Surprice Car Rentals

I rented a vehicle in Pisa, in May 2024.

1) no handing over of the rental contract. It is sent to you by email, I am told. This is NOT TRUE, nothing is sent and no one informs you in advance of the terms and conditions of the contract.

2) the car is given to me unwashed. There is no other, the employee tells me.

3) no contradictory examination of the vehicle, and therefore no document provided on this point. Take photos, the employee tells me... except that under the mud and dust it is impossible to check that there are no scratches or paint chips...

4) on the way back, the same employee "innocently" wipes an area of the underbody and "discovers" scratches on the paint (sic!). He doesn't even bother to look anywhere else!

5) no delivery of the vehicle return document. It will be sent to you by email, the employee tells me. This is NOT TRUE again, nothing is sent.

6) back home, I noticed that no document had been sent and that Suprice had debited the CDW excess (€1200) from my account even though I had no accident.

Immediately I made a complaint.
Following this complaint, the requested documents (rental contract and return report) were sent to me by email... not signed by me, of course.
And the CDW excess was partially refunded to me, Surprice having kept €585 in compensation for the disputed scratches... so about 1.7 times the rental cost!
New complaint from me... but without much hope.

This was my first rental with Surprice, but probably my last.
ADVICE, RUN AWAY FROM THIS RENTER!
Note that this company also uses the name AUTO ONE. Run away from them too!

Rented from priceline for 126 that was supposed to be the cost of my rental which was prepaid they charged an additional 160 they said that the 126 was a partial payment! Then after my trip they charged me an additional 90$ for tolls that I paid cash for. This company will rip you off do not rent from them!

I booked a car through CarJet to rent a car for the day at Surprice Florence, Italy. When we arrived:
1. There was a huge queue because all the other customers were complaining and we had to wait for more than 1 hour
2. They told us, as they did for the other clients who were very upset as well - who were mentioning scams which absolutely seems to be the case - that the driver had to be the same one providing the credit card for the deposit which could not be done since the driver did not have a credit card. They were even arguing with the couple in front of us who wanted to use a joint account...
3. they told us they could cancel the reservation and do another one with them right there to change the driver (and add an extra driver for a fee). We tried to do it but in the end, the whole new reservation then would have amounted to 3x the starting price.
4. We decided not to get the car with all those extra prices but didn't get any refund for the first reservation. Other customers, mainly tourists see themselves forced to proceed with this scam to continue with their trips.

It was absolutely disappointing and disastrous. At the desc Surprise rent a car in Venice office they did not except my vertical credit card on my prepaid booking for 5 day which was with full cover for €66 but the lady there said she will make an exception and except a debit card but I had to purchase their insurance cover which was about €600 for 5 days otherwise we won't give you a car. She tried to rip me off. I told her that I had already insured the car but she said it is not reliable.
I was disgusted by her attitude and decided not take the car that paid for and booked and couldn't get any refund instead I booked online with Viaggiare through SressFreeCarRental without any problems and with my debit card.

Please be aware this is a scam company
Dont ignor the reviews coz that mistake i have made and cost me al most 3k for 1 tiny damag
They tell you one thinover the desk and something els after just to steal your money.
I would not recommend this company at all they are tiefs
I have purchased full cover car insurance
That cover my fault or not my fault
Still have to pay 3k that they said it will be refunded ones is everything sorted
Now thay say something els
And refusing to answer the questions including to provide copies of insurance

MASTERS OF EXPLOITATION
KEEP AWAY
They charged us for scratches that were confidently not made by us.
It was clear they were trying to extract money from us, treating stains that disappeared after a quick hand cleaning as damage and making every possible effort to charge us wrongly.
We strongly complained and resisted payment at which point they suggested that we shouldn't be complaining because we had car protection policy which emphasizes that they were simply trying to exploit us.
DO NOT USE THIS AGENCY
THEY ARE THIEVES
KEEP AWAY

I think I'm a seasoned car rental person and I've seen a few tricks and fibs over the years without actually incurring any additional costs. I always have an annual Questor excess insurance policy so I can resist the car hire company's own expensive policy and I've never had to use it.

However all good things come to an end and this year I booked a 5 week car hire commencing late January 2024. My internet search started with Travelsupermarket.com who then passed me to Arguscarhire.com who then passed me to the car supplier Surprice at Faro airport. All of this is very normal.

I declined the Surprice insurance, they put a retainer on my credit card and I was shown the car, a 70,000km VW Polo. The Surprice rep asked me to photograph any damage which I did, (various scuffs, scrape and dents) and then very surprisingly pointed out a dozen or more very insignificant dots and stone chips which I also photographed, some of them were so minor that I was not even sure what I was being directed to.

