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They Had No Car for Us as Prepaid. Cannot Get Refund Now.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

ACAPULCO, MEXICO -- We prepaid for a car that should be ready for us at 8:00am on May 26th 20919, at the airport in Acapulco. They had no cars at that time luring us that some cars would be returned soon. Around 9:00 am they acknowledged that the earliest car they expect back will be around noon. We asked for money back. After talking with the agent on the site and with someone on the phone we were assured that the refund would be made the next business day, what was Monday, May 27, 2019. More than one month later, that refund still has not been done. Our emails have not been returned. None of the phone numbers listed on the Europcar's website allowed us to reach a service representative there. Looks like some of these phone numbers are disconnected.

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Beware of Europcar
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- I regret not having read all these reviews before I decided to rent from Europcar. I had reserved an full-size SUV four days prior to my arrival into the Samana Airport last April 2018. To make the story short, I ended up stranded on a Good Friday at the Samana Airport and 2.5 hours away from my final destination (Santo Domingo). No Europcar representative was waiting for me at the airport, they were certainly not answering any of their phones. Was lucky enough to find one smaller vehicle available with another car rental company who has offices inside the airport.

Next day, when I finally got a hold of someone from Europcar on the phone, the person was completely belligerent, rude and unapologetic. He basically questioned my decision of renting a car on a Good Friday because who works that day??! BEWARE renters, these people are irresponsible and give customer service a new (very negative) meaning.

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They Nail You on Minor Damages!!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

QUEENSTOWN, NZ, TEXAS -- In all the years I have rented cars, and due to business travel that is hundreds of times, I have never had as bad an experience, or ever asked to pay for damages due to a nick on the windshield. This was a nick that we felt was already there but grew in size during our rental. Regardless, this is not something that I caused, and I have never been billed for this by a car rental company before.

I wish I had checked out the reports on this car rental company. As can be seen by other reviews, and an article in 2017 by The Telegraph in the UK on Europcar's various nefarious practices, one of them being claiming money for minor, and often insignificant damages, you have to be particularly aware for these practices by this specific auto rental company.

After my rental the company charged me $267 for a windshield replacement due to what they measured as a 10mm chip in the windshield. You should either not rent from Europcar, or at least take detailed pictures of the car before and after, since they do not prompt you to inspect the car, do not provide you any schematic to record any damage, and have it in the contract that you should do that and bring up any issues before you drive away. You should also ensure that your credit card company insures you for any damages while you are driving a rental, so you can be reimbursed for such charges.

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Worst car rental ever
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

TORONTO -- Worst car rental ever. Avoid at all cost: First, the website said it was located at the airport . So, the customer experience starts with a lie. It is located VERY MUCH outside the airport, must take a train and wait for their shuttle. Their shuttle should take 10 min but took half hour to arrive. In total, I took more than 1 hour just to get to the store. There, more delays: few staff, took more than 45 min to get the car. The car had tire that was leaking air, so next day early morning the tire was fully flat. There I went to get another car and the manager was SUPER RUDE and accused us of being responsible for it and threatened not to give another car (for which we had already paid), if we dint pay for the tire. By far, the worst customer experience you will get in Canada.

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Defective Equipment and Deceptive Customer Relation!!! Customers Beware!!!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LONDON, ENGLAND -- As a last resort when I arrived at Heathrow airport, I rented a car from the only auto rental company around. Not only was I charged about three times what it should have cost me, I had to rent a GPS separately from them because they claimed they couldn't get me a car that had the GPS built in. Anyway, the GPS malfunctioned and I couldn't reach anyone to complain.

When I eventually complained at the end of my trip, I was told to send an e-mail and get a refund. They reneged on that promise and I didn't get a refund. Needless to say, my experience with Europcar convinced me to ensure that I don't ever use that company again. In fact, I will inform everyone I know to stay away from Europcar. In the future, I plan to make all arrangements from home before going on my trip.

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Beware the Invoice AFTER Your Experience.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LISBON -- I wish I had checked reviews for Europcar before I rented a car through Hotwire. Nothing but a bunch of crooks. Booking and picking up and even returning my car was easy as pie. No problems at all. But when I got my invoice???

A difference of over $500 in charges was charged to my credit card over what they had originally quoted me for the vehicle. When I try to email? No response and it's been multiple attempts over a week. When I try to call? I'm always "disconnected" or I get hung up on because they "can't hear me" as soon as I mention I'm having a problem with an invoice. And apparently this is a VERY COMMON occurrence. Never again, Europcar. Never again!!!

