Rentalcars.com Reviews 

Holy cow, they must weed out the bad reviews on their website because we had the absolute worst experience and you can see on trustpilot that there are many similar experiences, but their website has much more positive reviews. I was not given an option to leave a review on their site FYI even though I was charged.

We booked a rental car through them the same day as our trip and once we arrived, there were extreme delays with picking up our vehicle due to the rental car company’s (Routes Calgary) shuttle bus and extensive delays at the counter. People were pushing to get on the shuttle bus which was supposed to come every 15mins but didn’t come for over an hour. There was a huge line of people after us as well. My child had to sit on my lap as there was not enough room. We then made it to the rental agency and after waiting in another lengthy line, were told we needed to provide additional insurance which we had declined during the booking process. They did not accept the insurance on my Visa (even though it covers rental cars) because the agent was unfamiliar with the look of my Visa card. So, because of the extreme delays and we were travelling with young children who were very tired at this point and the company was trying to money gouge us, we declined to pick up the rental car and took an Uber to our hotel. The rental company could not do anything because we booked with a third party; they said they would add a note to our file that we did not pick up the car and that rentalcars.com should give us the refund. However, my Visa was charged ($238) anyways. This was almost 2 weeks ago and are still fighting with them for a refund. I called the company during our trip to try and resolve the issue and they said a supervisor will call me back by the end of the day, nobody ever did. The person on the phone suggested I “ familiarize myself with the cancellation policy” as we could not cancel within 48 hours. I explained that we were aware of the cancellation policy, however had no plans of cancelling until we experienced the extreme delays and refusal to accept my additional insurance, therefore goods were not recieved nor as expected. I then tried to escalate the case through their online booking system (per their request) and was given different information every time, and it never worked (they first said I had to wait until the end of our booking to submit the report and then when that was not an available option in the online booking system, they said I had to wait until the end of that day… and then when that still wasn’t an option, they said up to 48 hours, so it kept suspiciously changing). I was able to get ahold of someone through email only and they requested a bunch of documents and phone records and times stamped phone calls, etc. I sent all this information in; and then they ghosted me.

I will be pursuing a refund through my Visa now. AVOID!! They try and make it so hard to get a refund that you just give up.

We booked and pre paid in full to Enterprise for a hire vehicle to be picked up at Toulouse airport branch . Unfortunately the flight was delayed about a hour or so . Before boarding the flight I made three phone calls to Enterprise explaining that we may be late for the 11pm pick up . Eventually arriving at the Toulouse office at 12.10 only to find the office completely closed .Not having a vehicle for our final destination meant we had to find a taxi then hotel for the the evening . That again at 12.30 in the evening for a family of four was far from ideal . Arriving back at the branch in the morning we were informed that they cancelled the rental and they had no other alternatives or suggestions . We received no email or messages concerning the cancellation , and would argue they probably received a higher rental charge for what we had booked . I’ve made a complaint to Enterprise and awaiting a response . As you can guess booking a rental car on the same day in the location meant we had to pay an inflated price as opposed to a pre paid vehicle . Please be very aware that Enterprise can operate in this manner and may leave you stranded . Seems we have to wait for the refund as well . We will post the complaint outcome .

Be extremely careful with the terms and conditions

I booked a rental car with Drivalia at London Gatwick Airport and was shocked to be refused the vehicle at collection.

The reason given was that my credit card only displayed my last name rather than my full name, even though it was my valid card and matched the booking details. As a result, I was unable to collect the car and my travel plans were seriously disrupted.

What made the situation even more frustrating was that I did not receive a full refund despite being unable to collect the vehicle. I lost the cost of four days of my booking because of this issue, which felt extremely unfair given the circumstances.

My main concern is that this requirement was either not clearly highlighted or was too easy to miss during the booking process. Had I known that the exact formatting of the name on the credit card would prevent me from collecting the vehicle, I would have made alternative arrangements in advance.

I strongly recommend that anyone renting from Drivalia carefully reads every term and condition before booking and checks all payment card requirements. A confirmed reservation does not necessarily mean you will be able to collect the car if even a seemingly minor detail does not meet their requirements.

Overall, this was a very disappointing experience. Be extremely careful and double-check all requirements before booking, as a small detail could leave you without a car and out of pocket.

