Europcar Reviews

While there, she inferred that this was a "legal" problem and that the police would be contacted. Only after contacting Autoeurope (at $1.50 USD a minute on my personal cell phone) did we make any progress with her. (We had extended, all paperwork was in order). We were never offered any assistance with the GPS problem, losing the chance to file our insurance, as well as the estimated $30 lost from having to use our US call to rectify this situation. Truly, we have never encountered such a rude customer service representative. Her loud manner, inability to listen and work with us, as well as her continued insistence that we were "wrong" did nothing but compound an already uncomfortable situation. We are frequent travelers to Europe and will not use their service again.

Two days after returning the car, I was surprised to see they had helped themselves to a further 80 plus euros. I spent ages calling around to various customer service numbers until somebody at the agency told me that this was due to extra mileage. Of course it was my fault because I didn't read the small print, but I think that Europcar also behaved sneakily as my journey was clearly going to incur a supplement, but they made no overt mention of it and let me make a booking which was clearly inappropriate, which I don't consider very professional.

So just be aware that Europcar Europe imposes limited mileage per day, something I hadn't come across before which can double the cost of your rental!!

The car was fully refueled 5 km from Paris airport, we had receipts with time stamp which showed that was done 20 mins before return time. They refused to credit the tire because we didn't have the damaged tire to show them. As the damaged tire had no rim we were unable to attach it to the underside of the car. Numerous emails and calls from Canada to France, resulted in absolutely no credit from them. There is no way I would have paid that astronomical price for a replacement tire had it not been their representative that told us what to do. I visit Europe at least once per year. I will never rent from Europcar again. A totally bad experience that ruined an otherwise terrific vacation.

I urged to give me snow chains and if not they would have let me go without any protection while at 250 km there was a heavy snow situation on the highway. The Europcar counter people were very unprofessional and not caring at all for their customers. Definitely the last Europcar rental if they will not compensate the damage charges.

Well, that money is more than the rental price I reserved --- in other words, the actual price I have to pay is doubled! So do not trust the cheap price they offered on website --- they actually charge you more than twice by claiming that you have to pay the coverage for CDW...and I guess that is why it is so slow because they need to explain this weird requirement to every customer they have cheated!

At pick-up we were also charged £40 plus vat as we did not pick the car up at the exact time that was on the booking form, even though the desk was manned and open and other customers were picking up their cars at the same time. The moral being that sometimes the cheapest quote is not the cheapest quote. We will not be using either of these organisations again because of their underhand and dis-trustful practices.

When I collected the car the fuel tank was not quite full but I didn't have time to query it as I still had a 2-hour drive. I filled the car up right to the brim at the last petrol station which is 4-5 miles away from the airport. I was staggered to receive an invoice for £13.86 charging me for 6 litres at £2.31 per litre which is impossible for them to have put in! I am extremely cross as this is tantamount to theft! I will never use Europcar again!

When returning the car, nobody to speak with. Blunt europcar representative does not understand straight logical arguments. They took my economycar voucher with all payment details on the 1st day, and when I returned the car they said that the voucher has gone. And the last but not the least - returned my car on Saturday, and my flight home morning Sunday - and they say "if you have any problems, come Monday". Sure, responsibility is difficult issue. Yes, after 9 days, now dealing with company customer service, wasting my time. 1st time such a bad experience with seemingly western company.

1) Outside airport not the usual distance. They never mention this and they charge airport extra tax. There are three locations of car rental cars: across the road from the landing reception area (with all the short stay cars); inside the airport but shuttle distance; outside the airport in a place called airport city. This is outside, where traffic can be a problem, they claim. Europcar is the farthest away will never mention it anywhere. They say it is 3 minutes shuttle. In fact on a clear traffic-less road it is 10 minutes. Drivers say traffic coming from Europcar office into the airport is not the same road as coming out, which can take over 20 minutes.

2) No representative inside the airport. They may tell you to go to the first floor where the car rental companies desks are located, however Europcar does not have one. I had to run up and down asking people around until someone told me to ask a clumsy person behind a corner loitering. It was him, all he did was finding me on the least and told me to go to another floor and within 5 minutes a shuttle would come, he was drunk (smelt so and unsteady walk). He wore no distinguishable item to indicate him as Europcar employee.

3) I went up to the top floor and outside waiting. Several shuttles passed by of other rental companies and specific groups filling the bays. After 13 minute I scanned the voucher and found a local telephone number. I called and they said it will take few more minutes, disregarding my comment that it has been almost triple since I waited and more that since their person downstairs told me 5 minutes. They brushed me off. I call after additional 3 minutes to receive the same reply, adding other excuses including traffic problem. Nevertheless in the meanwhile I asked other car rental companies for about the traffic and all including another company that was across the road from Europcar (yes outside the airport). All said that traffic was normal, nothing special.

4) I called many times. I told them that something was wrong as other drivers including one very close to them has passed several times to pick up customers and said traffic was nothing special. I asked them to call the driver; they refused blaming me for calling them liars.

5) I decided to be on the line as long as possible so I will not miss the car and for them to verify where the car was. The reps became abusive and lied more and more blaming me for delaying the car.

6) The car that came, 30 minutes after, took other people and not me. The driver did not know about me. The car was small and was filled by other people who came after me. Mess was incredible. I told the driver and the office that there was an order of arrival and he should let me on first. The driver just drove off.

7) Now the office said another 10 minutes. It took the car another 25 minutes. Totaling 55 minutes of wait not including the search for the rep on the 1st floor.

8) At the office it has gotten worse. They ignored my questions, did not apologize, did not offer compensation, did not explain the contract just told me to sign, refusing even to make a note of my complaints anywhere. Even refusing leaving a note for the manager who was not present.

9) I was away from the airport, no regular transportation to go anywhere stuck and trapped. What could I have done?

10) The car was given too rudely. Was checked in my absence. When I wanted it to be checked it faced resistance and it was in the dark.

11) Driving for 100 meters the fuel gauge dropped an 1/8. The very rude bully of a rep wrote it left the door of the car open to the street and the keys on the seat leaving the car. I was away from the car. Anyone could have stolen it especially in that dodgy area where the office is located.

e. Gear was continuously malfunctioning.

13) When I called and asked for help they said that if I wanted I could pass by them again. I was driving away. Who could have believe that Europcar have only 3 location in Israel, 2 of them 20 km apart. Wherever something happen they can never provide aid.

14) They also extra charged me for some invented tax instead of giving the reduction on the charges of the airport fees in which there are not located.

After phoning Europcar, they denied all knowledge of the phone call the previous day as it hadn't been logged and deny all knowledge of a pending charge of over £400 even though my bank have said it is from them. I am currently over £500 out of pocket over the Christmas period and after 3 phone calls, over an hour of my time, Europcar cannot give me an explanation. The next stage is a claim through my bank and if that fails then small claim court... COMPLETE INCOMPETENCE.