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Upgrade Trickery
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LONDON HEATHROW -- Thieves and tricksters at all costs do not rent from Europcar!! I arranged a rental car online with Europcar for 12 days from 8th-19th April. I paid in full in advance the sum of $378.00. When I arrived at LHR to pick up the car I was asked to initial and sign some paperwork. I asked the agent what this was for as I had already paid and was advised that it was just for Europcar records. I duly signed (without reading the small print!).

When I returned the car I had a bill of GBP 1334.98. I was absolutely astonished but on closer inspection I realized that the initials and signature for which I was told were only for Europcar records, was in fact authorizing an upgrade. I do understand I don't have a leg to stand on as far as any refund may be concerned BUT my complaint is the way in which the upgrade was manipulated. Clearly anyone who was paying less than GBP200 for a rental would not under normal circumstances agree to an upgrade costing more than 5 times the original rental cost had that been explained.

I believe I was tricked and the upgrade was obtained in a very deceitful manner. Particularly as I had directly questioned the agent what my initials were for. I have spoken to their Customer Services and the manager at LHR who were obviously not very sympathetic. (I'm sure they are all bonus orientated.) Having researched online I note that Europcar is very poorly rated. I think they should be exposed in terms of their terrible business practices.

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Foreigner's Beware
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SCOTLAND -- I rented through an affiliate of Europcar, Alamo, this spring [2014]. We picked up in Edinburgh and returned in Glasgow. We took pictures of the car and all the rest. No problems. Car was good, clean, etc. However, as soon as we got home I checked my bank account. I noticed a charge from Europcar [not Alamo, like the first charge] for nearly double the original! I called and then emailed Alamo to try to get an explanation. Nobody there knew why Europcar charged me. I tried to call Europcar, but was put on hold, transferred from person to person, etc., and never got an answer.

Then I contested the charge with my bank. The representative 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 anytime 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 any time. 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!

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Review of Europcar: Unethical, Dodgy, Unfriendly, Overall Terrible Experience
By -

I hired a car from Europcar in Perth, Western Australia in October 2009. I previously was a long term Europcar customer, hiring through work probably once a month, and normally I would hire the most expensive luxury car available. Over the previous 12 months I noticed the customer service going downhill with each experience with Europcar getting more and more painful.

On this particular experience I hired an Audi A3 from Perth Airport when I was away with my girlfriend for a weekend. Our flight arrived at around 8pm and it was dark when we collected the vehicle. After collecting the keys from the pickup counter at baggage collection we had to walk nearly a kilometre to the parking lot where the car was located. The carpark where the car was collected from was dimly lit and after a 4 hour flight from Adelaide it did not cross our mind to go over the car in detail to search for damage as it was my expectation that after renting cars quite literally hundreds of times in my life that I would not have to worry about this.

My girlfriend and I proceeded to drive the car to the Parmelia Hilton in Perth where the car was parked in an undercover carpark for the weekend, only taking it one night to a restaurant for dinner where it was parked in an onsite park out the front of the restaurant in a quiet Perth suburb. When returning the vehicle to Perth airport on the Sunday, I was surprised to be asked to wait around for 10 minutes whilst the Indian fellow who processed the return performed a detailed inspection of the vehicle.

After nearly 10 minutes of checking over the vehicle, he came across a tiny stone chip in the middle of the hood, something I would not have even been able to find if I had even inspected the vehicle. When returning the car, I noticed that he was holding paperwork that showed that I was a customer that hadn't taken out the excess reduction insurance - this is a scam where Europcar gets you to pay a large additional daily fee so that if they find damage of any sort they limit the amount you pay back to them.

It was quite clear that the company had advised the person in the incoming car park that I was a customer who had not paid the excess reduction and he was instructed to find any excess to charge me the $3,500 excess fee. It is a policy of Europcar if you do not pay their extra fees, then they will charge you $3,500 regardless of the level of damage.

The Indian fellow of course immediately proceeded to blame me for damage to the vehicle, however upon closer questioning of him, he came to admit that Europcar had absolutely no way of verifying that the damage was or was not on the car when I had taken it out. Knowing that I would be up for a fight with the company I immediately pulled out my iPhone and recorded a conversation with him, and this has kindly been hosted by the good folk at boycotteuropcar.com. The Indian fellow said that he had no choice but to report the damage to the office in the airport where they would charge my credit card for $3,500.

I then proceeded to move to the Europcar office in the airport. After 10 minutes of discussing the issue with the manager, they sent a team out to the vehicle with a ruler to measure the size of the stone chip. They came back and reported to me that the size of the chip was 1 millimetre over the threshold as to what they will consider to be 'wear and tear', as result they would have to charge me $3,500 for the 'damage'.

