SAN LORENZO, Calif. — A California woman got pulled over in Georgia because the license plate on the car she was driving did not match the vehicle. It turned out to be a rental car, a common issue recognized by law enforcement authorities.
Noelle Wilson from San Lorenzo was in Suwanee, Georgia, visiting a dear childhood friend. The police officers who stopped her were very understanding, but she expressed concern that the situation could have taken a more serious turn.
In the body-worn camera footage from the police, it initially appears as though Wilson and her girlfriend might be in some sort of trouble. The couple from San Lorenzo had just been pulled over 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 he pulled 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.
ABC San Francisco affiliate KGO 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 [KGO] 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 KGO 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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