Europcar International
Reviews and Complaints

1. A few months ago, I rented a car to be picked up at the Barcelona Airport on May 25 and dropped off on June 7. I booked a compact car (Renault Zoe Electric) for $393.

2. After landing in Barcelona, we arrived at the Europcar station. The gentleman there was very nice but immediately told me that an electric car was not a good choice as I was going to France. I responded that the Renault Zoe can drive up to 239 miles (384 kilometers) and I was going just over the border (204 kilometers). It was early in the morning, I was tired. The gentleman insisted, telling me he was going to take care of me and give me something similar. Then he said he did not have the same but, once again, he was going to give me “something nice”. This is not “customer choice”, this is “surclassment.”

3. I signed the paperwork, got the keys, and ended up in the parking lot… to find a Peugeot 308! At that point, we left the airport with the car. As advised by the Europcar employee, I did take a picture of a scratch on the right side of the car as no employee was present on the parking lot.

4. After driving 45 minutes on the highway towards France, we stopped at a rest area and, unfortunately, my purse was stolen, including the car keys, cash, credit cards, cell phone, etc. The police very nicely called Europcar for me and Europcar sent a tow truck and cab, to go back to the airport. The car was towed to a garage. Of course, we needed our luggage. At that point, a different Europcar employee told us they did not have a copy of the car keys and we would have to wait until the headquarters in Madrid send keys, which would take 2-3 days… Without any money to rent a hotel room, I said that there must be a way the garage could open the car (really?). Three hours later, we found out the car was open, and we could go to the garage to get our luggage.

5. The employee wrote a second contract, this time for an Opel SUV. I signed the paperwork quickly, trusting all would be well.

6. Note on the car: It had a lot of miles and was not in great shape. The suspension was very rough. As my cell phone had been stolen and I could not take a picture, and as once again, there was no employee on the parking lot, I did call the station to let them know there were some bad scratches on the right front bumper.

7. When we finally arrived at our destination, I looked at the contract and found out, to my greatest dismay, that there was a 471.90 Euros “Cat Superior” charge, a 149.99 Euros towing charge and other miscellaneous charges.

8. On June 8, I received an invoice from Europcar for a grand total of 1,172.79 Euros.

a. Customer choice: 471.90 Euros. I did not request a surclassment, I wanted a small car and the gentleman said he was going to “take care of me”. The rental itself ended up being twice the amount I had originally booked.

b. Damage Surcharge: 181.50 Euros. For what exactly? There is no explanation there. I called for the damage I noticed.

This is not only disappointing, but this is also dishonest and unethical.

I reserved a car in your company in Bochum office june 19th and when I came to pick it up I presented all the required documentation regarding the rules of your company, which are written here: https://faq.europcar.com/during-rental/what-documents-do-i-need-to-present-at-the-europcar-counter.html

My DL and my passport are issued in USA, so those documents are in English language and easy to read.

However I was asked for International DL, which is NOT a requirement in this case. And I always was renting a car in Europe with the documents I presented.

After I called your Customer Service to find out why I was asked for a additional documentation which is not a requirement, I was being told that maybe its because I am Russian or Ukrainian, as I sound like one.

It was already frustrating experience, as my plans were about to ruin, my hotel, meetings etc, after that conversation it became terrible. Customers in your company are being treated differently because of their place of birth or country of living? So frustrating and disrespectful, especially with a current situation with war.  

I had to add my friend to the car rental agreement, otherwise I could not get a car, which was very inconvenient, as a whole experience with your rental company.

The frustrating experience didn't end there.

I reserved automatic car, class Mercedes or similar.

Employer (Hurmann was his name, I believe) wanted to give me car with manual transmission and SUV, as they didn't have enough cars, as they said. I said I will take that car, if I will get a refund.

After that they found car, which were more the class I reserved and with an automatic transmission.

The whole experience was very unprofessional, the employer was rude and such people should not work with customers.

I don't understand why I was treated that unprofessionally for my own money, I would never expect it in Germany and in one of the biggest rental company in Europe.

I hope your company will take the right measures regarding this situation.

dear

Re: [protected]

Michael Edward Manning

11:00 (5 minutes ago) 17 May 2022

to Mahlatse

hello Mahlatse

as there has been no response from you on this item and no photo proof of originally or subsequently of the damage, which should have been provided, it is my conclusion that this email from you is a prima facie scam and I will need to report such.

As already stated I am not aware of any incident to damage the vehicle nor did I observe such damage, otherwise I would have reported such but if there was some minor damage I may have not seen such / been aware of such.

kind regards

Michael

Re: [protected]

Michael Edward Manning

14 May 2022, 07:36 (3 days ago)

to Mahlatse, Prince, Thabang, Cleo

hello Mahlatse

please send me photo evidence of the damage.

kind regards

Michael

I am not aware of incident nor did I detect any damage.

