Avis Rent-A-Car (Portland Airport) huge charges for breaking hidden rules Portland, Oregon

-" No such statement appears in any of the materials that I signed.  I still have the copy of the contract I signed, and the information does not appear there.  There was no "no smoking" sign, sticker, placard or notice anywhere inside the car.  I know this because I checked carefully.  I have seen other rental cars from other rental companies that do have a no smoking sticker in the window, but the car I rented did not have any such sticker. "

The stickers on all the windows in the doors wern't enough to tell you smoking was not allowed in the vehicle?

As for smoking I would bet that this "fee" is on the Rental Contract they signed.  Whether or not a person smokes is up to them.  Non-Smoking cars/rooms has been pretty much the standard for years in most areas.   Enough so to where this person seems to be aware that companies do charge for "cleaning"(more on that in a bit).  So wouldn't it be to the their advantage to actually read the entire contract(or ask) if they are allowed to smoke.  Now, if there was nothing in the car, nothing on the contract then yes they have a valid complaint and if they pushed it would probably not have to pay the $250.  But I have a feeling that is not the case.

As for some of their other comments.

Hotels, by comparison, charge $50-100 for smoking in a non-smoking room.
- Actually if you look around I think your estimate is low and you would find that this $250 is probably pretty standard.

They also carefully inform the customer that it is a non-smoking room and that a penalty applies for violating the policy.
- I stay in hotels and rent cars often and can not remember the last time any company even mentioned that I can't smoke let alone "carefully" informed me of that fact.

The no smoking policy is also in the contract that the renter agrees to.  Here is the item copied from the contract.
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34.
Smoke-Free Fleet
The Avis rental fleet is now 100% smoke free. A sticker has been placed on every vehicle that will remind all renters that every vehicle is not to be smoked in and that renters will be assessed a cleaning fee of up to $250 if the vehicle is returned and it smells of smoke.
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I expect the poster was not looking for the information but it is clearly there.  Sorry, you have no leg to stand on.  Avis makes it clear.

I do not have anything to to Avis, I just rented a car recently and saw the policy.

Avis didn't state it anywhere that THIS customer could have seen it, and that's all that matters. To the OP, tell your card issuer to charge it back as fraudulent and let them fight it out with Avis. And if Avis sends notice to the credit reporting agencies, send each of them a letter challenging it. They sue you in the end? Sue them back for starting a frivolous lawsuit. Fight all their fire with fire. End of story. They can't do crapola to you.

It's getting harder and harder to be a smoker.  Cars don't even have ash trays or cigarette lighters any more. 

I cut and pasted this directly from the Avis web site.  All I did was search on 'smoking'.  Looks pretty clear to me.

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1.Can I specifically reserve a non-smoking car?
As of October 1, 2009, all vehicles in our U.S. fleet are
designated as non-smoking cars. A Cleaning Fee of up to $250 may be
applied to the cost of a rental, should this policy be violated.
See Press Release


(Click a question to view non-smoking FAQs)
Why are you enacting this new policy?
Tobacco smoke leaves a residue on fabrics, fibers and surfaces of
vehicles, which emits odors that many people find unpleasant. This new
policy is designed to ensure we are enhancing the comfort of our
customers, which is a top priority at Avis. When a vehicle must be cleaned of tobacco smoke odor and residue,
all surfaces must be treated and cleaned. This takes considerable time
and requires the vehicle to be removed from the rental fleet until
odor-free. This incurs incremental costs for special cleaning and lost
revenue from the vehicle being unavailable for rental. This new policy
helps us recover some of the costs associated with cleaning tobacco odor
and residue from our vehicles. Along with the new policy, Avis has initiated a new inspection
process. When a vehicle that was smoke-free when provided to a customer
is inspected upon its return, and it is determined that the vehicle
must be cleaned of tobacco odor and residue, the renter will be assessed
a fee of up to $250.
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I love it!  I sure wouldn't want to rent a car some smoker filled with obnoxious smells.