Figures, as we drove, very cautiously, we hit a low curb and had a flat tire. We called their offices who told us to bring car in. Duh how? We found a Europcar office 2 blocks away and walked there. Guy was originally unhelpful but did come and replace the tire for us and we took it to the location they recommended to replace it. We lost 1/2 day there. We went on our way and enjoyed our trip, no further incidents. When we dropped off the car at Aberdeen Airport, their agent walked around the car and said no other damage but pre-existing damage he saw and we, again, told him about squeaking door.

Upon return to USA, my AX bill showed 2 the same charges for the tire from Europcar, we got one reversed. Then next billing, I had a bill for $1200 for further damages to the car. I had NO idea what they were talking about and could not understand their 12-page report they sent me let alone read it the copies were so bad. They said the date of the accident was July 17 and I was not in the country!

I have been battling with them since Aug as well as AX who is refusing to pay too. We did not do any damage and from what I can see they are saying it is on the same side as the pre-existing damage. Now, what are the odds their pre-existing damage was more then they wrote down and I am now paying for it??? They are scum and continue to argue it was my fault. They do not acknowledge the date of the accident I was not in the country either. If I don't pay my bill, my credit score is affected. I disputed this, again, with AX but I am not hopeful they will resolve anything. The agency I used to rent the car is helping but I am not getting good vibes from them either. I can hire a lawyer but they know the expensive will be more than the repairs. They are horrible to be with or work with.

Never rent Europcar especially if you live outside UK they will come after you right away. I have no idea what my outcome will be but the nightmare Europcar has caused me through their actions has ruined any memory of a much looked forward to trip. I am in the travel industry and not a novice to car rental. In my 30+ years in this field and I have rented many cars, I have never experience the malicious and unscrupulous behavior of Europcar. Stay away from them...

In short, I would NEVER rent a vehicle from this company. They were rude at check out, suspect at check in. What started as $500 rental ended up at $775 and I feel lucky. I am equally disappointed in Expedia for selling me a policy that they twice assured me was sufficient only to find it was not. Expedia should know what the contractual agreements are before selling any products. I will be posting a complaint regarding Expedia's misrepresentations as well.

Why was the final cost not shown me? I can only believe this was to slide the highest cost possible through without me knowing. The coverage was explained to me as being the amount I would be paying and was not being a charge of 27.50 pounds per day. It is important to note your clients rely fully on your staff to be honest and up front especially when dealing with a different currency and insurance system and suffering front jet lag. Usually my insurance coverage when I have rented vehicles in the UK is about the cost of the vehicle hire. The coverage in this case was approximately 300% higher than the cost of the vehicle hire.

I feel I was tricked into buying this coverage especially as the credit card I paid with already provided the extra coverage. I fully expected to pay a charge but $727.43 CAD for a hire of $224.96CAD is exorbitant. I would be willing to split the charge with you and I request a further review as there was no damage at all to the vehicle and it was returned exactly as per the rental agreement. You already have the money. This was the first hire through the Luton Europcar office. I am disappointed that this transaction was completed in this way. Surely some solution can be found.

Now 3 hours have gone by, I am suppose to be on vacation... Now comes in a different person, "shift-change"... Now, I have to start all over again with a new ** counter clerk... Now I am ** pissed... Called the company, got through after several tries and they finally said that they are going to keep my full payment as a cancellation fee... I am so ** pissed at this point, that I wanted to strangle someone... After collecting myself, I moved on to another company and a day or two later contacted my credit card company and received a full payment back to my account (thank you Capital One)... Then to top this all off the counter clerk said to us that "My friend has a rental lot with nice cars and cheap"... How sleazy is this operation or what... THEY SUCK...

Upon returning the car we were charged an additional €25 (not a total of €25) for the upgrade. We were also charged a day late fee on everything for returning the car 90 min after the check out time. In addition, we were charged €50 for an additional driver which was never disclosed when checking the car out. Europcar claims we were fully informed to the extent of the charges. I must ask "Who in his right mind would agree to this great off season upgrade from €18/day to €43/day?” Nuts! I had a heated discussion with the attendant upon returning the car. He advised me to send a complaint to the customer dept. We had a flight to catch so I had no choice but to sign and leave.

It is this signature that they are now claiming is my confirmation that all was fully disclosed. THEY ARE MASTERS OF DECEPTION. They are unwilling to refund any part of the rental expense. I am convinced they are trained to deceive (maybe earn extra pay if successful) never again!

Few days later had €350.00 extra deducted from my credit card. Europcar in Spain said this was for an extra small dent in rear of car which I was NOT Responsible for. Company refused to send me photos of the damage or copies of receipts for work done. They were very truculent and dismissive about the whole ordeal - most difficult to deal with and they knew it was unlikely that I would follow this up further because of distance/inconvenience etc. As a practicing doctor my honour and honesty is very precious to me and I hate being conned and fraudulently treated. I am sending this review to warn other customers of my experience and to be wary of Europcar or better still to avoid them altogether. Hope this is of help to someone.

Upon pickup of the car, I finally got a list of all these costs--road & airport fees, premium location fees, administration fees, sales tax, credit card fee, and government tax. None of these were included in my "prepaid" amount, even though all of these fees were mandatory and known and could have been included. Upon return of the car, I was charged a total of $392, which is almost fully 200% of the "prepaid" cost. So can anybody call this "prepaid"? I call it a scam.

In RentalCars.com's Australia listings, Europcar's prices appear far lower than any other rental company. But if you parse through the fine print, you'll discover why: whereas other companies bundle in most of these fees, Europcar excludes every one they can. When pressed, here's what RentalCars.com had to say about it: "In order for rentalcars.com to publish and sell vehicle to residents of the USA, we are not permitted to add these mandatory fees into the publish online price. This is the contractual agreement we have with many of the suppliers for consumers of the United States." Europcar is actually forcing them to display misleading prices.

A similar search through an Amadeus-powered car search engine shows published prices that include ALL of these fees, even the one-way rental fee. So clearly it's possible to do this. But Europcar chooses to intentionally mislead consumers, and RentalCars.com goes along with it. At least RentalCars.com replied to me. I'm still waiting for any response from Europcar. I will never deal with either company again.

Three weeks later I received two letters from them with a penalty fee for not paying congestion charge. They say that kindly they paid the penalty to TFL for me but now I need to repay them + their 36 'processing/admin fee' for each day. Very convenient! My home is in a congestion charge zone (I know that now) and when I gave my address, this lady never said anything about it and even said not to worry about it. I believe this is an act of thieves and this company should be ashamed of these deals. This company makes money by taking advantage of their customers. I asked about it and this person said that I didn't have to worry about it. This is a proof that this company takes advantage of their customers and I have been cheated. Sadly I read the reviews after my trip. Europcar, never again.

When we returned the car to the rental location in Edinburgh, they required us to pay an additional 250 pounds, on top of the 250 pounds we had already paid on deposit. We carried full insurance with Europcar, and the rental people there assured us that all 500 pounds (about $1100 CAD at that time) would be refunded quickly.