On Fri, 13 May 2022 at 16:23, Mahlatse Matlala wrote:

RENTAL AGREEMENT542128161

Dear Valued Customer

We have noticed that there is additional damage to your rental vehicle which was not noted on the Quality Check System. Attached you will find a copy of our Vehicle Incident Report form for your reference.

Damaged ;left front bottom sill damage

Please advise if you can recall any incidents that could have caused damage on the vehicle? We would appreciate if you could be kind enough to provide us with a brief description, sign and forward it back to us together with all supporting documents where applicable.

Thank you for choosing Europcar as your Car Rental company of choice.

Feel free to email or contact us on [protected] should you require more information in this regard.

Your urgent response would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Upon arriving to pick up business rental car in Dublin airport we were told that you do not honour Insurance coverage from third parties. My wife was then forced to buy a CDW from you. This is ludicrous as we have coverage from one of the largest Insurers in the world, Allianz. This is highly unethical behaviour and we will ensure that none of our company or clients ever use your organization in the future.

Invoice #77192 EFRD

Contract # Q22310

Dates: 03/10-03/20-2022

Office branch in Mexico: Veracruz - Aeropuerto

I did rent a car through Expedia itinerary # [protected], and pay for liability insurance and the rent. The total you paid for the insurance with Expidia was 121.00 dollars for ten days, and the vehicle rent was $111.90. The sum paid to Expedia for the insurance and the car was 232.90 dollars. Upon arrival at the agency in Veracruz airport, the person who assisted me in person offered me full coverage for 141.00 dollars. I asked the customer service representative twice if it was the total for the ten days of rent, and she said yes. I paid for that insurance with my husband's credit card; Europcar branch Veracruz Mexico

informed me that the car rental contract, credit card vouchers, and insurance policy will be sent to my email.

I never received the contract or the vouchers. Later the same day, when I arrived at the hotel, my husband checked his account statement and noticed they had charged 1,431.30 dollars to the card instead of $141.00. I called the branch manager, thinking that that was a typo and they would be adjusted to what they offered. He told me that there was nothing he could do over the phone because we had signed, and it was not his problem that we did not revise what we signed. I explained that he never showed me the amount to pay, and we trusted his word since it is an international company. The branch manager replied, saying that was nothing. He couldn't offer me the option to return the car, but the charge would continue, and they are not refunding the rent either. I argue that it will be senseless for me to pay 220 dollars for the rent and liability insurance and 1431 dollars for insurance that is insanely expensive! He said that all conversations in the branch are recorded and that his employee clearly explained what the total cost was. I said, "that is perfect! we can watch the video together for him to see that his employee gave me a cost of $141 for ten days full cover insurance". Upon his denial of helping me, I did call the 800 number and speak to a representative. The representative agreed that 1,431.00 dollars are insane for full coverage insurance, asking me to return to the branch to talk to the manager in person. The corporate will call him to fix the situation. The next day, 11/03/2022, I went to the agency, and they told me the same thing, that they couldn't do anything.

On 03/20/2022, I delivered the car, taking before and after photos and pics of the car. The person who received it did not want to check the car in my presence, hurrying me on abording the van to drive us to the airport. While driving me to the airport, he asked me for my email and said that if there were any damages to the car, they would let me know. At the airport, about an hour later, he sent me the document describing that one of the rims was scratched but that the insurance covered it. I sent an email saying that the car was delivered in the same conditions they gave to me and that I have the before and after photos. I asked him to correct the document and re-email it. At the beginning of the reservation, they never sent photos, contracts, vouchers, or insurance policy of the car we rented; they sent pictures of the vehicle they initially offered us.

My contact with Europcar has been in person, by phone, and on Facebook. The last conversation with them was that they would not help me until they got the citation from Profeco in Mexico.

I rented a vw polo in Johannesburg within the last month.

I went through the third party rentalcar.com, ultimately leading to Europcar being the provider.

On arrival in Johannesburg the employee at Europcar informed me it was not possible to add insurance to your booking. His exact words “no matter how much you are willing to pay, it is not possible to add insurance to this booking”

As it was late in the night, I accepted this as I expect an employee at a car rental agency to know these details.

Subsequently I have come to know, it is common to add insurance through a 3rd party at minimal extra cost.

The outcome being, I was rear ended at a petrol station on the way to return the car.

