I wouldn't even put one star booked a car hire for three week quoted and paid £267 received confirmation email. Went to Colchester ( keddy by europcar) to pick it up and apparently the night before (7.30) the booking was cancelled. No one knew why but I know it wasn't me. So I was told had no cars. Then got offered a polo three days for £100. I want 3 weeks and was told I could extend it, why couldn't I just book it for three weeks, I could at a price of £450. I think they offer u a low price then change the deal when your get there. After all they had no cars when I got there must of pulled out the polo out of someone's arse there was enough people sitting on them that's where they probably hide them I would rather walk home across broken glass than ever use this company I wish I read these reviews before. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND (maybe to someone I hate read more

What can I say? I really should have trusted the negative reviews instead I gave EuropCar the benefit of the doubt. Upon arrival, we were told to pick whatever car was left in a particular aisle. Luckily, the car that I had paid for was there. My concern is what if the car wasn't there? A nail went through the tyre. Okay, that is fine. we agreed on the contract that it is something we would need to pay for so out of good faith we took the car back to EuropCar in Exeter who directed us to their tyre place. Tyre was replaced and the bill was sent to EuropCar. I quickly went back to EuropCar and stated that we only wanted to pay for the tyre replacement. I had heard stories about how people had been charge 200 pounds upwards for a single tyre replacement (bit of a rip off). After making a large complaint, Europcar said we could pay for the tyre at the tyre place and that would be the end of it. We ended up paying 90 pounds ($160 AUD) for a tyre for a front-wheel drive car. I wouldn't even spend that on my AWD! Anyways, you take your wins with your losses; however, at the time of telling Europcar about the horror stories of people paying 200 pounds upwards, the customer service proceeded to tell me that those stories were correct. So.... Europcar double the price for what? Admin fees??????? I was shocked and appalled that they would blatantly rip customers off. Never will I hire from Europcar again read more

Had a quick experience getting the car because we had filled out all info before we got to the rental office. Not much of a line for previous renters. Got to pick our car, which was unexpected. Our check out when we returned was easy and quick. Shuttle back and forth was quick. Overall, a good experience. They also were the cheapest by a lot. I will continue to use them, even if I had to wait, the price is worth it as the other rental services can be no better when they're busy. read more

We had an absolutely terrible experience picking up our car. We booked our car through www.rentalcars.com because we had used them before with Europcar picking up at Gatwick where we had no problems. This time we were going through Heathrow. When we went to pick up the car the salesperson relentlessly tried to get us to take an upgrade and pay more, through sneaky ways such as telling us what fantastic cars he could give us, but without mentioning the extra cost. He kept saying they didn't have the car we booked, and seeing what he could find for us. Finally we got him to agree to a car at the price we originally paid, but then he tried to add extra charges to the tune of about 400 pounds (our original booking was only for approx $350 CDN). One of these charges was for the Collision Damage Waiver which we did not need as we have it through our credit card. The salesperson lied to us and told us it was compulsory to take it through Europcar, and in our contract, which was not true. We had to call Rentalcars and then they spoke to the manager who resolved the issue for us. We were given a free upgrade but would rather not have had all the hassle (which took 1.5 hours total) after a long overnight flight. We were extremely disappointed given our previous positive experience and would be very hesitant to rent a car from Europcar again. read more

Thief's and tricksters at all costs do not rent from Europcar. !! I arranged a rental car on-line 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 realised that the initials and signature for which I was told were only for Europcar records, was in fact authorising 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 where obviously not very sympathetic. (I'm sure they are all bonus orientated) Having researched on-line I note that Europcar is very poorly rated. I think they should be exposed in terms of their terrible business practices. read more

Looking through earlier reviews I can do little more than repeat what has been said so many times. Never again will I rent from Eurocars, the service was abysmal with what I consider culpable dishonesty. I booked the car through Car Rentals and, as I have done on so many previous occasions, declined the extra insurance, assuming I would be liable for the $1,000 if any damage was caused. The attendant I got was Allison, a trainee, and while she was very pleasant she was also clueless. To make a long story shorter I was told that unless I paid over $400 extra I.would be liable for the total cost of the car in case of a major accident. I have contacted Car Rentals earlier this morning, spoke with a very efficient lady and she said that if I had taken the insurance when booking in Canada it would have cost less than $200. Shame on Eurocars, you should be put out of business. Later this month I am meeting with a member of the House of Lords and should the occasion arise I intend taking the matter up with his Lordship. This kind of approach does nothing for the reputation of Britain in the eyes of the world. Roy Godber read more