We heard nothing for a couple of months after returning to Canada, and I tried to contact everyone I could, from the police department in Edinburgh Scotland where the car had been rented, to the insurance company branches in the US, Scotland, and in England. Each office I contacted - by email, letter and many phone calls, told me to send faxes of all the details from the rental agreement to the police report. I duly sent them - in all, seven copies of many pages, each a big expense for me. I NEVER HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE. No one would answer my phone calls or emails, or letters. I even sent an email to the Edinburgh New Scotsman newspaper, asking if anyone could offer suggestions as to who to contact. Not even a response to that email! Nothing from anyone. Total silence.

I contacted Christopher Elliott, the National Geographic Travel ombudsman, who had a travel issues column on the Frommer's Travel website, and he contacted Europcar on my behalf. After three attempts by him to get a reply, he finally got a curt email from Europcar insurers, telling him to mind his own business, basically, and he forwarded me the letter. That was all I had heard until last year, when one of my many mails got a reply stating that 'my case' had gone to court and I was to be held 70% responsible for the accident, and then a further note said, no, the court determined I was 50% responsible. I asked for the court statement, and the woman's police report, which they had refused to let me see before. He forwarded me the police report from that woman (who hit our rental car), and it stated that a 'witness' had seen us driving right into her. He refused to send me the court report. He did add that I should receive partial reimbursement, and that was the end. I have received nothing, cannot talk or communicate with anyone, and know I have been ripped off royally.

I had thought that when one bought full insurance along with a car rental that the company would at least make an effort to aid and support their clients. I have not been able to get a reply from anyone since June of 2013. I have approached the program that aids Scottish and British people in their problems with car companies and insurance but they will not help me as I am not a resident, and they have no suggestions as to who to contact. Wow.

Sure turns one off of travel, eh? That won't deter me but one thing I know for sure: I will NEVER DEAL WITH EUROPCAR AND THEIR INSURANCE AGENTS, AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT NO ONE ELSE RENT FROM THEM. THEY ARE DISHONEST, SNEAKY AND TOTALLY NON-SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR CLIENTS. Thanks for giving me a chance to vent my anger at Europcar.

The scratch was only on the polish and the paint was not touched. The issue is that when I booked the car they blocked 850 Euro on my CC and there was some additional charges of 91 Euro for additional day and boarder crossing. The amount left was 768 Euro and they claimed it all for the damage and I am really shocked that the blocked amount really matched the repair cost according to their claim. I can only say that they stole my money and there is no way I will use them again.

We already were unhappy with our experience with Europcar. They didn't have the GPS we reserved and the car drop location at the train station in Rome is hidden at the top of a parking garage (no signs to indicate where it is). But add this unreasonable fee on top of it, and we will never use this company again.

Unfortunately I had not discovered this until the day of the car being returned. I spoke with the collection office and was advised to complain to the assistant manager Malcolm to whom I presented my email confirmation and the invoice supplied by the advisor. To my surprise he simply looked at the invoice and claimed nothing can be done because I had signed for the additional cover nor did he bother to check my previous hire contract. What came as a shock was the casual manner in which he said, 'Send your complaint to the email address at the top of the invoice and I'll give you the same response when it's forwarded to me to address'.

I followed up my complaint with customerservicesuk@europcar.com and I received a response two weeks later where they simply claimed the same as the assistant manager: no refund will be issued because I signed the agreement. In addition it also stated the actions of the assistant manager Malcolm will be reported to his senior whose name has not been provided. I have responded to the recent email and if this remain unresolved, I will definitely lodge a complaint with the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (http://www.ecrcs.eu). Has anyone else been in the same situation?

We rented online and bring the paper work requested. Once in their office they told us that we need more proofs of address and bank statements because the system was not given authentication. We were about to ask for the refund of deposit and after that mysteriously they could deal with the papers we had and gave as the van. They didn’t told us to do the check out of the van but we inspected it carefully at the beginning including the fuel deposit which was at full level.

Before we return the van we charge it at the petrol station. When we arrive to Europcar they did the checkout and told us that was not totally full and they will charge us the double price if we don’t charge it. We had no time so we paid for recharge at double price using their fuel machine despite we left the van with the same charge as they give us but we didn’t took a photo. We think that this is a common practice they do to their customers so they can charge you for extra money or make you lose your time. This is just a case but there is a lot of different practices they do with their clients depending where they see the advantage. Be so careful with this company and good luck if you go for it.

We immediately cancelled our booking, less €50 for a cancellation fee. We then went back to the main terminal building and got a similar class rental car from Hertz for €25/day including basic insurance cover which is provided by all other main rental companies checked at Dublin Airport and is a normal condition of car rental in Ireland/Europe. Having reviewed, admittedly after the fact what we thought to be a reputable car rental company led us to revelations by equally discommoded Europcar customers outlining what appears to be Europcar policy of extorting additional monies from tourists, even those from Canada and the USA whose Bank Credit card policies provide insurance cover directly to rental car firms. We are highlighting our recent poor customer experience at the hands of Europcar to the following agencies/forums to focus attention on this issue and urge others who feel aggrieved to complain directly to Europcar at customerservicesie@europcar.ie; and res@europcar.ie and to save yourselves money, stress and time and rent from others.

After many emails back and forth with their U.S. partner company National, Europcar has now changed their story TWO other times on what exactly that "administrative" covered. Now they are saying it was for an "investigation" into who was driving. Huh???? This is a blatant ripoff scheme and poor business practices. Will NEVER rent again from Europcar or National. Too many other companies are available without shady fees.

We reserved the car from the Lima Country Club location well in advance (months) and paid a premium rate to get a mid size SUV (it turned out to be a RAV4). Rental cars in Peru are VERY expensive and do not include unlimited mileage (200 free km a day, $0.47/km thereafter in our case). The day before we were to pick up the car I got an email informing me there was a "required" additional insurance charge of $17.70 USD per day (CDW). My credit card (and I confirmed this before I left home) covers CDW. I emailed Europcar Customer Service, who informed me that my card would cover this additional insurance. At the rental location, after an hour of patient but persistent haggling, it was no go. Long story short, it was pay up or find another car at short notice and in the middle of Lima.

That was all bad enough, but the car is not functional. Although there is no major mechanical issues, the air conditioner does not work. I emailed the agency and Europcar. No reply. The car is at least a 2010 (the VIN number in the window has been obliterated, not very reassuring), and is probably older, judging from the crazing on the headlight lens covers. Peru is a hot country - if I wanted a car without AC I could have saved quite a bit of money. We've had some good rental cars in NA from Alamo (a Europcar affiliate), Budget and others. We've had decent international rentals from Hertz and Avis. Europcar should rename itself as "rentabeater".

I have also reported the fraud to the UK police via the Action Fraud website. Here is my report to that website: Europcar Rental no. ** - Charge of £203.75 has been made (but not yet taken from my debit card) for trivial paintwork damage to hired car at Bristol Airport, 18 September. Fraud has occurred because a supposedly independent damage report was prepared and printed out some 40 minutes before I returned the car. (See documentary evidence below.) The fraud involves the supply of this report from 'Provincial Assessors' of Leicester; but this company has the same legal and postal address as Europcar Group UK Ltd.

