Goldcar PortugalReviews 

If I could put on zero stars I would. 50 minute wait in a long queue. Couldn't understand why it took the team @ Goldcar so long until it was our turn. £95 car hired through a 3rd party. We have our top up insurance. Car booked in my husband s name. They WOULD NOT ACCEPT HIS CREDIT CARD AS IT HAD HIS INITIAL FOR FIRST NAME . They however were willing to do it if we purchased their all cover package. My husband decided to do that for 238 euro....against my wishes. However when my husband went to pay, the bill was nearly €500.for airport taxes and vat. We walked away and got a taxi. I would never use these people again. A total con. Please be aware we had just come off an international flight. Passport and drivers licence both available..Both photographic. You also have to place a pn number in for the deposit. Horrible start to our anniversary break ! Pay the extra and go to a reputable company

SCAM TECHNIQUE - CHECK INSIDE OF CAR AS WELL AS OUTSIDE

A few weeks ago, I hired a car from Goldcar for a couple of days, but when checking for damage, I noticed there were scratches to the wing mirror that were not mentioned on the damage form. I took photos and ensured they logged this before I left, but it seemed surprising that they had missed it, as it was obvious. I then used the car for only two days, and when I returned it, they opened the back door and claimed that some stains on the back seat were caused by me. It was just my partner and me the whole two days, so no one ever used the backseat or placed anything on it. It was clearly there from before and made me realise this is an easy way to charge people because they don't have to log damage to the inside of the car on the sheet and who checks a back seat if you’re not using it (not that they checked the exterior properly for damage first before renting it out either).

Needless to say, they've ignored me entirely, charged nearly 150 euros to my credit card, and I have no doubt they have no intention of ever responding. They even sent me a final statement note saying no money would be charged, but then charged me anyway.

They'll probably even use this same trick on someone else without ever cleaning it. This will be the last time I ever use them, and I encourage people to check the car inside and out with Goldcar.

Please also be aware that they intentionally lower their rates slightly more than other car companies at the airport, so you use their service, but then when you get to their counter, you can expect to wait 2 hours in a queue with dozens of people. I would recommend paying the tiny bit more and getting your car in 10mins instead.

Please do avoid them if you can.

Wouldn't accept a credit card with 4 months until expiry claiming it needs 6 months minimum. Said I couldn't pay the retainer fee on my credit card. The only way to hire the car was to pay a extra €721.00. already had insurance through AXA via easy jet. Plus already paid over £400 for the hire in the fist place. Left me my girlfriend and our 4 year old without a car for 10 days as we wasn't prepared to pay the extra. This was the 6th time getting a car from gold car and wise to the bully tactics so we walked away and got a taxi. Avoid at all costs if possible.

Absolute shambles!!
In the queue at Lisbon airport for an hour already and still waiting!
And I’m one of the lucky ones! The queue is just growing and growing!
If you can’t handle the bookings then don’t take them.
Joke!

I wouldn’t even give them one star.
They coerced my elderly husband to buy the most expensive insurance when he didn’t need or want it and then when he blew a tyre travelling from the airport he was left dangerously stranded by the side of a motorway in the dark. He tried to get through on the correct number to the 24 hour emergency service but he was repeatedly cut off and told the service was not available. Luckily a kind man took him home and back again to fix the tyre. This cost him 130 euros on top of the 240E insurance cover which they refused to refund.
I made a complaint and was told it was his fault he couldn’t access the service which is a lie. There’s no way of making a valid complaint. They are scamming vulnerable customers. Don’t use goldcar.

When picking up a paid for rental at Majorca Airport the desk told me that my credit cards, I tried 3 different ones, did not have sufficient credit limit to accept the holding fee of 2300euros, however I know my cads, in total had over £15000 limit, each one with more then 2300euros available on it. They were typing the credit card numbers into a computer not swiping them or letting me input the details so I had no way to prove they may not have been putting the correct details in. I took up my complaint with Holiday Autos on my return but to no avail. Shoddy underhand tactics and I will never use this company again or likely Holiday Autos for passing business to this company.

