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Europcar Reviews

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Pros
  • Friendly and helpful staff
  • Good vehicle quality
Cons
  • Unexpected additional charges
  • Long wait times for service

Europcar Reviews

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    How do I know I can trust these reviews about Europcar?
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    Page 6 Reviews 530 - 680
    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 6, 2019

    We hired the car from Edinburgh airport March 2016. Collected it late at night (little lighting). On first viewing we spotted no damage. It was only the next morning that we spotted multiple scratches / marks / small tire damage on the car. We tried several times to call customer service to report but no luck as we were out of signal range - hence took photographs. On returning to the airport on Sunday night - the "operative" on duty went straight to the damaged tire before speaking to us telling us it was our fault. We argued - I explained - showed the photos. Only to be told I would be charged. I told him that I would dispute any charge and he wasn't authorized to put on my Amex.

    Needless to say a charge of £147.48 appeared on my Amex. Which I immediately disputed. Amex writing to me that it had been "resolved" and credited. So imagine my surprise last week at Geneva airport to find out that I had been put on a watch list - banned from hiring a Europcar! (Even though I have hired with Europcar at least twice since then). I have spent the last 4 days trying to resolve but without success hence this posting. I am happy that Europcar take me to the small claims court - but NOT happy to be left in limbo. I see from multiple other posts I am not alone.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 27, 2019

    Amazing, we get home from our trip, and after a few months they start hammering us with mail, and emails about their "audit" and say we owe them 120$, as they'd charged us incorrectly for insurance. Though I'd sent them several emails about us not needing any insurance, they never replied, and just threatened collection. Don't rent from them!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 24, 2019

    We were scammed by them in Spain. Cost us $2300 Canadian. Do not deal with them. Our travel agency tried to help but did not get any help from them so they now refuse to use them for their customers. They are criminals.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Feb. 23, 2019

    Make sure you check the car when dropping off and make sure you drop it off direct to Europcar! Also take pictures of every angle of the car and make sure they are date stamped. I’ve been charged for damage that occurred after I returned the car to the garage who gave me the car whilst mine was being fixed. Even though I returned the car to them they did not return it to Europcar for 8 days later and I have been held responsible for those days and the damage that occurred during that period.

    Whilst admitting the agreement was with the garage in question I have simply been told ‘take it up with the garage’ and told to pay the excess. When queried with Europcar it took 4 attempts of asking before getting a response on who I could take this to as a third party complaints body. To be honest even when picking the car in the first place the service was awful and I was ‘blamed’ for making the employee work late because they had messed up the taxi to get me there! Never use them!

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    Reviewed Feb. 23, 2019

    INSANE and RIDICULOUS - YOU CHARGED ME MORE THAN 1500 Euros for a small dent cum scratch. FOR THIS AMOUNT I CAN GET A USED CAR IN NETHERLANDS which is definitely one of costliest country in Western Europe. I will spend another 1500 Euros but I will make sure I win this battle because you are just ripping off customer. NOT AGAIN - LOW GRADE CLAIMS SERVICE - THEY DO NOT INFORM YOU - JUST SWIPE YOUR CREDIT CARD.

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    Sales & Marketing

    Reviewed Feb. 22, 2019

    Europcar charged me the cost of the aerial of the car which was missing from the beginning of the rental. I explained the car radio had not worked all the way through but this is a scam to get some margin back. Stay away from them.

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    Contract & TermsPricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Feb. 22, 2019

    I have rented a car from London to Liverpool Airport on 5 February 2019 from Europcar. I have booked 2 car seat. When I picked up the car there was only 1 car seat. I had to wait more than an hour for another car seat. Because of this, I can not get to Liverpool right on time and our family miss to enter the Liverpool stadium where we have purchased tickets online.

    When I picked up the car, I did not check it properly the existing damages and I did not take a picture before and after. Because of my early morning flight to Amsterdam tomorrow, I had to return the car early in the morning at 6.30 am and drop the key in the provided box. This cheat company has sent me an email to charge extra for damages that I did not make. They claim the damages only at the rim alloy at the front left. This is not make sense as there is multiple existing damages at the front left side in the rental agreement. In the logic thinking, if there is minor collision happen at the left side of the car the damage will happen not only at tire rim alloy but also impact the others area for example left side front door and etc. Whether they do not properly record the existing damages or create new damage. As you see many of bad reviews from this company is cheat their customers money. Do not use this company service!

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    Reviewed Feb. 21, 2019

    I have rented a car from Frankfurt. I returned to Dusseldorf Airport. I have driven 550 km but company claims to be 2135 km. 261 euro was collected my credit card. Stay away from this company. They are not honest.

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    Reviewed Feb. 21, 2019

    I rented my car and insurance package through Easyrentcars.com, however upon landing at Shannon airport I was told my insurance was not accepted by Europcar, Axa insurance. I was also told the car would not be released to me unless I bought their insurance but not to worry because I could get my original Insurance cost refunded through Easyrentcars. I was not refunded one single penny and Europcar basically said because I bought their insurance and signed they would not refund me either. They are modern day rip off artists and demand money after you disembark from a long flight. Do not use this company!!!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 19, 2019

    We used Europcar in Portugal in September 2018, as it was recommended to us by our travel agent. We had to pay 700 euros as a deposit, which would be refunded to us on the return of the vehicle. There was no damage to the vehicle recorded when we returned the vehicle, but up till today, we are still waiting for a refund, after continual queries to Europcar via our travel agent in South Africa. On numerous occasions, they informed our travel agent that they have either made the payment or will be making it soon, but no payment has been forthcoming yet. Any advice on the way forward will be appreciated.

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    Reviewed Feb. 19, 2019

    If there was a choice to select 0 stars this was gonna be my selection for this company! They think that they can play with people and steal money from them with their way which is by changing the rates at the last minute. This is a very big company and I didn't expect this unprofessionalism from them.

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    Reviewed Feb. 16, 2019

    This company runs an elaborate fraud. I am surprised that they have not been prosecuted. Rented prepaid in Aug 18. Now in Feb 19 charged my card for different items and sent me a letter for yet a different charge. Obviously attempting to extract funds but surprised that UK government does not audit them.

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    Reviewed Feb. 15, 2019

    We rented from Rome airport and had the car a month. Four months after returning it they are trying to extort us for US $450 for damage to the rear panel of the car. Fortunately we had taken photos which prove the damage was there. I suspect they have attempted to charge others for the damage before and after our rental. They also have charged us "administration fees" for handling supposed violations we received while driving. Had we read the reviews posted, we never would have rented from them, so hopefully we can save others from their scams.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 14, 2019

    We from Australia, rented Europcar in London in April 2018. In Feb 2019, receive invoice from collection department mention we have 650 pounds outstanding for 60 days! Send the invoice to my email (my name to book), invoice charge to my hubby (he is the driver), but the invoice shows actual driver is another different name! When we call to Europcar UK, they told us a few details about this rental which definitely nonsense answer! The rent was January 2019. Rented in New Zealand. It is a company account, that's why they charge after rent.

    Frist - when we rent the car, the staff always ask to have passport and driving license to proof that the booking is matching and always a credit card details in your booking. 2nd - How can you ask us to provide you all our passport page details to proof that we have never been to New Zealand!! We live in Australia. It is very common, if anyone of us travel to New Zealand? Travel to NZ doesn't mean we book their car! Of course, the main case is, we didn't travel to NZ. But they are not government/ border immigration, what is their right to ask us provide this high P&C details. If they can't even have a good system in invoicing & database!!

    3rd - If it is a company account, why they simply send invoice to someone's Gmail. Gmail name & invoice name is personal name, not a company name. If a company account, should also have a proper credit account set up in their database!! 4th - If this rent happen in NZ, why the invoice come from UK?! Damn. This International Company really think that we are idiots that they can fool around!? Government should have take action to charge this company and protect us! I'm really seeking advice where should I go for this help. Seems like they are wasting our time to call overseas to sort of all this nonsense! SAY NO TO EUROPCAR!!

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    Price

    Reviewed Feb. 14, 2019

    Sneaky. Charged me 48 pounds 8 MONTHS after renting. I rented a Europcar via a third party. When I picked up the car they made me pay for a bunch of additional things I didn't want. Then I get an automatic charge on my credit card 8 MONTHS after renting the car. They said they forgot to charge me for something. Well, of course, how can I verify any of this. I didn't keep my paperwork from 8 months ago. A reputable company would have taken the small loss (if there was any, I can't tell) and moved on. Bad practices lose customers.

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    Coverage

    Reviewed Feb. 14, 2019

    FRAUDSTERS! SCAM ARTISTS! Reserved a car in Cuernavaca Mexico with this shady company. When I went to pick up the car they would not rent it to me unless I bought all kinds of unneeded insurance from them. I had already indicated that I need the Supplemental Liability coverage since US credit cards are not accepted in Mexico for that coverage. But US credit cards do cover all the CDW related coverage. In the past I never rented from these guys always going with their much better competitors but none of them had an office in Cuernavaca. STAY AWAY FROM Europcar if you know what is good for you!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 11, 2019

    This company Europcar tricked me into signing for SCDW. On arrival at their desk Dublin Airport I was asked about insurance. I told the man at the desk that I had taken out my own excess insurance & I showed him the insurance policy but he still insisted I sign the form. No mention it was for excess insurance. When I returned home I noticed in very small print SCDW. I had to Google this to know what it was. I have contacted Europcar on several occasions since but no chance of my money back. Beware of this company & Don’t sign unless it is all explained to you.

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    Contract & TermsCoverageSales & MarketingPricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Feb. 8, 2019

    Warning to anyone thinking of booking a Europcar rental on line. I wish I'd read this website first, I see this scam is a common experience. I searched via a company called Auto Europe, needing to pick up a car in Cambridge for 6 days. The Europcar daily price was fine, about USD$30 a day. BUT - when I arrived at the depot, Europcar required me to pay for insurance cover - at a staggering 150 pounds, ie 50% MORE than the actual rental. They told me the Auto Europe website stated this fee. I checked later - not true. This is simply a classic scam. Europcar extracts money for nothing, once you have committed to the contract. I set out my complaint in writing to Europcar. I have just heard back from Jeanilyn at Europcar that because I signed for the car, the charge stands. I will start escalating by submitting a complaint to the UK consumer protection authority, and see how I go.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 7, 2019

    Hired a Fiat 500 from these people in France. Car was hidden under snow, woman at desk had a face like soured milk and despite returning the car with a topped full tank of petrol, received an invoice taken from my credit card for 9 litres of fuel and a refueling charge, all for me bothering to look after their dirty car and filling the tank. I will never hire from these people again, anywhere in the world.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 7, 2019

    Hired a car at Liverpool. Airport staff member could not be bothered coming to it with me. It was dark and raining. I noticed damage over the back wheel. Went back and told him. He wrote it on my agreement. Took it back 2 days later. Again staff couldn't be bothered looking at it. A few days later a notice of damage is sent to me (back end of the car near to what I had reported and unless you got on the floor it would not be noticeable). This was highly likely done at the time of the undocumented damage and I would definitely know if I had done it... They have refused to get into conversation with me. Every time I email they just send a copy of the terms & conditions. They have now sent an invoice for £298. I am disgusted... Never ever hire a car from this company.

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    Verified purchase
    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 6, 2019

    Unethical behavior by Europcar in UK. I rented a Europcar through a third party and went to collect the car from the Bournemouth office. I was told by the Europcar agent that I could get a cheaper car by booking direct with Europcar. The third party booking stated no cost for cancelling. The Europcar agent phoned the third party and I cancelled the booking. The Europcar agent rebooked the car and before I paid again I asked him to show me on the computer that the third party booking had been cancelled. He told me Europcar had the money from the third party and assured me that Europcar would refund the payment by the third party to myself. The third party subsequently refused to refund my booking because it was cancelled on the day of booking and Europecar refuse to help me. So on the advice of a Europcar employee I have paid twice for a rental car. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

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    Coverage

    Reviewed Feb. 5, 2019

    Europacar will force you to buy their insurance even if you have already prepaid on other sites or have a credit card that covers insurance. I rented a car and prepaid $78 for it and paid another $33 for insurance. At the counter they refused to give me the car unless I paid them another $100 for insurance. They would not accept my credit card cover unless I gave them the entire policy from the credit card company- who carries that anyway??? DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 3, 2019

    This is the worst company I have ever come across. Do NOT hire a car from them. I had thought ours was an isolated incident, however, having read the posts here I can see that this is their modus operandi. My husband and I hired a car in the summer and as the office was closed, we had to use a drop-off service. We left the car in perfect conditions and took photos of the outside of the car as proof of this. The next day we get an email saying everything is fine and we owe them nothing. Four days later we get a strange email saying they could take up to thousands of euros of our card for damage to the car. They gave no more explanations at this time.

    Shocked and concerned, we phoned them, only to be told there was some unspecified ´cleaning´ damage to the car. We knew this was not the case and told them in fact we had received an email saying the car was fine. To say all of this spoiled the end of the holiday is no exaggeration. After about a month, and much insistence on our behalf, they send us some photos of the inside of a car which was not the one we had hired, with the front door pockets filled with dog food! We don't even have a dog and if we did, why we would empty the cans into them is anyone´s guess. In spite of writing repeatedly, we got no decent reply and sure enough, they took the money out. Never in my life have I felt so cheated. I had thought this was a respectable company. Save yourself the immense stress and avoid EVER using this company. They are an absolute disgrace.

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    Contract & TermsPrice

    Reviewed Feb. 2, 2019

    Early January I booked a car via one of the many web crawlers with Europcar Cancun. As I am renting very regularly in Europe I have my own DWL insurance (on a yearly basis) which is valid worldwide and saves me quite a sum in premiums. It only implies a more expensive guarantee blocked on my card. (Which is returned in case of no damage.) Europcar Cancun implied my own DWL insurance was only valid with a handwritten and signed copy of the contract. As most paperwork now comes through the internet I could of course not provide this signed document. Furthermore they demanded an extraterrestrial deposit of 10000 USD (in Europe maximum 2000 USD).

    A long story short: after an hour of negotiation I managed to reduce the 800+ USD extra insurance to 500USD which is still a rip off. My suggestion to all: 1st NEVER book Europcar, 2nd if by any accident you still booked with EUROPCAR CANCUN, walk away, no RUNAWAY. 3rd reduce your rental time to the strict minimum and go shopping elsewhere eg downtown. By dropping whatever rental fee you paid you will still be better off than letting them get away with the extra insurance premium. Also you will not feel screwed and ripped off.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 29, 2019

    I would never use UK Europcar Liverpool… I would never use UK Europcar Liverpool airport car hire depot again. Having travelled from New Zealand via Northern Ireland I had to wait over 90 minutes for my car to be cleaned prior to travelling south. I was not advised about the prepay system for crossing of the Silver Jubilee Bridge and on my return home to N.Z. I unexpectedly received a fine of GDP20 plus an additional demand from UK Europcar GDP40 (administration fee.) This information arrived by normal post and took weeks to get to me.