Alleged damage - Four minor paint chips, for repair of which I am being charged, were already there when I picked up the car. Unfortunately I assumed that the recorded minor pre-existing damage (recorded in French) referred to these chip marks; in fact it refers to a wheel. Nevertheless, the description of the location of this wheel damage on the rental sheet is inconsistent because it only makes sense if the car were a left-hand drive. Nature of the disputed damage - Europcar description of disputed new damage is completely inaccurate, referring to a 5 cm bumper scratch, but the 4 separate small paint chips lie in a line (zone 12 in Europcar rental contract diagram, not zone 13; photo available). Damage description is therefore inaccurate and misleading.

Timings - Damage report date/time 18 September 2014 - 10:38. Car refilled at Congresbury, 7 miles from airport (debit card proof) - 11:05. Arrival airport hire (approx.) - 11:20. Invoice time - 11:37. Mobile phone photo (with date/time) of car when I left the hire office - 11:39. Therefore the damage report for which Europcar is charging me £203.75 was evidently pre-prepared and printed off while I was between Weston-Super-Mare and Congresbury - 40 minutes before agent could possibly have seen the car on its return. Other evidence proves that Europcar's record-keeping is inaccurate.

We were told car was being washed and would be 5 minutes. As we sat waiting the next guy in the queue got exactly the same line about his car as we did. Then to make it worse all the staff but one disappeared to ferry cars back to the depot from somewhere (this later became evident). By the time they got back it was 40 minutes later and there now was about 30 people in the office, one poor girl left to cop all the irate customers, and we still did not have a car. One guy had waited since we got there just trying to return a car.

It was just over an hour before we got our car. Also we returned car to airport. There was no mention of toll charges or how to pay for them. There is a toll system by number plate that has to be paid in shops and you may not know that you have even incurred a toll. We were informed this is another moneymaking scheme as they charge you for tolls later at a highly inflated price. Also beware. Get petrol well before airport as if you go down hire car return road very difficult for a tourist to get out and fill up to save again the high fuel charges from the hire company.

My friends and I drove to our destination and park the car in a secure car park. When we came back the car had a crack in the windscreen. There was no evidence it had been vandalize and not even a chip. I contacted the number given but it could not be replaced for 4 days. So I contacted Europcar for an exchange and was told I have to pay £345 for new windscreen as I did not have the excess waiver. But I was never advised by Auto Reservation or Europcar. When I complained Europcar blamed the Broker A-R. All in All both Companies are just rip offs. There just want to get your money and rely on making the small print even smaller. I just hope Karma comes and bites them where it hurts.

Second complaint is that even if I accept the 420 fees at the pick up point then I am still over charged by approx 30 GBP. I left the car in a same condition I picked up with full tank. Today when I checked my account I noticed I was overcharged by 30 pounds or 200 GBP from my internet booking. I do expect from a renown company like Europcar to do something about this serious case and consider this legitimate claim and refund the overcharges of 200 GBP. I could easily go for companies like Thrifty's and few other with that 250 rate but as an old customer I went for Europcar. Kindly review and keep me posted.

When I arrived to collect the car, the lady who was handling my booking told me as an added security because I did not take out any Waivers, I would be required to pay a refundable deposit of 2000 South African Rand which would be refunded to my credit card within three days of returning the vehicle in good condition. I agreed to this. The car was return in good condition, cleaned and full of fuel.

On returning home at the end of July, I found that there had been no refund deposited into my account and I sent off an email to remind them of this agreement. They replied with an apology for the delay and said the funds would be processed immediately and to give at least 7 days for the transaction to appear. I waited 10 days and no movement in my account, so another email and once again an apology and wait another 7 days.

I waited 2 weeks before contacting them again and received an email stating that, because I did not use their Waivers or Insurance, they are obliged to take out the required amount to cover all their waivers, which amounted to 2002 South African Rand. Now I know I have been scammed, as I did not want nor need their waivers as I was already covered for any eventuality to the tune of 36,000 South African Rand.

I am now contacting any authority I can in South Africa to try and assist me with my due refund, but looking at this site and the problems people have with Europcars around the world, I concur with all those who have been robbed by Europcars and advise anyone travelling and requiring a rental vehicle, STAY AWAY FROM EUROPCARS.

I immediately complained that I had not asked for it and was told that locally nothing could be done but to contact Customer Service at the head office in Leicester. This I did by email while waiting for the flight home. Eleven days later I received a response essentially dismissing my complaint and refusing any refund because I had signed the contract. While I am somewhat embarrassed by being 'conned' in this way, I realize now that the circumstances make it relatively easy for unscrupulous agents to do so.

In my case I had been up for about 24 hrs; I was tired, jet-lagged, and anxious to get on the road after a number of delays including waiting for an agent. The agent sits and types information in on a screen that you cannot see, prints out a so-called contract in small print on a boarding pass sized card, points to places to initial and sign meanwhile distracting you by explaining that a hold for a certain amount will be placed on your credit card and released after its return but not pointing out anything else on the card or presenting any terms or conditions. You sign without paying too much attention to the small print as you assume the agent is reputable (a big mistake in hindsight) and you have just answered his questions and he has affirmed that everything has been prepaid. I have subsequently discovered that there are numerous similar accounts of such deception and dishonesty posted by other travelers.

I have submitted a complaint through Enterprise in the US and although the very helpful customer service agent escalated the complaint on my behalf it appears that their authority over their alliance partner Europcar is limited. I have complained to the BVRLA but they refused to consider anything that is not documented and (surprise, surprise!) gave the same response as member Europcar. I sought advice from the Citizens Consumer Advice Service in the UK and unfortunately once Europcar has your signature there is little legal recourse especially for overseas visitors though they will notify Trading Standards. BE WARNED -- NEVER use Europcar/Alamo/National for car rental in the UK! I have had good service from Avis and Hertz in the past.

Two weeks later, a charge for $3,600 was put on my credit card. My confirmation was for $202.68. I called Europcar international customer service, which meant during the night for me due to the time difference, and after long waits, was bounced around until they disconnected me. This happened three times. The girls also insisted I booked through an agency in England which is nonsense as I booked on Europcar.com and my contract was in French. I cannot get an explanation of the charges.

I have disputed the charge with VISA but it seems I can wait for 90 days for further follow-up. In the meantime, VISA is sending me requests for things like an English version of the terms and conditions on the back of the contract. My file with VISA is now 30 sheets of correspondence. This type of hassle is just not fair when I as a consumer try to play by the rules, make a reservation and honor my obligation to pay for the rental. I recommend no one EVER rent from this dishonest company!!!

I have emailed Europcar requesting documentation in English. These companies are happy to use English to get the business but then can't be bothered providing the legal documentation in the language of the consumer once you've been hooked in. Also for payment, there is a form for me to fax internationally with my credit card details for payment. I am not prepared to send credit card details by fax or email. A large international company like Europcar should have its own secure site where one can pay by card in the appropriate currency. I have also asked for a secure site through which to pay. I am still waiting.