Our experience at LHR Europcar was terrible. We had booked the car through Hotwire. It took forever to get to the facility as there was one bus to every 3 or 4 of their competitors, so ours was packed and several customers couldn't hop on. You would think that would thin the lines out at the desk, but there were hundreds of people in the room. Another dad told me his family had been there for 2.5 hours and still had no idea when their car was arriving. I flagged the overmatched and unpleasant manager and persuaded her to just give me any available car for any price (it was much more expensive) and I'd simply forget my booking. Some of the people I arrived with may still be waiting for their vehicle. Spend a little more and use a better firm. read more

Just NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use this company. I had an appalling experience; under considerable duress I was forced to accept paying £299.88 of additional insurance which I absolutely did not want or need (I had insured independently). The rental agent, and the branch manager would not allow me to take the car until I had signed the contract for this additional payment. Subsequently, their "customer service" was worse than useless, refusing to believe that I was telling the truth about what happened. I believe the agent singled me as a target as I was alone, and had just come off a long flight; what is worse is that the branch manager colluded in this fraud. I also believe they knew that, because I had booked through an agency and not direct, I had no recourse to complain to the two agencies (EU and trade association) who regulate car hire companies. The most distasteful experience I have had in a very long time; it is not pleasant to be the victim of a con trick. read more

Please don't use this rental outfit, you will save yourself a world of grief, and lets be honest, additional charges/fees. My saga starts with the rental counter, I reserved a mini-van, and even though the CDW waiver is covered by my credit card, the agent lied to me and said that this specific vehicle was EXCLUDED from that coverage due to the passenger size (7). My first mistake was to assume that I could just say OK, and then deal with it back in the states... WRONG. Do not ever sign if you want to dispute this stuff. Deal with it right at the counter, call your credit card and get the facts. The van was 7 passenger, and anything 9 pass or less is covered by Visa's CDW. Being in a hurry and assuming I could say yes, and then deal with it when I got back to the states, cost me around $400 us. But the story does not end, the agent said he had a car outside ready to go, and he'd upgrade me, so I said fine, he handed me the keys and off I went. No vehicle check was performed, no walk-around, nothing. So I took the vehicle and we had a great 2+ weeks. When I returned the vehicle, the person, showed me a pencil scratch that just looked like something brushed up along the side of the vehicle. I told the agent that I didn't do this and no walk-around was performed. I went on my way. Fast forward 3 months, I get an invoice from Europcar for $812. I immediately contacted the company and said the damage was not mine, and I received a prompt response saying they would investigate. I received a couple of follow-up e-mails saying that they are still investigating. I checked my credit card statement and low and behold, they just charged me while they were investigating. So suffice it to say, that they clearly acted in bad faith and I am disputing the charge. Long and short, mostly long lets be honest, don't rent from this outfit, there are plenty of other choices, and you should frequent them. read more

BEWARE ... even though you explicitly refuse the Vehicle Insurance since your Credit Card covers it I get charged for it ... booked with Autoeurope and paid for my rental in full ... you ask how this happened ... the vehicle Insurance was greater than my Rental and I thought I was going to be charged for the difference ... DON'T pay for a charge you see if you've already paid!!! Definitely not going to make a penny more from me!!!! read more

do not rent a car here. they will lie to you and charge you with so much more even if you have already prepaid the car. the agent is a trained liar. told me that he is giving me a different/better car for the same price, but upon return of the car, they charged me for an upgrade fee. these people should believe in karma as it will catch up with them. read more

Originally went through a third party online service, only to be faced with multiple rental charges that were not explained by the staff. My credit card was charged without consent and the staff and management were unwilling to discuss my concerns. Very poor service. read more

I wish I'd read all these terrible reviews before renting from Euopcar. Terrible experience picking up the car and I'm dreading taking it back tomorrow. I prepaid $179 for car rental but when I went to pick up the car, they said they had no idea what I'd paid and they charged me £350 in addition. They tried to sell me insurance even though I kept telling them I had it. I haggled with them for at least 45 minutes and nearly left without the car, but was so tired I gave in and took it. It's a total rip off and they are all dishonest. I will go back to Hertz in future. DON"T HIRE FROM EUROPCAR at Heathrow airport. They've charged me an airport surcharge and it says specifically on the rental agreement when I paid online that there will be no airport surcharges. Terrible experience! read more