    My complaints and emails were never answered fully. I was not able to make a bank transfer when using the banking numbers provided. These problems continued for months. Then I received another letter and this time from UK Europcar's debt collection agency. The fee had now doubled to GDP80. My advice for overseas travellers: "Do not use the Liverpool agency". If you do, check out the bridge toll payment system prior to your travels otherwise you will have an expensive experience when hiring from UK Europcar.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 23, 2019

    Booking and delivery of car was alright, but they charged us a month after the rental; claiming that the traffic police in Italy charged us! They charged 85GBP for admin!!! We are not even sure that there is a traffic charge. There is no telephone for customer service and emails are replied badly. AVOID this company.

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2019

    I rented from the Calama El Loa Airport office. Upon pickup everything was fine. I had a agent who spoke English and briefly checked the car and marked down a few spots. Upon return it was a completely different story. The same agent who check me out, claimed he no longer spoke English and marked down three damages to the car which were definitely there before. He then asked me to sign paperwork that I had damaged the car and threatened to charge my card for damages in full if I did not sign and agree that I had made the damages.

    He claimed microchips In the windshield which he found by spraying with water and looking at it 6" from the surface (which he did not do at checkout). He then claimed a dent which had been there and upholstery stains which had also been there. He attempted to negotiated down the damages. He then said, "Well you bought insurance (which he forced me to buy at pickup) so we will file a claim." I did not sign since I did not do the damages and now they have charged my card. They also presented the damages in Spanish so I had no idea what I was even signing. This was clearly a scam for them to file an insurance claim and they used the language barrier to intimidate me.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingPriceProcess

    Reviewed Jan. 16, 2019

    This has been the worst experience in my life from all companies where I have ever rented a car. I made the booking online and got the price for a 7 day rental. I decided to go with a more expensive Mercedes c300 sedan. After waiting for over 1.5h in line to get to my car, I was rushed through the process, and end up getting a Mercedes Hatchback, being told it's what they have. I decided to agree, even though this was not what I expected. In the register I was told that if I return the car earlier, my daily rate will be recalculated and I will be entitled to a refund. I rented the car in Melbourne, and returned it in Sydney. Since I had arrived to my destination earlier I decided to return the car one day earlier, to get some money back. I return the car, and are told by the guy that final invoice will come and that all should be good. Imagine my surprise when I end up paying more for 6 days than I was supposed to pay for 7 days.

    After many calls with customer support, it was explained to me that I should be reading the fine print in the terms and conditions. Since I returned it earlier I had less free miles available, and was therefore charged for driving too many miles. But not only that, my daily rate was adjusted, but at a rate that actually made my entire booking more expensive. So to sum up, I used their car one day less, returned it in perfect condition, but was charged more. Would I have known that I would never have returned the car earlier. I agree that I should have probably paid more attention to the fine print in the terms of conditions, but you don't expect a serious company to be scamming their customers. I will never use Europcar again and recommend everyone to stay away.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 12, 2019

    We hired a VW Passat or "similar" online for a "guaranteed price" of £1200. We did not take out any extra insurance as had already bought comprehensive travel insurance. When my husband arrived at the Europcar depot at Heathrow he was offered the choice of two cars. Neither was a Passat so he assumed the two models offered were "a similar" car. The man never told him that the Kia Sportage was £335 dearer than the car we'd booked. My husband was given the keys and signed for them without reading all the fine print on the contract. After all, who would after having just got off a 27 hour flight from the other side of the world, and we'd already been guaranteed a price by email.

    It was only once we'd got our VISA bill did we discover we'd been charged for an upgrade plus extra insurance - nearly £900 pounds more than so-called guaranteed price!! At nearly £2100 for just 3 weeks, we might as well have bought an old car. If a company changes your contract, surely they are morally obliged to tell you. The man at Heathrow never told us about the upgrade cost or the extra insurance. I was put on hold for nearly 1 1/2 hours trying to talk to Customer Service, and after multiple emails they are refusing any refund. We would NEVER use Europcar again - they are dishonest scammers.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 11, 2019

    Terrible. FRAUD ALERT. THESE PEOPLE AT EUROPCAR KEEP CLIENTS' CC DETAILS THEN BILL YOU A FEW MONTHS LATER for processing alleged PCN. These people keep your credit card info to bill you much later for processing alleged PCNs. They messed up my credit card. I had no balance owned on my credit card. Europcar charged my CC a fee of £40. When I called them to ask them what was that about, the lady agent could not even tell me. She said it was tax for having hired a car a couple of months ago. Didn't make sense to me that Europcar bill their clients tax 8 weeks after the hire. Then the agent did not know what to say when I told her it made no sense that tax was charged 2 months after having rented and returned the car in perfect condition.

    After much calling them and digging, they finally told me that they charged my CC because of admin fee for processing a PCN I had received when I had rented their car. Seriously? Is it even legal that they keep their clients' credit card number? I have used them a few times, even when abroad I used them, I even sent my friends to hire from them. I am no longer their customer and I am also taking my friends with me. And now I will be telling the whole world what they do so people know the fraud they do. They have no right to keep clients' CC on file and take money out of their account whenever they feel like it and then tell you that they had to process a PCN therefore they charged your CC £40.

    I will never use Europcar whether here in the UK or abroad and I will make sure no one I know uses them and of course, I will carry on spreading the word and their fraud so people know what to expect from them at any time after having rented their car. BEWARE OF EUROPCAR, THEY WILL MESS UP YOUR CC. STAY AWAY.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 9, 2019

    I booked an Alfa-Romeo Stelvio few weeks in advance from Geneve Airport, French section. Then one week before the rental date I was contacted by an agent who told me that this particular car was broken and he offered me few options from which I had chosen VOLVO XC90 with winter tires for 700 Euro more and even received the confirmation from the agent by e-mail.

    However when I came to the Europcar office on the rental day nobody could find the confirmation or modified booking. So instead I was offered Mercedes GLA for the same price however it is smaller than Stelvio. Even more, when I came to give back the car to the return station in Geneva, there was nobody at the reception desk, so I parked the car and proceeded to the airport to give back the keys. After a few minutes on my way I met a guy from Europcar to whom I gave in the keys. And finally when I received the invoice I noticed that the check-in time was fixed 30 minutes after I parked the car and was charged an extra full day for this 30 minutes. Even more, when I received the car the tank was not fully filled and at a petrol station I only noticed that the tank cup was not fixed.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed Jan. 8, 2019

    Europcar Heathrow Airport - Hired a car. Are now being told that I damaged a tire when it is clearly evident from the noted existing damage to the rim and photos they provided that the tire damage was existing damage that occurred when the rim was damaged. No mention of the tire damage they noted on return was made to me when I returned the car. Extremely unprofessional, and what appears to be targeted claims of damage to customers that do not take up the sales pitch for pay additional insurance. Appears from other review this behaviour is not isolated to this depot. Customer Services have been very slow in responding and powerless to rectify an obvious issue.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2019

    Be very careful as they took double payments from my bank only to say system error and take up to 10 days to refund. Then the same thing happens the following week later. Only found out when bank called me to say other payments have bounced due to it. Bad customer service and sell you anything just to make a sale upgrades then hammer you with upgrade daily charges. Need to be very clear when upgrading people cause you don’t find out till later, branch and invoice are 2 diff apartments regardless of what branch tells you invoice will charge whatever they like. Be very clear when you hire...

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    Reviewed Jan. 4, 2019

    Ordered a manual car online, they said they had one in stock and took the money. Got to the airport only to be told they don't have any manual cars and they admitted that they only say they do just to get the order!! Refused to give a $2000+ refund despite lying just to get a sale. They said offering an automatic was like for like and that was their excuse for not refunding the money. MAYBE THERE WAS A REASON FOR ORDERING A MANUAL CAR!!! Would never use this bunch of thieves again!!!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 4, 2019

    I hired a car 2 months ago and have been dealing with the claims department since. A dreadful experience, very poor customer service an unfair claims of damage to the vehicle's windscreen. 2 months on they charged my credit card over $420 to replace a windscreen due to 'damage'. 3 very minor marks that they claim impair the driver's vision, these marks are less than 2mm in size and are not in the driver's vision, they are not chips or indenting the windscreen in any way. Their inspection personnel also drew circles on the windscreen to try exaggerate the damage but the photos clearly show no marks within the circles drawn. VERY POOR PRACTICE! They also won't provide evidence of the windscreen replacement as it's obvious they are billing customers for replacements and not physically replacing the windscreen.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsCoveragePriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 3, 2019

    My advice is not to use this company, they will rip you off every way they can, going through their Customer Service department is a nightmare and a complete waste of time. I rented a vehicle from their Exeter branch at the Airport on 7th December 18 for 3 days. I purchased the basic package online but after doing this I read their feedback which scared me so I cancelled the basic package and made a second booking for their premium package which states covers all extras including damage caused to vehicle. When I picked the vehicle up on the 7th December the male behind the counter gave me two forms and told me to sign both without explaining to me what they were. I read the 1st form which was my rental agreement which I was happy with so I signed it.

    When I read the second form I noticed it was for extras which I could choose but would cost me extra. I informed the male I did not need any of these extras as I had booked the premium package so he said, "Fine. Just sign and print your name at the bottom to say you don't want any extras," which I did. The vehicle was left back on Sunday 9th December as agreed filled with fuel and no damage caused to it.

    On the 12th December I noticed Europcar had taken a further payment from my credit card without my consent. I phoned the customers services and was told this was for the use of the drop box facility because I left the vehicle back on a Sunday and their office was not staffed on a Sunday. I challenged this as I was not told about this extra charge so I was told this would be passed on to someone else in the Customer service team. A number of days later I had to phone again and spoke to a different member who stated this extra charge was not for the drop box facility as I was told but for using the breakdown assistance when my vehicle broke down. I informed this member my vehicle did not break down so again I was informed this would have to be passed to someone else.

    The next day I received an email that this charge was not for my car breaking down but for an additional option of asking for breakdown assistance. Again I emailed Europcar back to state I did not ask nor order this option and I would like my money refunded. I was then emailed the second form which I had left blank as I did not want any of the extras but I noticed that this had now been filled in or I should say FORGED after I had left their office. I have emailed Europcar on a number of occasions to tell them that this form was filled in after I left their office, the two people with me and the CCTV in the office can prove this. They have emailed back to tell me that they can only go with what info they have, namely the forged form and their lying member of staff and refuse to do anything else to investigate this.

    To date they have not spoke to the two witnesses with me nor have they checked the CCTV. My advice would be DO NOT USE this company, they will rip you off and their Customer Service team are terrible and a waste of time trying to get in touch with them. I am not the first person nor will be the last to be ripped of by Europcar but I would like to prevent this from happening to others so that's why I am writing this feedback. I have now reported this fraud to the Police and Trading Standards and have been informed that Europcar have history for this as in June 2014 they were fined over 264 thousand dollars for unconscionable conduct and making false or misleading representations when charging customers for damage to hire vehicles.

    Also in June 2017 their England offices were raided by Police and Trading Standards due to a case which referred to the Serious Fraud Office due to accusations of overcharging customers for repairing damage to hire vehicles, something they do not want their customers to know about. You would think that a company with over 70 years of experience could do better. I think Europcar should change their uniform and give all their staff Balaclavas to wear, at least when they are robbing us of money they will look the part.

    If you have to use this company as a last resort my advice is read over all the paperwork first then use your phone to record what you say and what you sign (not that this will matter 'cause Europcar Customer Services will only believe what their staff tell them) then keep a close eye on your credit card watching out for further withdrawals from them. I am actually annoyed that I gave Europcar a 1 star rating, this is too good for them, only for the fact you cannot leave feedback without clicking on one of the stars, they don't deserve any. I will never use this company again, I would rather walk first than get a car from them. If Europcar have done something similar to you consider filling in the complaint on this link, it's the financial Ombudsman Office who will look into it and will refer it to Trading Standards: https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 29, 2018

    Rented a car for four days. Systems went down. Was told to hold on to car and payment till New Year’s Eve from branch manager then get a Scrooge snotty woman ring me up and tell me car was going to be reported stolen. What for you idiot? Listen to your managers and do your job properly. Waste people waste service and definitely waste car rental. Rip off for prices and worst service. Go to Enterprise. They’re polite and well better. Europcar needs to be in Europe not UK. Get out.

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    PricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Dec. 27, 2018

    In Madrid airport 20 EUR premium location fee was applied. Such useless "extra" service was not ordered, however company has no duty to inform you upfront that you using expensive extra service. They are fine simply charge it afterwords... Why to waste time... I just surprised why airlines does not do similar with a business class. Multiple attempts to clarify and solve it peacefully - FAILED. They clearly stated - It's MY fault.

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 27, 2018

    Europcar Southend on Sea Robbed Me. I wasn't aware of 'Consumer Affairs' when I was robbed by Europcar, but now I am, I thought it only right to share my experience with anybody that is thinking about using them. I hired online a budget priced car from Europcar's Southend on Sea branch in the UK. The receptionist politely told me that I could reduce my insurance liability by paying 14 pounds extra, which I agreed to. What she didn't tell me, was that it was 14 pounds A DAY. I had the car for quite a while and it wasn't until I looked at my bank account when I found out about the robbery. Some might call it a scam, but it's good old fashioned theft in my book.

    Since then I've been all the way through Europcar's complicated complaints procedure and even complained to the head of Europcar, who resides in France, all to no avail. I can understand why Europcar's employees would feel the need to get extra commission by ripping off a customer, but when they've been found out, the least the bosses can do is put it right. They even said to me that if it comes down to believing either a customer or an employee, it will always be the employee that wins.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Dec. 21, 2018

    Not even 1 star... Not recommend at all. Liars - TRUST abusers. Horrible customer service. Nasty advisors... Waste of money... Waste of valuable time... I have given half tank but had to return in full due to the filthy lie of the tank being full... But faulty gauge. That was not true. The tank was half. Complaint gone through after months chasing for each penny I paid finally agreed to refund... Next day I received admin charge letter for traffic PCN which they believe was applied correctly. This was not clear in terms and condition that there would be admin charge for any kind of PCNs. They only mentioned parking ticket or/and speed fines (plus admin charge). A lot of hidden charges there for you. DO NOT HIRE A CAR FROM THEM.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 20, 2018

    In preparation for a 3 week trip to UK I booked online with Europcar to hire a VW Passat from Europcar Heathrow with delivery of the car to Terminal 2 for us to collect and paid GBP 824.20. When we arrived at the Europcar desk at 0630 we found the desk unattended and a sign to use the provided 'Courtesy Phone'. I did so and there was no answer, just a recorded message saying that the courtesy phone line was unattended and to leave a message. We walked around the terminal for 80 minutes looking for assistance and returned to the Europcar desk several times but there was never anyone there.