Rentalcars seem to have limited control over their suppliers. Booked a vehicle in the UK for what I thought was a reasonanle cost. On collection of my vehicle abroad at the airport, was charged rip-off fees that I was not aware of. The car rental then became very expensive. Fees are not transparent with Rentalcars and you are best avoiding them and booking direct with the supplier. Also avoid Budget as they charge a farcical 'ferry fee' for their vehicle which is just to rip the hirer off. My car from Budget was dirty inside and out with numerous areas of damage to the bodywork. From this visible state, it makes you question if it is mechanically safe to drive.

⭐☆☆☆☆ Paid AED 1,155.15 for a Vehicle That Was Never Provided

I am extremely disappointed with my experience.

I arrived at Salalah Airport on time for my scheduled vehicle collection and was present at the rental counter as required. Despite this, the vehicle was refused and never handed over to me.

I paid AED 1,155.15 for this booking. No rental agreement was signed, no vehicle was provided, and no rental service was received. Nevertheless, the company retained most of the money paid.

Despite numerous emails and requests, I was never provided with the records relating to the refusal. I repeatedly requested clarification and supporting documentation, but my concerns were not properly addressed.

The company offered only a partial refund of AED 446.96 while retaining the remaining balance for a vehicle that I never received.

I attended the collection location on time, was ready to collect the vehicle, and did everything required on my side. However, I was left without a vehicle and without a full refund.

I have retained all correspondence, payment records, and supporting evidence and have escalated the matter to the relevant consumer protection authorities and my financial institution for review.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this service.

Very disappointing customer service and complaint handling process.

We hired a car through Rentalcars 12-26 April, pick up from Marseille airport. We paid extra 40eu to drop off before their opening time for 26Apr, early morning flight. We found some scuffs on car when picked up so took photos and a video. It was a Peugeot supplied by Gold Car. Since returning home Gold Car Marseille have taken 4 payments without an explanation. When we enquired through Rentalcars they were not willing to assist us, we asked them many times to contact Gold Car on our behalf. We contacted Gold Car Marseille and their head office. We were told first charge is for late car drop off. We dropped car off at 7am, their office wasn’t open until 9am. Their employee logged the drop off onto their record at 9.09am. We have given them photographic evidence from Ryanair that we had checked our bags at airport 8am therefore we couldn’t have been with car at 9am. This evidence they have chosen to ignore. Instead they ask for a fuel receipt showing time, we used an auto pay at pump where they don’t give receipts, bank statements never show time of transactions which they have asked for. The next two charges are for number plate damage and mirror scuff. We have time stamped photos of these items from when we picked up car because these we noticed these damages when we picked up car, again they are ignoring our evidence. The last charge is an admin fee. I would definitely never use Gold Car again, they had decided from the beginning they were going to get as much money as possible from us because we don’t live in France. Rentalcars also made no effort to ask Gold Car why our evidence is being ignored. We have asked both companies for their evidence of car damage and proof we dropped off car late and got nothing. All we want is additional charges returned back to our card. We find it unbelievable that a large company like Rentalcars can rip off individuals in this way, this dispute is still ongoing many weeks.

I booked Alfa Romeo Stelvio for 140 euros and I received a beaten-up Mazda for 260 euros

I was given Mazda in very bad condition instead of a Premium car Alfa Romeo Stelvio. They also refused to give me the car unless I bought an insurance for 120 euros. The support from rentalcars insisted on me buying this insurance. I raised an enquiry to rentalcars, but they refused to compensate my anything and answered with AI generated texts

Rentalcars.com was not helpful at all when I requested a refund. Through rentalcars I reserved a car with nu car rentals. I was told that the car was at the airport, it was not. The shuttle to get to the car location was so dirty that I didn’t want sit on the seat. The shuttle time took close to an hour. This was way too far from the airport. When I called rentalcars to request a refund they told me that I should know more about the place that I rent the car from. THAT IS RENTALCARS JOB! That is why I went through them. They are to find the deal and know about the companies that I would book with. Rentalcars was not helpful at all and nu car rentals was terrible. I will never go through these companies again. Lost my money!

It’s a horrible company of scammers!!!!!!!!!

Terrible experience. The car was not ready at the agreed pickup time and the final price included extra charges that were not clearly explained during booking. Customer support was unhelpful when I asked for clarification, so I'd be careful before renting from them again!

Just looked up rentalcars.com to see their reputation based on a fraudulent activity that I have just experienced. Rented at Sixt through rentalcars.com. When I went to Sixt, they said that since the lamination was coming up from the corner of my license, that they would not accept it. Mind you, the license is legible, valid, and I had both a passport and a mobile ID from my state as backup. Sixt refused to release a car to me. Since I rented through rentalcars.com, Sixt told me I would have to go through them to get a refund. They claim they would release the refund (though I don’t see any evidence of that), but rentalcars.com would actually have to issue it. Rentalcars.com is refusing to issue a refund. I would avoid these guys (and probably their sister company booking.com) like the absolute plague. They basically stole the money that I paid for the car and are refusing to refund it.

