Ramona Gutierrez, a single mother and full-time Uber driver in Los Angeles, said Avis erroneously reported the car she'd rented as stolen, leading to her getting pulled over and detained by the Los Angles County Sheriff’s Department, so she’s suing the rental car company.
According to Gutierrez, on March 22, she was driving on the freeway in a vehicle she rented from Avis because her personal vehicle was in the shop, when she was pulled over by six sheriff’s department vehicles. She claimed deputies held her at gunpoint, slamming her to the ground and roughly handcuffing her, causing injuries to her wrists.
Gutierrez said she tried explaining to deputies the car had been legally rented that day, but they put her in the back of a police vehicle. Her lawyer explained, “This experience has left her shaken and traumatized, and she is now seeking compensation for her injuries and emotional distress.”
At the time, Gutierrez claimed, no one explained why she was pulled over and detained, leaving her confused and scared. It was only later she learned someone at Avis had reported the rental car had been stolen. After the incident, Gutierrez claims, Avis hasn’t so much as apologized.
Gutierrez said she is so traumatized by the incident, she hasn’t been back to work. She had been working as an Uber driver for six years.
Motorious reached out to Avis Budget Group, which owns Avis, Budget Rent A Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental and Zipcar, and received the following statement: “We have comprehensive safeguards in place to prevent erroneous police notifications. Unfortunately, in this isolated incident, a customer was stopped by the police and detained because of an error on Avis’s part. Due to ongoing legal action, we cannot comment beyond that.”
Abby Andrews