    Eventually we gave up on finding a Europcar representative and took the shuttle bus to the Europcar depot. We waited for 35 minutes to see a representative who told us that the desk at Terminal 2 was unstaffed because their representative was in the toilet - For 80 minutes??? We were then told that the car that we had hired and paid for was unavailable and we would have to hire a more expensive car on which they had a 'special' price on that morning. He also made numerous attempts to sell me extra insurance even though I had told him that hire car damage was already covered on my travel insurance. He also made a big thing about not charging for the GPS even though it was built in to the car.

    Probably due to the fact that I had been traveling for 30 hours without sleep and was now running very late I signed for the replacement car the extra price which I thought was GBP 50.00 but received a shock on arriving at our accommodation to find I had been charged GBP 500.00 for the 'special deal' upgrade. I had no success in contacting Europcar by phone so sent the Head Office a letter by email to which they responded with an automated reply that they would contact me in 7 business days. 9 days later I received a second automated reply saying that they could not discuss the case until the end of the rental period. It is virtually impossible to actually talk to someone at Europcar by phone.

    So I ended up paying a total of GBP 1330.00 for a car when I had already paid over 800 pounds for a perfectly adequate car. I believe that the desk at Heathrow was deliberately not staffed when we arrived so that we would have to go to the Europcar depot. Interestingly, the following week at our B&B we met a family in the dining room who had had a virtually identical experience to us at Europcar Heathrow. Avoid this company like the plague if you value the contents of your bank account. I gave them 1 star in the ratings because there is no way to give no stars. The British Tourist Authority and Heathrow Airport should be ashamed that this company is allowed to prey on visitors to the UK.

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    Sales & MarketingPricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 17, 2018

    Europcar is a total scam. They quote one price, and then when you get there they add a "24% surcharge" on the rental, miles and everything else. But if you are going at a holiday time all the other company's car will be booked, and now you are screwed. Then on top of this their service sucks, and they just tell you more lies. This is exactly what happened with my car rental with them in Alice Springs, Australia. Avoid these lying thieves. They are the worst!!!

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    CoveragePriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 14, 2018

    Disappointed again with Europcar. Bristol Horfield branch. I’m a Privilege Elite VIP member though I never receive any benefits. On the whole Europcar are more expensive than their competitors but I have used this branch as they are close to my house. Booked my car on their app last week and turned up today at 9:50 am to collect my car. The representative again said they could not give me any upgrade. The first car had lots of dents and wheel damage. It was also completely frosted up and therefore illegal and dangerous to drive.

    I asked the representative for some de-icer but they had none. He got a credit card out and started pathetically to clear the ice. A hire car company unable to de-ice a car! I asked for an alternative and this car was dirty and again frosted up. I had now wasted 40 minutes and had an appointment to give blood at Southmead Hospital at 10:45 am. I asked the representative to get it sorted and got a taxi as I didn't want to be late. They called me a couple of hours later to say the car had now been cleaned. I have never written a review before but CANNOT recommend Europcar. I have just looked up and section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 says it is a legal requirement to have a clear view of the road before you set off! You'll get points on your license and a hefty fine. Worse still you won't see a pedestrian or cyclist and kill them.

    Motorists must clear snow and ice from every window of their car, according to The Highway Code. Rule 229 also dictates that drivers must: Demist and clear all mirrors. Clean all lights. Make sure their number plates are visible. Europcar have not done this today. The expensive insurance they also sell you would be invalid. If you get into a crash because you didn't properly clean your windows, the insurance company might find you at fault for 'neglecting to properly prepare your vehicle', My simple advice is to make sure your hire car is defrosted and avoid Europcar Bristol Horfield.

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    Price

    Reviewed Dec. 13, 2018

    We prepaid for our rental for pick-up at the Lisbon airport through a third party website, expecting that this was the total cost we would pay, except for tolls, which we knew would be an add-on. We had never rented from Europcar before, but they were the cheapest and it was my understanding that they were a reputable company. Upon returning the vehicle, we were shown a chink in the windshield about the size of a pinhead, that we had not noticed. Whether it happened during our rental, I can't honestly say, except for the fact that it was barely noticeable even after being pointed out to us. We later received a damage charge of 181 Euros plus a "damage administrative fee" of 30 Euros. We all know that repairing a windshield issue of that size would cost a mere fraction of that amount. Also coming later was a "premium location" fee of 25 Euros, the latter certainly not expected since we had prepaid for the rental.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Dec. 13, 2018

    Many hidden costs and unsafe car. Overcharged of 250 AUD - Had booked through rental.com. Paid $326 sgd and on the day of arrival at Europcar. Staff was pushy with many extras like child seat. Duped me in paying extra for child seat. The Australian law states 7 and over don't require child seat. My Child was over 7 years with this uncomfortable seat. Car was faulty and no road assistance provided after calling Europcar. Car nearly broke down causing stress to the family. No proper checking system for the car when taking over. The cars are placed in dark areas making it difficult to justify for any faults found. Overcharged with hidden costs with no explanation. First and last rental with Europcar. Staffs have no integrity.

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    Reviewed Dec. 11, 2018

    We rented a car from Europcar directly at Bristol Airport. On the sheet we received it stated that the front alloys were damaged. I checked and saw the damage BEFORE we left Bristol. On our return the inspector pointed out the damage to the alloys. I told him that was already there when we hired the vehicle. He claimed that only one side was damaged when we received the vehicle. Long story short they charged my credit card for the damage which was clearly not caused by me. I am currently taking advice from my legal adviser but I will not be using Europcar again and would advise others to be careful of this company.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Dec. 11, 2018

    Be careful. They will steal your money!! This company is a serious insurance fraud!! When I picked up a car from the airport (Bari Italy) no one check the lock from the driver side. I did not check it because the car have remote control, and I never used a car lock during my trip. Then when I was giving the car back your employee looked at the car and the first thing he did was opening the car door by the key. Who does that??! He said that the lock was damaged. This damage had clearly happened before my rental. I did not check the lock when I was picking car from company and I didn't pay much attention to it.

    However, the man who "checked" the car when I brought it back managed to find it in seconds. It was the first thing he did. He knew what to look for. When all formalities was done I stayed there for few minutes and looked around to see how other customers are picking up their cars (to see the routine) and believe me nobody was checking the lock at the car door. Not even employees!!! Having looked into various web pages, it seems Europcar is a serial abuser of people who do not buy their extremely expensive insurance - putting damage from previous renters onto such unlucky customers as myself. I will never hire a car from you again but be sure I do my best to warn the rest of your possible customers and will share this experience.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 10, 2018

    I had the misfortune to book a car through a third party online with Europcar/Keddy at Southend Airport. We arrived at the Europcar desk to find a heated argument going on between a customer and the agent. When my turn came I handed over my paperwork and the agent then started to give me the hard sales talk about upgrading my car. I declined his offer but he kept on telling me he could do me a great deal. I declined again telling him if I had wanted a bigger car I would have reserved one.

    At that point he gave up and started on his sales patter in respect of insurance. The company with whom I had reserved the car had not included any insurance so I accepted his offer but then he started trying to sell me excess insurance. I told him that I already had this covered with a third party and then he started to try and frighten me by saying that if I didn't take their insurance it could cost me up to £18,000 if I had an accident or the car was stolen. I again resisted his attempts and then he started to try and coerce me into buying their insurance saying that third party excess insurance could prove difficult to claim on and they looked for loopholes to get out of paying. Again I resisted and he gave up.

    The car itself was ok but with quite a bit of very minor damage. My rental was only for 24 hours so the following morning I dropped the car back to Europcar at Southend Airport at around 11 am. I went straight to the Europcar counter and asked the woman agent to come and check the car but she flatly refused, saying that she was the only one there and that she was very busy with a queue of customers. I told her I would wait but her reply was "I could be hours" and she then ignored me and dealt with her next customer. Short of dragging her across the road I was left with only one option, to take photographs of the car.

    On the 25th November I had cause to check my bank statement and found that Europcar had debited my debit card with £264. Not dreaming for one moment it had anything to do with my 1 day hire as that rental expired on the 1st October, I contacted the NatWest Fraud Department. They gave me the unique authorization code for the transaction so that I could ask Europcar about this charge. They wouldn't speak to me on the telephone but told me to email everything to customer services, which I did.

    Two weeks later I received their reply and yes anyone who has been caught out with this scam knows what's coming next, the £264 was for damages they claim I had caused to the car! I immediately emailed them to dispute these damages but when I looked at their paperwork you have to send in your dispute to the damages within 14 days of them sending you the invoice, but as they sent it to a completely wrong address, I never received it so was denied the chance of disputing it and they charged my debit card. The paperwork also revealed that they had left the car unattended in the car park at Southend Airport for 3 hours, as they didn't go out to inspect it until 13.59!

    Now I hear you saying "but you said you had third party excess insurance cover". Yes I did, and if they had sent everything to the correct address and hadn't taken 2 weeks to get back to me, I could have claimed but you have to lodge a claim within 30 days of the "incident" which had well passed. Also as I had excess insurance cover if I had damaged the car why on earth would I put myself through the stress I am now experiencing, I would have claimed! Moral of this sad story is avoid Europcar/Keddy at all costs, because if you don't it could cost you or if they refuse to check your car, drag them over to the car and then await the assault charges too!

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 9, 2018

    We arrived at Gatwick airport exhausted and just waiting to proceed to our destination after hiring a car. WE had prebooked our car through Carflexi and taken out an insurance policy which we prepaid in full. We were met by a smiling Kim ** at the front desk of Europcar. After trying to butter us up she said all was well but she could not accept the prepaid insurance through Carflexi. She recommended that we take out the premium plan with her as the policy with Carflexi was invalid. We should then try and get our insurance back from Carflexi.

    We were forced to pay for another policy in order to get the car. We were tired and frustrated, reluctantly accepted the situation and paid up. We traveled to Norwich but by then my suspicions were high. We called in at the Norwich office of Europcar and they said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the original insurance with Carflexi and that Kim ** was just looking for extra commission. Our next port of call was York and once again the Europcar agent there said the same thing. WE had been ripped off by Kim **. Our final dropping off point was at Newbury and once again the within the same reaction by the Europcar agent. NONE OF THE OTHER AGENTS COULD FIND FAULT WITH OUR ORIGINAL INSURANCE WITH CARFLEXI.

    WE did lodge a claim with Europcar. In fact two claims. CASE NO ** which was declined after long deliberation by Europcar. The reason given that our claim was unsuccessful was because Kim ** said that she was in the right. What a farce, this after numerous phone calls to their Leicester office enquiring how the investigation was progressing. PLEASE NEVER OPERATE WITH THIS CON COMPANY. I would never do business with them and have told all my friends and family not to do so either.

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    Sales & MarketingPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Dec. 7, 2018

    We rented a car in Rome to drive to Florence. As many people know there are designated areas in Florence that you are not allowed to drive in unless you have permission. The catch is all of the rental car return facilities are within this area that you are not to drive in unless you have permission. We knew this when we rented the car and Europcar told us, "No problem. We will make sure your plates are covered for the day you want to return." NOPE. One year and 6 months later I get a bill in the mail for 120,11 Euros. Oh, you say that is too long - time has expired. Nope, they decided (conveniently) that the ticket process started March 8, 2018 - so they have until March 8, 2019 to send me a ticket. Not from the date of the violation - just whatever date they choose. It is a complete and utter scam, but what else do you expect from a government like that of Italy. Do not believe anything that Europcar tells you. In fact, just stay away from them.

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    PricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Dec. 6, 2018

    It is worth paying just a little extra to avoid these guys in the UK. I arrived 90 minutes early to pick up a car at Luton Airport and they told me that they did not have a car for me. I said I will wait until I was meant to land and they said they still would not have a car for me. They said they could get me a car but not the type I had booked (4 months prior!!!). So they put me on a Fiat 500 and charged me twice as much as the price that was booked. Unbelievable. When I dropped the car at Heathrow they told me they could do nothing about the price being charged as Luton was separate from Heathrow. This would never happen at Hertz or Avis or Budget or anywhere else. Be very cautious.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 6, 2018

    We rented a car through Europcar in Italy in October 2018. It took us over one month to get credit for charges that they added on that were not even correct. They wrote down my husband’s birth date wrong and we were charged 75 EU for young driver surcharge, he is 62 yrs old, then they charged us 35 EU and 28 EU for gas and fill up fee, we got the car with 1/8 of a tank of fuel missing, we returned it that way. Then we were charged for a GPS for 8 days when it was already included in the original contract. We got some monies back, after more than one month of going back and forth, but we did not get a refund on the GPS charge.

    Now almost two months later they are charging us 48 EU for some traffic infraction as an administrative cost to them. We have no idea what the traffic infraction is and it states that the authorities have one year to send us notification, in the meantime Europcar has my 48 EU, we cannot dispute whatever the ‘ticket’ is. To top it off we were not even in Florence where they say the infraction occurred. DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE, you will continue to have charges removed automatically from your credit card. You will not be able to speak to anyone in person, as all communication is done through email so it is practically impossible to get issues resolved.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 5, 2018

    Hello. Recently rented a car from Europcar and had a slow leak on one tire. As we left the facility I keep it aired up and upon return I was told that I needed to pay for a tire when all it had was a nail. I notified the attendant of the slow leak and we actually saw the nail on the tire. I drove 10000 kilometers and filled up three times. I could have them send a road service at any time but it was not significant and would have put a new delay on my trip. I tried calling them and they have no customer service.

    All the paperwork I have from the minute the attendant receiving car and only writing flat tire until I went to desk and she writes cut tire the cut was not existent is a robbery and definitely will work very hard so no one else have this problem ever again. I have pictures to prove them wrong and they failed to provide me with a third party tire repair establishment receipt. In another words this was a 300 tire patch is totally crazy and this really kind of ruined my trip since I lost one day to wait for another car since the one they gave me had 65000 kilometers and smell bad. A horrible experience. Don't use this company!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Dec. 2, 2018

    We hired a car from Vienna airport in September 2018. Luckily before we took off we checked the car for any damages and noticed considerable damage to the rear and side of the vehicle which was not mentioned in the paperwork. We took photos of the car and went back to the office to inform them about damages. They added these to the paperwork and we took the car.

    When we returned the car the representative told us there was this small scratch on the side of the vehicle which wasn't mentioned in the paperwork. We explained to him that we didn't cause and we probably didn't notice it at the time of the pick up as the car park was poorly lit. He told us not to worry and told us not to sign the paperwork. He said it will be ok. As we trusted him we took off. When we got home and received our credit card statements there was a charge of 770 euros for this small scratch which was not caused by us. We wrote a letter to Europcar but didn't get a refund. We will never rent a car from them anymore. Very disappointed.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 30, 2018

    For my husband birthday party, I reserved a 9-seater van from Europcar branch in Mulhouse airport long before the actual date. We were planning to go around Switzerland with our friends. I got the confirmation and everything was ok. The money was deducted from my account and I planned accordingly. Suddenly one week before the actual date, I got an email from Europcar that "We are sorry to learn that your travel plans have changed and that you had to cancel your car rental reservation"!!! I didn't change my plan and certainly didn't cancel my reservation!! They hold me on long phone calls and waiting and at the end, they say there is nothing they could do and they don't have the car!! The customer service was awful... I cannot find any other car within a week and even if I find sth I have to pay more... This is unacceptable...

