The Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030 on 19 August 2026 imposed a fine on the car rental company Avis of €1,000,000. The measure is based on Avis’s practice of charging customers who committed a traffic offence while using a rental car a flat fee of €33.88 to €45 for handling the fine and reporting driver details to the authorities. The authority considers this practice abusive and places the sanction at the upper limit for very serious consumer-protection infringements.
According to the ministry, the fee breaches requirements under the Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios. The flat fee, it says, creates a “disproportionate financial burden” that shifts the contractual balance to the detriment of customers. The reasoning also refers to the Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos a Motor y Seguridad Vial: identifying the person driving a vehicle when a traffic offence is committed is, according to the law, an obligation of the vehicle’s registered keeper. For car rental companies such as Avis, reporting driver details is therefore not an additional service that can be priced at the company’s discretion.
The ministry’s legal assessment states that the contractual terms and charges in question breach key consumer-protection provisions. It specifically cites rules prohibiting standard terms that unilaterally shift the contractual balance or impose unjustified additional costs on consumers. The decision classifies the conduct as a “very serious” infringement; the fine imposed is the maximum provided for under consumer-protection legislation.
The case is part of Spain a series of recurring disputes over additional charges in the car rental industry. Under Minister Pablo Bustinduy the ministry is pursuing a notably strict approach to oversight of abusive fee structures and opaque contractual terms. The aim, from the authorities’ perspective, is to curb standardised extra charges that undermine consumer rights or bill customers for compliance with legal obligations.
The decision has immediate financial consequences for Avis. As is usual in such proceedings, the company has the right to appeal; the sanction can be challenged. The reports available do not make clear whether, or to what extent, affected customers may claim refunds for processing fees already paid, or whether the decision includes an order to repay them. The reports do not quote any response from Avis to the specific decision or reproduce the detailed ministerial order.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).