Europcar

During the check-in process with a prepaid voucher I was asked if I could drive an automatic. Saying yes was considered a "Customer Requested Upgrade" and was charged extra.

Don't rent from these scammers! Europcar cheated us badly, and there seems no easy way to recover the $355 additional charges they forced on us!

At 8:30am on Jan 17 2023 we wanted to pickup our Europcar rental CTW*******, in Huatulco, Mexico. I spent over an hour arguing with a Europcar employee and finally the station manager, as they insisted that I have to buy their own CDW insurance if I want the car. I showed them a letter from my Chase credit card company that I already have CDW/LDW, they didn't care. They gave me the choice to leave without the rental (cancellation charges would occur), or pay over $693 for their own CDW. After arguing with the highest manager in the office, I had to pay for their CDW, which he discounted to $355.08. This still more than doubled our cost of the small and pretty dirty rental car!

It's not the fault of their employees, but a corrupt company that forces their people to sell add-ons. They ignore their own T&Cs, which I had printed out and read out loud to them. They force unnecessary insurance on you at pick-up. At rental return, they try to charge for pre-existing damages to the car. So, if you really must rent from this absolutely dishonest company, make sure you take excellent pictures of the inside and outside of the car. I saw other renters going through the same ordeal, so this seems their standard practice. My recommendation is to stay away from these scammers, you'll pay dearly if you don't. Cheaters!

Tip for consumers:
Go look elsewhere for a reputable car rental company.

BTW, I contacted them under mx_customersupport at europcar, but they didn't bother to respond.

Awful service! Not recommended at all.They just want to take your money & advantage on the customer. Deeply lacking of instruction, they end up charging us more then what agreed for for no reasons mentioned in the contract! And above all making you paying the parking without notice so you can end up paying the full night instead of keeping the car for example due to the bad service. Prices are high and service is bad in general. In addition they take full month to give you back your deposit. Comparing to competition they are really bad.

Having initially given a bad review, customer services contacted me and resolved the issue to my satisfaction. In light of the very good service provided by their customer services department and the initial good service on site at Europcar, I would have more confidence in renting from them again. Recommended.

I an posting this review after having written to Europcar a few days ago and gotten no reply. We rented out a car from Europcar in Italy in the morning. At night we realized that the headlamp on the driver's side did not work, as we were basically driving in very little light. This means that we could have easily bern involved in an accident due to poor lighting. We contacted Europcar and were told to take our car back to the airport (2hrs away) to have it towed and replaced. This was ridiculous, since we would have wasted a whole day. In the end we just had it replaced, obviously incurring expenses and wasting time. Another health and safety hazard was that the fuel gauge dis not work. This meant that when we paid money to refill a tank which was supposedly almost empty, we wasted a substantial amount of money because the tank was indeed almost full. The owner of the petrol station was not there, so we could not get refunded.
Apart from the waste of time money, Europcar, you should be ashamed of yourselves for not checking cars before you rent them out.

I rented a car from Europcar Sicily in june through their online website. I wanted C3 diesel, but was given C3 gas version which has higher consumption. Their first scamming atempt was in their office in Palermo, where their employee said that I have basic insurance, even though I took full insurance online. After returning car, other employee signed a document with me wich stated that the car was without a scratch and initiated deposit return (so she claimed at the time). But even after 2 months, I still didn't get my deposit. I have reached their customer support several times asking for a deposit refund. One of their responses claimed that refund was issued, but the card issuer probably still didn't released funds to me. Then I asked for payment confirmation, so I could raise a issue with card issuer, but they never send me one and stopped responding to my inquiries. Probably because they still, after two months, didn't refunded me. One of the reasons why I chose Europacar is because they are big company, well established and I thought that we wouldn't have that kind of problems. I actually paid more (they are not the cheapest rentacar on the market) for that security, but was left disappointed nevertheless.