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 22, 2018

    I rented a car in Venice Italy In October 2018. I chose this company as they seemed to have the car I wanted to drive. I booked the car online in Australia. I specifically asked for a medium size car preferably the Alfa Giulietta. The booking was approved on the basis of this car. I dealt with a staff in Venice, an older lady, who wanted to give me an old car, a station wagon and then an old Audi also much larger than what I had booked. After being told that the car was not available a younger staff said that it was available. I was given the runaround for almost 1 hour and then charged extra for road assistance as I was told the car did not have road assistance which was also false. I was not offered the 20% discount if I used a specific credit card.

    Beware also not only of the counter staff who are not there to help you, but also the car maintenance person in the car park because he did not point out all of the damage before I left. He agreed to some additional damage not shown on the form and signed off on the form wherein essence he needed to go back to the counter and have it formally acknowledged. He also confirmed that the car I had booked had been available for at least a day. I was utterly disappointed and I am still to hear back from the company. They advised me they would be investigating but they have done nothing.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 22, 2018

    We have hired twice before with Europcar from provincial French airports with no trouble at all, the cars were even upgraded at no extra cost. This year we rented from Barcelona airport and paid in advance. On arrival at the counter the agent first tried to get us to upgrade the car for more than twice what we were already paying. We said no. He pressed us on and on with ever decreasing amounts until we eventually agreed at a fifth of what he wanted at first, just to get away as we had a 2 hour onward journey and had just come from a 2 hour flight. He reminded us that 800 euros would be ring fenced on our credit card in case of damage, we were aware of this. He asked us to sign another form which had an amount on it which at a distance looked like 800 euros, we signed it.

    On arriving home after our trip I received an email confirming we had returned the car with no damage and a full fuel tank. So far so good. But the email also confirmed they were taking around £52 for a Fines Appeal Waiver - astonished, I checked the form we had signed and it was indeed there. We had foolishly signed without looking closely enough. But the fact that this had been added was not pointed out at the time and we did not look for it as we had no idea it would be there. Having had no previous bad experience like this we suspected nothing.

    Naturally I complained straight away to Europcar but they clung to the fact that we had signed the form. Fair enough, we were naive and fell for the scam. However I still felt we should be told exactly why this charge was added, and since then I have been emailing and tweeting Europcar in an effort to get them to put in black and white why this charge was added. Their failure to do so leaves two possibilities - either their staff get commission from adding such charges, or it is Europcar policy. The only other possibility would be for them to claim that we requested the charge, which would reveal them/their agent as liars. I continue to email them and all they do is give me a case number every time but no reply. Recently they have blocked me on Twitter. Fantastic customer service. Or an admission of guilt? RENT FROM EUROPCAR WITH EXTREME CAUTION, OR BETTER STILL RUN A MILE.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 20, 2018

    I rented a Skoda car from Europcar at Munchen Hauptbahnhof on 30th September 2018. The staff handed the receipt of €99 to me, which I gladly signed. I opted to pay in cash but the staff firmly told me that they only accepted credit card payment. When I received my credit card statement, I got the shock of my life. I was being charged €280 instead. I've emailed the customer service 3 times but they didn't even bother to reply my emails. This is obviously a con job!!! I will never rent a car from Europcar ever again! Those people are professional scammers!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 20, 2018

    Recently, I made a booking to hire a Mercedes C300 and I entered my card details while booking. It was confirmed. When I went there at Europcar Darling Harbour 20kms away from my house, after changing train and taxi. They told me I can’t get a car because I don’t own a credit card. I was left there hanging and I had to pick my guest from the airport. I was ready to pay $2000 deposit on my debit card and offered them 2 other debit cards, Medicare and license (my card was approved while making a booking). The staff is extremely rude, incompetent, not at all helpful. I had the worst experience in the history of car hire.

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    PriceOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 19, 2018

    I rented a car, in the U.K. through Europcar/Easyjet online, in advance. On arrival at their depot at Nice Cote d'Azur Airport, having had to queue for almost an hour to see an agent, I was shocked when the young blond female agent blithely told me that the online insurance that I had taken out was insufficient, and that I would have to pay an additional insurance tariff of approximately 32 Euros a day. I demonstrated that there was nothing to suggest on the online application that there would be an additional charge. She was having nothing of that, advising me that I simply now had the choice of two tariffs, needless to say, enthusiastically advising me to opt for the more expensive 'comprehensive' tariff. This bumped up the initial online charge of approximately 190.00 GBP to just shy of 400.00 GPB - for a six day rental of a modest Renault Clio!

    The agent proceeded to cheekily request that I give her 10 out 10 endorsement for the way she had handled me! I was not accompanied to the car, a gesture one would expect, instead, given the reg. no. and key and told to find it myself on a (specified) floor of a packed multi-story car park. I have yet to getting around to complain - still have the receipts - but somewhat pessimistic of any chance of a refund. I just won't use them again... Deceitful and shoddy service.

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    Reviewed Nov. 19, 2018

    Being charged by Europcar for an alleged scratch to Car after the vehicle was returned to the Exeter Airport site after a two day hire period - they never provided details of the vehicles condition (checklist) when we picked the vehicle up and didn't come out to check the condition of the vehicle (checklist) when we dropped the car off. We know for a fact there was no damage to the car when we left the vehicle in the designated place. Guess I should seek legal action against the company as I am not prepared to pay for damage which we did not do.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2018

    Europcar- NEVER AGAIN. We had booked with Europcar Cambridge UK for a 1 day car hire in Sept 2018 and had paid in full at the time of booking in June 2018. When booking we put an estimated pick up time of 8am. On the day we were held up a little and arrived at 9.45am, only to be told that because we were more than an hour late, our booking was cancelled as a “no show”. How does it matter what time we arrive given we had paid in full 3 months prior? The Europcar lady- one of the rudest people I have ever dealt with in my life - refused any reason and insisted the 1 hour rule was part of their conditions - even though unable to show us where. She then insultingly offered a new rental at a significantly increased price, which we declined. Thanks Europcar for ruining the day we had been so looking forward to. To anyone considering using Europcar- BE WARNED!!!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 17, 2018

    Europcar Complaint. Basically I have two issues being; 1 - Being charged for a 2nd driver when told by Europcar I wouldn't be. Facts A - I hired a car with my father as the main driver and my mother as the 2nd driver. I called Europcar to see if I could be exchanged with my mother as the 2nd driver at no additional cost. I was told by Europcar I could. -FACT B - I along with my parents I went into a Europcar branch. Again they confirmed that I could exchange with my mother at no cost. We duly exchanged as 2nd driver. - FACT.- C- Europcar didnt exchange driver but charged for an extra drive. I emailed to explain but they refused to reverse the charge.

    2nd Issue. A - I reserved the car through a broker. B - When I arrived I was asked if I wanted to upgrade my insurance policy that I purchased through the broker. I agreed. C - What I expected is to pay the difference not for an additional policy. If the broker is the business partner I should reasonably expect Europcar to cancel with the broker. It’s not possible to claim on 2 policies for the same event. If Europcar had been honest about this I would have paid the upgrade with the broker and therefore only incur the cost for 1 policy. Instead I ended up paying for 2 policies. D - If Europcar wanted to be fair and not misleading they could say it’s not an upgrade but an additional policy and if a refund was needed then to call the broker. I dont think Europcar will because people would likely stick with broker or upgrade through the broker. Apart from the above the car was fine and everything else was to a good standard.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2018

    I picked up Europcar at Skopje international Airport and dropped it off at Athens International Airport. 3 weeks later I came back to Australia. I have received an invoice 236 Euro charged as “missing documents fee”. They checked everything and said everything ok when I handed in a car. But they sent a 236 Euro invoice 3 weeks later. I contacted Europcar at Skopje to find out more details but received an email back saying “This case is closed. No more discussion”. **... Never ever use Europcar again. Never ever...

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    Sales & Marketing

    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2018

    Do not rent from this Europcar period. They are a complete scam. I have rented from them on three occasions. Two were through a tour company. All three times they charged my credit card for some bogus damage. The last time this was the explanation for $210 charge. "Paint Mag Wheel. Slight Touch up only." Really? Are you kidding me. They claim that there is a slight scratch on a mag wheel and the real joke is that they touched it up. Seriously!!! There was no damage any of the three times but since these are all used cars it's really easy to find some small thing. Especially on the wheels. On one of the occasions they claimed a nick in the tire.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 15, 2018

    This was the first time using Europcar. I arrived at the London Heathrow location to wait for almost 45 minutes while agents just sat around. When called I was informed that Europcar did not allow 3rd party insurance as provided by Orbitz. After a 15 minute phone call with Orbitz they refunded my prepaid insurance. Europcar then offered me insurance for 3 times the amount I had originally paid. They offered me the pick of vehicle to reconcile the inconvenience. The lot person was useless. Had a lot better experience with a competitor on a prior visit, I won’t be using Europcar for my future car rental needs.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Nov. 12, 2018

    I rented a car on August 17 at Liverpool Airport. My friend paid Merseyflow the toll that night and the morning of the 20 August after the return of the car. We supplied Europcar with receipts for same. 150 Euro was taken from my account for alleged nonpayment of tolls despite providing proof. No receipt for this payment so called on my behalf to Merseyflow was ever forwarded to me. Surprise surprise. I am supplied with meaningless platitudes each time I contact them. They have 1500 such cases to deal with but managed to get my credit details pretty quickly. They tell me they will have a resolution within 7 days. They must be operating on a very different calendar. That was 2 months ago. Never ever will I rent from them again. Stop sending me promotional material Europcar. Europcar charged 80/150 already mentioned for deductions from my credit card. No such thing as customer service. More like customer disservice.

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    Reviewed Nov. 11, 2018

    In June of 2018 I returned my car rental to Europcar in Kelsterbach Germany. The car was inspected by an employee and a return receipt was signed and given to me. The employee then drove me and my family to the airport in the same car. 5 months later, in Nov. 2018, I was stunned to receive a letter from Europcar telling me that I owe them 1600 Euro in damages! Luckily I keep all my paperwork and can prove that the car was returned in satisfactory condition. I believe they waited 5 months because they think most people will discard their paperwork and receipts after a short while. Now I can dispute them when they try to defraud me. I've rented cars all over the world and have never had to deal with such obvious criminals. I've filed a complaint with the United States FTC and can only hope that there's enough people ripped off by Europcar that something will be done about it. Until then, AVOID Europcar!

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    Reviewed Nov. 9, 2018

    This was the cheapest rental car company in Italy. But wow, do they make you pay for it. Two months after we rented the car, they charged our credit card for unsubstantiated "damage." Our credit card company settled the charge, however, they still sent collection agency letters to our home with triple the charge of the "damages." Worst way to treat customers ever. Worst experience with a business ever. Totally immoral.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2018

    Do not hire from Europcar! They have ripped me off for £625 worth of damage for a bumper scratch (passenger side) which was found upon returning a car at Dublin airport. The damage was not caused by me but the agent attempted to justify himself by highlight how easy it is to cause such damage without me realizing at the time. Funny how he walked straight to the area of damage when greeting us from his little cabin! Awful, criminal and all relevant authorities have been made aware of this disgraceful business model the company put into practice. AVOID!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 1, 2018

    Do NOT rent a car from Europcar! Sadly, I'm not the only victim. Everyone on here is experiencing the same type of extortion. They are on a mission to extort tourists. Long story short, I returned my car at Milan airport. The customer service made a false claim that I damaged the tire! First of all, there was no damage on the tire and second, whatever he found, was not caused by me! Also, after I returned the car, they charged me for fuel despite the fact I returned the car with the same amount of fuel at the time of pick up. They charged me over $455 for a tire that had already over 25000 kilometers and fuel!

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 27, 2018

    I returned a car to Heathrow and after careful examination by the return agent he assured me there was no damage (and there was not). A week or so later I get a notification that the car had a large scratch that would have been grossly obvious if it had in fact been present at return. The dishonesty of this firm is especially clear since the photo they sent me showed a car of a different color than the one I rented! They have ignored my protests. Don't be lured into doing business with this despicable company just because they have a slightly lower price than the others. You'll be sorry in the end.

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    Reviewed Oct. 21, 2018

    At pick-up, Europcar advised me of a scratch on the right front door. On checking the car, I found no scratch there but there was scuff on the same side rear wing. Mistakenly, I decided I could trust Europcar and did not stop to report the discrepancy. On return, the assistant noted the scuff (calling it a scratch, which it was not) and I had to sign the form but I added a note of explanation. I am charged £472 which I cannot avoid. This is for damage which is slight and not caused by me. I would give 0* if it were possible. Conclusions: (1) Check car very carefully before departure and don't rely on good faith. (2) Avoid Europcar.

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    CoveragePricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Oct. 21, 2018

    We got a car in San Jose Costa Rica thinking location was at the airport, turned out we had to wait 20 minutes to get picked up and shuttle about 15 minutes from the airport to get the car. Once there we paid an extra $175 for 4 days of insurance coverage which was ridiculous but we had been told to fully insure the car as US insurance policies don’t cover you abroad (we have AAA). When we returned the car they charged us an extra $65 for some city tax. Extra fee which had never been discussed with us at time of rental. Don’t rent from this company. It’s overpriced and the car drove so slow had barely any horsepower, but worst of all they are shady and trap you into fees you’re unaware of until you return the car. Nasty company!

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    Reliability

    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2018

    I re tied a car from Europcar. I believe the car was defective to begin with. They claimed had burnt out the clutch. I do not think so. Because I needed to continue my vacation in Portugal I really was not able to contest their claim of $1000 damage. I am very disappointed.

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    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2018

    We used Europcar last year, at the Frankfurt airport. The wait at counter was less than 40 minutes, we received our car. No issues. Unlimited miles, we enjoyed the car. Returned it, no issues. We were charged the exact amount that was on the online reservation. Not one penny more! Honest service. I don't know why we used AVIS this year, but they really scammed us. I would recommend Europcar to anyone! Avoid AVIS at all cost!

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    Reliability

    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2018

    I thought this was a reliable company! BIG MISTAKE! I rented a car in Ibiza in August, using my Irish card. Yesterday I had been charged for 'someone' scammer who used my card to rent a car in the UK. Your card details are never safe with them! When you contact them in Ireland, I have been informed that is not their business and ask to contact UK. When contacting UK I have been informed to contact the company in Spain! So, as you see the company is not a trust company at all! Big Deception EVER!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2018

    We also had a very bad experience with Europcar in May. We rented a car for 3 weeks in Italy. Auto Europe was the broker and we would never rent through them again, nor directly from Europcar. We ended up paying close to $400 dollars extra for adding an extra driver for 5 days and a third driver for 7 days. We tried to clarify what the cost would be for each additional driver with Europcar when we added each driver. They quoted inaccurate information for each.

