Europcar International
Reviews and Complaints

Europcar rented a car to me in Germany so I could drive to Poland, and rather than using my creditcard insurance coverage, I thought I would buy insurance protection from europcar for complete coverage. While in Poland a motorcyclist ran in to the car while is was stopped at an intersection as the motorcyclist was illegally trying to weave through the stopped cars. Anyway, the motorcyclist lied to the police saying we drove into him and as he and his girlfriend riding on the back of the motorcycle told the same lie, the police gave my wife who was driving a ticket. When I returned the car to Europcar in Frankfurt the attendant noted the minor damage, and since he saw that I had purchased the insurance he told me everything was okay, and that I could go. Then back in the U.S., Europcar started sending me bills for 774 euros inspite of my purchase of their insurance. Apparently, had I only used my credit card insurance I would have been completely covered, but by electing to use their insurance, my creditcard insurance is voided, and their insurance sucks. I might have been able to figure this out, if their agent had a clue, or if I read German as that is what the policy was in.

The worst ever customer service I have ever received from a reputed car rental company called Europcar. I made the bookings online which entitled me to a discount of 10% as compared to bookings made over the phone, just to end up at the car pickup point to know that I am not eligible for that discount as they are not aware of any discounts which I was supposed to get! - Worst communication in the organization.

Secondly, I returned my car 2 days earlier than I was supposed to (which was done after talking to their customer service representatives over the phone) entitling me to get a refund of around $160. I have been calling Europcar helpdesk continuously from the past 15days about that refund just to hear people lying to me that the refund has been credited to my account online 10days back! Most of all, the representative named Daniel (working in wellington, as told to me by the picton branch manager) is so rude and says that the claim will be handled through New Zealand branch and says that is he is in Australia, bloody liar. When I call Australia they say that New Zealand offices will refund it, New Zealand people say that Australia will refund it, just making me a fool.

It's just a matter of $150 but the company has earned itself the worst reputation and I WILL MAKE SURE THAT I SPREAD THE NEWS TO ALL MY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS ADVISING THEM NOT TO MAKE ANY RENTALS THROUGH EUROPCAR.

I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT IF THERE IS A CHANNEL AND SOMEONE COULD ADVICE ME HOW TO DO THAT. Please mail me on [protected]@gmail.com and I will really appreciate your help.

Advice: NEVER EVER USE THIS ### COMPANY EUROPCAR, They SUCK.

In April 2009 I collected a prebooked car at Europcar Edinburgh Airport, I was requested to sign a blank screen on the counter, after I asked to see what I had signed I was shown the print out of the rental agreement with an upgrade & an additional 88 pounds on top of the agreed price, although I had not requested an upgrade. As it was late & Easter I was told take the car as no others were available & call after the weekend to have the matter rectified. I did this & was told by europcar that I had it seems requested an upgrade & signed for it but I should discuss the matter when I returned the car 17 days later. on return I was told this would be rectified, I received the invioce 7 days later with the upgrade & extra 88 pounds. I contacted Europcar again ( which is not easy) & was told I had requested an upgrade & signed for it... End of story.. I have sinced faxed, mailed & phoned but recieve no reply.

Beware of this scam with signing a blank screen.. Europcar, national & Alamo are now all 1 company & have signature screens on their counters. Michael Morris

spent 2 months in Italy last year from August to October 2008. While we were there we rented a car. The Place we rented from was Europcar at the Termini location in Rome.

As with any car rental you must produce your credit card even if you are paying cash for the vehicle.

Upon each vehicle return we paid in cash and were assured nothing would appear on the credit card. The CC company is TD Visa in Canada. We returned home in October and in began to receive all kinds of charges to the card from the car rental company Europcar at Termini location in Rome. Each month other than one we have incurred charges from over 1000 dollars to a bottom of 59 daollars. Non of these charges are valid and have been made up! however the dispute resolution process with TD Visa is to no avail. If the billing occurs and you do not have proof then you are charged, the fraud dept with Visa will not interfere because you have authorized use of the card even if your authorization was to be believed to simply hold the funds incase. Once you sign for a vehicle rental the contract is open ended and they can charge your account for years after you have left the country. It has been 7 months since our visit and we are incurring new charges dated for the time we were there and each charge is a new charge. Case in point to alert anyone with common sense. The most recent charge is for extra milage etc. Why was that not incurred upon return of the vehicle when inspected and accepted by the rental compay? Beware...Do not deal with auto Europcar in Rome Italy! And make sure you have recourse with your credit card company in case something like this should arise. In my experience and opinion Do not use TD Vise as your credit card company as you will not have fair recourse.