Avoid
Add extra insurance when u go to pick it up even though we had already paid to be fully comp
So it actually works out a more expensive rental
Than on our return we received an email pointing out dents and marks which they claim we did - clearly a con as we hardly used the car
We've always used car rentals in Spain and have never ever had any of these problems
Shocked and will never use this company again
Please use someone else

One star is to much! We booked and paid upfront for a small rental car from Madrid Airport Terminal 4.
we arrived from our flight and presented at the desk.
The gentleman soon attempted to sell me additional insurance to cover any damage excess for EUR150+ This we declined as we have a Swinton year round excess policy (£47!)that covers just that, his attitude turned aggressive as soon as he realised he would not be making a commission from us.
We drove the car for a week and returned it full of fuel and unmarked, the receiving agent agreed and we left on our way back to UK. 6 weeks later a charge by Goldcar for EUR231 appears on my credit card with out any notification, on enquiring it seems they found a chink in the rear wing of the car. No email,no check in document sent to my email and when i logged into my Goldcar customer portal 2 invoices were listed with the "print PDF" function disabled. Lodging a complaint with this corrupt company is really painful and my requests for a photo of the alleged damage go unheeded, however I have images that show no damage in the area they allege. They have effectually stolen EUR231 from my credit card . My Primary mistake, and something they took advantage of , was not demanding the "check back in" document be emailed immediately before leaving the garage.

Read reviews in ChatGPT, Google, TrustPilot and Tripadviser - nobody should rent from this corrupt operation and the corporate owners Europcar should be ashamed of these crooks.

Never again. I booked a car through a partner of Goldcar with premium insurance. When I arrived at the pick up location they (Goldcar) told me that the insurance I bought wasn’t applicable on the island. So I had the option of paying +- €1500 coverage fee or take an extra insurance of €285 (the car rental was €160 in total). A pure scam in my opinion. Won’t recommend it at all

Never book a car with Goldcar.
When we arrived at the Porto branch, it turned out that the car we had reserved wasn’t available (apparently this is completely normal for this company). So we had to rent a different car and pay for an expensive insurance. The replacement car had over 100,000 km on the odometer. After just one day, the engine warning light came on and the car barely had any power.
At that point, we were in the Douro Valley, quite far from Porto. They sent a tow truck, but made us wait for hours for a taxi back to Porto to pick up another car. They couldn’t even bring a replacement vehicle to us on site.
We lost an entire day of our holiday.
Total scam.

We have used Goldcar several times, purely because they tend to be the cheapest on-site car rental company, but the last 3 or 4 times have been bad experiences

Things that have happened are:

1. We were offered a reduced upgrade. Both times we declined we were given the keys to the most awful cars, high mileage, lots of damage, dirty and smelly

2. We take out our own excess insurance, much cheaper, but the last 4 times we have explained this we were aggressively told it was not good enough and strongly advised to take out their policy. They didn't look at my policy, so how would they know

3. Tolls in the Algarve are switched off. However, you must, by law take the transponder, should you ever venture out of the Algarve

4. The last two times, we have been presented for repair bills, even though the damage was already there. I have tried to explain this, but because I did not take photo's of every single damage, plus, all damage supposedly already recorded, I have to prove I did not cause the damage. I know I can challenge but a previous experience shows me I will not win and they take payment in advance so it's up to me to get it back

4. I once made the mistake of returning empty, not realising, no matter how much fuel is left (3/4's of a tank), you have to pay for a full tank, at premium, not forecourt rates. 92 EURO's for a Fiat 500

Exactly same as Tracey. Goldcar invent damage and advise you weeks after the return despite saying everything is ok.
Without any proof you caused damage they take money from your credit cart. THEFT??
Despite so many emails asking to see proof (if I caused it I will pay!) their standard response is ‘we have reviewed the evidence and you are liable’!! But don’t send you proof.
I WILL NEVER EVER EVER RENT FROM THIS COMPANY AGAIN, I ADVISE TOU NOT TO EITHER. TTOO MANY PEOPLE REPORTING THIS ISSUE FOR IT NOT TO BE A COMPANY ENDORSED PRACTICE.

