Avis-Budget car rental scam in Lithuania: any advice?

Hi, What tips can you give me for dealing with a car rental scam attempt in Lithuania?

In our case, it’s the Avis-Budget agency in Vilnius trying to scam us.

We rented a car at Vilnius Airport for 2 weeks on July 28, 2019, to return it in Tallinn on August 11. We brought it back on August 11 at the airport, in perfect condition, and with a full tank at the gas station right by Tallinn Airport.

On the parking lot, the receptionist’s booth was closed. So we had to leave the car in the lot and go to the counter inside the airport. The person at the counter told us their colleague had gone for lunch! But they refused to come out and do the inspection with us because they were alone at the counter. They told us we could leave and that everything was fine!!!!

Two days later, we got an email from Avis-Budget with two invoices saying the car was damaged—scratched on both sides—and charging us for a full tank of gas. That’s two bills totaling 800 €!!!! Coincidentally, the deposit was 900 €!

It’s clear this isn’t over!! Have any of you been through the same nightmare? How did you handle it? Thanks in advance!

Did you take the precaution of taking photos of the car before leaving and upon your return? It's essential since there was no "condition report" at the return.

Seven years later... but it might still be useful!

Really bad experience with AVIS in Lithuania. Rented the car through BSP Auto (nothing to complain about on that end, it's always very efficient) and kept it for three weeks to cover 2,500 km across the three Baltic countries. Check-in was fine at the office opposite Vilnius Airport, and the car was almost new. There was an extra fee to pay (known from the start) for crossing into Latvia and Estonia. When I returned it, I parked the car and handed the keys to an employee who didn’t even check the vehicle’s condition—just asked if I’d refilled the tank. Things took a turn for the worse two days later: a tiny scratch on the rear (which I don’t deny) landed me with a 435.00 € bill! At that price, the repair should be done by a jeweler in solid gold! Not even sure the repair was actually carried out. And the kicker? The border-crossing fees are calculated as a proportion of the final bill. So if the bill goes up because of damage, those fees go up too. I ended up with a total bill more than double what was originally quoted. AVIS: avoid! !