Woodford Car Hire Reviews 

Always on time for delivered and collection of the vehicle

Did not tell me there was a tag for the tolls then charged me as well as me paying cash for the toll because I didn't know about the tag. Money was taken out of my account after I reached my home country for fuel when the car was returned with a full tank, despite being given the car not full. It has been a month now and I have still not received the refund that was supposedly issued. I have spoken to 3 people who have been very unhelpful and I am also told that I cannot get the name of the person who authorised the refund or any contact details for them. I will never use this company again and I don't recommend it to anyone else either. I also heard from someone else that r30000 was taken out of their account by this company and it wasn't authorised by the account owner. Absolutely disappointing Woodford.

We rented a car from Cape Town, SA for 2 weeks from 23rd of October. I would say stay away from this company otherwise be VERY VERY careful.

In my experience, when we returned the car the inspector told me that I had caused damage to the bumper of the lower right hand side. He told me that he saw me do it as I turned into the drop off point, thank goodness I took a proper video when picking up the car, which showed the damage was already there. Otherwise, he would have lied in order to tried to charge us for damages. No apologies provided.

On top of that they to took out a R5000 deposit when hiring the car, they said they would return this within 48 hours, it has now been over 8 working days and I am having to chase with minimal response.

My friends also rented from Woodford and they are having the same issue. I think they hope people won't check their credit cards and they can keep the money.

We queued for 45mins at the Capetown Airport office before being able to speak to someone. It then took a further 25 mins to complete our booking. I had even booked and paid on-line, so I was not even negotiating a deal just purely collecting a car. The car we received was nothing like the urban cruiser we had booked (I do realise a similar car can be supplied). It was a beat up VW Touran. There was no parcel shelf in the boot and when I asked for one I was told there was no time to supply one. The car was completely gutless with no power for the hills between Capetown and Gansbaai and had a dodgy gearbox, which meant the reverse gear did not always work. On the plus side it was easy to return the car at the end of the hire period and the staff member who dealt with our booking was very pleasant. Based on our experience we would not use this company again.

Normally I only use Avis or Europa car, but hesitantly decided to try Woodford as it was way cheaper for an Audi A4 for 4 days…

When I went to collect my rental the representative that helped me was very professional and friendly, process was explained clearly and he tried his best to process all the admin quickly.

I was also upgraded without asking to a bmw 3 series at no cost by Shakir, he really made my day and I will only use this company as they are really impressive, this employee Shakir is management material and he should be promoted!!

I was really not expecting such great service as this company is so much more affordable on their rates but in the end they exceeded my expectations, oh…they even dropped me off at the terminal entrance as I told the employee whom receives the car back upon returning at the end of the rental that I was running late for my flight and he immediately offered to drive me in the car to the entrance to help me make my flight wow wow wow!

Thanks to the Shakir & the Woodford team at king Shaka airport, u guys plz keep raising the bar!

The service is professional and courteous.

These people are treating my card and bank account as if we co own it. They keep on charging me without any explanation. Now that I am outside South Africa it’s difficult to engage with them fruitfully.

The customer service agents at pick and return were wonderful however this pure disrespect from whoever is in accounts has left a bitter taste.

Sebastian was tremendous in his ability to make me feel welcome and make me feel valued as a customer. I had an issue with one of the other rental agencies and he was quick to resolve that, he really made me feel that I was important and so was my business.

I just planned a family holiday and had booked a car with Hertz a month in advance, and I called numerous times to ensure that the booking has been confirmed. Once I was there I was turned away due to some discrepancy in the fine print that no one told me about it and was a surprise to me to learn. Essentially they let R40,000 cash walk out of the door because they wouldn't do business with me.

As I walked into Woodford I was so tense and upset with my experience at the other car hiring place Sebastian melted my tension with a small joke and a great smile and went straight to work. He assessed the situation, realised that I had a dilemma to resolve, he got really creative and figuring out how we could get around the issues that I had and he really valued me as a client. I will never do business with anyone else again.

