Europcar UK Reviews 

I had one of the most frustrating customer experiences I’ve ever had with Europcar, and I would strongly advise anyone considering using them to think twice.

I urgently needed a hire car for seven days, so I booked and paid in full for a vehicle from the Cardiff branch. Less than 30 minutes later, I received a call from the local branch informing me that they had to cancel my booking because they had no vehicles available. This was despite my booking being confirmed and payment already having been taken.

Trying to resolve the issue only made matters worse. The only Europcar phone number that actually worked was the central booking line. None of the local branch contact numbers were reachable, leaving me with no way to speak directly to the branch. When you urgently need a vehicle, this level of poor customer service is incredibly stressful and unacceptable.

After speaking to the booking team, I was assured that my payment would be refunded. I then asked them to find another available vehicle as close to Newport as possible. They suggested the Tredegar branch. Before making another booking, I specifically asked the booking agent to confirm that a car was genuinely available. I was explicitly told that one was, so I trusted them and paid for a second booking.

Just 10 minutes later, I received another call this time from the Tredegar branch telling me they also had to cancel because they had no cars available either. The staff even informed me that there were no hire cars available anywhere in Wales.

To make matters even worse, I then had to wait 12–14 days to receive my refund for money that Europcar had taken for bookings they were unable to fulfil. It is unacceptable for a company to take customers’ money for vehicles they don’t actually have available and then expect them to wait nearly two weeks to get their own money back.

This experience exposed a complete lack of communication between Europcar’s central booking team and its local branches. The booking system appears to have no connection to actual vehicle availability, meaning customers can pay for cars that simply don’t exist. This caused unnecessary stress, wasted hours of my time, and left me without transport when I urgently needed it.

Europcar markets itself as a reliable car hire company, but my experience was the exact opposite. The service was disorganised, unreliable, and highly unprofessional from start to finish.

I will never use Europcar again, and I certainly would not recommend them to anyone. If you need a car urgently, I would suggest looking elsewhere, as confirmed bookings and payments clearly do not guarantee that a vehicle will actually be available.

Charged me a fortune for a supposed fault on return which I suspect was already present when we took the car. On top of this, I suspect the 'damage' will simply pop back in place and they'll repeat the process with another customer.

I'd avoid this company at all costs and to be honest, I'd think twice about the hassle of renting a car from any company in the future, it's just not worth the bother of checking it when you get it and on return.

If you are offered a car as part of insurance repair work then think twice, I didn't want the car but the insurance company handler kept insisting, if only I'd known it would turn out like this.

I booked a car for a week with Europcar in June 2026, I booked the car through Booking.com and as part of this booked their excess protection insurance via Zurich.

When I picked the car up from Edinburgh Airport I was offered the usual extras, which included the premium protection insurance which reduces the excess you pay if there is any damage to the car etc this was £380.

I declined this and explained I already had excess protection and therefore had no need of their product. I then clarified and was assured that the money I was paying on my credit card at that point was the security deposit which would be refunded to me when I dropped the car off, I was assured the entire amount would be refunded. I have not had this refunded and when I contacted Europcar they stated I agreed to the extra insurance which I had not. They are refusing to refund this.

I would urge anyone booking with Europcar to be be absolutely clear on what you are paying for as it is obvious the staff are either incompetent or deliberately put through products you do not ask for.

I will not be using Europcar again and I would suggest you avoid them aswell.

I landed at Manchester Airport after a long flight from Shanghai and was immediately met by a salesman who seemed determined to pressure me into paying an extra £1,200 for an upgrade. When I declined, he literally threw the original car keys at me.

When I collected the vehicle, nobody walked me around it or explained anything. Instead, there was just an A4 sheet saying, “Sorry we couldn’t clean it.” Loading my luggage was a nightmare because I couldn’t fold the rear seats down, and there wasn’t a single member of staff available to help.

During the trip back to Middlesbrough I noticed the windscreen was very dirty at eye level, making it difficult to see clearly. I also began to notice the general poor condition of the car, including its age, damage around the bodywork, and the fact it sounded like a tractor.

