Europcar UK

If you value your happiness & your sanity and your life. DO NOT BOOK with Europcar. I book 3 times, I got cancellation 3 times. They're liars, completely deceptive and frankly bordering on fraud because, I have my £200 yet to be refunded. reservation number 1182177583 - cancelled 1 mins later reservation number 1182165950 - cancelled 1 mins later reservation number 1182174841 - cancelled 1 mins later

Called this morning to book a van from Swansea branch. Price agreed, payment taken 6 mins later call to say there are no vans available. Unbelievable, why ask what van I want, agree date, pickup time and price when there are no bloody vans!

Had a hire car for 3 days. Filled the petrol tank to the brim before handing it back yet europcar have stolen £24.19 then 10 days later £14.11 out of my bank by claiming there was ‘fuel missing’? I took a photo of the fuel gauge (full) when I handed the car back but my emails are being ignored and these thieves are helping themselves to my bank account whenever they feel like. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY.

I recently rented a car for four days from Europcar in Wallisdown, Bournemouth, and overall, I had a positive experience. The car was perfect—a brand-new vehicle with no damages, and it drove smoothly and safely throughout my trip, which I really appreciated. The standout moment was the excellent customer service I received from Bala. He was polite, helpful, and went out of his way to ensure I felt comfortable, which greatly improved my experience. However, my initial interaction with the receptionist could have been better. She was quite serious and not as welcoming as I had hoped. When she explained the basic insurance, emphasizing the potential £1600 liability, I felt quite uneasy. Despite being an experienced driver, her approach made me second-guess my own abilities and feel less confident about taking the car, which I found discouraging. Additionally, I wasn’t informed in advance about the £250 hold that would be placed on my card, which I only found out when I arrived to collect the vehicle. While I completely understand the reason for it, being notified beforehand would have been helpful. That said, the overall experience turned out well, thanks largely to Bala’s professionalism and the excellent condition of the vehicle. I’d recommend Europcar and hope that future interactions can be a bit more welcoming and transparent.

I picked up the car about an hour ago from Bristol Airport. On the way back hom. I noticed the smell of old smoking - obviously someone had been smoking in a previous hire and it was embedded in the car. Didn’t notice it immediately as the car had just been valeted. I really hate the smell of smoke. And I rarely get a car with this problem. Unfortunately, I was a long way from the branch when I noticed it and tried to ring the branch - but the number was rejected and then I couldn’t get through to the branch on the 0371 number. When I finally spoke to someone, she said she would add to the notes so that they knew when I returned the car. This was unacceptable to me as I don’t want to be in this car for the remainder of my hire. She told me I could drive the car back to the branch, but they couldn’t guarantee they would have another car in the same category. Not only did I not want to drive back at my own time and expense, I also didn’t want to go back to the branch who had spent a good 20-30 minutes attempting to upsell me a variety of cars, and then potentially be left having to keep this car. The call handler then began to raise her voice to me and I had to calmly ask her not to. She then suggested I could swap it at my nearest branch which is Newport, processing to put me on hold for 12 minutes with no more response. So I guess I am stuck with the car, with no resolution or compensation. Therefore, I am giving the lowest possible score.

I prepaid for car hire at Fuerteventura airport with Europcar through Holiday Extras. My flight was late arriving at Fuerteventura. I presented myself at the Europcar desk to be told my car had been given to another customer due to my late arrival. I was offered another car and charged the difference in cost. I argued the point that my hire had already been paid for, and therefor should have been held whatever. My thoughts fell on deaf ears. Due to me having a fair drive to the south of the Island i had no choice but to accept Europcar's offer. I have traveled alone many times before and never had any issues such as this. I have tried to contact Holiday Extras and Europcar with no forthcoming communication. Not good customer service.

Hired a vehicle online and paid upfront. When we arrived to collect the vehicle we asked for an additional driver to be added in case of an emergency. At no point were we verbally made aware of any additional charges, nor were we made aware in the confirmation email that additional charges may apply for the additional driver, and when we asked about the breakdown of the costs on the rental agreement we were told "this summarises what you've already paid". Fast forward a week and an additional charge appears on my credit card for 28% of the original rental costs for the additional driver. When we've challenged the cost, despite not being made aware of the additional cost, it was included on the rental agreement and therefore Europcar are unwilling to refund. Why would these costs not be mentioned to us when we specifically asked their representative what the costs were? To add salt to the wound, the additional driver was just for an emergency, they didn't even drive the vehicle. In the interest of customer service would you not empathise with the customer, understand the facts they have presented, and determine a miscommunication had occurred?