It's a shame. I really think management should do something about this Europcar station especially how their sales personnel are really pushing so hard to force extra after extra upon you. You tell them "no" and "no"and "I only want to pay what I have paid for in the voucher" over and over again but in the end they still try to make you sign something extra. I often rent cars and I'm used to this but I found it with Europcar in London particularly disgusting. And I don't blame the sales force as they are probably depending on commission and told to be as aggressive as they are. But the result for me and my company is that we will not rent there again. And I have shared this experience with other associates of mine who have also stopped renting at Europcar. The car itself was good though and I had no trouble returning it. read more

Awful. Booked a month in avance and paid. Called two weeks before pick up and was told it would cost about 10 pounds to add a driver for one day. Arrived at pick up desk and was told it would cost 100 pounds + VAT to add a driver, and that I needed to pay over 16 per day in CDW or the car could not be released. Extra bill totalled nearly 700 pounds on a car rental of only 200 Pounds. Declined to take car and was told there would be no cancellation fee. But when I rang to get a refund the next day they said I would be charged 50 pounds for a no show on pick up. Lucky i was not with a family needing to go to a hotel. Person at desk admitted this was a fairly common occurance. Do not use ths company read more

I pre-booked a vehicle for 19 days which upon my arrival on the 24/07/15 was informed there weren't any available. I was provided with a substitute vehicle for 2 days which cost me extra funds. When I returned the substitute vehicle to collect the original vehicle I had booked I was then informed my booking had been cancelled due to me not collecting my original vehicle on the day it was booked!! Europcar refused provide any type of compensation via a refund or credit. I explained that I had paid for a product that they did not provided me with. They basically told me to go away. Totally disgusted and will definitely not be using Europcar in the future! read more

Please watch out. They do not have the vehicle ready for the time you request. They do charge you for the time you requested regardless of whether you have been processed. They sent me out for a car whereby the zone was empty and there were no cars there. I was also accused of damaging the vehicle and I am currently proceeding a complaint through BVRLA. It appears that this location wants to charge you for anything they can.This location misrepresents what it is doing and the conduct is questionable. Try another location or company. read more

The worst car rental experience I have ever had. The up-sell pressure is intense, and the jet lag doesn't help. We were told -- with a straight face -- that if we upgraded our Smart car to a Nissan Juke we would save the difference in fuel. And the insurance thing, as others have commented. Stay away from these criminals. It's a classic bait and switch. read more

We were able to get through their aggressive up-selling without adding anything to the bill. However, at the return of our vehicle, they suddenly found a minuscule chip on the windscreen of to the car. 55 GBP in damage, that we could 'charge to our travel insurance'. And although the tank was relatively full, we apparently needed 26 liters to full up to a full tank at 2.20 GBP/liter instead of the ~ 1.00 GBP anywhere else. In total, they added 112 GBP to the bill for nothing. We feel ripped off and will NEVER go to Europcar again (and I mean ANY Europcar.) read more

Beware of their hard-sell, lying, bait-and-switch tactics. A very unpleasant way to start an otherwise good rental. The representative's name was Ali. First thing he said was, you have two cars to choose from: A Volvo and a Santa Fe and it will only cost you 20UKL per day. I said OK, that sounds good. When he printed the invoice, it was 20UKL EXTRA which amounted to 420 UKL on top of the original quote. I said, "I feel that I'm being manipulated here and I don't appreciate it. I want my original reservation." He proceeded to tell me how the original car (Vauxhall Mokka) would be inadequate - would not fit luggage for 3 people and got 16-18 MPG. He said the Volvo is a diesel and I would save 420 UKL in fuel alone. We argued about that for around 30 minutes. I pointed out that even at 16-18 MPG, I would still save money instead of paying an extra 420 UKL. He refused to agree and implied that I was either too stupid to understand or too poor to afford the Volvo. I finally said, "Enough of this... Just give me the car that I reserved!" When I packed my family of 3 with luggage into the vehicle, there was plenty of room. I learned later that day that the Vauxhall Mokka got 35-45 MPG. So, Ali is an unconscionable liar and Europcar should be ashamed for trying to manipulate customers. Stay away from Europcar unless you want to spent 45 minutes arguing with a liar. read more