    When we turned in the car, the bill was wrong. They assured us that we were only signing that we were returning the car and that customer service would change our bill. We then tried to contest costs through Auto Europe, the broker. Our understanding was that Auto Europe was advocating for a refund. We also contested the cost on our credit card who dealt with Europcar. Neither our credit card company nor Auto Europe were successful. So now both Auto Europe and Europcar are off our lists for rentals.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 17, 2018

    Booked a car for 9am. 9:30 still no car. Rang and said it’s 7 mins away. 40 mins later the guy finally arrives, grunts and leaves. I then checked my bank and they have taken £650 as a hold. I rang and he accused me of lying, then he checked and said it’s an error and I would have to wait 7 days. When I asked who to complain to as this was not acceptable he just laughed and said himself and nothing I could do about it.

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    Reviewed Oct. 16, 2018

    Rented a car from Marseille airport. Car fine but debited three times on my debit card. After much arguing was credited some of the overcharge. However more than two weeks after raising a case and four weeks since the rental period the outstanding refund has still not been made. UK customer services just say it must be resolved in France.

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    PricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Oct. 11, 2018

    Absolutely ridiculous. They pressured me into signing that the car was okay "to save time". Then they charged me almost $400 for a 9 mm scratch on the bumper, after returning it. Less than one cm long, minor scratch, and on the bumper, no car company expects that level of inspection before renting a car. This is price gouging. They don't expect to make money off the rentals, they make them by making up new fees afterwards.

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    CoveragePrice

    Reviewed Oct. 11, 2018

    I booked Europcar in Czech at a much lower than other offers. I was surprised how much lower the offers were, but I still booked. The rental was fine until the return. A small chip was found on the front wheel by the Europcar agent. He advised me that there may be a slight fee for damage. I had to sign a form to complete the rental. 3 months later without any invoice sent to me, I find a charge for 100 EUR for the damage. I disputed the charge and Europcar told my credit card company that the wheel needed to be replaced. The chip was smaller than a two pence. Even though I paid extra for the insurance, the "wheels" are conveniently not covered. Beware - cheaper is not always better. I never experience this with Hertz.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 10, 2018

    Renting a car in the UK from far away in Canada can tricky, and when our flight was delayed we ended up missing the car we reserved. The staff at Europcar quickly found us another car, with an upgrade to automatic and SATNAV at a reasonable rate. Our next challenge was a flat tire on our way from the airport. After a bit of a scramble to find the right size replacement (no spare) our family and car were carried to over to local family and the next morning we were all fixed up. The staff at Manchester, the truck driver and tire repair mobile were all very helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the car very much and had a wonderful vacation. After returning home we were informed there would be no charge to us for the tow truck or tire repair. Thank you Europcar, we will be back to rent again!

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 9, 2018

    We hired a car from Europcar from Glasgow airport from September 24th until October 7th, 2018. We had prepurchased comprehensive insurance but on arriving to collect the car were told they don’t accept third part insurers policy (I have since discovered this is completely false and my insurance policy was completely legal) and unless I paid £44 per day for comprehensive insurance they would not give me a car. I had just completed a long haul flight and decided to take their insurance... I needed a car...and fight it when I got back. Thank god I had the funds. I then went to get the car a blue Vauxhall Mokka and had been told at reservations it has a small dent on the right side. I didn’t check it as I was tired and drove to my accommodation.

    Once there I looked at the small dent... It was two huge horizontal dents from handle to base of door and the paint was flaking...an absolute eyesore. But I was too far from the airport at that time to take it back and endured, stupidly the embarrassment it brought. I also went to check the other safety features on the car and it had no spare tire! So if I had a flat as a single woman I would have had to call their breakdown service and wait. I complained when I returned the car and the woman told me most rentals don’t come with a spare! I’ve used many other rental companies and never been refused the use of my own insurance and always received a quality vehicle. I’ve emailed Europcar and to date no response but I will continue to peruse them for a complete refund. Avoid this company at all costs.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 9, 2018

    I booked a car well in advance online and paid the amount quoted. Before I left to Catania I checked I had everything and the requirements for the car rental. It says on their document bring 3 things: ID, drivers license and the CARD YOU PAID WITH. Well, I paid with a Mastercard prepay and have never had a problem with other companies, for example, Cicar in the Canaries.

    We arrived just before midnight at Catania airport and because I had a prepay card the man at the counter refused to give us the car. We offered to pay a higher deposit or even give cash as a deposit. He refused and said it was impossible. I asked to speak to a manager and he said he did not have one but he would give the same answer as a manager. We were only visiting for 3 days and it is very difficult to get around Sicily without a car. He said he would refund us and we have to make other travel arrangements. It's midnight, on a Friday night and without car. We eventually took a taxi and hired a car the next morning from another company but of course not a cheap rate. This was a real dampener to our weekend! Apparently we were refunded but I have not seen my money back or heard back from Europcar about my complaint. For a big company, they are very unprofessional and unhelpful. I really DO NOT RECOMMEND them.

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    Contract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 4, 2018

    Rented a car from Europcar (through the Icelandair booking process and an intermediary called rentalcars.com) in June/July of 2017. Found a great rate for our 10-day trip and had zero problems during the rental. When we dropped the car off, the check-in person noticed a scratch on the driver's side front panel that was genuinely a mystery to us. I drove the car the entire time and didn't bump or scratch anything, so it left me wondering if it had been there all along and I just didn't notice- or maybe someone ran a key across it when I was parked (but I was always in private or secure parking)? I don't know.

    We had purchased the full insurance coverage at the beginning of the rental, so brought that up to the person checking in the car. She talked to one of her colleagues and simply gave us our receipt. Everything was paid in full; contract completed. Nearly a YEAR after this rental I received a piece of mail from Europcar, completely in German, asking for a $56 payment. I tried to translate it as best I could but it was still very vague. I found a contact email online for Europcar in the U.S. and asked to be put in contact with someone in the German/European office. I also said I needed to speak to someone in English- the original contract was in English, so I think it's the least they can do.

    So the conversation begins over email. The contact eventually said it was something to do with a "glass and tire" fee (he said it was nothing to do with the scratch at drop-off) and their insurance carrier says I should pay it. I explained that that wasn't a proper explanation. I needed to understand WHY I was liable for this fee and why it took them nearly a year to follow up on it. There was no damage to glass or tires during my rental period and I had purchased the full in-country insurance package.

    A few weeks later, a much longer letter arrived from a different German company, completely in German. I am not paying for an interpreter and find this outrageous considering my original contract was in English. I even speak French but they offer no secondary language explanation with their communications. I could ignore them but I'm quite sure they'd try to go a collection agency and tack on even more fees.

    My attorney even threw her hands up as to what recourse I might have. So I'm essentially being extorted by Europcar and a company called SEGHORN for an unexplained fee. I'm about to embark on contacting SEGHORN to get to the bottom of this nonsense. I'll update this review of possible with resolution details, but my rating will still be a 1. I have rented cars in Germany, Ireland, Italy and France before and have NEVER run into this nonsense.

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    Contract & TermsCoverage

    Reviewed Oct. 2, 2018

    Booked through a 3rd Party (EasyCar.com) Never again! Was forced to pay additional £20/day for insurance we did not need. Tried to cancel the insurance but I was not given the option by Europcar customer services, found out weeks after that this should have been possible at any rental depot. Also hidden extras in the small print for premium location and license fees. Admittedly I could have spotted these, but there was nothing in the contract stating taking additional insurance with Europcar was mandatory! Never in my life have I been presented with such charges. £410 in extras on a $310 rental.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2018

    I rented a car from Europcar in Liverpool for a week in August. Pick-up was straightforward, car was clean and was the car group I had booked. During my rental a timber delivery truck driver scraped the back end of the car. The car was unoccupied and parked at the time of the accident. There were three witnesses, one of whom "found" me and explained what had happened. I worked hard to get the contact details of the driver, the owner of the delivery truck, the insurance broker, insurance company and the three independent witnesses. I provided all this information to Europcar by phone and email.

    At the drop-off point, I told the Guy receiving the car about the accident and showed him the list of contact details. He only wanted verification that I'd passed the information onto the Customer Services. He explained that I wouldn't lose my deposit or receive charges as these would be passed on to the insurance company of the driver who caused the damage. All this has not stopped Europcar from making unauthorized deductions from my account. I have blocked them from charging my credit card and now run my current account at such a low balance to ensure they take no more money from me.

    When I phone the claims department or customer services I'm told that someone will look into it. I have contacted Customer Services by email and received the following, "Due to the nature of your query; it is taking slightly longer than usual. It is our aim to provide you a full and thorough resolution, including any necessary supporting documentation." One month on and I'm still waiting.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2018

    We were on our honeymoon and rented a car from Europcar to be returned in Rome, Italy. We arrived on time with 3/4 of a tank full and advised that we would be happy to pay for the fill up cost. I gave the Europcar staff my card and he said, "It is expensive so you can fill up first and return the car" - As we returned it on time, for us to leave and come back would have us come back after the rental return time, so we asked if there would be extra charges. He said, "no, no problem" and went on to tell us where the closest petrol station was. We filled the car and returned straight after, gave him the keys and with a smile he said Goodbye with a smile.

    We then found the charges on the bank statements, the hold amount as well as an extra days charge. We called Europcar whilst we were still in Europe, they raised an escalation, gave a reference number and didn't hear back until we got back to Australia where we got the following email: "As per the attached rental agreement, you were meant to return the vehicle at 12:30 on the 28th of August. As you returned more than 30 minutes past the agreed return time, you have been charged an additional day. Therefore no refund is due."

    I have written back with the following and if she/Europcar does not take responsibility for their staff, I will be sure to come back to this forum and others to let you all know. We all work hard enough to save up and take a break, but to be treated like this by big corporations is unnecessary and an indecent manner to conduct business. Reading through the comments, clearly the 1-star rating average here should be less, so there is something seriously wrong here. Perhaps a class action would help to hold this particular brand accountable to their words and actions...

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2018

    Based on horror stories below, was very skeptical about renting a car here. But budget was a key concern and I decided to take the risk, knowing that I sure as hell better not ding that car. A tall order, for an American driver in tiny French towns. However, my manual Fiat 500L was bumped to an automatic Citron SUV (the 4 of us with luggage were very happy - again, we were going budget), handled well, and had no problems with pick up or drop off. Would recommend.

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    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2018

    This is a review of car rental experience starting June 8th in Nice with drop-off in Paris on June 23rd or thereabouts. I have pursued Europcar for what I believe is grossly unfair treatment and have exhausted avenues with them since then. My concerns are not just with their service but with their dismissive attitude towards customer complaints. They are very quick to take advantage of their ability to put charges on the customer's credit card account, but unwilling to provide evidence for the charge.

    In France, it is very easy to get a traffic ticket without knowing you have been ticketed. So be it. I have received 2 speeding tickets from the French authorities in the mail at home in Canada, weeks after the original offences (which were minor overages, and, as mentioned, with no indication at the time). Before even receiving the official paperwork, Europcar had charged my account admin fees for 3 infractions at 35 euros each. My contract with Priceline states that the admin fee should be 25 euros, which is very high to start with.

    In response to my queries, especially about the mythical 3rd ticket, Europcar has provided my with unintelligible internal documentation, and has refused to provide the notice they must have (or perhaps didn't) receive from the authorities. Now they are saying I have to wait a year to not receive anything through the mail from France before they will consider a refund. Have you ever heard of anything quite so ridiculous?

    I am out of pocket by 55 euros, which isn't the end of the world to me, but this practice is infuriating and fraudulent. I have no doubt if they are treating me this way, then I am not alone. On another subject, I am also concerned about sneaky up-selling at the point of rental where I wound up buying an add-on that I didn't want or need. I blame myself (a very tired traveler at the time) for not carefully checking the contract against my reservation. Nevertheless, this is a note of warning to others to check carefully.

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    CoverageSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2018

    Arrived from the USA on Saturday 22nd September with my credit card and pre-paid rental voucher issued by EasyCar.com. EuropCar stated my reservation didn't include insurance and I must purchase it from them, at an extra cost of more than 250GBP for the 10 day rental. MORE than the cost of the rental itself. I provided the agent with my Amex card and showed him that my booking was covered by insurance provided by Amex. He looked confused/frustrated and then said, "This card doesn't match the card on the booking, and can't be used to guarantee the insurance cover".

    This is a lie for two reasons; my Amex statement shows the charge and EasyCar.com (where I purchased the voucher) confirmed EuropCar do not receive information in regard the payment method for the voucher. The agent then tried to sell me a NEW 'walk up' reservation, trying to convince me the 350GBP quoted is a good idea, and I should 'forget' the pre-paid coupon. I declined all options, walked away, rented from another vendor and reported EuropCar to Amex & EasyCar.com. EasyCar.com have provided exceptional support in regard this issue and have promised a full refund will be provided within 7 days.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 19, 2018

    We booked and paid a deposit for a 2 week holiday in July. When we waited at pick up point for over 3 hours, made several calls from our phone and phone at airport, a shuttle bus arrived to take us to the off airport car rental. When we arrived along with 10 other people we were told there were no vehicles available. We then had to get a taxi back to the airport and had to pay twice the price we had been quoted for a much smaller car with Thrifty. The service attendants were rude and after many emails, asking for a refund, still nothing. This was a con from the beginning, as they had no cars at all. Should be banned.

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    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed Sept. 16, 2018

    We used the internet to hire a car in Berlin and drove to Paris. Our contract specifically states the "Price includes... Premium Location Surcharge... One-way charges…" We checked upon collecting the car in Berlin that our price included these two charges. We have the contract on file. Three days after leaving the car in Paris we were charged another Euro2000 for one-way and Euro546 for premium location. For months we emailed Europcar and telephoned its customer service (who acknowledged the issue) but Europcar simply has never replied. We have tried several contact points inside Europcar, who listen but we have never got an explanation. Europcar's Customer Services UK which handles these issues will not receive/accept our emails. Like a wall around.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Sept. 14, 2018

    I rented a car from this company and upon returning the car I got charged 56£ for a quarter of a tank of petrol, which is more than the car itself as it cost me 40£ to rent the car. This just doesn't make sense and I was overcharged. I complained and was asked if I wanted to be contacted by the manager. I said yes and a week later still haven't heard from them yet. Please avoid. This company is disgusting and extort their customers. Stay away. Avoid. Use other company.