I worked for Europcar as a driver in the UK and I met with victimization and discrimination (I'm not English). I complained about it a lot, but mostly to no avail. Eventually, I was made redundant, which didn't surprise me. The official reasons for redundancy were absolutely unfair. Incredibly, one of them was even my grievance in which I complained about being discriminated against. Again, that was one of the official reasons for redundancy! I think this explains everything.

I've already filed 2 grievances against Europcar to an Employment Tribunal in Liverpool, one regarding discrimination and the other-unfair dismissal. Overall, Europcar is a very bad employer-disregard for workers' rights and safety, unprofessionalism and poor man-management. My advice-beware of Europcar, especially if you're not white and British. It's amazing what they're capable of. v

I reserved a car for 3 days for approx. 35 EUR. I held my confirmation in my hands going to the pick-up counter in DUB Airport.
When I wanted to collect the car, the member of staff showed me an agreement stating more than EUR 120, 00 (!).

Without asking me, she added a "gas package", paying for a full amount of gas that I didnt request (which is -by the way - much more expensive than just driving to a gas station before dropping the car).

She also added the VAT and an airport collection charge (25 EUR). I know this charge often applies, but my reservation showed a price to me, not including these charges (and not mentioning following charges, as well as the VAT).

The last straw is the CC-charge; You are just able to pay with CC but they charge you EUR 5, 00 for that. In the terms&conditions it says "3 EUR". A discussion at the counter was blocked by forwarding me to the callcenter of murrays where I hang up after hanging more than 10 minutes in line. Mails have never been answered.

This company runs a highly fraudulent business, I would not have expected this from a company being allowed to carry this trademark in a western country. I would never again use them and will not recommend other people to do so.

As I got to now, Murrays will be Partner of sixt starting in summer 2009, so: Watch out!

Rented the car in France last summer from Europcar in Avignon TGV station. Returned it 3 weeks later in Rennes and a few weeks later got a bill in the mail which was 300 euro higher than anticipated. Asked them why (the bill didn't specify the reason, just had a letter 'A' as the item name, nice sense of humor) they told me that I returned the car damaged. Needless to say that I returned the car in a perfect shape, I have a witness and they even didn't bother to inspect it upon return. Now I know why.
Stay away from this scam company.

I'm looking for consumer rights information in France. I don't speak french and I read french as a 3 year old, but I want to make Europcar life as difficult as possible.

We pre-booked a car with Europcar, in Mexico, Queretaro.

We were informed that we can decline the collision damage waiver and theft protection if we have a third party insurance, such as offered by our credit card.

When we arrived to pick up the car, the service woman did not like the idea that we would not be paying the additional $30+ per day on the $11/day car, so she insisted that we can only decline CDW and Theft if we place a deposit on the credit car. The deposit she wanted was the full value of the car.

Of course our credit card did not have a credit limit of $18, 000. So, screwed by Europcar we had to pay the $30/day scam fee.

I rented a car from Europcar at Heathrow when I was in UK recently for my mother's funeral. I had prepaid using a voucher from AutoEurope. The price was very reasonable (CAD$178 for seven days rental).

I returned the car and it was checked in by the Europcar agent who said everything was fine and there were no extra charges. However when I looked at my Visa statement on my return to Canada I discovered a charge of GBP496.92.
Apart from the usual surcharges hidden in the small print (Premium station surcharge etc.) and an exorbitant charge for fuel (which I knew they would charge) there was a a charge of GBP350 listed as "other surcharges".
Europcar (UK) did not respond to my e-mails but when I phoned them and spoke to an agent he informed me that it was for a scratch on the rear of the car. There was no scratch on the car - indeed the check-in agent had accepted the car as in perfect condition.
It seems to me that this is simply a scam - no doubt played upon overseas users who declined the collision damage waiver.
I am currently contesting the charge with Visa, but am not sure what they will be able to do about it.
Have other people been scammed in this outrageous way, I wonder?

I rented a car in 2008 from EuropCar in Marseille. The rental included a GPS, which I was instructed by the Agent to leave in the glove box when I returned the vehicle (if the office was closed). I did as instructed, but sensing a problem I tried to protect myself by taking photos as evidence. Several weeks later I received a €400 charge for the GPS. Afterward I contacted EuropCar on numerous occasions, showed them my documented photo evidence, asked them for cooperation in investigating other possible explanations for the lost GPS, but was treated rudely by their Agents and ignored by their Corporate Management.

In an effort to clear up the matter, I lodged a dispute with my Credit Card Company and explained my position. Thankfully the Credit Card Company agreed with my version of events and removed the €400 charge, saying that EuropCar acted badly. Furthermore, the Credit Card Company Agent confided in me that EuropCar is notorious for this type of behavior and congratulated me for standing up to them.

