely different.”

The officer apologized to the couple for the inconvenience as they had to take the car.

Suwanee Police also recently stopped another driver in an Avis rental for a similar issue. That driver was from Southern California and did not receive a citation, just like Wilson.

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