Worse rental car company ever. I had made all of our arrangements and had the car all paid in full before arriving and after an all night flight and a 1.5 HOUR wait in line to get the car upon arrival, my husband was told that we'd be 'better off' in a different vehicle, since the one I rented was really big and he felt too much for just the 4 of us. The roads are smaller, etc., etc., etc. So exhausted after the flight and wait he said okay. I was with the kids sitting on a bench at the time. He signs the papers, gets the car and off we go. Well, the Europcar guy charged us several HUNDRED dollars MORE, because he gave us an UPGRADE!!!!!!!!! WTF! On top of that we had the pick up at the airport, but the drop off at a London location near our hotel. That was pre-arranged months earlier upon the initial booking AND confirmed when we picked up the car. Well, now we're getting charge a ticket for DRIVING IN LONDON without a special PERMIT of some sort. Europcar never mentioned that a permit for congestion was needed to drop the car off there. We are going to try to fight it, but this company scams people left and right... DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY EVER! read more

awful experience - do not ever use this company - they are a rip-off!!!!!! let me explain...i hired a car from europcar at brussels airport and then only drove it for business meetings and parked in corporate hq car parks of reputable firms. upon return they picked up a 1.5cm scratch on the front bumper, which was not visible under the dull lights in the car park upon pick-up in the morning. they held me responsible for this minor scratch and charged me €200 (yes...€200!!!!!) for the damage!!! i tried to reason with them but they gave me no understanding at all, very rude and dismissive - their staff are trained to generate revenue by any means possible and do not care 1% about their customers!!! i should add also that €56 of the €200 was an 'adminstration fee' - what for?!! they must think that customers will be too weak or busy to go through complaints procedures with them, and simply give up after they have to 'take it on the chin' or have time to 'calm down' - well europcar should not be at liberty to manipulate customers in this way and steal from them like this. daylight robbery - do not hire a car from this company, they are the pits. it doesn't matter how cheap their quotes are they are making money from vulnerable customers in the background, clearly that's how they keep quotes low at the outset!!!! read more

Europecar neglected to charge me properly for a rental car I picked up while traveling in France. They sent me to collections for the balance that they neglected to charge me. After months of trying to get this sorted out, they finally withdrew the funds from my account, but did not close the case with the collections agency. Now I have a collections agency coming after me for money I have already paid to Europecar, and no one at Europecar will help me. They have ignored my emails, and the customer service number says they can't help me. I have sent proof of payment, proof that the funds were withdrawn from my bank account, but they will not close the case with the collections company. The collections company is now sending an international lawyer after me for the funds that I have paid! This is a total nightmare. Europecar is shady and dishonest, and I am certain this is fraudulent behavior. Be smart and avoid this company. read more

We were looking for a rental car company located at the Heathrow Airport. Having read the reviews we made it a point to avoid Europcar and instead selected ADVANTAGE. Once we arrived to Heathrow we discovered that ADVANTAGE and Europcar were the same company. Needless to say we were not pleased. Not only did they take an excessive amount of time to put us in a vehicle but they insisted that we make a 250 pound deposit in addition to practically force feeding us their insurance. We rented the car for just one day and upon returning the car was told that that we would be charged because the fuel tank wasn't full. We agreed to pay for the fuel and just barely made our flight. Once we returned to the US we were contacted by the insurance company instructing us to complete paperwork for the "accident' we had in the rental car. Apparently Europcar has submitted a claim stating that we had damaged the rear bumper of the rental. We were both shocked and appalled. We of course refused to complete the paperwork and stand behind our truth that there was never any accident during the 24 hours the vehicle was in our possession. Within an hour we received a letter stating that the case was closed. Even now I am afraid that Europcar may attempt to charge us for the alleged damage considering we refused to cooperate with the insurance company. Europcar is a scam of a business that nearly ruined our vacation. Warning to all Americans stick with National or Enterprise. We thought we were getting a great deal at 30 pounds a day rental however ended up paying 127 pounds. Never again. read more

I booked a car online two weeks before my trip. When I arrived at the airport to pick it up, they did not have that vehicle and was told I would get an upgraded. I was then told the difference would be $30 a day for the upgrade but they would only charge me $20 per day. The only other option was to wait until the vehicle I had requested became available. They had no idea when that might happen. I took the car as I had appointments that day. I called customer service the next day, was charged 10cents per minute for the calls and was told I could change the car if I returned to Heathrow Airport, at my own expense but they could still not confirm they would have the vehicle I requested. At that time I was staying at a place over 100 miles from Heathrow Airport. I have emailed customer service three times and now, a month later have yet to get any form of reply. I have never had such bad service from this company before and I have used them many times. No reply form Customer Service is unforgivable. Excessive charges are down right disgusting. To add insult to injury, the car I was given was NOT an upgrade The ride was hard, the controls too complicated for a rental car and just plain horrible. Thanks for nothing Europcar. read more