Europcar’s handling of vehicle reservations through the Motability scheme, specifically with Direct Line Motability. Eight days ago, a reservation was made on my behalf by the Direct Line Motability team, but I am still without a vehicle. Despite this ongoing delay, it is frustrating to see that Europcar has vehicles available online for casual customers, allowing them to book and pick up cars at very short notice. This raises serious concerns about Europcar’s commitment to Motability customers. It seems that Europcar is accepting reservations through the Motability team without actually having the vehicle stock available, while prioritizing casual customers who book online. This is not only unacceptable but reflects poorly on the company’s ability to serve those who rely on such schemes for their independence and mobility, particularly drivers with disabilities. The lack of communication and transparency around vehicle availability, especially after waiting for more than a week, has caused significant inconvenience and stress. As a disabled veteran, reliable transportation is crucial for my day-to-day life, and this experience has greatly impacted my ability to manage my commitments. I strongly urge Europcar to address this issue, both in how they manage stock for Motability reservations and in how they prioritize these customers. It is unacceptable for vehicles to be available to casual customers while Motability customers are left waiting indefinitely. Darlington Branch

Do not book a car rental with Eurocar, Heathrow Airport, didn't explain the 150.00 pound upgrade fee was per daily fee, not a one off fee, I wanted to hire the car for 25 days, not buy it. Eurocar didn't have the curtesy to ask whether the rental was satisfactory at the end. Didn't refund the fee of 1800.00 pound we had already paid for the original car we had booked. Waited for 4 hours for a recovery truck to arrive because we had a flat tire, no spare tire in the vehicle, absolutely appalling backup service

Absolutely terrible company! Avoid at all costs! Booked with them thinking they were a reputable company as my wife was travelling alone with our 4 kids, so I wanted a no-hassle experience for them....well how wrong was I! Their agents at the airport counter were extremely rude, pushy and disingenuous with my wife, and she ended up paying £500 for comprehensive insurance which she didnt want, the car they gave us had a worse NCAP safety rating than the car advertised, which i understand to an extent they cant guarantee what car you get, but we made a simple request, she was staying nearby and the rental was for 26 days during low season, so presumably the advertised car would come back into availability during that period, could they give us a call so we could pop in and swap the cars, well it was as if I was asking them to sacrifice their only child, no one would give a straight answer, lots of ummming and arrring, lying to us about not knowing when cars would come back. Left the kiosk asking them to call us when they know more, not only did they not call us it took 3 days for their customer services team to even acknowledge our email, saying they couldnt look into our complaint until the rental period was over!! What a load of garbage... Seriously, save your money, or go to Hertz, Sixt or Avis....

Probably the worst car hire rental company for the UK. DO NOT BOOK THROUGH EMIRATES EITHER. Made a booking online took payment, now arrived to collect car. Now advised unless you have a return flight booking, our booking now cancelled. How stupid, how is a return booking going to stop a car thief. Which ever clever clog thought up this one should be fired immediately. No wonder the ratings for this company are SOO BAD.

Changed my review from 4 starts to 1 Europcar Victoria. TAKE A VIDEO OF THE CAR WHEN YOU DROP IT OFF. When I picked the car up, lots of marks over the car as it was not clean and I found one big scratch which i took a photo of. I dropped the car off in the evening and did not take a video when I dropped it off as there was no new damage (what a fool i was). I got an invoice for the starch and a dent over a week later. Either someone over night bumped into my car or the following person dented it 😡

The worst experience I have ever had and it just goes on and on. I got a speeding ticket during my rental period. It happens. Europcar wrote to ask for £40 administration fee. That is fine. They were prevented from drawing it by Amex fraud team. That happens too. I spoke to the fraud team and cleared the blockage. Meanwhile Europcar fines division wrote to me and asked me to pay on line since they could not get payment through the credit card. I paid promptly. Europcar car also pulled payment despite my email receipt that I had paid. They also tried to pull from another card which I refused (Revolut) this meant that that card was cancelled causing me more inconvenience. I then found that two divisions of Europcar have £ 40 each one France ( the collections website they sent me to fill in ) and uk one who pulled the money. Both payments showing on my credit card. Meanwhile yet another division is demanding money because the fine has not been paid! I have shown proof of payment multiply to each of three email addresses used by Europcar. The last straw is now someone has decided with zero evidence that there was a second fine for parking in addition to the speeding one. I despair. This is supposed to be a simple administrative fee. I suspect it is institutionalised fraud which is intended to wear me out The response from Europcar is worse than useless. The link just takes me back to another bureaucratic never ending maze of robotic questions. You guys have endless information already from me. The rental reference is 156862411 The invoice reference is D130218441 The case reference with one of your teams is 21410697 I expect you at Europcar to reach out directly to me