Europcar Guatemala City 'La Aurora' Airport location

We have been given a car that was dented on every single corner and side, scratches everywhere and very dated. Not a problem, considering the money we've paid. HOWEVER, once we got at the counter, we have been asked to pay the car insurance (in lieu of the deposit blocked on the card), which is standard for all car rental companies. The only exception was, that we have been traveling before abroad and rented cars in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Iceland and other cities in Europe. Usually the car insurance fee is somewhere in the region of the rental fee (i. E. £200 for rental = approx. £200 for insurance). On this occasion though, we've been told that the insurance was mandatory (not optional) and the options we had were $45/day for minimum insurance (covers nothing basically), $70/day for average insurance (covers almost everything, including accidental roll-over, scratches, etc.) or $100/day for the full coverage (almost full, as 1 thing from their list was not covered). We have agreed finally to pay the outrageous fee of nearly $600 for insurance although was not very fair and exaggerated. After this, the team needed to mention also (very convenient at the end after we made the payment for insurance), that although we have paid for the insurance, we still need to lock a deposit on the card of nearly $600. That was outrageous! But we had no other option but to pay that too.

The tip of the iceberg though, was when we have returned the car which now had a minor scratch (Guatemala City is crazy to drive in), the Europcar team claimed, that the "medium insurance" covers only 50% of the damages. Although on windshield and windows, the insurance clearly specified 40% coverage only, on all other items (including roll-over of car, rims damages, scratches, dents, etc.) there was no mentioning of percentage cover. THIS WAS CLEARLY A LOW MOVE ON THEIR PART! We obviously made our case and stated, that if this was their position then we will have no other option but to complain even further. One of their employee, had the nerve to even suggest that 'none of this would have happened if we would have purchased the full coverage'. What a t. W. a. T!

We had to argue with one of their managers on the spot and told him that this is outrageous, explained our point of view so we can finish as soon as possible with closing the paperwork so we can catch our flight. When I told them that I prefer to roll over the car and give it back as this is covered by the insurance fully, rather than the scratches, he started smiling, then switched the story, saying that the insurance leaflet we had is not the contract, and THE CONTRACT WE HAVE SIGNED takes precedence, therefore, they are entitled to charge us and that it clearly states that the medium coverage, allows only for 50% cover. When asked to find the clause in contract that states this, he gave up and told their colleagues to release the papers so we can go, with no extra cost.

We have felt abused (financially) by Europcar and their employees and I can reassure them, that even if I have to go elsewhere and pay a higher price, WE WILL NEVER AGAIN USE THEM. It's not just about the money, it is the principle. Just because you can, doesn't mean that you have to abuse you clients. We have been rudely spoken too, cornered to pay the fees, and felt ambushed when 4-5 of them gathered around us to try and "convince" us that we are at fault. This is the worst experience we have encountered this time.

Please bear in mind that we have hired before cars in Guatemala from Enterprise a couple of years back and we are used with the terms and conditions of rental companies in Guatemala. We have also rented cars from Europcar in Europe, so they cannot say that Europcar has different rules and terms in different countries. Usually the terms and conditions and the criteria of rental are quite similar across all rental companies and borders.

Bottom of line, worst experience ever!

I have been treated horribly by europcar at Glasgow Airport. Everyone person in the line was treated badly by this older lady. On approaching the desk I was greeted by a grumpy and unfriendly member of staff who clearly didn't enjoy her job at all. She claimed she couldn't find my address on her system and then asked to see proof of address. I showed 4 different pieces of paperwork via the phone and she wouldn't accept any of them. I had my passport, driving licence and credit card in my name. She was so unhelpful and clearly didn't actively want any of her customers to drive away in a hire car yet I was charged for the car. I am now fighting for a refund but unlikely to get it. Horrid service, unfriendly lady and not keen to actually help people. I think this is a scam that they have as no other car hire company do this address check anymore! Only europcar it seems. Be careful! They will ask you for bank bills etc. She then went on to say she wasn't going to give me a car because I was "shouting at her". I absolutely was not, I am shocked. Avoid this car hire folks unless they change their polices. I am shocked. I drove off 3 hours later in an enterprise car and the staff were so useful and supportive. I thank them for their compassion and easy service.

We rented a 4-door sedan from Europcar in Spain in late April, 2022. We returned the car in pristine condition at the Malaga airport early in the morning (around 4 am). There was no damage to the car. About 6 weeks later we were accused of damage to the left tail light and bumper. I tried to contact Europcar 3 times to explain we did not do this damage, but my emails were returned as undeliverable. In late June my credit card was charged $371.04! I've filed a dispute with the credit card company but will NEVER rent from Europcar again!

