Deer Park man set to receive nearly $5K refund from Avis after Action 13 got involved

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Deer Park man reached out to ABC13 as he was facing a more than $5,000 bill from a rental car company.

Jason Reid says what was supposed to be a fun trip with his mom turned into a nightmare when he was carjacked. The car was taken, however, and he was charged for having the car for more than a month.

"I was taking my mother to see Graceland. She's a huge Elvis fan," Reid said.

Reid says he and his mom picked up a rental car from the Avis near Hobby Airport and headed to Tennessee in early November. A couple of days into the trip, he says he was carjacked not far from his Memphis hotel.

"Next thing I know, 'tap tap' and a young man in a mask yelling at me...From that point, he pushed me over into the passenger seat," Reid recalled.

He says hours later, he was dropped off by the suspects without a phone or wallet, and the rental car was gone.

"I contacted Avis and told them the car had been stolen from me," Reid said.

The Memphis Police Department says the car was recovered the next day and was processed as evidence. So far, no arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.

On top of the scary ordeal in Memphis, he says the suspects got into several of his accounts, and then he was hit with a more than $5,300 bill from Avis. The charges showed he kept the car for 33 additional days.

"I explained my story, gave them everything they asked for, the police report - everything that I could possibly do to help on my end. And they basically just shut me down and said, 'I am sorry for your unfortunate events. We can't help you with any part of the bill,'" Reid said.

Throughout the day, ABC13 made multiple calls and sent several emails to Avis' customer service and their public relations firm.

Late Thursday afternoon, they confirmed they looked into the case, and it was resolved. Reid says after we got involved, Avis called him and said they would refund him around $4,700 for the extra days of the rental he was charged.

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