And now as per others' experiences, all they have to say - I agreed to it/signed for it... despite all the other anecdotal evidence and common sense (such as "why would I need two lots of excess cover??") - or prove to me your operator offered it? If the front desk had said... do I want to pay an extra $20 a day for something I already had/paid for... What would my answer have been!??! And why did they wait 28 days to take payment for the cover (?) when all the hire/original excess was taken upfront... If they had taken it straight away, I would have seen it, but no... Then I find out a friend of mine traveling with Alamo will get most of his excess insurance refunded once the hire is complete and no claims made! Talk about add insult to injury! It was never discussed, offered or agreed - just posted on my contract without my permission... BE AWARE OF THESE CONS...

The type of car I booked was not available so I accepted a lesser vehicle with no discount offered. Once I checked the vehicle that I was going to rent had no scratches or dents I returned to the office and signed the agreement without paying any attention to it (bad mistake). No charges were applied to my credit card and everything looked to be in order. During the hire period I requested to have an extra day rental and to drop off at a different location. I accepted the additional charges that applied. I returned the vehicle and there was no damaged so I expected an invoice for an extra day's rental and a drop off penalty for a different location. I was stunned when a few days later I had approx GBP750 taken off my credit card.

On enquiry I was told that this was for insurance that I signed up for. I asked that this be reviewed in light of what I have explained above. They reviewed and told me that as I had signed the agreement then they would do nothing. I have looked at internet review sites and see that this is a common issue with EuropCar. Even though I did not want this insurance was I actually insured as they did not invoice it until the vehicle was returned. I would really like my money back and for someone to thoroughly investigate the practices of this company.

Then I contested the charge with my bank. The rep. at the bank said Europcar claimed they were never paid by Alamo. I said that was not my problem because I clearly paid Alamo and it appeared on my statement. So the bank issued me my money back. Then I got an email from Europcar stating that there was damage done to the car while I had rented it. I strongly denied this and had pictures to prove my innocence. They in turn provided pictures that were so low quality which were undated and unmarked. They could have been taken any time and anywhere. They stated I damaged a mirror casing and took a picture of the back of the car [not the mirror casing]. They stated I damaged a tire and took a picture of some tire with a nick in it- but it could have been any tire taken anywhere at anytime.

They stole nearly $400 from me for these bogus charges! I called my bank back and they said, "We have no jurisdiction over foreign companies." They know this and these cases happen quite frequently. Foreigners beware!

When I later explained how robbed I felt to the clerk who quoted me 226 without any mention of distance charges, I asked him to please ask people where they're going when people ask, "How much for a car for two days?" He responded indignantly that it wasn't his business where people were going, and he wouldn't acknowledge that he was verbally hiding information from customers as a business policy. He pointed out to me a small price chart on the wall, not even directly in view of customers making purchases at the counter, where an absurd 450 euros/day was quoted in small print for unlimited mileage. Meanwhile there are deals online for under 50 euros a day for cars with unlimited distance included. The extra hidden mileage charges were outrageously extravagant, and if I'd been duly informed about them from the onset, I certainly would have chosen another service.

Anyway, no problems on journey and dropped off, some 14 hours later in the evening in their return bays putting keys in box. 2 days later, an email with invoice for damage done to the car! There was of course none done so I tried to stop the card payment but it had already been taken. I complained to Europcar who sent me a photo of the front of the car (but not in the return bay) and a separate photo of a damaged wheel rim but not on the car so could have been any wheel! I know I hadn't damaged because I didn't hit any kerbs on route (mostly motorway) and parked in Emirates - there are no kerbs in the parking spaces!

They also sent a damage estimate for the amount taken which was dated 5 days after the event/taken my money and after they had received my email/letter of complaint. I am still pursuing the matter through Action fraud and have written to the Glasgow Trading Standards and hopeful that a disputed transaction charge will be successful. If not, I will look into filing a small claim against them as the sooner rogue practices are cut out the better for all. Meanwhile, I only use car hire once or twice a year but will stay well clear of Europcar in future so at least my small loss of business will ultimately lose them more than the $92 they falsely claimed in damages!

Apparently, giving you a copy of the terms and conditions when picking up the car counts as advised up front, even though it is not mentioned anywhere in the booking information and any reasonable person would think the statement "Rates include 100 Kms per day, licenses and fees, damage liability fee. Additional distance charge may apply 0.30 AUD per km. Minimum age of driver 21 years" would simply mean you get charged an extra 0.30 per Km over what is included in the agreement... not a whole change/increase to other fees and charges also. This is a very underhanded/misleading interpretation of the terms and conditions on their part. Beware - their quote will increase with unexpected costs, even though it might appear good initially (and to top it off, I didn't even get the vehicle I requested).

The first thing that happened was the clerk changed our car from gas to diesel adding $5/day to our fees. That was ok, but I then realized what they had done on Expedia's website by offering a low rate. They hoped to get customers in the door and talk them into something more expensive, so I was on the alert for any other changes. At that point, the clerk said I had to buy insurance. I provided her the voucher Expedia had provided proving I had already purchased insurance. She said it was not insurance, although it clearly stated it was. She insisted I take out a $30/day policy with them or leave a $5000 deposit. I told her I wasn't doing either of those.

After 30 minutes of this, she got her supervisor, Karen, who continued to insist that I had to leave a deposit. I finally pointed out the website that the voucher mentioned. Karen and the clerk read the terms and it was clear they realized they were wrong at that point; however, they refused to honor the terms and insisted that I still had to leave a $5000 deposit. They then said, "Let's start over and just see how much it will cost if you didn't have reservations." At that point, I called Budget RentACar. Karen said she would beat whatever price they offered.

Once I told her the price, she said, "You should go over there." Obviously, she didn't want to beat the price. She also told me the company would sue me for libel once I told her I was going to tell of my experience with them on review sites. Do not use Alamo in Europe or Europcar as they really are a horrible company with no ethics or standards. They know once you are in their office, you are their prisoner and they will not have mercy on you.

I have traveled to 40+ countries and the so-called service we received was appalling. Our driving licences were in order. We had ample funds (both cash & credit) so our fundamentals were not the issue. Since virtually the only people who rent vehicles at the airport in Manila are foreign visitors, this behavior is astonishing. I have used AVIS and National in Manila also. They were far from perfect but much quicker to process the booking and the case of National, they delivered a car to a rendezvous point near T3, so we avoided the traffic. If I had a business renting cars, who had business volume of 3 units by 18:00 h, I would strongly consider my business practices and personnel applying them. Never again will Europcar get one $ from me.

They took money from my bank account without any reason. When queried, they said that there was no parcel shelf on the car when returned. I have rented hire cars from Malaga Airport for about 30 time over the past 6 years. When I returned the latest car to Europcar, they had their reps shine a torch to spot any tiny blemish. They spotted a 1mm mark on the windscreen, but failed to spot a parcel shelf (1200mm by 300mm) was missing!!!! After a long battle, I got them to refund the full amount. It is very easy to book a car at the same time as booking an Easyjet flight. I have a lot of respect for Easyjet. I am surprised that they associate themselves with the bunch of crooks at Europcar.