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    Price

    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2018

    Hired a car in Norway, during the time I did pick up a small (5cm x 2cm) scratch on the edge of the door. Was told that this would have to be paid for out of deposit. - Fair enough, but I was expecting maybe a £100, based on it just needing a small edge buffing and a small respray. On returning to UK been presented with a 14100NRK (£1400) repair bill for the a complete two door bodywork, undercoat, re-spray and lacquering - which is totally unnecessary and an extortionate amount. As this is more than excess they are doing me a 'favour' of keeping the full 95000NRK (£950 + deposit) excess. The local centre was adamant that the quote they got for cost repairs was from an honest third party. They are simply quoting extortionate repair costs in order to fraudulently retain any excesses. They are frauds and thieves. DO NOT USE THEM EVER.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Sept. 10, 2018

    During my London tour with family I booked Europcar 2 week earlier under confirmation number **. On the day of collection they refused to provide the car without any early notification. My whole family suffered on the road to search other car. I have to provide medication to my 2 year old daughter due to this incidence. For all those who love their family, don't ever think about Europcar. I think this company should operation ASAP, as they may be reason of harm any family badly with this attitude. Better to choose some good rent a car company.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Sept. 10, 2018

    Have been fined for using a bus lane while renting a Europcar vehicle. Penalty was 30GBP which I settled as soon as I received the notice. Europcar also charged me 40GBP for the admin charge: from 30GBP I ended up paying 70GBP! I appealed, followed the protocol, emailed their customer service, was promised a feedback within 7 days. 3 weeks later, still nothing! I called their customer service, had to wait 25 mins to get the call answer to hear that because I signed the rental agreement, I therefore accepted the charges coming with it. I mentioned my dissatisfaction, told them I would not go with Europcar anymore and would leave bad reviews. The operator did not care and did not do anything to help me. In summary: Europcar is using traffic violations to make extra money on TOP of its car rental business. Simply unacceptable to me. ‘Bad’bye Europcar.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 9, 2018

    I rented the car in Edinburgh Scotland and upon returning, the representative checked the car and there was no damages. 30 days later, I receive a claim for damages at an exorbitant price of 400+ pounds for scratches NOT found when the representative and I checked together. Disgusting and dishonest company. Customer services never replied no matter how many emails I sent. NEVER ever rent from this company! You're better off finding another.

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    Contract & TermsSales & MarketingPricePunctuality & SpeedOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 6, 2018

    I too am a victim of the Europcar damage scam. I rented a car in Bologna that had been booked and pre-paid in advance. I even signed up for their loyalty program and filled in all the information for a speedy pickup (supposed to be able to just pick up the keys and go without delay). It was a late flight and by the time I got through customs it was well after midnight. Fortunately the Europcar representative was waiting for me even though they officially close at midnight. Unfortunately I was charged a 30 EUR after hours fee. Not happy about it, but it does clearly state on their website there is a charge for after hours pickup/dropoff. So it is what it is. But none of my loyalty program speedy pickup stuff happened. It still took 15 minutes to do the paperwork for the rental and I had to provide all the information I had already provided.

    I was told to sign multiple places on the rental agreement, including the pre-existing damage section which was pre-filled out as "No damage." I was told I had to sign to get the keys but if I found any damage to call or email them ASAP. I go out to the car which was a 10 minute walk away. It's located in a very dark parking garage. I look over the car and everything looks in order. 3 days later I returned it to Florence Airport and the agent pointed out a small scratch on the top of the fender (looks like a scuff not a scratch) and I would have to pay for the damages. I disagreed but he said there was nothing I could do.

    I got an emailed bill the next day for nearly $400, charged in USD and including their insane currency conversion fee even though I initially paid in Euro. I'm going through the process of disputing it and have also submitted a claim through my credit card's rental insurance. Really interesting. I rented in Italy. The invoice shows "services provided to" Europcar in France. And I was invoiced from the UK. Seems like a bunch of jurisdictional tricks to avoid liability and allow them to continue to rip off customers.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Sept. 5, 2018

    Rented a vehicle from Glasgow airport, returned it at the appointed time, checked in with the attendant and signed off on their handheld machine. 4 days later start getting emails about the car not being returned and threats to call the police. 3 phone calls that I got the runaround and then miraculously it was found 5 days later and all was good. No apology, no explanation. Incompetence? Fraud? Who knows, they never provided any info. Never will use this company again.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePriceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 4, 2018

    I rented a vehicle through Rentalcars.com, which was delivered in Ireland by Europcar. The rental was paid in full for 7 days on a total of 450.00 US including the CDW insurance. Nevertheless, when I went to pick up the car, the clerk explained that the type of car requested was not available but he was able to offer a similar car, but diesel engine since he didn't have a gasoline. He started making numbers of the extras he will need to add, such as an extra charge for diesel, and extra charge for driving the car across the border to Great Britain and all was written in a small piece of paper with scratches and changes.

    He told us we will need to leave a deposit of $2K euros for the car protection or pay a CDW insurance that was already paid for. He said the insurance I paid was not enough because it was only liability, so at the end he charged to my card an extra $650 dollars. The most expensive car I have ever rented. When I tried to clarify this with the Main office their response was... "CDW Exclusive Rates: Declining Europcar CDW and TW: To decline our Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Waiver (THW), the driver must have a US issued World Mastercard or Canadian issued Gold/Platinum Visa/Mastercard AND PROVIDE WRITTEN PROOF that the card has relevant coverage for the Republic of Ireland. The letter must be dated within 21 days of the pickup date and contain the credit card number (partly masked is acceptable).

    When both a relevant card and letter of proof are provided, for security reasons 5,000 Euro will be pre-authorised on your card in case there is damage to the rental vehicle. If there is a damage charge, this amount can be claimed back through your credit card company. This process is between the driver and the credit card company. We cannot be held responsible for any exchange rate charges. If a letter confirming CDW coverage is not provided on collection of the vehicle or if your card does not provide the relevant coverage or if you do not have 5,000 Euro available on your card, you will be required to purchase our CDW and Theft Waiver at the local daily rate (Eur 24-33)". Ridiculous!

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    Sales & MarketingPrice

    Reviewed Sept. 3, 2018

    I arranged for full cost of rental car from Europcar before leaving U.S. - and confirmed before trip that I wanted a 5-door Hatch, automatic - I did not want additional insurance as I was fully covered by my personal carrier. When I got to Scotland - Edinburgh Airport was told they would upgrade to GPS for 20 GBP per day when in fact they gave me a huge Mercedes and told me I could not drive their car without their insurance to the tune of an additional $576 GBP - to boot when I had a blowout they took over 5 hours to replace car without a GPS. My experience with Europcar is that between picking up the car and returning it - there is bait and switch on the vehicle, coercion on the insurance and finally no attempt to correct less than honest practices. At all times I insisted I did not want a large vehicle as roads planned were narrow - going through 3 rental cars - 2 were large Mercedes and Volvos... like driving a tank.... at a cost of over $100 a day.

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    Reviewed Aug. 31, 2018

    After renting a car from Europcar in Germany in May, we returned it to the carpark as instructed and handed in the keys. Everything was fine and nothing had happened to the car. THREE months later, we receive a notice in the mail that we were being charged for damage to the rear bumper and both tail lights had been broken. I will NEVER rent from this company again but if you do, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS insist that someone comes out and checks it over with you when you return it. I read other complaints but didn't realize how quickly this can happen!

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    Price

    Reviewed Aug. 30, 2018

    A few days after returning a rental car in Ibiza, Spain, I received a bogus claim for "damages", which I contested. Then came bogus photos of the so-called "damages" and a huge charge on my credit card, about 4 times more than the week's rental charge (which I had of course already paid). Europcar refused my claim for a refund. TOTALLY DISHONEST! Never again will I use Europcar anywhere in the world.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 28, 2018

    I just read other people experiences here and I happen the same. When I pick up the car already found a lot of scratches on top. The staff confirm those a small issue and normal, so we didn’t challenge them that. When we return the car, because of weekend; we just put the key into their key box and park the car into their car parking. After few day we got the invoice €200 for those scratches. I took the video when I pick up and return car conditions. I sent the email said disagreed the charge. I 100% those scratches not did by us! But no one reply my email and debited my account. I share my experience to other, take care all small issue when you pick up. Seems this company using this kind of thing to earn more money.

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    Reviewed Aug. 28, 2018

    Hired an automatic car from this company in Basel Mulhouse Airport in June. The form recorded a crack on the windshield. When I got to the car the entire windscreen was cracked, including the area in front of the driver, there were minor scratches on the rear bumper but my main concern was the safety of the windshield. I took photos of the windshield and returned to the desk. I was told they have no other automatics and they were aware of the crack and that it was safe to drive. I had no option but to take the car. On returning the car 4 days later I told them that I was unhappy about driving the car with a cracked windshield and I had to keep my speed down but they were not interested.

    2 months later I have received a bill for €365 for the minor scratches that I did not do, they even include their admin fees and loss of rental fee. This is fraud and I will fight it, but I will also raise the issue of how a hire car company can rent a car in a dangerous and (as I have since found out under European law) an illegal state. I still have the photos but many people will delete their hire car photos after they get home. Warning... Europcar can get you even after 8 weeks and put the burden of proof on you to prove the damage was not yours.

    This is a fraudulent company that seems to be getting worse. I have contacted Trading Standards locally and they are interested in my case. I suggest that if you have a dispute with Europcar to do the same, as a case is building to stop this company and its shady practices. I strongly suggest not to use Europcar when there are other more reputable companies renting cars that are safe to drive and that won't sting you months later.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 22, 2018

    The problem was not with pick-up in Dinan, France -- that went fine, but when I dropped car at Rennes airport, there was no one to check the car. I dropped the keys at the desk inside the airport. When I later received an invoice, they said they had filled it up with an impossibly large amount of gas, charged me in Canadian dollars rather than Euros at a rip off exchange rate. The total charge had increased from 63 Euros to 162 Euros, and from $100 Canadian originally quoted to $254 Canadian. There is no one that has responded to my complaint. I am unhappy.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageSales & MarketingPunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Aug. 21, 2018

    I rented a car with Europcar this past June. I was extremely hesitant to rent with this company as I had read many reviews regarding people who were charged for damages to a Europcar rental car that they did not do. I unfortunately found that this is a very sad and customary practice that Europcar does to foreigners. I waited over an hour, with 3 little kids, for a rental car at the Madrid airport. I had reserved a rental car for Terminal 4 but was notified that it was actually at Terminal 2 and that they needed to bring it to Terminal 4. When the car finally arrived I was completely shocked to find a vehicle that was covered with scratches and dents on all surfaces. I spent 10 minutes walking around and pointing out all of the scratches and dents to the representative. They ensured me that all important damage had been noted.

    I am just regretting not taking pictures of the car before I drove away! I highly recommend that everyone takes pictures when renting a car abroad. I did not put a single other scratch on the car. I was very concerned about not damaging the car in any way since I had declined their insurance and was only using my credit card insurance. They had informed me that since I declined their insurance I would not have any assistance from them if there were damages. When the car was returned it was later at night and no one from the company was at the airport. The keys were left in a drop box. I received an email receipt a few days later showing the agreed rental price.

    However, 3 weeks later I received another email stating that after further investigation I had damaged the front bumper and they were charging me an additional $405! Part of the charge was for failure to not produce a police report. It is apparent, based on all of the complaints, that this is an ongoing scam with this company. I highly advise people, despite the tempting good rental fees, to stay clear away from renting from Europcar.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 20, 2018

    Csr developed a fault on a Sat afternoon. The AA came to fix after an hour on the phone to Europcar the AA were told not to fix the car (it only needed spark plugs) and to recover me to the branch which was 100 miles away. The branch was not open until the following afternoon or wait until Monday and change the car at the local branch. Arrived at the local branch Monday morning. No car available until the afternoon. Called customer services. They told me there is nothing they can do other than raise a complaint that will be dealt with in 7 days. So two days without a useable car thank you so much Europcar for your ** customer support.

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    Reviewed Aug. 17, 2018

    When we picked up the car, it was park in the dark open space, and it was freezing cold in Melbourne Avalon airport. The car is really dirty and dusty exterior and got rubbish interior. No one was available to help in that parking lot. When we returned the car, I told the person in charge to make sure everything ok before I leave. That guy told me it is fine and I can leave. Then a month later, Europcar sent me a notice that there was damage during my rental period. And they sent me a bill of AUD250. Despite my explanation, they rejected it. It is a real fraud and a rip off to customer.

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    CoverageStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 16, 2018

    We went to Europe this summer and had a wonderful trip... minus our experience with Europcar in Glasgow. We had great service at the one in Manchester, England, but in Glasgow it took an hour and a half of our day set aside to tour, and then they would not accept the insurance we had previously purchased. We had rented the car through Rentalcars.com so Europcar didn't feel responsible. But we know they work with Rentalcar all the time, thus they know that this is a problem and haven't done anything about it. We're sure we're not the only victims. The insurance we bought did ZERO good and then they charged us over a hundred dollars more to insure with "their" insurance before we could rent the car. It was so poor. They did it with a smile, but were very unsympathetic and dishonest.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed Aug. 9, 2018

    This review is in response to a rental done thru Rentalcars.com for a Europcar rental in Seville Spain. We rented them through Rentalcars.com for pickup at the Seville airport. The rental company was Europcar. When we presented the reservation information the counter they acknowledged the reservation was with them and processed the rental. We ended up needing the car for an extra day so I called the number for their reservations in Spain. We were told it would not be a problem and they would add the additional cost of one day to the bill and the amount stated was agreed to. We turned in the car at the end of our trip with no further communication with Europcar.

    When we received the credit card statement it showed the original cost through Rentalcars.com of $1075.00 plus an additional cost from Europcar of $810.00. I immediately contacted Rentalcars.com and Europcar by email to get the situation resolved. I explained that we were being charged twice for a prepaid reservation through Rentalcars.com and again by Europcar. Europcar responded that the charges would stand and Rentalcars.com stated that we had made additional arrangements with Europcar and there was nothing they would do about it. The invoice from Europcar when emailed to me showed a 5 day rental charge along with the extra day agreed to. The credit card company refused to dispute the charges because both companies stated the charges were correct.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 9, 2018

    We rented for a month and specified the countries we would be traveling. Paid extra "insurance stickers" for Italy and Czech Republic but they neglected to tell us Austria required a special sticker. When we returned we received a letter to pay 120 Euros. Could not pay with credit cards only wire transfer so add another $35... A week later Europcar sent another letter letting me know they would charge my credit car another 25 euros for the paperwork. Do not use this car rental company they are awful. Customer service means nothing to them. I gave them one star because I could not give them less...

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    Price

    Reviewed Aug. 7, 2018

    Arrived Sunday T4 and only Europcar's desk manned. Requested a small car with GPS. Told that by renting a larger car with inbuilt GPS the price would be about the same. At pickup the operator loaded the first address. Once on the freeway we found the GPS would not work. Off to get a local SIM and used phone for the week. After complaining Europcar says we did not pay for GPS and so the inbuilt still needs a "chip" to activate it. Totally misrepresentation and complaints met with standard line you did not pay for GPS. Later to find when talking about this experience to our UK friends that Europcar are well known for this type of dodgy selling.