On returning the car their rep checked the mileage and the fuel level and then, without checking any of the obvious scratches/ marks against my earlier photos, went straight to a tiny mark on the rear wheel arch and asked to see the photo. I said I wouldn't dream of taking such an insignificant photo and the earlier rep had not pointed it out either. (Of course they know this and that is the beauty of their scam)

Guess what? With my flight leaving in 80 minutes I was obliged to pay 190 euros for this pre-existing tiny blemish. I have no financial incentive here, I am covered by insurance but this is a very mean and disgraceful tactic and you should avoid this company.

Get ready to get overcharged in a low quality product. I arrived late, was charged extra for an automatic transmission and received a low quality car seat that had my wife concerned about the safety of our baby. Just terrible.

Be very careful. This rent a car has tricky policies.
They canceled my booking for a stupid reason.

We rented a car at the Belgrade airport. This was by far the WORST experience so far:

- They didn't provide all the services contracted online- we booked wifi and the child seat. They managed to find a seat at the end, but we had to take the car without wifi for the same price.

- Insurance that we booked was not valid for them, so they made the offer with their own insurance.

- And the worst thing is that they tried to SCAM US when we dropped off the car. They wanted to charge a parking fine, while the fault was made one day before we took the car. The guy at their desk refused to contact the parking service and acted rude, saying that we should contact them, it's not their business. When I said I don't have any phone credit left, and we are in a hurry to catch a plane, he said he can't lend me a phone by any means. After recharging at the gas station near by, I contacted the parking service that confirmed that the fault was made on a day before we took the car. After a parking service lady had confirmed that directly to the desk guy (I passed the phone to him), he didn't even apologize.

It is so said that services like this have a licence to operate. So, friendly advice, AVOID THIS AGENCY.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY. They are not located in the airport and you have to walk a way from the airport to catch a shuttle. You have to call them for a shuttle and wait for it to come pick you up. When and if they pick you up, they take you to a dark parking lot for the SCAM to begin. We had rented a car for a good price but when we went to pick up the car these SCAMMERS tried to charge us double. They began pressuring us in a dark parking lot to pay more money - While the car was right there, they wouldn't let us pick it up unless we agreed to pay double the original price. Once we realized what was going on, we were scared and desperately tried to get back to the airport. We were so thankful to finally get out of that parking lot and we went back to the airport to rent a car. We wasted 2 hours trying to pickup the car that we had rented - to no avail. These scammers know that there is a shortage of cars and they try to take advantage of you. As we left, they laughed at us and told us that we would be back to rent the car from them because we would not be able to rent a car at that late date. AGAIN, WE WERE SCARED IN A DARK PARKING LOT WITH THESE SCAMMERS. We are now fighting with our credit card company to have the charges removed. Yes they billed us for the vehicle that we did not receive

Been hiring cars in Portugal for 35 years first time used Surprice Car Rentals via Jet2 Absolutely ripped off just returned car and they claimed there was a small chip on the windscreen and charged me €371, no stone came anywhere near the car. Was rushed by the person handing over the car, it had just been washed only took a few pictures and guess what none of the windscreen!

Stay away from this car rental company. Extremely poor service. Car agency was to meet me at the airport to deliver my car however they did not show up and left me stranded

STAY AWAY
We arrived to pick our car up? We were charged a further 105 euros for insurance. I'd already purchased premium insurance when booking the car. We were told that if we were in an accident we would have to stay in the country for 5 days. If we pay this money then we wouldn't need to stay for 5 days. Very disappointed with the service. No one was there to meet us at the airport as stated in the email we stood for an hour waiting, we are several people. If they've heard of this company, no one had heard of it. My husband went all over the airport to try and find them nothing. Then when we did phone they said they were coming and get us. No one came to get us. They phoned back We were told to go to Terminal 2. We waited there and eventually a man walked towards us a Very abrupt and rude man. The car was disgusting. It had all dents on the side of it. The warning light was on, one of the head lights not working which we didn't notice until the next night would never use this company again. Why was it not stated that I would need to pay further insurance? SCAM Had this been the case? I would not have chose this company. I believe I have been scammed and I have requested and I will be contacting my bank. Also when we questioned all the dents scratches etc. The guy just shrugged his shoulders and nothing marked on the paperwork. There was a burn inside on seat. Very intimidating and threatening actions. Most definitely will not use this company again. We were too frightened to question anything. They were so intimidating like mobsters. When we did return the car they didn't even check it over. Scary. Oh and it's not car jet you get your car from. It's a company called surprice car rentals Montenegro

There really needs to be an option for negative stars. RUN, don't walk, RUN away from this company. They are 100% pure scam artists that WILL rip you off. 1. Due to reasons beyond our control we missed our connection flight into Rome. I called to let the company know and was told they would be closed when we arrived. I asked if the reservation would still be good on the morning and was told Yes, NO PROBLEM. 2. They are away from the airport, don't answer their phones and we were forced to pay €30 for a taxi to drive us two miles and drop us off at what used to be their location. We walked to the address we were given, which was still incorrect. When we finally arrived they told me my reservation was cancelled and I would have to pay $160 more. (They charged me $280).