I initially booked an "Iveco Daily or similar" from the largest van bracket online (there are 2 sizes of Iveco Daily). I found some information on their site which said you needed a category B license to drive this so I thought I was fine. After speaking to friend, he suggested that the laws have changed about what you can and can't drive on a standard license so I emailed customer services and they said I needed a C1 license to drive a Ford Luton, which is what he said I had booked. I was confused as I had booked an Iveco Daily so rang Europcar Tonbridge.

They said I had booked a Ford Luton, which whilst I understand falls under their 'or similar' bracket, at no point was I notified. The vans are slightly different sizes and require different licenses. However, the lady on the phone said that customer services don't know what they are talking about and that I was fine to drive the Luton, and as it was a bit bigger than the Iveco I stuck with it.

Further investigation by myself pointed towards this being false information so I rang back again and spoke to someone else who confirmed I couldn't drive the Luton on my license, so I changed it to what the lady on the phone referred to as an Extra Long Wheel Base. She said it would be a Mercedes Sprinter or similar and was pretty much the same size, but when asked for the exact dimensions couldn't provide me with them. So, I just thought I would look up the dimensions on the Mercedes website.

I checked the dimensions of a Merc Sprinter XLWB and found the load length to be 4.7m, which was great because it meant I should comfortably have enough room for my stuff; however this didn't tally with what it said on Europcar's website so I again rang back for confirmation. I was told I had booked an XLWB with a load length of 4.3m. When I explained that this couldn't be the case because the Merc website suggests a load length of 4.3m is a LWB I was hung up on. I rang back and spoke to a guy to explain again and he was very rude and seemed to suggest I would get what I was given. At no point did he try to address the disparity between the information or suggest any concern about it. At one point he was so noticeably agitated that he just suggested I cancel the booking rather than trying to understand the problem. He just wanted me off the phone.

A string of further emails to customer services, who again struggled to give me any concrete information about sizes without a lot of persuading, revealed that Europcar have come up with their own sizing categories which don't match the manufacturers. So what they call an XLWB is actually a LWB and what they call a LWB is actually a MWB. This to me is blatant misselling, and particularly devious as there is no information informing the customer of this and an almost impenetrable wall of staff trying to hide this information.

During this process I had been reading reviews of other people's experience with Europcar and without fail they were 1 star reviews across the board. There were many other examples of people not receiving what they had paid for and a fair amount of people turning up on the day to be told they didn't have anything. In addition, I had read about many people being charged after they had taken the van back for a multitude of reasons, few of which seemed legitimate. One of these reasons was congestion charges. After reading the reviews, I asked Europcar whether my drop-off point in London was in the congestion zone and they couldn't tell me, not to mention that congestion charges weren't mentioned at any point during booking, email and phone conversations, of which there were many.

The reason I opted for Europcar in the first place was the price, but I have since cancelled and found a man with a van for a little extra and for peace of mind it is most definitely worth it. It's a shame because all of the issues could be fixed with a bit more transparency and better customer service. Europcar seem to operate on the basis that most people won't question what they are given because they don't usually drive vans and don't know what to expect. I understand why this works as there are many such people out there, but for anyone who wants to actually get what they are quoted for or ask any questions I would go elsewhere.

We submitted their form and our receipt, but they never did. We requested that they reimburse us for the lost 7 hours. They did not. We asked that they reimburse us for the difference between the more expensive rental of an automatic to the less expensive manual drive replacement. They did not. Then they sent us a bill for 671,99 euro for replacing the second car's rims due to scratches on them. We refused, since we do not believe the damage was that cost or that we caused the damage. They will not give us a receipt that proves they replaced the rims or have even been charged for this.

To my surprise I got 701 GBP surcharge on damages, this was blocked on my account without any warning. I complained, but the complain system they operate is designed to push off any blame from them to you. Copies of signed forms were sent and the bill from the repair shop. No photos at all. Very much pre-digital era. There is a fair chance you will be ripped off when you rent with them. They take a lot of time to respond to any correspondence to Customer Service. They declare 10 working days but it is a minimum.

Some background on our situation - we're both on a Tier 5 working visa which ends in August 2014. We had been planning to go camping in the Lakes District for one year now and will never have the chance to do so again because we need to leave the UK in August. We rent private share accommodation as many people in London do. We have no bills in our name and no need for a credit file yet we still brought the bank statement as requested by the CONFIRMED booking we had PREPAID for.

Anyway, we turned up, presented the documents and then were left to wait for about ONE HOUR. Apparently, the staff couldn't verify us because we have no credit file. Did I mention we're here for two years, renting privately and had a BANK STATEMENT and a PASSPORT???? Not to mention, we had two massive backpacks of camping gear that we had to lug around with us for 5 hours because of your stupidity. The staff tried calling head office for about 45 minutes. The phone rang out. No one answered. So the duty manager took the decision not to give us the vehicle that we had PREBOOKED and PREPAID and had CONFIRMED by Europcar several weeks ago.

The discussion with the woman serving us was the most horrific customer service experience. She said, "We can't give you your booking. I'm following policy." No apology, no empathy, no suggestion to help us. It wasn't a problem with Hertz - they would have given us a car had they not been booked out. Think about this - we had a PASSPORT, a BANK STATEMENT that matched the DEBIT CARD that we had PAID for the booking with. We have a VISA in the passport that has a reference number linked to where we're employed. This links to our HMRC data on the tax we pay. Idiots - do you think we're really going to steal your car????? You rented us a car six months ago to move house without any issue from the Lewisham branch.

We're now at home after paying several hundred pounds for camping gear, using annual leave that we won't get back and an experience that we will never get to have again. Your policy is ridiculous. If you have a policy in place, then make sure the decision makers are there to make a decision. Teach your staff some empathy and DO NOT CONFIRM a booking and TAKE OUR MONEY if you can't provide the service. If your policy is to ring head office to get validation, then make sure someone is there to answer the phone, otherwise train your duty managers to make better decisions and use some common sense or decide on a better policy.

What is the story: I rented a car from Edinburgh Airport at the beginning of August 2013. The estimated price I signed was high enough, but I said okay. The surprise came when I saw the statement of my credit card. The estimated price was far more high than what I signed for. The credit card company (VISA to name it) was of no help in recovering the stealing money (I name this fact of taking money without your consent stealing, no matter what arguments Europcar tries to claim). I was lied to in the sense I was not told the price would be much higher than agreed. If I knew the price they want to ask, I wouldn't have agreed to rent the car at all. I was lucky they didn't estimate the price at an extra several millions. The car was quite heavily used (a high mileage) and the final price was like 5% of the market price of the car for one day. This price is like 6 times higher than the price of a similar car rented in USA.

My advice: stay away from Europcar. Europcar as a company is nothing but a common thief and a liar, their business is taking your money at all costs.