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    Price

    Reviewed Aug. 6, 2018

    We rented from Europcar thinking it was cheaper. But they charged us 70 euro for franchise that they tried to force on us but claim that it's because the car was ultra dirty. Any excuse is good to overcharge. Do not rent from these crooks, they charge you fees for cleaning that their country has and calls it franchise. 70 Euro for some so called cleaning. After taking more than a month to find the reason... they steal and refuse to reimburse you. Better to go with real rent-a car like CarRentals. It's safer and better service and at least you won't get robbed by Europcar. They have a third party company receiving the cars and they charge whatever they want and Europcar send you the bill for an illegal fee of 70 euros. All because we are not from Europe they feel they can overcharge as we can't fight. They do not understand Canadians.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Aug. 6, 2018

    For me it was a very bad experience with Europcar UK. It was a rainy day, not so unusual. First we have to wait half an hour to get the car, but nobody was coming with us to the car. We found a small scrap in the tire. We go back and told the guy. But he was telling us that it’s too small to draw it in. When we return the car, we had to pay for the tire, because the scrap is now so big that you can get a new tire from the customer. Thank you, Europcar, that is the way you make your business? To keep things short, I will never ever rent a car from them.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 5, 2018

    Hired a car from Norwich airport and during this time someone opened their door onto the driver's side door of my rental. I accept this then becomes my problem as the car was gone when I came back and security footage couldn’t determine number plate. I was eventually harassed by Europcar for $850aud. A horrendous price for a 2 cm tiny mark on door, which could have been plundered out. They overcharged staring full panel bearing job along with respray, unbelievable. They threatened with more charges if I didn’t pay. As I am in Australia I felt pressured to pay, and then when I tried getting a receipt the employee had left the company - absolute rort.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPrice

    Reviewed Aug. 3, 2018

    Updated on 06/10/2019: I rented a car out of Dusseldorf last year. There was some surcharges to my credit card after I return the car. I wrote to my credit card company to dispute a few of the surcharges. It was later agreed that I will pay the surcharges except for one of them. So my credit card was then charged for the agreed surcharges. After a few months, Europcar send a letter demanding that I pay the outstanding surcharge. They even got a debt collector company to get me to pay up. I have explained several times this was already settled. I even got my credit card bank to verify and confirmed it was agreed with Europcar that I will not pay the other surcharge. I sent the debt collector the letter. But till now they still keep insisting I pay the surcharge. Unbelievable. I have since warned everyone not to ever use Europcar. It is a scam company.

    Original Review: When I rented a car out of their Dusseldorf airport, I signed my credit card for a charge of EUR360.30. I specifically asked if this was the total cost. And they said yes. When my credit card bill came, they charged me EUR500.37. They even charged me for gas tank even though I filled it to full before I returned the car. I have tried contacting them a few times and they stopped responding when I asked about the full tank. Customers beware!!

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 1, 2018

    Rented car in Ibiza for 10 days, when dropped back the staff member went directly to one car door and claimed damage. There was four of us returning car, not one of us could see any damage... argued for about 30 mins but they still deducted €600 from credit card. Never again, total scam of company.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed July 30, 2018

    We went to Italy for 2 weeks for our honeymoon and we had this drive of zipping around the Tuscan towns and hills in a little Fiat 500. As a result I looked online to find somewhere that would guarantee this model of vehicle. The only one I could find was Europcar. It was a lot more than we have ever paid for a hire car but, as it was our honeymoon, we wanted it to be right. To hire the car class I think was around £350 but it cost another £200 to guarantee that particular model, like a fool I paid it because as I've said, I wanted our honeymoon to be perfect!

    We arrived to collect our car in Florence and were shattered having traveled from Rome and knowing we had another 2 hour drive to the hotel from here, I was also desperate for the loo. When we got to the shop I produced my printed confirmation which the advisor kept and took us to our car... A very old, very dirty, Fiat Panda. This was in no way what we had ordered and I was extremely disappointed. I raised the issue and all of a sudden the advisor no longer understood English (very convenient).

    I tried for a while and got 3 distinct broken English excuses which were "your suitcases are too big for the 500", "this is an upgrade" and "you haven't guaranteed the model". I had a quick look round the tiny garage and confirmed they didn't have a Fiat 500 and as they refused to let me use their toilet I decided to just take the car and deal with it via customer services from the hotel. This is exactly what I did, as soon as we got to the hotel. I emailed with my complaint and suggested they either refund me the £200 extra or replace the car with the requested Fiat 500... I never got a response. When we returned the car to Pisa Airport we were asked to sign a form to say we had returned the car. This is now exactly 1 month ago and today I have finally woken to a response RE my complaint... So here goes:

    "After looking into your case and speaking with the rental station they have confirmed that, the car was returned with damage and this is why you have been charged a higher amount for the rental. I have looked into this for you and can confirm the all rental agents are required to offer additional options to all customers when arriving at the rental station. It is then the customer’s decision to accept or decline the options offered. I have reviewed the paperwork provided by the rental station which has been signed to accept the charges applied.

    Whilst I appreciate there may have been some form of misunderstanding at the rental station, I would be unable to comment further as I was not part of this rental process. When two parties are providing conflicting information I can only go by the information I have in front of me; which in this instance is a signed statement of return. Please be advised all customers can query any charges on the rental agreement before signing to accept. In light of the information above I can confirm no refund is due as all charges have been applied correctly. I can understand this is not the resolution you were seeking however I hope you can see our position on this."

    I can confirm we absolutely did NOT cause any damage to the vehicle or sign anything to say so or to accept any charges. Also, the comment of "this is why you were charged the extra amount" is laughable... We were charged the extra amount prior to even being in Italy to guarantee a particular model of car, so they're telling me there they pre-emptively charged me for damage they knew I would definitely cause... Suspicious!

    I have never been so shocked, disappointed and outraged by a company and cannot comprehend how they are permitted to continue operating with such legally questionable practices. Upon my return to the UK I have learned I am most definitely not alone in my exploits and so please, don't make the same mistake I did... Read the reviews and AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

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    Staff

    Reviewed July 28, 2018

    Was a little worried when I read so many negative reviews about Europcar. We had a very good experience with them. Staff were polite. No hard sell. Car was almost brand new! So no need to have worried. Going on my experience with Europcar I would definitely recommend them and use again. We actually hired the car as part of an Easyjet package. :)

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 24, 2018

    Hiring the van was no trouble and the staff were polite and efficient. However I paid for collection which was less successful. The staff failed to collect the van when specified on the booking, which led to several attempts where they either didn't bother to turn up as arranged or arrived early or late then immediately left. The mobile number used was off and the office was contactable. When I queried if I'd be charged for this - I was told no. This was however not true as I was billed several days later for an extra day rental and failed collection charge which I am still trying to recover. The complaints process is shocking and the staff on the customer services line are unhelpful. As such cannot recommend using the collection service as it turned out to cost £70+ and an undue amount of stress for something supposed to improve the experience. Very disappointing.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 23, 2018

    I booked a car through Europcar via Priceline on April 23rd, 2018 for a trip to Toronto on June 23rd. Two weeks before the trip, I got an email stating that Europcar overbooked my type of vehicle and to phone them to discuss other vehicle types. I phone the number immediately and told the guy about the email and that our trip was in two weeks. He told me they ran out of cars on that day (two weeks prior to our trip) but that we would be fine because our trip was on two weeks' time. When we arrived at Pearson Airport you have to get a shuttle train to Discount and then use a phone in the corner of the building (not easy to find all this out) and when I phoned the number, I am told that Europcar transfers their reservations to Discount but Discount didn't have either reservation for me.

    So I phone Europcar and they could see my reservation but the lady couldn't transfer it because it was a Saturday. So, now I have no car and Discount don't have any cars left either. The lady at the Discount counter told me that my rate was so low ($128.00 for an SUV for five days) that Discount most likely rejected it. After flipping out at the desk and on the phone, they help me rent a small sedan at a local car rental place for twice the money. I really appreciate airport rentals for helping me out and had no problems with them. Do not rent from Priceline or Europcar unless you want to be stranded in an unknown city.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed July 21, 2018

    This company is incredibly fraudulent. Not only did they double charge us for full protection on the car they then subtracted nearly 200 euros from our deposit. The car was in perfect condition! We have contacted customer service on numerous occasions and they either shrug us off, direct us to another department or fail to explain why this much of the deposit was taken. I have never experienced this type of customer service before from a car rental company - please avoid and stick with some of the other companies such as Avis, etc., I am warning all my friends and family. If you type Europcar reviews you will notice I am not the only one to have had this experience. Horrible experience and a really horrid end to a lovely holiday.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 20, 2018

    We booked a rental with Europcar (prepaid) to pick up at Malpensa Milan from 8am and we’re delayed on flights so arrived to collect car at 6pm, to be told they cancelled it as we were a ‘no show’. The manager told us then that a no show us only after 48 hours not 10. The girl at the desk said there was nothing she could do, for her bags and left as it was her home time. We stood there stranded, an hour's drive from our honeymoon hotel!!! We then had a manager who took two and a half hours to charge us for a new agreement at a higher rate. Finally we arrived at our honeymoon destination at 10.30 at night having lost our entire first evening of our honeymoon.

    On returning to the UK we have continually called the UK branch to lodge a complaint and 2 weeks later we are still being fobbed off with no one listening to the distress this caused us and have been continually unhelpful. Still trying to lodge our complaints! Customer care in this company leaves a lot to be desired and lessons should be taught of how to treat their customers! Beware world, do not ever use this company.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaff

    Reviewed July 19, 2018

    On October 7th 2017 we arranged & paid in full $716.75 for the rental of a car to be picked up from Europcar Gatwick airport on the 6th June 2018. On arrival at the rental desk, at no time was we offered or asked if we wanted to purchase extra insurance, had we been asked we would have declined as we already had full coverage for car rental with our travel insurance which is complimentary with our platinum credit card. The desk clerk asked for a signature to state we were taking the car & at no time was insurance mentioned by him.

    On returning the car at Gatwick on the 2nd July 2018 the attendant was happy with the car & asked us to sign a small handheld device to state we had returned the car. When returning home we noticed the amount of $989.96 had been taken out of our account on the 2nd July, when enquiring about this, we were told it was for insurance. As the money was only taken out of our account on the 2nd July the signature obtained for this must have been from the device which had a small screen with just enough space for a signature & no other information other than the attendant verbally telling us it was for the return of the car.

    We therefore think the signature was obtained in an underhand way to obtain the insurance cover of $989.96 for the rental of a car which itself only cost $716.7. After several phone calls Europcar state because it was signed by us there is nothing they can do, yet on the additional optional products page they have now forwarded to me, it states the Europcar agent has signed to say he explained all of the products chosen by us, what a farce. If he had we would have told him we already had the insurance. We have rented cars in the UK every 2 to 3 years for a few weeks at a time since 2002, & have never had this problem with other rental companies. Never again will we use Europcar. But we are taking this further.

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    Price

    Reviewed July 16, 2018

    What do I need to say? GDPR data breaches, filthy cars and refusal to clean or understand/No apologies, nothing. Terrible service and fake charges. Marco at Pescara made mistakes with me and the person in front, costing us an hour of our time and ruining the start of our holiday. Avoid him at all costs.

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    Reviewed July 16, 2018

    They know they are one star. On one hand, I see little value in adding an extra one star rating to the galaxy of the same. My experience is with the company sending an unsubstantiated invoice to a wrong address and then sending to a collections department. On the other hand, would this thread be interested in large numbers complain the UK Office Fair Trade, to try and end its trading?

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 6, 2018

    I have never been so disappointed by a rental car company in my life. I will never and make sure my friends and family never rent from this company. Pre-booked a car, arrived early and no car was available, was constantly told 10 min more. An hour and 10 minutes later still no car and no answers to when we would get the car (another couple also waited an hour and were told to go get coffee and came back). A smaller car was returned and was basically told to take it or who knows when your car will arrive.

    Paid extra to return to a different location. Was told the difference from the medium car and the tiny Fiat would need to be requested when we got home and could not do it on the spot. The location code they provided AND the phone number they provided DID NOT exist (Edinburgh Waverly Station). Spent an hour looking for it. Finally found a different location online and returned it there (airport).

    The staff were extremely rude and lied. Was told we would get a credit back from returning a day early (nope, that was a lie), explained what happened trying to explain the wrong code and the reply was “well we all have bad days, what do you want me to do about it”. Was completely waved off - the male staff actually just walked away.

    Post trip, emailed them and provided them details on what happened and how we were treated, giving them an opportunity to show proper customer service. Europcar’s response did not apologize for their rude staff. Did not provide a credit for a day early. Did not credit the account for giving us a smaller car. AND today... just received a bill for more money that they already processed in May. Bill creation date: June 12. Bill due date: June 13. Received: June 21. Paid on: May 22, 2018. Anyone else’s see a problem with the dates? Good job Europcar UK, making customers and travelers feel very welcome with how your staff treat people and how you respond to upset customers. Round of applause to you.

    Update: July 4, 2018 - (my trip was at the end of May by the way) emailed the email provided by the social media team and still no response from Europcar. Just an automated “we’ll get back to you shortly”. I will continue to spread the word of this awful company to help protect other travelers. Social Media team - I want a direct manager's contact information please. I hope they treat their employees well because they don’t treat customers well. Update July 7 - THEY HAVE CHARGED ME FOR A FEE THAT WAS PAID ON MAY 22. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

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    CoverageSales & Marketing

    Reviewed July 5, 2018

    We booked car and insurance through CheapTickets and when we went to picked up car in England they said the insurance we bought won't cover the car and made us pay $924.99 USD or we couldn't get car. We will never rent a car from Europcar again ever and neither will our friends or family. We have opened case against them. They are a scam company. Don't rent from them. You will get ripped off.

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    Contract & TermsPriceStaff

    Reviewed July 1, 2018

    I contracted with Europcar through Auto Europe for rental of a Mercedes Benz “C” Class Wagon or similar vehicle, to be available on April 27, 2018, at 11 am local time, at the Munich, Germany airport. Upon advisement of an earlier flight arrival by my travel agent than what was originally booked with American Airlines, I questioned her as to whether my car rental pick up time needed to be adjusted and was advised that car rental agencies have a 3-hour window on either side of the contracted pick up time for vehicle availability and that my new arrival time at Munich would not require a change in pick up time.

    Upon arrival at Munich airport and subsequently at Europcar’s terminal counter a little after 8 am on the morning of April 27, 2018, I advised the representative of my reservation and was informed that I was too early for pick up of my reserved vehicle and that a Mercedes “C” Class vehicle would not be available anyway, but rather an Audi A4 might be provided, if available at 11 am that morning. I indicated that the word “might” was unacceptable as my family and I had contracted for a BMW Welt tour that morning and a later rental time would cause me to lose my tour reservation and monies already paid for same. She indicated again there were no vehicles available at that time. I showed her the number and size of my family’s suitcases that were parked next to me, and stated that an Audi A4, even if available, would not hold them.