I ordered a child seat with Renatcars.com by Booking.com as we were travelling with a young child. When I got to the desk they wouldn't give me a car seat even though I showed them the order which had one. I had to go and find a local shop and buy one myself while leaving my wife and child in a busy, hot airport.
When I complained to customer service about what had happened they offered no help or compensation even though it didn't say anywhere on their website or subsequent communications that there may or may not be a car seat available. A truly terrible way to do business to treat a young family.

This site is riddled with car rental companies that rip off customers and does not veto or provide transparent information on T&Cs for the individual car rental companies one is booking with. I lost money because the specific T&Cs for a car rental company were not clearly outlined and they decided to cancel my booking as i was over 60 min late. This was at the airport and i was 90 min late. They expect me to phone them even if i had provided my flight number (which Rentalcars.com does not request by default) and the flight was over 30 min late. As if i could call them from the plane!!! I will never be booking with this website again.

I arrived at an airport where I had made a Rentalcars booking. The hire desk was not at the airport, airport staff told me that I should call the third party vehicle provider directly to see how to obtain the rental car (which was apparently off site). I called 6 times and received no response. When I called Rentalcars they informed me that they could not identify the hire desk nor contact them so I should just use another provider at the airport. I did this (at a big additional cost due to instant booking). Rentalcars did not reimburse the alternative hire charges when I made a complaint (but instead offered a £30 'goodwill gesture'.

When something goes wrong with the car pick up they wash their hands of it. Stating “you will have to deal with the rental company”.

Got a car downgrade at Hertz/Thrifty/Dollar due to me showing up 15 minutes before the pickup time. Rentalcars just eats up the fallacious justification of the car company without any pushback. This is BS - if I had picked up the car 15 min after the pickup time, I am sure they would have taken this as another excuse for a downgrade. Stay away from both rental cars.com (they are useless) and the Hertz group.

I had a very frustrating experience with Rentalcars.com / Booking.com with Drive SA.
Our pickup time was scheduled for 9:00 PM. We arrived at the airport and were picked up by the shuttle, but then we had to wait for other unrelated passengers before being taken to the rental office. Because of that delay, we arrived at the rental counter after 9:00 PM.
Once we got there, Drive SA told us we had to pay an extra **40 euro late pickup fee** because it was past 9:00 PM. This was extremely unfair because the delay was caused by the shuttle process, not by us. We were ready and available at the airport on time.
Rentalcars.com did not clearly explain during booking that this extra charge could happen, and after contacting them, they were not helpful in resolving the issue. Overall, this was a disappointing and stressful rental experience, and I would be very cautious about booking through Rentalcars.com again.

I was forced to pay 300 euro again and rent at the my travel destination ( Island) due to my credit card was a debit card ..wich wasent explained problery on the internet site ...wy cant i get my money back when the deal couldent be acceptet by the the car rental dealer..

I made a booking for my wife to collect a car at Cork Airport, Ireland. I followed the links and opted for the full insurance protection on the Rentalcars website.
When we got to the airport we were told that we needed a credit card which my wife does not have. She has a debit card which was not acceptable. I had a credit card which was also not acceptable. The Dollar Car Hire person at the airport told her she could pay €29 a day for there insurance using her card but this made the transaction unviable and she had no choice but to forefit the booking. The staff at the car hire desk agreed with us that it was not made clear that she required a credit card.
There was no clear information showing that you need a credit card before you make a booking for car hire with this company. There was a passing reference to it in a paragraph of a subsequent conformation email but again NO CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS.
I would advise anybody considering using this service to be extremely careful.
My wife did manage to cancel the insurance part of the transaction but had to forfeit the car hire cost.
The only saving grace in all of this was the Rentalcars person who processed the insurance refund over the phone. She was extremely kind but could not refund my wife the full amount.

Booked & prepaid a car at Paris Orly. Flight delayed, arrived 1h late — Avis office completely closed, nobody there, phones not answered. Had to rent on the spot from another company at a much higher price.Rentalcars refuses any refund or help. Their answer: "not our problem, read the T&Cs." They take your money up front but the second something goes wrong on the supplier side, they vanish behind a clause.Zero customer support. Avoid for any prepaid airport rental.