On returning to New Zealand 2 weeks later, a letter was waiting for us, dated the day of the drop-off, to say that a parcel shelf was missing and they had charged us the excess of GBP244. I contacted Europcar Gatwick, and they said they'd check with the Heathrow depot, who said that, as far as they were aware, there had been a parcel shelf in the car. Rentalcars said the extra I'd paid to claim back the excess did not include anything 'inside' the car - so got bitten twice there!

What really annoyed me was that there was absolutely no communication with me after that, by either Europcar Customer Services in Manchester, UK, or Rentalcars.com, in response to my 7 emails of complaint. They had my money, and were no longer interested. Looking at several review websites since, it seems this is a regular pattern with Europcar, where random additional charges appear on your credit card statement, and you've no comeback. It's legalized robbery, and totally dishonest and unethical - I will never use either company again.

About a week later, I notice a credit card charge for over 100$ from Europcar. I was expecting some additional road fee charge as stated on the AutoEurope voucher but for way less than 100$. Turn out this includes a damage admin fee! After numerous Email exchanges, I find out that the alleged damage are a broken door key lock and a dent in the rear passenger door. Like nearly all cars these days, the rental came with a remote key opener so I never used that lock and as far as the dent is concerned.. see attached picture for the 'proof' provided by Europcar...

The damage fee charge is disputed with the credit card company and I don't hear anything from Europcar until about 2 months later when my credit card company contacts me about a suspected fraudulent charge of over 500$ from Italy by... Europcar! I confirm the charge is not authorized and get issued a new credit card. October 2013, I now receive by mail an estimate ("preventivo") showing over 1000EUR of repair with mainly bodywork labor (over 18hrs) and a request to pay the 400EUR CDW limit... To be continued I suppose (any help on the matter is appreciated) but I wanted at this point to make as many people as possible aware of the kind of experience to expect from Europcar. So avoid if you can and if you still decide to use them, be on the defensive!

We used our own mobile phone to call Cartrawler.com who had confirmed the reservation and from whom we had 2 separate invoices indicating ALL charges had been paid and NOTHING was due at the counter upon pick up. They promised to send an e-mail promising a refund! No e-mail was received. The agent at Europcar and Cartrawler both said this hidden charge happens all the time! We paid the fees finally after 2 hours of no help by phone or from the rental agent. Upon arrival home after our trip, we contacted Cartrawler again who said it is not our responsibility, contact Europcar directly. We contacted Europcar by e-mail (there is NO tel# for a head office) and were ignored. I left my e-mail address and tel#.

I feel that since all fees were paid to Europcar, Europcar is responsible and able to refund the extra charges and has a responsibility to not use companies such as Cartrawler if these companies have a history of giving bad information to the customer. Also the agent in Thessaloniki could have waived the charges but instead refused to even help in contacting someone to request a waiver of the drop off fees. To me, it is obvious that Europcar is only out to make money however it can and doesn't care for return customers. Aside from the hidden charges, we also requested a toddler car seat. The car seat was old, dirty (I found a large piece of stale bread on the chair plus other unidentifiable stains) and the seat belt was missing the harness clip. Meaning the only contact point was where the belt enters the buckle. Today's car seats have a 5-point harness system, this one had 2! Very unsafe.

And now that we're back in the US, we just got a credit card charge for an alleged traffic violation. I drove very carefully and there's no explanation of what alleged violation I committed. The $35 charge isn't the actual fine, just Europcar's piece of the extortion. That's what they charge to forward the police our mailing address. From what I've read online, this sounds like their standard operating procedure, though many people never actually end up receiving tickets.

Now, try to imagine my surprise after returning home (US) when I see an additional charge of about $320. I tried contacting them but with no success. For instance, the e-mailbox for South Africa does not accept e-mails. Needless to say, I never received an invoice for the additional $320; it just showed up on my bank account. My guess is that they charge for anything they could. These people are thieves and here I am referring, in particular, to the South African branch inside Johannesburg Airport and Europcar’s website. I don’t like to generalize, but judging by the volume of complaints, the issue seems a lot more widespread. I will never rent a car from them and advise other people looking for a car rental to avoid them like plague. Never come across a company that will tell you one thing online and charge you almost double in the end, since they have your credit card and they can. Caveat emptor!

After 3 days, someone had to drive me to the "authorized repair center" (30 km away) to pick up the car. After returning the car in Paris and getting home (in NY), I noticed they tried to charge me over 300 euros for changing the tire and giving my car a "Tour de France" on a truck. I disputed the charge with American Express, and the case was settled in my favor.

Now, they started sending me letters, asking for the money; and they put me in "collections" with a debt collection company named Progeris. They are threatening to sue me and keep harassing me with letters. If this continues, I plan to sue them in the NY small claims court for ruining my vacation, letting me without a car for 3 days, and harassing me with "collection letters."

I called back the Europcar desk, and they told me that they will inform us and that the colleagues were busy at that moment. After 2 hours, they told us that they haven't found the phone in the car. This is really a very bad experience, because you know you forgot the mobile phone in the car 30 min ago and somebody switched it off and took it. I want to share this with you.

The office where we had to collect the car was inside the arrival hall at Venice Airport. The parking lot was outside. We were given the keys and sent out to the parking lot. No one showed us where the car was so we had to go back when we realized just how big the parking area was and someone came to point us in the general direction. We found the car but no one ran us through it. There was a manual in the glove compartment so it was find out for yourself! On our second day in Tuscany, there was a torrential downpour (Florence apparently got 2 thirds of its annual rainfall in one hour!).

The country road we were on had been reduced to a mud pit. Our car got stuck. It was almost 6.30pm. We phoned the help line several times, we were cut off on occasions and on one told to find someone who could speak Italian to call them. However we eventually got to speak to a very pleasant lady, who and after checking that we were covered by insurance, dispatched a truck. In the rain they could not find us. I could give them our GPS coordinates but the truck driver apparently did not have a GPS. It was suggested that we walk to the main road so they could find the side road.

It was by then dark, still raining and 10 degree C. I was not going to risk anyone being exposed to hypothermia. We resiled ourselves to spending the night in the car and advised the helpline accordingly- the person on the other end was apologetic. We phoned the owner of the property we were staying in to let him know what we were doing. He came looking for us and enlisted the help of the carabinieri to find us. Which they did at about 1 in the morning.

The next day I again called Europcar helpline. I was asked to call their office in Siena and I was given the details of someone to contact to tow the car. The owner of the property took me to meet him at the car where I left him with the keys. He sorted it out during the course of the day. When the time came to collect the car at about 4pm, he would not release the car without a letter from Europcar (he said they always gave him trouble) or me paying him. The only person who could do the letter at Europcar was a manager, and after spending an hour and half waiting for the elusive letter and calling back only to find that the person I had been speaking to had left the office, I had no option but to pay for the tow (1 215 euros).