    I also advised her of what I thought was a car rental agency’s 3-hour pick up window. She denied knowledge of any such thing. I then inquired about a station wagon or van that I would pay extra for, if available. She again indicated neither was available. After checking with a presumed supervisor located behind her, she advised that a luxury SUV update (Alfa Romeo Stelvio) was available and that based on both of their observations of my luggage pieces, I would have no problem loading them into the vehicle. I agreed to accept the updated luxury SUV vehicle and added cost for same based on their assurances of fitting the luggage pieces into same. Thereafter, my family and I, with our luggage, proceeded a fair distance to the vehicle garage center to locate our vehicle.

    Upon finding the SUV, it appeared unlikely our luggage was going to fit unless placing some pieces in the trunk area and some pieces in the cabin (seating) area. As we tried to fit the luggage as best we could, there was obvious interference with the seating in the cabin area. Due to the time expended at the terminal rental counter and now, the lateness of the morning, we could not afford a return to the rental counter (due to time constraints) to argue our case even after seeing several vehicles in the garage that would meet our need. For this ridiculous car rental situation, I was obligated to pay an additional $374.55 USDs while two family members sat in the back seat with one member sitting on a piece of luggage for the entire seven days of our rental. I believe this situation should never have occurred and that a reasonable monetary refund is owed me.

    Upon return to the USA I contacted my travel agent and advised her of my rental scenario. She, in turn, contacted the same Auto Europe rep she originally worked with and explained my scenario while requesting some monetary compensation. He, in turn, spoke with the Munich office of Europcar who denied ever not having the original vehicle I contracted for and that the situation as far as they were concerned was over and done with. Now, after reading this review, do you really want to contract with either company for a car rental?

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePriceStaff

    Reviewed July 1, 2018

    Ok after dealing with Europcar on several occasions and I must say very satisfied with their service. I have just had a completely different experience! Hired a car from Gatwick airport in late May for just short of 3 weeks, returning to Gatwick 4th June. On dropping the car back to Gatwick I was told 'all ok you can go' which of course we did, thinking no more of it... 7 DAYS later I receive an email stating damage to an alloy wheel, 150 mm scuff! And that they are charging £££s for!! So an inspection without me present??? Really!! Sorry but how do I know that someone (maybe staff) didn't do that after I dropped the car!! Understand all the hard sell of extra insurance at collection now and we all know what a rip that is!! Definitely will not use again... Not a very happy ex customer. Thank you!!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 25, 2018

    Europcar (Spain) held an authorization on my account for weeks after the car had been returned and the payment had been processed. When I raised it with them they said they can hold funds for up to 30 business days. Nothing I can do. Weren't interested in helping. I hired other cars in Europe, and the longest they held funds was 48 hours. Customer service in Europe was ok. Just Australia post rental sucked.

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    Coverage

    Reviewed June 17, 2018

    We rented a car online through the Ryanair website. We were surprised at the airport with a request for an additional $500 to cover insurance. The car reeked of cigarettes. A tire went flat 1 mile from the airport and they refused to help. I changed the tire and returned the car. Europcar refused to refund the rental cost for 9 days rental. I just ate that cost and left.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 14, 2018

    EUROPCAR, NEVER EVER AGAIN! I am 60 years old and have been renting cars in Europe since 1985. I never experienced such a kind of disguised fraud like that! I rented a car in Italy last April, returning it in Malpensa Milano Airport, just before an international flight. The local agent appointed a supposed scratch, in fact a risk over the dirty car. I tried to show there was NO DAMAGE under the dirty, cleaning with my finger. Not having time to discuss, after asking my wife to confirm her opinion, I signed a paper presented by the agent as a form where I could put my point of view. And left.

    2 days after I was surprised with an extra 300 euros for damage and more 75 euros for "handling". After 2 months exchanging emails with their customer services, Mrs. Emily ** in UK and Mrs. Monica ** in Italy, waiting for a cleaned car photo showing the alleged damage, promised by Mrs. Monica **, they simply stopped the communication, ignoring completely my claim! THE NAME IS FRAUD! EUROPCAR, NEVER EVER AGAIN!

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    CoverageStaff

    Reviewed June 14, 2018

    Rented a car from Europcar end of May at Birmingham Airport through Expedia. Bought insurance through Expedia, but was told when we picked up car that they don't accept third party insurance so we had to spend extra money for insurance. Expedia reimbursed us the insurance we bought through them. They offered us an upgrade car at no extra charge and we thought great. Not great! We returned the car at the end of our vacation. Had a walk around with the attendant. He found nothing wrong with the car and said everything was in order and said the deposit would be return within 24 hrs. The initial deposit was in my credit card, yet when we purchased the insurance we used my husband's card. They put a pending deposit on his card along with the cost of the insurance.

    When we got home, we noticed the error and called them. They removed the pending from my husband card, but mine is still there as pending and to top it off they are claiming that there was a 3-5 inch scratch on the car and they want us to pay the damage. There was absolutely no scratch on that car. It was a black SUV and a scratch that long would have been very noticeable. My husband and the attendant walked around that car and it was in good shape. Unfortunately we did not take pictures and we did not receive paperwork stating car was returned in good shape, which they claim we did. We are in the process of disputing a $250 charge they claim we owe. DON'T USE THEM!!! I regret not checking reviews.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceStaffReliability

    Reviewed June 13, 2018

    On April 12 2018 I booked a car through Expedia with Europcar for pickup at Toronto airport on June 20th 2018. The price was $438.34, a reasonable rate for the vehicle. On May 22nd, I received an email from Expedia saying that "Europcar had made an error in their pricing and I would have to cancel my reservation and rebook at the current rates." I called Expedia Customer Service and asked what was going on. The agent assured me that I needn't worry, the reservation was in good standing and that I could ignore the prior email. She was 100% clear that the reservation was "guaranteed" and "confirmed" and would not be canceled. I asked her to resend me the confirmation by email. She did so.

    It's now June 13th, one week before I'm scheduled to pick up the car. Yesterday I received another email from Expedia telling me that Europcar has unilaterally canceled my reservation and if I want a car, I will have to rebook. Rates for the same car have now skyrocketed to over $1300 for these dates. Evidently there is now huge demand in Toronto for June 20th and Europcar is trying to cash in by canceling reservations booked over two months ago hoping to resell these cars at much higher prices.

    This is clearly unethical and very likely illegal. Expedia has been no help. When I called them yesterday, they said, "Nothing we can do, it's Europcar's fault". I have cut and pasted below a few paragraphs from Expedia's email to me. They claim their "#1 goal is to give customers superior service" and "We want to ensure that you feel respected, valued, and cared for from the time you plan the trip to the time you return home, and everything in between." What utter nonsense!!!

    I can see from reading other complaints on this board that Europcar is fundamentally unethical and unreliable car rental company. Expedia told me they have done this to many many other customers, not just me. I asked the supervisor why Expedia continues to allow Europcar to use the Expedia platform to sucker in customers to their illegal "bait and switch" schemes. He had no answer. Europcar has not be banned from Expedia although they obviously should be. Do not USE EUROPCAR!!! EVER!!! NOR EXPEDIA FOR THAT MATTER. THEY ARE CROOKS AND YOU ARE VERY UNLIKELY TO RECEIVE WHAT YOU THINK you have booked. Read other reviews on Europcar.

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    Reviewed June 12, 2018

    Just got back from a week away in Pollença. We booked through Tui and it included a rental car. We returned the car to Palma Airport and our credit card has been charged for no apparent reason. We refueled took pictures, no damage to car. We have pictures so why do they think they can take money unlawfully. I will be contacting my credit card company, TUI and ATOL. DO NOT USE EUROPCAR AT PALMA AIRPORT THEY ARE ROBBERS.

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    Reviewed June 12, 2018

    Europcar discovered "damages" to the PS Alloy Wheel, it was a joke. There was nothing, I brought the car back the way I got it!!! They withheld 200 EUR from my CC and it was an obvious rip off!!! They tried to say that the car had to be repaired immediately, it was "too dangerous to drive" with the marks (more than 3 cm) in the Hubcap!!! I will never book them again!

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    Price

    Reviewed June 9, 2018

    Do not use this company. They do not honor the online quote and try to add unnecessary charges. They hide behind the language issues as if you got the quote wrong and go out of their way to rip you off. Both of my friends had a bad experience in Santiago and me in Puerto Plata and it was the same issue. According to them the daily rate had gone up and the rate didn’t include taxes and fees even though it said in writing it did. Avoid Europcar and alert friends traveling anywhere that this Company can’t be trusted.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 7, 2018

    Without too much detail, every step of this experience was derailed by rudeness tantamount to bullying. Looking forward, I would walk away from the airport carrying my luggage, rather than use this service ever again. I am English and feel ashamed that this company represents our country to incoming visitors.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 29, 2018

    BEWARE OF EUROPCAR SAMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!!! I regret not having read all the bad reviews EUROPCAR has all over the Internet before I decided to rent from them. I had reserved an full-size SUV four days prior to my arrival into the Samana Airport last April 2018. To make the story short, I ended up stranded on a Good Friday at the Samana Airport and 2.5 hours away from my final destination (Santo Domingo). No Europcar representative was waiting for me at the airport (they do not have an office at the airport), they were certainly not answering any of their phones.

    Was lucky enough to find one smaller vehicle available with another car rental company who has offices inside the airport. Next day, when I finally got a hold of someone from Europcar on the phone, the person was completely belligerent, rude and unapologetic. He basically questioned my decision of renting a car on a Good Friday because WHO WORKS THAT DAY?!? BEWARE renters, these people are irresponsible and give customer service a new (very negative) meaning.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 25, 2018

    To say that I am disappointed with Europcar is somewhat understating the matter and I was expecting Europcar to act in a professional manner instead of the embarrassing and amateur manner in their conduct towards me! What should have been a straightforward task of collecting the keys for my prebooked and pre-paid for hired car from Glasgow International Airport on May 5th 2018 turned into a hellish nightmare as I had to contend with an irritating and obnoxious male member of staff from Europcar that made television character Basil Fawlty from BBC TV series Fawlty Towers look like a kid in a kindergarten! Said member of staff from Europcar had and has zero customer relation skills and in my opinion is not fit for dealing with and helping decent members of the public such as myself!

    First off the man from Europcar used delaying tactics to keep me at the car hire desk for as long as he could while he deliberately hindered and put up obstacles to frustrate and annoy me! Stupid & unnecessary mistakes were made on Europcar's part which only underlines their embarrassing incompetence! A number of admin mistakes were made including one which according to his computer records said that two cars had been ordered when I had in fact only ordered one! I didn't like the man's condescending and patronizing attitude towards me and at times he was downright rude!

    I will not be doing business with Europcar in the future and I will use the services of one of their competitors who will hopefully treat me with dignity and respect! If I could have given Europcar zero stars for customer service I would have done so and I take some comfort in knowing that Europcar has been investigated by BBC Radio 4 and OFGEM for bad customer service and mis-selling products and services to their customers! When I finally collected the keys to my car I found that there were issues (some serious!) with the car that included dents and parts of the car's bodywork that was damaged or missing! The most serious issue was the unsettling and dangerous 'kangarooing' (engine stopping and starting and sometimes completely cutting out!) effect in first gear and it is obvious to me that the car has been over-revved/overdriven in first gear by previous car hirers!

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    CoverageSales & Marketing

    Reviewed May 17, 2018

    Europcar does not accept any other insurance than their own. They will also not allow you to decline coverage. I booked through Expedia and had selected their full coverage, however, Europcar insisted that I needed to use their coverage and that it was a requirement to rent the car. In the United States, this would be considered a bait and switch and is illegal. TL;DR. DO NOT RENT FROM EUROPCAR.

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    Contract & TermsCoveragePrice

    Reviewed May 15, 2018

    I booked a car hire at London Gatwick airport for 10 days for about 130 UKP. I used a web company to do this. I had a document saying Paid in Full; I also have car hire insurance, and annual policy, to cover own-damage (i.e. not third party). When I reached the counter, Europcar would not release a vehicle to me unless I paid 300 UKP extra for CDW. I left without a car, after several hours discussion. If I have a contract that says Paid In Full for a car hire, it should give me a car hire. If they offer optional insurance on top, that is OK. But making it compulsory at a rip-off price is not OK. Never again, Europcar (probably the rental car company I have used most). I found an alternative hire at EasyRent.com, much cheaper, and that was last minute.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 15, 2018

    I booked a car to be picked up at the Esbjerg airport at a specific venue and there was simply nobody at the booth. I called the numbers available in the booth and no answer until I was transferred to an agency in Copenhagen. There the agency told me to go somewhere else to get the car. I got a taxi to the referred place and arriving there, with no apologies, I was told "my issue" (!!!) is that I booked through a broker (Rental Cars) so they did not have my information. What kind of service is that?

    Interface issues between Europcar and brokers is not my problem and they need to fix it, or don't allow brokers at all - which they will probably have a considerable decrease in bookings. Today I got a reply from Europcar after 1 month and 5 complains sent that simply it is not their problem and they were kind enough to not charge me for the extra-hour the attendant used to service me with the car! Yes, that is what I was told! Really bad service and I do not recommend Europcar at all.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed May 14, 2018

    Arrived at DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, King Shaka airport. Went to the counter with my reservation number, then showed attendant my reservation from my phone because they could not find it on their system. They created a new reservation, with a higher daily rate of $15 per day, with $2000 deposit. My reservation rate was $11 a day. Took it because I needed the car. Upon returning the car, inspection was done, gas was checked, full tank, no issues was found. I then had to fill out incident report stating no damages to the car. Went to the counter for final bill and attendant said, they will email it to me.

    However when I returned home to FLORIDA, USA I received a bill, plus a invoice for damages amounting to R3800. Receiving attendant tried to pin scratches on the car to me. Charged for hubcap, which was not missing nor damaged. BOTTOM LINE, THIS COMPANY HAS A CULTURE OF BAIT AND SWITCH. Do not hire a car from Europcar ever. Still in dispute over these charges.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed May 14, 2018

    Disappointed with Europcar Watford branch as no one picked up phone during opening hours despite 8 calls on Sat 12 May. We requested fuel up front package at booking but unclear if it was provided. Waiting for this to be resolved so that we are not overcharged. Also had to wait 1 hr 45 mins past booking time for car to be ready.

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    Coverage

    Reviewed May 10, 2018

    Paid for full cover and rental through rental cars $214.00, when I picked the car up from Dublin airport from Europcar I got charged the extra $599.00 with no warning that they also charge insurance, think I can get it back???? I will never use them again. This seems to be a common complaint so it would seem it is an ongoing money making scheme. My son rented a car from Budget the same week with a drop of in Belfast for a longer period and paid $238.00 all inclusive.

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    Europcar Company Information

    Company Name:
    Europcar
    Website:
    www.europcar.com