The most upsetting part about this was that both my girlfriend and I were absolutely certain that this damage did not occur whilst we were driving the car, and the staff at Europcar were completely unsympathetic, and almost excited to charge the $3,500 like they were getting a commission bonus from it.

I of course continued to engage in discussion with the manager in a calm, collected and mild mannered way. The manager at the desk told me that I was stopping her from serving the next customer and said that she was not willing to continue discussing the matter. She completely closed the book on further discussion and would not accept that it was unreasonable to continue discussing damage they wanted to charge me $3,500 for, over whether it was 1mm over the limit as to where they would just ignore it.

The manager's method of dealing with the matter was, "I'm sick of talking about this, go away now so I can charge your card and serve other customers". I claimed that I had a right to a fair dispute process and her response was that she pressed a button under the desk that called over the federal police where she reported me to be a nuisance and I was warned that if I were to be in an unhappy state that I would not even be allowed to fly home.

Thankfully the time in which she spent discussing the unreasonable customer who was unhappy about being charged $3,500 over a tiny stone chip that he didn't cause with the federal police gave me enough time to call my credit card company and cancel the card. This was the last I heard of the matter until January 2010. I received a letter from a law firm called Mendelsons seeking immediate payment within 7 days on behalf on Europcar for the amount $1,915.67.

I wrote back to this law firm advising them of what had happened. I received a call from the firm and they said that they were willing to reduce their legal fees by $225, and the final amount would be reduced to $1,690.67. I explained that I would like the matter formally reviewed and would like to start a dispute process with the company. I also advised the company that I had personal travel insurance that would cover this amount of money, however felt the charge was unethical and would like it to be reviewed.

Without any further contact, I received another letter from the law firm saying that negotiation was unsuccessful and they would take me to court within 7 days if I didn't pay the balance. I am now at a crossroads where I am being extorted by Europcar, either go to court, pay the money, or damage my credibility with my insurance company by filing a claim that makes me look like a bad driver. I warn people out there, do not trust this company, under no circumstances, NEVER hire with Europcar. I have been using AVIS ever since and their service is amazing, I wish I had been using them all along instead of Europcar.

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Europcar Adelaide Is a Disgrace
By -

ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA -- Below is the original email to Europcar once I received a bogus $98 repair charge. It has now been 5 months, at least 10 phone calls from me to them, 4 personal visits to the depot and promised returned calls from state managers that never happened. Basically the repair charge is bogus and they owe me money for charging me for more hire time than used. The worst customer resolution service known to man.

The vehicle was collected from Salisbury depot at 1541 on 14/1/09 at which time the exterior of the vehicle was inspected and discussed with the site Manager but I was assured the damage was due to general wear and tear and I wasn't to worry further. No damage was obviously noted in the interior as nobody would realistically check the boot release. The vehicle was driven to my house in Ridgehaven (15 minutes drive) at which time it sat in my garage for approximately 3 hours until my interstate guests and I were leaving for dinner only to discover that one tyre was completely flat.

Naturally we then went to change the tyre and discovered the boot release was broken when going to open the boot for the spare. The tyre was changed and then I promptly rang Europcar at the airport to see if a spare tyre could be brought to my house the next morning as my guests were preparing for a day in the Adelaide Hills with a view to ending up in the Barossa the next night and wanted to make sure they had a spare in case of another flat tyre.

The female operator I spoke to at the time explained to me that because of the time of the call (approx 7pm) she couldn't give me an answer on getting a spare to me until the next morning when the Salisbury branch reopened. At this time I also made a mention to the operator that the boot release appeared broken. No mention of being charged for this occurred as she clearly understood it must have occurred prior to me collecting the vehicle.

The next day I was told over a series of phone calls over 5 hours from the Salisbury depot that my guests would have to cut short their time in the hills and return to the Salisbury depot in the afternoon to then have to go to a tyre dealer for a replacement. They therefore did rearrange their plans to ensure they had a spare. Based on the letter I received it appears that Europcar are happy to charge people for an inconvenience to them but assume it's fine for the client to be inconvenienced when having to assist in sorting out a problem that isn't theirs to fix?

On top of this I have been charged for 4 days vehicle hire when in actual fact the vehicle was only used for 3. The vehicle was returned 28 hours prior to the original booked time so I am expecting the balance to also be credited back into my account with the false damage charge. As a person who has hired countless vehicles from Europcar across the country I would hope my support of your company will count when settling this matter.

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Europcar Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.0 out of 5, based on 27 ratings and
78 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Europcar
Immeuble Les Quadrants
3 avenue du Centre
78881 St QUENTIN en Yvelines FRANCE
33-1-30-44-90-00 (ph)
(33) 1 30 44 94 45 (fax)
www.europcar.com
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