I had already lost the whole of Monday, 22 June trying to sort out the car. I was advised by the helpline to go to Europcar in Siena the next day for a refund. I duly went to Siena and was told that they could not do a refund but I could sort it out at head office seeing that was where I would be returning the car, or else after my return home. So I was now out of pocket for 1215 euros nad had lost a day and a half of my holiday time in Tuscany. I arrived at the head office on Saturday, 3 July to return the car and spent about half an hour driving around the block trying to find the entrance. I then established that the entrance was in fact closed. I tried calling, but no one answered the phone.

So off we set having no details on the airport or its setup. We arrived at Europcar at about 1pm. We're very frazzled.

The tow cost refund has however been a nightmare. At first they said:

"Client did not have a normal breakdown for the which he needed our normal road assistance but he drove into a vineyard and the car crashed into half meter of mud. This means that our normal assistance was not helpful to collect the client and the car”.

When I sent them a map showing that it was a road this was the response:

"In any case the client is not authorized to drive outside the road, even if it's a GPS to suggest that or a property owner. The client had to call our assistance – our number is on car keys and inside the car. The receipt sent says that road assistance needed a special tow truck : a caterpillar. This should mean that the car was in the mud. The only refund I can make is a refund of 120 which is that one we would have paid if client had called our assistance".

They ignore the fact that I was in the middle of the road I did not get off the road. The method of retraction is whatever they and their appointed agent decided upon, and I did call their helpline. So I sent them a printout of all the calls made to their helpline from my cellular telephone. And this was their response: "Regarding the above client, we confirm the charges are correct and the file is closed there is no further refund due."

The tow was arranged by their office in Siena. The towing company was someone they use extensively- he had a number of shelves in the office full of lever arch files labeled "Europcar". I quite honestly feel totally scammed. I will never ever use Europcar again. I have hired vehicles through Alamo, Avis & Hertz in the past- you cannot even start to compare the service levels. Stay away from Europcar!

To my horror after checking my bank account, two amounts (as for two rentals) have been withdrawn. I've emailed both addresses again but there’s still no answer. I can ill afford these debits as I'm a pensioner and I need swift recompense. Can you please help? I'm £784.50 down on my current account apart from the stress since the firm is not replying.

This is a bait-and-switch from Europcar in Mexico: The Europcar customer service agent Amar ** was intentionally dodging the response, responding to something else, and never responded to the subject of our complaint. We had to pay almost 50% more than the official reservation quoted.

The hire car was originally booked from Australia online through an internet company Carhire 3000/ Traveljigsaw and fully paid for the terms of rental. On collection of the car at Heathrow on 11th November 2009, we were asked whether we wanted additional insurance to waive the 550 excess. We explicitly stated that we did not want it as this was already covered by our travel insurance, a copy of which was displayed to the staff member at the time.

On 22nd December, we noted that an amount of 139.75 had been charged to our credit card by "EC Group UK". On ringing the customer service, we were told that this was for the additional insurance fee. We explained that this was a mistake as we had specifically refused this service but were told to direct all queries via Traveljigsaw. We subsequently sent emails to both companies explaining the error and requesting that the charges be refunded but received no response. On returning the car to Heathrow on 3rd January, we were told that Alamo had refused to refund the insurance charge as the credit card authorization was a legal contract and the remaining amount of 177.31 was then also charged to our credit card for another installment of the insurance (including VAT of 17.5%) and the fuel charge.

Admittedly we had not noticed that this insurance had been included on the credit card authorization when we signed for the vehicle. Bearing in mind that it was 5:30 am and we had just arrived in London after a long haul flight from Australia and we had already refused the offers of GPS, an upgrade and additional insurance, it did not occur to us that the authorization was for anything other than the estimated fuel charge as indicated by the staff member. We also had the Confirmation Voucher from Traveljigsaw stating "Paid in Full". However, please note that we queried this mistake as soon as we discovered it, which was part way through the rental period, not at the end or after the fact, so surely the charges should have at least been terminated at that point.

We have since received an email from Traveljigsaw stating that this is a "point of sale" issue and the "contract" for the additional insurance is totally independent of their company, so they should not be involved. On returning to Australia, we then received a further invoice from Alamo for an additional fuel charge of 35.48 + VAT with no explanation as to why we are being charged for fuel twice. On receiving a final demand for this payment, we rang the Customer Service department to be told that this invoice had been sent in error and a credit note was then issued with no apology.

We have sent 2 registered letters to Mark **, the Managing Director of Europcar Group UK/ National Alamo giving all details of this case but have had no response from him or anyone else at Alamo. However, they have now sent us a bill for a parking fine which we apparently incurred; we were not aware of this. In our second letter to Mark **, we stated that we were prepared to pay the bill once he had responded to our complaint and refunded the additional insurance charged in error.

It took considerable time to contact Europcar as I kept getting transferred from here to there and then they could not find out which breakdown organization they should send out. Hours later we were towed to the closest airport,Teeside, and arrived just as the branch was being locked up for the night. Europcar despite their promise had not informed the branch we were on our way. The next morning, I rang customer service to outline the problems I had encountered and asked Shertel(?) to record the conversation. When we returned the car to Bromley, there was no record at all of any incidents! On arriving home, we were billed by Europcar for an extra $1,585.25.

I have written and appealed and finally received a response stating " that it is the customer's responsibility to check the type of fuel the vehicle requires prior to refuelling and, as in this case when this has not been made clear on the key or fuel cap, it would be deemed especially necessary to clarify this". I have never received an itemized bill for the extra charge even though I brought this to the attention of Sue R (Customer Services, Europcar). Neither have I received assurance that the staff have been interviewed as it was obvious we had the sympathy of staff at Teeside and Bromley. This is a great distress being picked up by a breakdown truck and having to then drive very late at night on country roads.

Now, fourteen months later, our credit card is billed for a traffic violation. We were never notified or was our permission sought to have our credit card billed, i.e. this transaction was never approved. The billing is for $49.48, which happens to be less than the $50.00 minimum that the credit card company will handle a customer dispute with a foreign entity.

We received no details concerning the violation, and the billing would appear to be a scam because of the company retaining our credit card information for fourteen months, the fourteen-month interval from the time that the "violation" occurred, the absence of details concerning the violation, and whether the violation occurred before we took possession of the car or during the week we used the car (or someone used the car when we didn't due to the faulty locking mechanism). Due to this affair, we have changed our credit card number, but unfortunately, it's too late to recover our loss.

We suggest that any person renting from this company change their credit card number immediately after returning their rental vehicle to Europcar to prevent a similar false billing from happening to them as well. Europcar has not responded to our e-mail which was sent to customerserviceitaly@europcar.com, the e-mail address on the billing.

At first they charged my credit card over three thousand euros which effectively ruined my vacation as I was distraught after I called my credit card company to check what they had done to me. They ended up charging me 1000 euros, sending the repair invoice as if it were proof that I was responsible. I have been driving cars with standard shifts for more than 30 years.

I suspect that since they saw that I was American, they thought I was a good target for obtaining money to repair a vehicle with a faulty clutch. By the way, they also claimed that they did not receive confirmation of my internet reservation and then charged me a much higher price. They were determined to steal the money one way or another!

I lost 1057 euros