I thought the matter was done. But 6 months later, despite the Credit Card Company's verdict, I was contacted by EuropCar and advised that they still want €400. And if I don’t pay up immediately then they would put my name on a "blacklist" so I can never rent a car again in Europe. When that failed to scare me, EuropCar hired a French debt collector who is threatening me with legal action in the US if I don’t pay up.

Throughout the whole process my impression of EuropCar is that they are rude to clients, they ignore attempts at reasonable dialogue, and they’re greedy. EuropCar simply want their money in spite of the facts, and they use fear and intimidation (verbal abuse, harassing letters, and threats) to wear clients down and frighten them into settling. However, thanks to websites like this, EuropCar’s reputation can be exposed and potential victims of EuropCar will learn what kind of company they’re dealing with and hopefully avoid my experience.

Here's the transcript of my email sent to the manager:-

It is very disturbing in receiving 2 separate invoices in charging an extra total of $397.17, despite paying an extra for the so-called insurance cover on picking up the vehicle at $328.62 while originally only quoted for $215.12.

A 4 day rental of a rundown vehicle costed $725.79? What a rip off! We felt that we’ve been conned big time by Europcar!

The most run down condition car that we were ever been provided by a car rental company and yet we ended up with damages claimed on the cars that may have already been there in the 1st place! What 15cm scratch mark on frt bar ? What dent 15cm on bonnet? What pass side headlight?

The car wasn’t even cleaned up when we 1st picked it up. (e.g. My son noted a used Brumby paper bag underneath the driver seat when we moved the seat forward. Hair noted between the front passenger seat and centre console; left over drink mark in and around the cup holder) It was our fault then for not making a deal out of it!?!

We regretted so much that we didn’t make a deal despite noted many more imperfections on the panels and around the scarf plates of the doors! We took it from our previous experience with all other car rental companies that we would deal in good faith that what was fair would be fair. How wrong were we with Europcar!

We will take further actions within our rights and we will make an effort to let others know of our dumb founded experience with Europcar for sure.

We felt strongly that we were provided a rundown condition vehicle and subsequently being conned to pay extra for the wishy washy conditions that already existed before our use.

We felt so badly cheated, as there was no way of us not knowing if we had caused a 15cm dent on the bonnet and a 15cm scratch mark on the front bar and the unexplained headlight damage!?!

It is a rip off from easy customer. It’s a calculated bully.

I had a hire car from Europcar Italy for two years. My contract was to hire a VW Passat for the total two years. Halfway through the second year the Car Rental Office telephoned me and insisted that I take an Italian car. I was very unhappy about this as I consider Italian cars to be unreliable.

I had to take the Italian car and during my family holiday in Austria, the car broke down. I telephoned Europcar, Bergamo Airport and their representative told me not to drive the car. Europcar then sent a tow truck out to collect the car and left me and my family stranded in Austria.

One month later, Europcar charged me 400 euros for the car being returned to a foreign office?

I booked my car through expedia.com and called the europcar dublin airport to ask if everything is included. It was.

When I got there the price went up from 35 euro to 135 euro. Also, they were giving me a 'special' because they ripped me off, the gps navigation from 10 euro to 5 euro a day (!). But they did that to everybody.

Returning GPS I asked to sign for received but they would not do that.

Very very unfriendly people and service at europcar dublin airport how I was treated.

I rented a car with free mileage for three days in France, in the second day I went at europcar branch and asked for extension of one day more in my rental and they accepted. For my suprise after deliver the car with a full tank and no damages my credit card was billed in 600 euros surcharge. They said that it refers to excess mileage that I drove, but the contract was with unlimited mileage. They said when I asked for period extension the contract was changed to limited mileage without any advice or discount of the km already done. So its not a reliable company NEVER USE EUROPCAR SERVICES.

My wife and I went for our Honeymoon in Spain and rented Europcar (although it wasn't the cheapest) to take advantage of their "Free GPS" offer. We had a 3000 miles tour of the country in mind and reserved a Peugeot 307 for comfort particularly due to my tall size.

At Europcar in San Sebastian, instead of our protest we received a Fiat Punto (way too small) instead of our 307 and the GPS was no longer free, they claimed not knowing about any free offer! In route, the GPS stopped working, we stumbled our way through Leon and eventually found a Europcar office. They were of no help, would not replace the unit and barely gave us directions to our next destination.

We brought up all these issues when we dropped the car in Barcelona and insisted they not charge us, specially since the GPS had not worked (and we had them note so in our file). In the end promises were made but when we returned to the US, we found out the GPS unit had been charged in full.

