A Canadian man has received an apology from rental car company Avis after it mistakenly charged him almost $6500 for allegedly driving close to a massive 30,000km (18,000 miles) in just one week.

Toronto resident Yuehao Huang hired a vehicle from Avis in Montreal on September 11 for a weeklong family holiday. However, after returning home, Huang discovered an unexpected charge of CA$5900 (approximately AU$6500) on his credit card, on top of the more than CA$1000 he had already paid for the rental.

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According to Avis, Huang had travelled 28,933km during his seven-day holiday. To put that into perspective, covering that distance in that timeframe would require driving at an average speed of more than 172km/h for 24 hours a day, without stopping to sleep, eat or refuel.

Huang told Canadian news outlet CityNews that a tracker on his phone had recorded just 1400km of travel throughout the holiday, including time spent hiking. “The way I estimated it is that would be me driving 180 km/h, 24 hours, no stop, no gas, no sleep,” Huang said.

But despite disputing the charge and providing evidence to Avis, Huang initially failed to secure a refund. He also contacted his credit card provider, but the matter remained unresolved. It wasn’t until Huang contacted CityNews, which subsequently approached Avis, that the rental company acknowledged its mistake.

“Following a thorough review, we confirmed that a data entry error resulted in the customer being incorrectly charged for excess mileage,” Avis said in a statement. “We sincerely apologise to the customer for the frustration and delay in resolving the matter.”

Avis confirmed it was processing a refund and reviewing its procedures to prevent similar incidents. Huang has since encouraged other motorists to photograph their rental vehicle’s odometer both before and after their trip to avoid similar disputes.

It’s also a useful reminder for Australian motorists who hire vehicles, particularly when travelling overseas, to keep a record of the vehicle’s condition and kilometres travelled. Take detailed photos of the vehicle on both pick-up and drop-off, and make sure to keep details of any damage.