Obviously now without insurance I expected to be charged. However, Europcar came back with a quote for a dented rear bumper that was 20% over the amount quote by a approved mechanic in the area. The amount was staggering to say the least. Not only this but they had incorrectly added the man hours, pushing the bill even higher.

Upon questioning they refused to offer any subsequent quote or acknowledge the fact that they had over charged for the hours. Estimating it was a three day job to replace a bumper.

Damage done during rental should be viewed as a way for rental agencies to make further profit.

I am hugely disappointed with the all round service offered by Europcar

I booked a 4x4 car direct from Europcar by phone to be collected at Lyon airport. I needed a 4x4 because I was going to drive in the mountains in winter. I asked for confirmation that I would get a 4x4 and that was confirmed each time. When I arrived to collect the car I was told that I could not have a 4x4 because Europcar does not rent 4x4s at Lyon. I was then charged extra for winter tyres which are not as good as 4x4.

The rent started on 30/01/22 and my reservation number was [protected]

Hello,

While traveling in Amalfi, I have rented a car from Europcar at the airport and during my trip I had a parking ticket which I paid in 24hours. Europcar has withdrawn the double of the amount from my credit card for the same parking ticket, even though I have specifically asked them not to do it and after sending them the proof of the payment that I made.

They did not took into consideration the proof that I have sent them and continued with the withdrawn as planned for the amount of 92 euros. I have made several request for them to make the refund, but I received the same response over and over again, that they cannot help me and that I should wait calm for the parking ticket that will be sent physical to my address.

I have attached the payment of the parking ticket I made in July/2021 and the withdraw of 92 euros from December, made by europcar, for the same parking ticket.

I rented in Merida, Mexico. I used my Chase credit card, which I quote "Decline the rental company's collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your United Explorer Card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad." I brought my proof of insurance from them to show. But somehow was charged an additional $20 usd a day that I did not agreed to and made clear at the time and the man told me okay and still charged me a whole separate charge for this.
On top of this insurance charge upon the time of pick up which was past midnight due to waiting outside in the street with my two children under 5 for 3 hours for a car! I could not come in the waiting room because it was not my turn he said. Yes, I had a reservation and called to say I was on my way from the airport! They then finally gave me a car, which had a check engine light on and promptly stated they were closing. I told them this is unsafe and unexceptionable. They told me goodbye you can come back tomorrow and trade it. I did try to come back the next day and they told me they could not help me keep that car and I quote "Do not worry" and it's "okay" which seems to be the only responses the know. Might I remind you I was driving in a foreign country with two small children. As I called and emailed every day and received no solution, the car begin to make noises while driving and shake. I have a photo with the date and time of pick up showing the check engine light. I got to the point where I dropped the car off and told them take it back in it is unsafe I will not pay or keep it and called a taxi. They still charged me for a week of them having the car, not me! I have disputed this charge in every possible manner since October 2021. They took my signature and said I agreed to this! Absolutely not this is a fraudulent charge. Please help me as they never ever even responded to me and sent my credit card company false paperwork.

Invoice Number: [protected]

20th of August I have rented a car from EUROPCAR Düsseldorf Airport.
Paid € 318.00 Deposit.
27th of August I have returned the car with no faults and with a full tank.
I have also received the statement of return without any faults.
1th of December I have not still received my refund.
I have called them more than 10 times and emailed them.
They have said that they have issued payment.
I have asked for proof of payment, no email received.

Since I am not living in Germany, I cannot go directly to their office and stand for my rights.
This is a Fraud! and a racist approach.
I have also rented another car 1 week after and still not received my deposit for company.

DO NOT EVER RENT A CAR FROM THEM, FOR SURE YOU WILL GOT DEFRAUD!

What a total fiasco. Having had a clear trip from Heathrow this morning the line for Europcar was seven groups in front of me. There is one person on the desk and so far I have been standing here 1.5 hours. The assistant is rude, the people in front are becoming more and more frustrated and I will almost certainly miss my meeting - I am only in and out in a day! It is appalling. To add to this there is a sign to say that we must return the car to T 1 and get a shuttle back to T2 tomorrow. This was not known by my agent and I have also asked him to complain as it will be a very tight turn around. Appalling service.

Dear Sirs,

I would like to make a complaint about the service provided by Europcar Italy, at both the Florence airport counter and the helpdesk with respect to the rental RA [protected] (reserve number [protected] in the name of Hugo Freitas).

On 21 August 2021, I rented a car from Europcar and I picked it up at Florence airport. Unlike in every car rental I have used before, this time the staff has just given the keys of the car at the counter without going to the car with me and checking the conditions of the car. A few kilometers after starting my trip to a hotel in Montaione, a light for oil change has popped up in the car's panel board. As I was unsure of how serious this issue could be, I have stopped the car immediately and called the helpdesk.