Picked up car from Faro airport for Easter holidays. Very scratched and bumped but we accepted that hire cars don’t get the best treatment. Car broke down after 3 days and although the car was picked up promptly, we had to go via taxi back to Faro airport (at Goldcar’s expense) to pick up a different car. Most inconvenient and they ripped us off for the petrol too. You’d think there wouldn’t have been any charge in the circumstances, never mind overcharging! The second car we were given was in even worse condition. The guy who handed over the car just gave it a cursory glance before giving us the keys. We took photos when picking up and dropping off car and even video’d the car on return, as it was out of hours. Received an email later that day confirming receipt and no charges incurred. THREE WEEKS LATER received further communications saying there was damage to the front bumper and we were being charged £83! Despite several emails over several days with photographic and video footage to disprove this, Goldcar said there was insufficient evidence and charged my credit card anyway. Absolutely disgraceful but frustratingly nothing you can do from a distance when they have your credit card details. Totally disgusted with this business and would never use again. HIGHLY DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM USING GOLDCAR AT FARO AIRPORT based on our experience.

Big hassle at the desk, gave in and paid for an upgrade then they tried on the insurance, refused that eventually. First car they gave us covered in dents and scratches, carefully photographed everything, drove off - aircon didn't work. Brought it back had to go to the terminal, long process, got another car even more scratches and dents. took some photos but not enough it seems a month after returning it they produce a photo of a scratch on the bonnet and demand 155€ - turns out I didn't have a photo of the bonnet. Another fight by email.... Don't use this company, I won't ever use them again.

So 3 months after they fraudulently stole £111 from me for ‘damage’ on return of the most dented and scratched car you’ve ever seen ( I had full video & photo evidence to show them that the scratches they claim were there when I collected) but they don’t care about this. Anyway stupid mistake I used them again through a broker last month… this time ive done £350 damage 🤷‍♂️. Now they are refusing to respond. I’ve got the clearest evidence possible showing the damage again. Pretty unbelievable they keep getting away with this. I will be raising a dispute with my credit card provider when this leaves my account. And for good measure they won’t return the toll transponder deposit AGAIN. They are theives aswell as fraudsters. Please let everyone know about this company and get them shut down!!!!

Gave me an old car 100k miles. Full of scratches and bumps. Was overcharged on deposit. ( contract said 1200€, I was charged 1500€).
After few days engine light came on and I returned the car.
Can’t get my deposit back nor a cancellation of the contract.
Avoid this company at any cost!

Please avoid. Booked via ryanair. Car had scratches all over it with significant damage to area around back wheel. We named it el scratchio.

Red light came on for open door but no evidence of this so carried on. Next day we heard rattling from the boot so returned the car, we asked for no replacement as we had lost trust in gold car. Wish I could provide pictures.

Took insurance out with Ryanair, gold car wanted 1200 euro deposit which is ridiculous, I was lucky to have enough to cover it on my card or would've been forced to take Their insurance, I can't help be suspicious that's the reason they have such a ridiculous deposit.

Impossible to reach. They don't answer any email. The phone numbers on the voucher don't work or don't connect you through. When you make the complaint at the desk that the phone numbers don't work, they laugh at you and say you have to email at lis [at] goldcar.com. When you show them the 3 emails you sent at this address, they become quiet and ignore it.
They also refuse to give you a payment confirmation. On your bank statement, you suddenly see more money is taken than said. They also give you crappy cars. 100000km+ and damage all over. Impossible to check all damage in advance. In the end, they always find a new damage for which they charge 6x the amount it would cost to fix it. They don't even fix it, they just put the money in their bag. Unless ofcourse, you buy their expensive insurance.
This company needs to go bankrupt.

Do not use this company! I rented a car from this company. The car was full of dents and scratches and the back seat had stains on it.
The dents were marked and I didn't make much of the stains (looked like salt stains).
After delivering the car they tried to make me pay for "new" scratches that, after complaining, they realised that were old after all and are trying to charge me for "special cleaning" services to take care of the stains.
Going for legal course now and will never use their services again!
I should have seen Trustpilot reviews before renting!!

undocumented charges for damage and l