During the rental, the tyre warning light came on several times. I took the car to the Middlesbrough branch, where they inflated the tyres and reset the system. However, this reset caused Apple CarPlay to stop working. While there, I also asked to switch the vehicle due to the warning light, the lack of valeting, the overall condition of the car, and the fact I had rented it for six weeks and expected something more premium. I was told there were no available cars, but that they had my number and would call me if something suitable came in. They never called.

I also contacted Europcar directly, but I was passed from person to person. At first, they treated it as a new booking enquiry rather than a complaint. Eventually, I was referred back to the Middlesbrough branch, who again said they had no cars available. Their only suggestion was that I email Europcar, despite me already having visited the branch twice and followed up with a customer service phone call without success.

Because the windscreen mark remained and made visibility worse, I eventually paid to have the car professionally valeted. I then discovered the mark was not dirt at all, but pre-existing damage to the windscreen that had not been pointed out to me at collection. I reported this by phone and returned to the Middlesbrough branch, but once again I was dismissed.

The tyre warning light came on again later in the rental, but by this point I refused to return to the Middlesbrough branch, as they had not been helpful and neither had the call centre.

This was, without doubt, one of the worst car hire experiences I’ve ever had. Europcar seems very keen to answer the phone when you’re making a booking, but once you’ve got the car and need help, you’re on the other end of a broken system with no support.

I will never rent from Europcar again.

I booked a car for 17 days from Milan Linate airport for 17 days. Waited 1 hour to collect as they only had 2 people working and must have known they had more bookings than. They could cope with. I specifically booked a car which could handle 4 suitcases, but was told they didn't have a car at the price I paid which would take 4 suitcases. After a bit of discussion I was given a Fiat Tipo estate, not a car on the list of cars or similar on the website where it's all Audis and VWs. It was late and it managed to take our 4 suitcases. I was advised the car had lots of damage. The car summary had a list of 12 points of damage, but at this point I just want to start my holiday. I photographed and took a video of every panel. It was quite darn in the garage and we had a way to go. The car also had 70k km on it. It was quite obvious after a brief drive the wheel bearings were worn and gears didn't go in cleanly even after double declutching to build up pressure. The next day, OMG! The front wheel was buckled, every panel was dented. One of the rear doors didn't open properly because of a dent which had thrown the door out of alignment. I was with my family and don't want to ruin the holiday and it became a bit of a joke. In the US they have rent a wreck and it felt like that's what we'd hired, however we hadn't paid rent a wreck prices. So we added 1300km.to the car and when we handed it back I suspect the wide jaws of the crusher were waiting for this car. I won't be using Europcar again.

I picked up the car at Luton Airport and returned it at Manchester Airport. At both locations, the service and courtesy were impeccable, and the car was equipped with all the optional features. I’d say it was a very positive experience.

Santiago airport Spain. Dreadful experience. We specifically booked a car that was big enough for 3 suitcases. We were given a vehicle that stunk so much of cigarettes i couldn’t sit my children in it. They refused to provide a car that had the same luggage space unless we paid more, refusing to give us a free upgrade despite not being able to provide a suitable replacement for the stinky car. so we had to take a smaller car and squash in. The car was a manual despite being told at the desk we had an automatic. When we returned the car they complained the parcel shelf was missing ( it was never there) and the whole process of returning the car took over 40 minutes. The worst bit we filled the car, up as obliged, from a filling station 500m from the return and they claimed it wasn’t sufficiently full and charged us €10 for 500m. It was perfectly clear they knew what they were doing and it was an opportunity to increase their margins. The driver who returned his car just before us had the same experience. Disgusting. Will never use this company again.

Hired a Jaecoo 7 from Europcar Stansted for two weeks (booking ref 1204940768). On collection the car was dirty inside — ice cream sticks left in it and dirt everywhere. Clearly hadn't been properly cleaned between rentals, despite Europcar's T&Cs promising an "initial clean" with every hire.
The condition report at pickup already listed heavy scuffing on the front bumper, side skirt, mirror cap AND a heavily scuffed alloy — this car has been round the block, yet Europcar still nitpicked it at return.
At drop-off they found a small dent in the door and charged me ~£550. When I said I wanted to challenge it, I was told there would be an admin fee to dispute — which appears nowhere in their own terms and conditions. Pressuring customers with made-up fees to discourage legitimate challenges is a shocking way to operate.

So: dirty car on collection, a vehicle already covered in recorded damage, a £550 charge at return, and misinformation at the desk when I tried to use the dispute process their own contract provides.