We are so sick and tired of these Bait & Switch tactics as well as the complete lack of support and wall blocking when we file complaints. This industry should be better regulated.

We recently completed a rental with Europcar from Heathrow airport. Like other posts to this board, we had the attendant go over the vehicle and he agreed that everything was fine and there would be not further charges.

A week later, I found a charge to my credit card for 350 pounds. Four days later, a second charge of 350 pounds was posted.

Unfortunately, we live in North America and I cannot go down to the Europcar office to complain. I sent a query in through the Europcar website and received a reply stating that it would be forwarded to customer service. I tried to call Europcar on two different numbers (no toll free service1!). One rang contiunuously without an answer. The second was always busy.

I have put in a challenge on all Europcar charges through my credit card company and contacted the travel agent through which we rented the car. Hopefully I will get my money back.

Europcar is running a scam, are untrustworthy, and are nothing more than your garden variety highway robbers.

DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM.

I feel like I have been dealing with a company in a 3rd world country. But that is probably an unfair slight to 3rd world countries.

My advise is "never use europcar hire"!
I prebooked a car several months in advance at a cost of 302 euro's including damage waiver.
When I arrived at eurocar's desk at marsielle airport I was told I should pay for excess insurance which I agreed assuming it would be a fraction of the cost. However, at the end of my holiday my card was debited with 536.36 euro's, what a con!

The service at marseille airport was terrible, even though I was first in the door staff ignored me, I was made to wait for 15 mins by which time 4 english people where behind me, then a french woman entered and 2 staff members served her immediately making us english wait.
The car I pre-booked was not available but I was not offered an upgrade.
Also, I forgot to remove my satellite navigation windscreen mount and phoned marseille when I got home, I was told they would find it and call me back but after 4 attempts, no-one ever phoned me back.
I have emailed europcar customer service several times with no responce and hung on to an unanswered phone for hours,
Again I stress, do not use this company, they are in my opinion a bunch of crooks with no hint of customer service!

I booked a van over the phone. I called a few days in advance for a qoute and to check avaialbility, and was told only a few hours notice was required. I called again on the day I needed the van, booked it for collection at East Midlands Airport and got a booking number. When I arrived at the station the lady took my details and said they don't have vans at airports! She told me I could cancel my booking and then either leave without a car or rent a different one. The only one they had available and allowed for under-25 drivers was a Seat Altea. We were moving house and had no choice, so I took the car but it was smaller and so much more difficult to pack! We didn't manage to move all our belongings before the deadline, and we had to make more trips anyway, so we wasted a lot of time as well as money. I have to say the lady at the airport office has been great and very helpful, but the booking centre clearly messed it up!
What should I do now? Any advice? Thanks

we rented a car from europcar in less than 5 miles from the agency the car broke down and had to be towed. we recieved a bill 2 months later for $495 for repaires to the car.

We hired a car online through Holiday Autos and they allocated us to Europcar at Lyon airport in May 2008. We had no problems at all with the car (and no bumps) and when we returned it to the airport a uniformed Europcar employee carefully inspected it and (in front of us five adults from three different families) said there was no problem, nothing to sign and sent us off with a smile. "Nice company to do business with" I thought.

Back home they sent us an invoice saying "Damage Surcharge" (no other explanation) for a ludicrously round figure of EUR 1, 000.00 plus VAT which they translated at an appalling rate (which I don't believe they're allowed to do without permission) into GBP 975.24. That's a rate of 1.226 EUR to GBP when the real rate on my credit card the day we took the car back was 1.27. Then they compounded the scam by taking it from my credit card account in two chunks, presumably to avoid large amount checks that could have stopped the scam at source.

Since then I have spent an enormous amount of time writing, emailing etc with no response whatsoever from Europcar (France or UK), nothing useful from Holiday Autos either. But just in time my credit card company (Nationwide, who give excellent exchange rates on overseas purchases) have come up trumps and put the scam amounts into dispute status so at least they won't hit my bank account on Monday.

My guess is that Europcar puts intolerable pressure on its employees to meet short term targets whatever the long term cost in terms of customers outraged by their behavior. It's not just that I would never use Europcar again - I'm so annoyed by their scam that I want to warn as many other people as I can too.

Incidentally we did pay Holiday Autos a modest sum for a damage excess waiver - but their terms say they can only reimburse a damage excess charge if there is a damage report. How could there be a damage report when the Europcar inspector agreed there was no damage and nothing to sign?

The previous time we rented a car in France I chose Sixt, from Montpellier airport. We had the same car, a Ford CMAX, as from Europcar but none of the nasty aftershocks.