Giving the Worthing branch a 1 star is too much. We were regular customers but no more. The customer service is terrible, apart from when Pat is on, she is amazing. They constantly change the time of your pick up (which is always hours after you need it), change the size of your van without informing you first which then costs more in fuel, over charge you on the mileage due to a staff member taking the mileage down wrong oh and giving you a van with no water in the coolant so you end up breaking down on the M23 with your young child! Oh and the latest, the branch manager cancelling your order at 4pm on a Friday because I said the customer service I had received was disgusting so I was accused of being abussive (that being the reason the branch manager cancelled it) even though Pat (staff member) did not think I had been oh and then after Pat spoke to the branch manager she changed her mind saying she didn’t mean abussive but still cancelled my booking! Don’t worry though you didn’t ruin my weekend, I was able to get another van elsewhere who offered exceptional service. I have already reached out to their customer service team with x2 complaints about our local branch and the response I had back from them was as follows: ‘Having reviewed this matter, I would like to sincerely apologise that you were dissatisfied with the service provided to you. Upon investigating with the branch, we would not be in a position to provide any compensation.’ They clearly do not understand at all, It’s not about compensation, it’s about the customer service we received and the fact their branch manager told me I was being ‘abussive’ in what comes across as a reason for her to justify cancelling my booking and then retracted that statement to her staff member (Pat) so clearly she admitted that statement she accused me of was not true but yet they think that is acceptable. WOW

The staff on today at Belfast International (Keith & Darina) were super helpful as always. Everytime I visit - they are smiling waiting with my paperwork, we are on 1st name terms, which given the amount of rentals they get through, makes me feel special. They were super cautious with the paperwork during everything and making sure all was correct as i am travelling across the border into Dublin. Nothing was too much trouble to explain. The jokes and camaraderie between the brightens up my already long morning.

We recently had an incredibly frustrating experience with Europcar, and I cannot express enough how disappointing their service has been. We booked a vehicle online for an important event – our Charity Awards – and provided all the necessary personal details. They had no issue taking our money and conducting an online check. However, after travelling for miles to collect the vehicle, we were told that our investigative journalist could not take the van because he wasn't on the electoral roll. Why on earth would they allow us to proceed with the booking, travel such a long distance, only to turn us away upon arrival? It wasted an entire day, time we didn’t have to spare, all for nothing. Now, we’re left waiting for a refund that has taken days to process, with no van, no solution, and a serious disruption to our event plans. My biggest regret was not checking the reviews on here first! Had I seen the experiences others have had, we would never have booked with Europcar in the first place. Thankfully, a local company stepped in last minute to save the day, but the way Europcar handled this situation was absolutely shocking. The lack of communication and care is beyond frustrating. I strongly urge anyone considering renting from Europcar to think again. Don’t waste your time, energy, or money – their service is abysmal! And Europcar, don’t come at us with the generic response of “we’ll look into this for you” – whatever you are doing is a scam, if not of people's money, their valuable time!

Where do I start? Too much to detail but I’m pretty sure they are fraudsters behind this company. I paid their account (even have proof confirming payment, bank statements etc) and they’re still after payment this time from £40 to £80. They are a scam. Please avoid ever having anything to do with them!

Europcar acted as the supplier for a car booked through a 3rd party. They refused the car for reasons not explicit in the terms and conditions I was issued by the agent. However Europcar are absolving themselves of any blame and say that I shouldn't book through 3rd parties like Enjoy Travel or Holidaycars.com, as they look for loopholes to withhold refunds. The irony is that Europcar are happy to act as business partners to these 3rd parties !! ( and play no part in regulating them) Needless to say I am still trying to get a refund. Book through one of the other main hire companies (maybe try Sixt, Budget, AVIS etc), but not Europcar,and certainly not an agent like Holidaycars.com or Enjoy Travel.

...in reply to those who have paid in advance for a car only to be refused at the desk following the now mandatory online check I understand your frustration. I paid £3000 online only to be told at the desk I would not be getting a car. I then had to wait days for the refund in addition to having to pay another £3000 to Avis who saved the day. I would not recommend Europcar to anyone!!!! Europcar had no hesitations at all about leaving me stranded at the airport as they had no way of knowing I had the financial means to find another £3000 immediately.

I booked a car from Europcar Bristol Airport online on 12.04, as I needed a car short-term while sorting out transport. The full amount for the car was paid prior. There were no concerns, until they did an address check. I have been at the address since August 2023, and it is on my UK license which I presented. Following a check I was told they could not rent the car following address check. Although it still makes little sense, it would've been fine if they did this before I paid the £350 online, and traveling all the way from Wales per bus to get the car.