Was presented a car with 3/4 tank asking me to sign for a full tank, claiming the tank was full but as it was a Renault, the gauge was faulty.!? Stupidly I fell for this nonsense and went straight to a petrol station and guess what? The tank was nowhere near full. Took the car back after the r. Ental and gave it back with way more. Fuel in than when I got it only to be verbally abused by an aggressive and surly agent calling me a liar and insisting I should have put even more fuel in it. So. They wanted me to pay for the fuel not put in by the previous client and threatened to charge me. So... claims the car they gave me was faulty and I should be able to see inside a fuel tank to work out how much fuel is in the wretched car. Said if they did charge that there would be consiequences and after a very aggressive conversation whilst I'm trying to board a flight eventually accepted their conduct was a long way short of ok... First and last time I will use this awful company. Please go elsewhere. I have rented around forty times in Ljubljana and every time car hire companies have been absolutely charming and helpful... but not Europcar. Simply dreadful... There should be a zero star rating..

After an awful service, they send me an invoice of £1,400 for some hypothetical scratches I never did. They don't even show you the car, nor the contract, but once you have signed you are fully responsible and the company is shielded.
Totally useless to present a complain to their customer service, as they are the ones who make you pay the unfair invoices.
Unfortunately, I've seen loads of people in my same situation.

Hi,

I just returned from Pisa last month and wanted to relay a bad experience I had with Europcar. Everything was fine until I returned the car on the 25th of September and the attendant noticed a tiny dent on the side of the slit where the key goes into the passenger side door, not enough to impair the use of the key mind you. In fact the dent was so small he had to point it out with his little finger! In any case I was using the key fob button all week to lock and unlock the door so it was not damage that I caused (who uses the key anymore these days?). Regardless you could say I was responsible, fine. It's just that I got the sense they were 'nit-picking' and trying to find any way possible to charge me extra (and they did, in the end what started off as a €218 rental ended up being a €540 rental!).

Unfortunately my bad experience didn't end there. After being asked to sign 'something' (which turned out to be an admission of fault which was not explained to me in any way before signing), I asked for a final receipt and the attendant told me that was 'not possible' and that one would be emailed to me. Basically it felt like they were hiding the fact that they were going to charge me extra and hoping that I would only find out after I got home. Eventually after asking several times he told me that I could get a copy if I go to the main building. Luckily I still had time before my flight (probably another planned tactic). Only when I went to the main building (and waited in line once again) did I find out what my final bill would be.

When I wrote a complaint to Europcar,... no response. To be honest I've rented with Europcar before and had no problems,... I suspect that it's only the Pisa branch that's pulling these aggressive tactics,...

Terry

My Wife and I flew from Toronto/Canada to London England summer 2019. I had booked a car through sell off vacations website which uses "car trawler" to reserve and supposedly pay for a car with Eurocar. I paid for my reservation in full while in Canada prior to our trip and received my confirmation stating paid in full and ZERO dollar balance upon arrival. Upon arrival I was told that was just a deposit and didn't really count. The car I reserved was not available. I was fine with that except I was charged $800 + for an "upgrade" which looked like an equivalent to me. After stating my case, Europcar and Car Trawler both responded basically with "oh well" leaving me well out of pocket. We are now booking a trip to Germany this August 2020 and while looking to book a car, Europcar came up as an option and I happily moved on!
Seems there are some positive reviews and some not in regards to Europcar, mine obviously is not and I shall NEVER rent from them again... ONCE BITTEN...

Peter Neuschild.