When selecting the option to speak in English, the staff member answering the phone was not capable of speaking in English and asked my phone number in order to give it to someone else who would call me back later (the same has happened several times after). When finally someone called me back, I was told that nothing could be done by Europcar that evening and I should go to a gas station and buy oil to put in the car. As of course I would not take the responsibility for buying a wrong oil and run the risk of damaging the car, I proposed to take the car to the hotel and wait for a solution to be found by Europcar next morning. Still during that evening, I have received a text message saying that at 22:15 a tow truck would arrive to take the car. However, no tow truck showed up.

The morning of the next day (22 August), I tried to contact Europcar helpdesk again. The situation from the previous evening has repeated, staff members were not speaking English and asked me to give my phone number in order to give it to someone else calling me back later. After many calls from my side and waiting many times for an Europcar staff member that speaks English to call me back, it was finally settled that a tow truck would pick up the car that morning. Unlike I would expect after all this low quality service and many calls without a clear solution to the problem, all Europcar offered me was to go back to Florence airport to pick up another car. This would mean to take a taxi, pay in advance 120EUR and lose time of my short holidays (one hour each side) because my hotel was located far from the airport. Despite asking many times and explaining that the fair treatment would be to have a new car being delivered in my hotel, the Europcar staff member in Florence airport said that this would not be possible and I would really need to go by taxi to Florence airport. In addition, the staff member from Florence airport was rude and arrogant during this and previous conversations. Overall, I have spoken to around 20 different people from Europcar, with a very significant cost as I was calling from a French phone number and still the solution found was totally not compatible with a reliable company that is expected to have a proper customer service. The staff member from Florence airport was particularly uninterested in finding a good solution to a problem which was completely the fault of Europcar and that created a significant burden and an incovenience to a customer.

Against this background, my expectation is that Europcar would take serious actions to address this bad customer service and to compensate the arose costs and burden I had. Even though Europcar has promised to reimburse the 120EUR cost for the taxi (my IBAN was given to the Florence airport staff member), that has still not happened (3 months after). I have asked again for the reimbursement on 31 October, but without success.

Kind regards,
Hugo

16 September 2021 (Nice Train Station) and returned 26 September 2021 (Marseille Airport)

The lady at Europcar, Nice Train Station, was a sweet talking, hustler for extra business.

She tried 3 times.

1. She said I could have an automatic car if I preferred, all the pleasant patter for minutes, and only at the end when she was about to print and I was in the embarrassing position of having to say no, she slipped in that it would be €15 per day extra (€150!) - no thank you - nice, attractive, all talking, hustler.

2. She lied when she told me I 'needed' extra insurance and that the carhireexcess (which I have used for years) would not cover windscreen damage, or tyre damage (I phoned carhireexcess, and they do cover those!) - no thank you - nice, attractive, all sweet talking, hustler.

3. I queried the fuel charge on the contract she wanted me to to sign - she said it would only be taken if I didn't return the car full. She lied.

Europcar took €63.20 for a fuel charge when I returned the tank Full.
I want that stolen amount returned.

I have tried to contact Europcar by phone (they don't answer).
I have tried email, they don't respond.
I have tried the broker rentalcars.com, through which I booked the car, and they, disgracefully, wash their hands of the matter.
On the basis I signed a contract.

The point is I had a verbal contract with the lady at the desk that the fuel charge would not apply if I returned the car full (BTW I always return cars Full).

ID [protected] this is my Europcar rent Company. I requested by email to book a car from 7 September 2021 with pickup to Antwerpen central station and the return car 3 November 2021. with possibility that I re-book a care from 12 november till January 2022 at least. the answer of your agency Europcar Central Station Antwerpen-Pelikaanstraat 3-2018 BE has been (I copy and paste what they wrote to me in email):
Please use the online booking feature if the rental is for private use.
[protected] you can use this code for a negotiated rate to benefit from a 10% discount.
I see that we have no cars available until 09/09. So unfortunately the soonest we can book is for 09/09.
Would this pick up date still be ok for you?
for this bad behavior, I book unfortunately the car with another company, with a rate more better then your rate, that Europcar did me when last week, I was in the office Europcar Central Station Antwerpen. They book for me directly by office Agency, and send me by mail the condition.
thanks a lot for this opportunity that you had lose
I see that we have no cars available until 09/09. So unfortunately the soonest we can book is for 09/09.
Would this pick up date still be ok for you?