I had a great experience with Europcar Luton Airport, Illiya the desk rep was informative, helpful, polite and he had a little humour. Made me smile anyway and I felt that I had got 1st Class service.
Like other companies they try to sell extra insurance but after I informed I had worldwide cover far cheaper than he could provide he didn't push it further only reminded me I would have to claim costs in any event from the other insurance.
My car was top notch, exactly what I asked for. A very clean, low mileage Sportage with high spec.
The handback was trouble free although I'm still awaiting my deposit back and its early days yet.
Overall I'm well pleased

Truly awful
Shockingly bad uncontactable customer service
One price on my rental agreement and another on the invoice when I returned the vehicle!
Claimed I wasn’t entitled to my deposit being refund
Managed to get £50 back after 2 weeks but explained that I wasn’t entitled due more which they denied
Many emails later and supporting evidence they agreed to the fully refund - but to do so they had to debit more money from me to give it back as the original full amount
Debited without my consent and then told me it will take 10 working days to get refunded
Contacted my bank and raised it as fraud - bank retuned my money
These bunch of scammers magically refunded full balance 24hrs later
AVOID - these are scammers of the highest level of unprofessionalism
Should be shutdown

Sad that some people have had a bad experience with this company, because ours was faultless. We needed a 6-seater to accommodate all the family, and Europcar were the only people we could find who had what we wanted. We hired a Skoda Kodiaq from their branch at Lausanne station. The service was friendly and very efficient, the car was ready and waiting - not especially cheap, but exactly what we needed - and performed brilliantly for the 2 days we had it. Handing it back was similarly hassle-free, and my deposit was refunded within a couple of days. Very pleased indeed with the service we received.

I hope I can give not even half star absolutely rubbish service at Leicester Belgrave flyover. Staff has no such a information like Sunday closed so we had to book one extra day.

Also no car availability so I had to go there three times and I have heard over the phone their staff talking like customers here but no car availability so what shell I do. Disaster and pathetic service. I had to get car in emergency paying more money from Enterprise.

I would not recommend Europcar to rent a car.

The Victoria Branch London UK. Bachir gave us the best customer service I’ve ever recieved. He was sympathetic of our situation at Sixt cancelling our booking on the day and sorted my friend Filmon out. Seeing Bachir customer service helping my friend out and seeing the positive impact he had on a negative experience at sixt it was really nice and wholesome. I just want to thank him personally for everything he’s really helped me on my birthday made it an experience I’d never forget.

Bad experience at Stanstead Europecar. I feel that the staff person on reception did everything in his power to extract money from me.
FIRSTLY: He told me that he could upgrade me to another car that is more fuel efficient and in the long term would actually save me money over the course of a rental. The upgrade to an alternative petrol car would cost me an extra £50 per day!!!
SECONDLY: He also tried to convince me to cancel my pre-arranged insurance cover saying that they never pay out, and that I should take out Europecar insurance instead.
THIRDLY: I received a rattling Nissan Juke and not the Cupra I had booked.
FOURTHLY: Europecar charged me £50 'administration fee' for passing on a car parking charge. This was extortionate for just forwarding on an email to me from the car parking company.

Well I won’t be using these guys again! We hired a car 2 months ago and after a long flight we were made to look at a long document on an iPad by some guy with broken English who didn’t explain what we were looking at. I thought I was paying a refundable insurance deposit but it turns out I was signing for additional insurance I didn’t need. I’ve spent 2 months writing letters and making phone calls trying to get the money back to no avail. So I can only summise they are scammers. I am now actively telling everyone I know to avoid Europcar.

I had a reservation in Manchesfer, UK for a mid-sized SUV. I thought that would be large enough for 4 adults and luggage. Unfortunately mid-sized was not as large as I expected, so I had to upgrade to a large van. My original rental through Expedia was for $300+ but the van I rented was for $2100. What upsets me is that Europcar has refused to refund the amount I paid for the original rental. I assumed the agent would have cancelled and credited the original rental when I upgraded, but that did not happen. I paid between 6 and 7 times my original rental cost for the van, but Europcar still kept my money from the original rental. Feels like they are really greedy.

Here's a Trustpilot version that is direct, factual, and focused on warning future customers. It highlights the pattern of events without making claims you can't substantiate.

