Thrifty Reviews 103

TERRIBLE Avoid this Company
I broke down within 15km of collecting the car
And waited over 2 hours. Luckily the police had the car recovered. Terrible Company AVOID

Scam! And never Moore hire from trifty!!

Scam practises regarding 'cleaning fine' print. After using the car for less that 2 hours overall over the course of a week, we returned the car, and the person accepting the car said "All good" and we went to the airport for our flight. We were soon alerted to a EUR200 charge on our account for 'specialist cleaning', which supposedly relates in their contract to pet hair, odors, and bodily fluids - NONE of which were present in the car. My children had eaten a croissant and the crumbs from the pastry had collected underneath the car seat and on the floor. Admittedly not a tidy condition as we were in a rush, but such basic tidying would fall under all normal post-rental cleaning process.

The company's contract then refers to a 'reasonable cleaning fee'.

A FULL CAR VALET, inside and outside, costs around EUR80, and Thrifty charged EUR200 for what would easily have been cleaned with a brush and a wipe. Ludicrous. Of course they were totally unhelpful and dismissive on email, exaggerating what could clearly have been seen in the poor images they sent.

It seems from online forums this is a classic Thrifty move to sneak in extra charges. Beware. Choose another option. After years of using Thrifty, I certainly will.

Worst “service” ever!!
Our flight was delayed and had the number on our reservation - when we arrived the office was closed and no one picked up the phone. When we got a hold of them the day after - there was no car available and they didn’t find any solution.
Worst worst company ever!!

Thrifty Spain forced me to buy their "Super Cover" insurance because I was paying with a debit card — something that was not clearly disclosed anywhere during booking. The insurance was more expensive than the rental itself, and there was no option to refuse it.
To make things worse, the insurance is non-refundable, even if you never need it. This felt like a bait-and-switch tactic. Thrifty should be upfront about these costs and not bury them behind fine print or surprise policies at the desk.

Picked up the car from Thrifty at Alicante airport. Had booked through Booking.com with full insurance and charged £178. Returned the car 8 days later at 04:30 due to 07:00 departure. There was no damage whatsoever. Yet 3 days later they took another £351 on my card, for damages that never occurred. Despite the fact I bought extra fully comprehensive insurance. I assume these are all individual franchises, and in this particular case, a fundamentally corrupt outfit and most unbecoming of any association with Hertz.

Thrifty Bergamo Airport .Scamners , don't go near this company .The staff left the station when we returned and said leave the keys in the box .We did't get any inspection so we took several pictures of the car ourselfs .There were no damage on the car . 5 weeks later they took 270€ of our card and said there was a scratch on the passenger door and sent a picture . On our picture of the same car on returningday there is no scratch . We decline but they still keept the amount .STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY

After a long 9 hour flight from the UK to Florida, Thrifty asked my son to sign an electronic tablet where he was apparently agreeing to take out additional insurance that we didn't need. The money was deducted from his card AFTER we returned to the UK.
We've been dealing with their UK agent who has been little to no use.
This is a con, pure and simple.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I HAVE SEEN A COMMENT ON A SIMILAR SITUATION ABOVE.

Attention when renting at Bruxelles airport.
rented via booking for 36 hours, i book the option "max. 400 km".
i was charged extra 62 euro for excessive mileage, i supposedly made 828 km in 36 hours, which was humanly impossible.
no possibility of discussion, money taken from the CC.
do not forget to document all and every detail, from mileage to scratches to fuel level.
do not trust them!

I rented a car online to pickup up at Florence, and I paid the full rental fee online. When I arrived they charged another fee which they could not clearly explain, but I paid it to get it over with. After dropping the car off they charged an additional 700 euros which they could not explain, and informed me that it will be automatically charged to my credit card. I ended up paying nearly triple the price that I originally paid online.

Avoid Thrifty / Hertz Car Rental Ciampino Airport Italy
Booking made through Holiday Autos with no problem.
Arrived at the hire desk. Offered a car with extensive damage to the rear wheel arch. I declined the car and asked for another. Handed the keys to another car and told that its in the carpark. We weren't escorted to the car just left to our own devices. So not able to do a walk around with a staff member to confirm the car condition before leaving. On return. They said I had damaged the vehicle with a small scratch to the wing mirror 2-3cm long a fine line scratch which I didn't do!!!. No say just told I would be charged against my credit card 155 Euros in total. I took this up with there national manager who frankly just couldn't give a damn. Even struggled to respond to my emails Points Here are: 1/ I was offered a damaged car in the first place so clearly they'le charge you and not do any repair just pocket the money 2/ No opportunity before leaving to asses the car condition with a member of staff 3 / you have no redress... you will be charged. SO TAKE CARE AND AVOID THIS COMPANY. What more is my hire contract was with Thrifty yet the damage bill came from Hertz. YOU ARE AT THEIR MERCY> HIRER BEWARE

Date of experience: 10 June 2023

Worst car hire ever. False accident claim in Italy but refused despite multiple requests to show any costs for the "repair".
I have timestamped photos of the car on return showing no damage and the guy inspecting it said everything was OK.
They took the money off my card two weeks later, so credit card fraud team looked into it and refunded the money while they resolve the dispute.
Thrifty are now part of Hertz Group so that maybe explains it, as Hertz are beyond dodgy, on the basis of their $168M settlement in Dec 22 to customers they've defrauded in the US alone. Avoid them

Worst car rental ever.
Their office was close and they didn’t reply to the phone. We didn’t get the car nor a refund or anything.
Worst than coronavirus

I hired a car from Thrifty at Olbia airport as they had good reviews on the Holiday Autos website and were cheaper than Avis and Budget who I normally use. When I returned the car the customer service agent went down on his hands and knees and inspected the underside of the front right hand bumper where he found some very minor scratches. He wanted to charge me for this VERY minor damage which I was not even aware of and it must have been there before I collected the car. I found it strange that he inspected the vehicle so closely just in this one specific location and I can only think that he knew that the damage was there before he even looked as he didn't inspect so thoroughly anywhere else on the vehicle. I will use Avis or Budget in future even if it means paying more.

I rented a car from thrifty in Italy, florence. After a few months I got a charge (off my credit card) of euro 427 for giving my details to the local police, because I entered 7 times in two times a limited zone area. That means euro 61 per time! This is outrages, seeing the fact that all happened the same day and they could charged me one time or twice, not 7 times! They didn't bother to answer my e-mail, nor a fax I sent them! A very bad customer service! I will never rent there a car . The group contains: Sicily by car, Thrifty, Dollar, Auto europa. Written by Manni

Both Thrifty and Hertz (they operate in one office in Italy) have the worst customer service you could ever get. If you call them, they pick the phone and put you on hold... and of course they never reply! Pretending that they are busy... The staff is very rude and unprofessional!

They have several hidden expenses and misleading information. I booked the car for 6 days for 165 euros (unlimited mileage). They charged me 522 euros, they said that when they mean unlimited, they actually mean 80km per day and the rest is charged for 0.22 euros per km. This was never mentioned to me when I booked the car.

It is a ridiculous company with ridiculous staff. Stay away from them as it could be dangerous and risky for you!

This company is affiliated with a local scam operators. I would be very careful if using them. Rented a car in Italy and when I returned the car was charged $570 for damages I didn't cause. I will pick a competitor next time I need a car.