3. They handed me a key and I had to walk the lot looking for the car by its type and license plate.

4 They did NOT walk around the car with me, the fuel was at less than half, the girl said no problem bring it back that way. I took video of the entire car to point out the scratches and dents, and fuel level.

5. The car had a warning every time it was turned on. When we returned they just took the key. When I asked for someone to walk the car with me they said everything was good. I asked for a receipt, and they told me it would be emailed to me and would not give me a copy. I received ZERO paperwork from these scammers. When I received the email, the receipt showed that the fuel was not full, (I brought it back at the level it was given to me), there were new scratches and dents, (which were there when I rented it and I have video PROOF), and that the car was dirty. We took EVERYTHING out of the car. We tossed all of the garbage before we returned it.

I put a block on my card, however, they did put a $500 hold on my Credit Card that I will probably never see again.

I did not book this car, it was done through Jetline Vacations. Run far from them as well!

Based on the experience I had with this company, and a few rip off cab drivers, I will never visit Rome again.
Date of experience: September 14,2023

I rented car from Sur Price in Maderia Portugal. The price was acceptable. Our flight was arriving at 11:30 and I authorized a rental for noon. The plane was 2.5 hours delayed and I had no opportunity to contact the rental company while in the air. When we arrived and I called (it took probably 7 calls to get through to an actual human) I was told the rental was for noon and it was almost 4 and they had rented the car and cancelled my reservation...and kept the $530 total cost for my rental. The person who answered this 7th call was rude and told me it was my responsibility to contact them with the flight delay information...really! On an airplane... and that I was responsible for the entire cost of the rental. When I questioned her on these charges and the circumstances of the delayed flight she simply hung up me. I am now dealing with American Express for the full refund on these scam charges. BEWARE...DO NOT RENT FROM THIS SHAM COMPANY!

The owner is clearly part of a larger network of BARE MINIMUM rental services. LOTS and lots of paperwork that amounts to screwing you, the dear customer, over at every turn. Find a big company that's well reviewed and deal with the slightly higher price. These blokes are trying to take the money and run.

Summation of my horrible experience with SurPrice/Auto One:
Charged my credit card an exorbitant deposit of EUR900.00
I had not one, but two flat tires in one day! The first tire (left front driver's side) blew while I was driving on a busy motorway. I had to stop immediately to prevent losing control of the vehicle and causing a serious accident. I had to change the tire on a narrow shoulder of the motorway, risking my life doing so. No emergency equipment available in the vehicle (warning triangles, flairs, etc.). The second tire (right front passenger side) blew while driving to Pisa to return the car. The spare was already used so we were stranded on the side of another busy motorway.
SurPrice/Auto One in Pisa were contacted several times and refused to help me.
I resorted in contacting 211 (Italian version of 911) who kindly assisted me and put me in contact with an English speaking person at Italian Emergency Roadside Assistance.
I was met by a tow truck and driven to Montopoli, Italy where the car was to be repaired.
I had to pay 140.00 EUR cash to a friend of the tow truck driver to get us back to SurPrice/Auto One office in Pisa (not to mention taking a train from Pisa to Lucca where I was staying).
Surprice/Auto One charged my credit card $786.00 after the fact claiming all of this was my fault.
Surprice/Auto One again charged my credit card 60.00EUR 17 days later with a follow-up email accusing me of a traffic violation. I was never stopped nor issued a ticket during my time in Italy. My credit card company flagged the charge as fraud and denied it thankfully.
This is a shady and dishonest company with unethical business practices. They have defective and shoddy vehicles that are meant to break down so as to charge exorbitant repair fees to replace this junk (hence the high deposit held on credit cards). The cost breakdown of my $786.00 was related to EUR 400 "Damage Charge" (very vague), EUR 26.00 refueling, EUR 25.00 penalty for not refueling (as if this was possible given the circumstances) and EUR 205.00 for the tow truck. The vehicle was a Lancia Ypsilon with worn-out used tires. A new tire typically costs 90.00 EUR for this type of vehicle.

Italian authorities really need to investigate this company and put them out of business.

What refer you do don't ever ever ever ever ever ever ever use this company, left waiting outside Bergamo airport for two hours for the aptly named -fast transfer - shuttle bus to pick us up to take us to off site car hire office, rude and arrogant staff