This is a brief write up of my experience of hiring a Europcar at Gatwick Airport. On arriving at the rental office I informed the agent I was there to pick up my hire car and that I did not require any extra insurance other than what my credit card covered. Agent informed me that I must get a written confirmation from TD Bank in Canada to avoid a premium insurance charge being added. This I did but then I was charged $700 at the end of my rental for extra insurance that I did not require. Reading other reviews it seems that other people have fallen for this SCAM. I strongly advise to use other mainstream Hire companies and give these crooks a miss. They take the money from your credit card and there is little you can do about it. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS THERE ARE BETTER CHOICES OUT THERE. I am a Canadian Citizen and on all my visits to the UK from arriving at the airport it seems that everybody is trying to Rip you off! But Europcar with their French staff have no integrity and no regard for customer service. On the plus side their cars are clean and spotless but make no mistake they are CROOKS and SCAMMERS

The clerk informed me that there would be a charge for a deposit which would later be returned on card#1. The rental amount was supposed to be put onto card#2.

Months later I still have a charge on card#1 AND card#2. I filed a dispute on charge#1 and my bank informed me that Europcar sent documents detailing my authorization for the charge so there was nothing that could be done.

I did not authorize any amount beyond the $150 deposit to be placed on the card. Europcar falsified documents to withhold over $500 on a $380 rental.

I highly suggest you warn any friends or family to avoid using this company at all costs, even if they appear cheaper at first they will cost more with fraudulent charges.

Beware, if you need to make any adjustments to your reservation, better not do it online. I learned the hard way. Had convertible reserved for 2 months to be picked up at Avignon train station, went online to update pick up and drop off times because it says in the contract if you don't pick up/drop off on time you will be charged 95 euros or full booking price. Once i adjusted the times, the system subsequently canceled my original reservation and created new one, which all seemed ok since all the information was the same (car, dates, pick up/drop off location). That is until i received an email saying that my reservation cannot be confirmed because the car is not available. WTH? I had that car reserved for 2 months! Spend next two days calling all the customer service numbers i could find, spending money on international calls. London customer service seemed to be the most helpful one, but even they couldn't get through to the agency in France to try and fix the situation. No one answers the phone there ever and there is no direct email to try and get in touch with the train station branch. BTW, sent 2 email inquiries online as well through the website, no response to either one. London customer service told me that this is not the first time they see it. Train station branch most likely didn't have the car in their possession and would've had to source it from somewhere else (makes me wonder if i would've had the car on arrival at all if i didn't make any adjustments to the reservation), so when i updated the reservation and the original one got canceled, they took it as an opportunity to get out of the arrangement. There was zero warning online that that could happen and didn't really cross my mind because it seems so ludicrous. After all that i had to reserve a car elsewhere and since it is now so close to my travel date finding the convertible was impossible. Conclusion: would not recommend.

Rented a minivan this past June from Europcar in Spain. We prepaid for the car back in April and the contract gave specific details and requirements which we complied with. At the time of rental, we decided to add insurance so instead of honoring the previously prepaid contract, they drew a new one with double the charges. On top of that, the initial prepay was NEVER refunded so we ended up paying 3 times the amount. When we tried to resolve the overcharge, Europcar ignores all messages and does NOT respond so now we have to try disputing the charges with the CC company. Lost time and effort that does not warrant the service received from this shady rental car company. Stay AWAY from this car rental company and you will incur heavy loses.

In 2018 my son and I hired a car from Europcar Rome for a few days. Upon returning the car Europcar Rome noted a few pre-existing scuffs and demanded additional payment. We explained that the damage was pre-existing, refused to pay extra for this scam and approached the manager. Upon explaining the situation to him in detail he personally noted that no further payment was required in his own handwriting on the invoice.
Six months later a debt collection agency is demanding payment of $AUD 600+.
Do not deal with this company they will 100% rip you off.

Take my advice. DO NOT USE EUROPCAR. There was ZERO damage to my car and they are claiming a 2cm mark on the bumper is there. They took a picture and it is literally just dirt, if anything at all. I also took a picture and have uploaded it here.
See anything? Yeah neither do I. I have read that there is a kickback for reporting damage to their employees, of course there is no way I can confirm this. But it makes sense, bc when I dropped the car off the guy was downplaying it like, "yeah i see a little something there and we have to document it, but it'll be no big deal." That is so that you feel comfortable signing and agreeing to it of course, as I was in a rush to get to my next destination. It has been two weeks now and they have just been giving me the runaround that they are investigating. Investigating what? Read the published stories about their scams on the guardian and other outlets, in which they claim damage and then try to charge you over 500 bucks.