The tyre on rear drivers side had no cap and leaked. I filled it up thinking it was that. and filled it up each day when it got below 20 since warning comes on dash. I could not find a branch open in Cornwall so filled it up. Covid an issue last Dec 2020 so Europcar never answer their phone.
I made it all clear when dropping of the car in Reading. Then got a £40 charge 5th Jan.
They never answer phone for dispute of answer email. Then I got another charge for £40 13 Jan and then another charge £111 19th Jan. I;ve now reported it as fraud to HSBC since Eurpocar never respond. I will not be using Europcar again and will tell everyone how bad their service has got. They good in years past. They must be going bankrupt with covid and doing fraudulent charges.

To whom it may concern,

BOOKING RESERVATION [protected] Argentina

I rented a car from Europcar El Calafate, Argentina. I planned on driving over to Chile for a few days and returning to Argentina. But due to the pandemic break out, Argentina closed their borders and shortly after so did Chile. We had no option but to return the vehicle to the nearest Europcar in Chile, Punta Arenas. Europcar Chile said we should not worry as it is out of everybody's control what is happening, and so it is.

We returned the car earlier than what we would have needed to and flew to Balamaceda, Chile where we rented another car from Europcar for more than a month. We had great service from Europcar Balmaceda with no issues. I have spent a lot of money on renting cars from Europcar and specifically decided to use Europcar due to being an international company. I would have considered smaller companies if I knew that Europcar had the same way of scamming their customers.

Upon my return to the UAE and being able to see my Credit Card Statement I saw a huge amount deducted from my credit card. I queried this with Europcar El Calafate and indeed it was them who deducted

US$1 665 from my Credit Card without authorisation.

THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

Nobody can be held responsible for what a government decides to do in these situations. Airlines, Cruise Ships, Hotels all had to refund their customers. How can Europcar just decide on this eduction with no consideration for the situation?

I trust you will consider this situation unpresidented and refund the unauthorised deduction.

I will go to great lengths to make everybody aware of unfair dealings at Europcar if this is not resolved. I work in a big multi national company and will make it known on all our platforms to be aware when dealing with Europcar. All social media outlets will be used to maximise exposure to this as well.

Standing by for your reply.

Unfair charges, due to covid19 we couldn't return the vehicle from Chile back to Argentina and they charged us 1500 EUROS!even though we left it with Europecar Chile and was told that is was ok to do so. We couldn't possible drive through the border and even tried to do so. We are deeply disappointed and will complain on every platform available!

Contract: [protected], Reservation: [protected]
Rental period: 08.02.-31.03.2020
Spanish license plate: 0802KTT
We rented the Europcar in Sevilla, where we landed and intended to bring the car back to Sevilla to fly back to Germany on march 31st, for which we had Lufthansa tickets. Our winter vacation home is in Tavira, Portugal.
On march 16th, the spanish authorities closed the border to Portugal because of Covid-19. Despite talking to the portugues police as well as to the spanish border police, there was NO WAY for us, to bring the car back to Spain. Europcar Spain adviced us then, to bring the car back to Europcar Faro, Portugal.
(Faro is our new departure airport on 30.03., since all international flights out of Sevilla are suspended.)
Europcar Faro in turn adviced us, that returning the spanish car in Portugal would cost us a "drop-off" charge of Euro 2460, 00!
Since it is absolutely not our fault, that the authorities closed the border and won't allow us to return the car to Sevilla, we feel, that the amount of Euro 2460, 00 is way too high and Europcar should not have a big fiscal advantage on the costs of their customers in this viral crisis situation.
Since neither Europcar Spain nor Portugal will make any decision on that matter, we ask Europcar International urgently, to do away with this drop-off charge, which is only caused by the existing pandemic.
Ralph Osterloh
Bergstr. 7
D-86477 Adelsried
Germany
Airline Captain (ret.)
+[protected]

I made a reservation for a car rental with Europcar in Annecy, France. I received a confirmation number and confirmation email. I attempted to cancel the reservation time after time, with the Europcar website stating "no reservation found" every time. I also emailed them with an image of the reservation number and "no reservation found", but did not receive a response. I received an invoice for a 95 euro no-show fee, and this week received an invoice for 95 euros from Recocash. The problem was Europcar's website - it was not my error - so I should not be charged this fee, but Europcar continues to insist that I must.

Europcar Rental Agreement Number: [protected]

I received a charge to my AMEX for 255E on January 10, 2020 for a supposed traffic citation incurred on August 2, 2019 in Malaga, Spain.

I did not receive any evidence to support the violation with the execption of a statement from Europcar on December 25, 2019. I have requested AMEX to not may payment because I believe this charge to be fraud. If my AMEX card is charged, I want a refund.

Dennis Chmiel