**The worst customer service I have ever experienced from a car hire company.**

I would strongly advise anyone considering Europcar to think twice before booking.

Our problems started with delays collecting the vehicle and continued long after we returned it. We were pursued over a parking charge that we successfully challenged, yet Europcar still refused to refund the £50 administration fee. We only paid this fee after receiving repeated threatening correspondence, despite the parking charge itself ultimately being dismissed.

The most worrying part of our experience was receiving a demand for around £500 for alleged vehicle damage. We provided clear evidence that the damage already existed when we collected the vehicle, but Europcar continued to insist we were liable. It was only after we challenged the claim with photographic evidence that the damage claim was quietly withdrawn. This left us questioning why it had been pursued so aggressively in the first place.

Customer service was appalling throughout. During one telephone call, a member of staff swore at me before hanging up. I made a formal complaint, but the response I received failed to address the seriousness of what had happened.

To add insult to injury, Europcar informed us that we would be blocked from hiring from them again. After the way we were treated, that was hardly a concern. Neither my husband nor I would ever choose to use Europcar again.

This experience caused unnecessary stress and took many hours of our time to resolve. Between the poor customer service, the handling of the parking charge, the unfounded damage allegation, and the complete lack of accountability, this has been the worst experience we have ever had with a rental company.

If you're looking for a company that treats its customers fairly when things go wrong, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Wish I'd read all these negative reviews before I booked Europcar for 4 days in Scotland. Got a flat tire last morning - no one at Europcar in Glasgow to offer support (we could have changed a spare tire but there wasn't one), 6.5 hrs for their rescue service to arrive, another 1hr to sort the issue, missed all travel connections home (rebooked 4 times due to AA changing the ETA), had to book a hotel for the night (during Pride, so ££££) got NOTHING from europcar. Oh and they are charging me for the flat tire and dismal rescue service. AND took £12.67 for petrol on a recently filled tank (I got that back when I showed the receipt and location - it was an "error" they said)

They prey on travellers.

Exhausted, want to pick up your car and get going no problem - have counter staff lie to you and say they don’t accept your 3rd party insurance..cancel it for you and then sell you comparable coverage you didn’t need for 4 times the price so you can carry on with your rental.
Then the car is filthy covered in dirt so you can’t even validate previous damage.
What a way to start your first few minutes in Scotland!
When I found out about all of this after researching it as a common practice at EDI, I went to the manager upon drop off ( got it all signed off as undamaged) and told him about the misrepresentation and deceptive actions of staff upon check in and was hoping there would be a resolve.

Nope - you must send it all off to a customer service email address…and frankly acted like it was all just acceptable practice …now go catch your flight and we will never see you again.

Ahh the kicker is because you have personally signed for this insurance in person the Credit Card company won’t reverse the charge as a dispute.

They do have this scam figured out well.

I am sure that most just want to get on their departing flight and move on and they are certainly aware of that.

This type of hustle you may expect in another land - but the airport in Scotland? Tourism UK and Consumer protection really needs to investigate their business practice.

Unless you like the pain of doing business with fraudulent deceptive practices- stay away from them. Competition is a couple of GBP more but worth every nickel.

They must all go for beers and dinner weekly to spend the additional commission made and laugh about how they scammed the customers.

It is the car rental version of The wolves of wall street’s boiler room !

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

They claim for damages at the end of the hire period that were pre existing. They did not have any photographic evidence to prove the damages were not on the car before my hire, because they took photos on dodgy angles to cut those damaged sections of the car out, but one pre delivery photo did show a scuff they claimed I did, but they said because the damages were not 'wrote down' on their paper work then they assume it wasn't there. That is not evidence. The car did already have marks on it which were listed on the paperwork and I sighted them but stupidly took it as that and didn't look any further.
They actually took pre delivery photos outside a house around the corner from mine then got back in the car to drive to my house so driven it after taking pre delivery photos.
And do not bother taking the matter further with the BVRLA as they always side with their members - not sure how they can't pull them on not having actual pre delivery photos capturing the areas they now claim to be damaged and how they can charge for a scuff which was actually captured on the pre delivery photo - always going to side with their members

If you do have to use this company be aware and take comprehensive photos and videos of the vehicle before driving away.