Very disappointed
I was requested under pressure to pay extra £71.40 as “After Hours” fee when we arrived Birmingham airport for car collection.
Due to a flight delay, we arrived at 11:04 PM—just 4 minutes past office hours
We did promptly call their office at 7:30pm (UK time) in Italy before departure once we knew there was flight delay. This staff, who is on duty, confirmed he could wait up to 30 minutes beyond the usual closing time – until 11:30 PM. We expressed our deep appreciation in phone.
Before making the car booking, we contacted your Customer Service team to clarify what would happen in the event of a flight delay, given that your office hours end at 11:00 PM. We were assured that, as long as we provided our flight number, your staff would monitor our arrival and wait for us accordingly. Based on this reassurance, we proceeded with the booking and submitted our flight information
We explained our situation and referenced the prior conversation with that staff. However, he remained adamant. When we requested an official policy document justifying this charge, he became defensive, accused us of being impolite, and refused to provide any documentation. He then stated that unless we paid the fee, he would close the office and WITHOUHOLD the car.
Adding to our discomfort, before demanding the late fee, this staff spent over five minutes trying to upsell us additional insurance. We informed him that we had already purchased full coverage. He replied confidently—but misleadingly—that full coverage did not include wheels and tires, and pressured us to purchase more coverage. When we declined, his attitude changed abruptly, and he immediately brought up the “After Hours” charge.
Lastly, when we arrived at 11:04 PM, the staff member had just finished completing the documentation for the previous customer. He was not simply waiting in the office for serving us.
I fully agree that flight delay was not Europcar’s fault and was not their responsible for this either.
However, they did not keep promise and still charged us after failing to sell us insurance, simply because we were only 4 minutes late.
They not only refused to issue a refund, but also failed to provide any documentation justifying the 'late charge' as per their Terms and Conditions
Please think carefully before ordering a car from them, even if their initial prices seem cheaper.