Sebastian shouldn't be behind the desk taking bookings he should be teaching people how to do customer service and sharing about longevity between the company and its clients by continuously making us feel important enough to do business with.

They give you destroyed car and when you return the car they said to you you did these damages so we will keep your deposit stay away from them we lost 4000 rand

Quality customer service from start to finish at an affordable price. Well managed pick-up and drop-off.

Appalled at the service received from Woodford back office. We were involved in a ‘hit-and-drive’ accident and provided Woodford with all the relevant details, police case number and perpetrator’s car registration. I followed up twice, with no response, since returning the car only to receive a mail telling me to pay the damage claim.
Only after going back with all the relevant details did anyone get back to me - sans any apology - acknowledging that there is a third party claim open however I will still be liable for excess.
So much for a customer centered business.

I’m very disappointed with this company…it seems to me that they’re scamming people…I hired a car 2 months ago,then we found some mechanical faulty with the car…we took it back to Woodford car and they said they’ll refund us with 72hrs…it’s almost 2 months and we haven’t received the refund,when we call they give us the run around…it’s so frustrating…

I rented a vehicle at Woodford in September 2023 from Cape Town Airport. It was my first time renting a vehicle with them - my family have done so multiple times before. Based on my experience I would strongly recommend anyone to keep away from Woodford.

Upon returning the rental vehicle at Cape Town Airport, a Woodford representative inspected the vehicle. The Woodford representative was also explicitly asked if everything was fine with the vehicle – he stated there was nothing wrong, and it was signed off that everything was in order. The only issue discussed was that Woodford did not give me the vehicle with a full tank of petrol when I received it, but that issue was sorted. As everything was in order, the deposit of R5000 was refunded to my bank account.

However, to my surprise, three weeks later Woodford suddenly deducted R7,000 from my credit card - without any communication from their side. Upon calling Woodford (multiple times after not getting through to them and their WhatsApp also not working), I was informed that there was "a chip on the windscreen" and apparently the whole "windscreen had to be replaced."

Asking how this could be deducted without informing me (3 weeks after the vehicle was returned and my deposit as well!), they claimed they sent me an email. However, they then realized that they sent it to the wrong/misspelled email address, despite having the correct email address since I made the booking, and them responding to this email address on other occasions. I also checked the validity of the wrong email, and this email bounces, meaning that Woodford should have received an automatic notification of a non-existent email address.

Regardless, when they finally sent me “proof” of the damages:
• The email with the “damages” was sent more than an hour after I returned the vehicle and when the Woodford representative inspected the vehicle. What happens after I return the vehicle – especially for visual damages – the client can be in no way responsible for it. The client has no control over the vehicle once the vehicle is handed over: Woodford’s drivers can drive the cars around to fill it up, etc., or whatever they do with the vehicles.

• The “photos” of the damages do not show that is the vehicle that I rented that has the chip mark. The photo containing the license/VIN number does not show any chip mark. Another photo showing a chip mark does not contain any particulars showing that this was the vehicle that I rented – it only shows a windscreen of a car without any license plate or VIN number.

• The “damage report” also shows no information about the severity of the “damage” – only stating that the windscreen had to be replaced, thus no way to verify whether the “damage” really necessitates a whole windscreen to be replaced, and if the almost R7,000 they ask is not an inflated amount.

As I have my own insurance, I did not take out Woodford’s excess cover. I honestly think they are trying to take chances of taking money from a customer who did not opt for their insurance. How can a Woodford representative receive and sign off the vehicle, the deposit is refunded in full, they never inform you about any damages, and then 3 weeks later almost R7,000 is just deducted from your account? This is also without any proof that the damage is on your vehicle!

Surprisingly horrible experience and would not recommend them to anyone.

Woodford failed to advise me that my profile was blocked after returning a rental on 08/10/2023 due to the fact that I was speeding. I booked with Woodford over 40 times with no prior issues or damages EVER to any of the rentals. I then made a new booking on Monday the 9th of October and on 11/10/2023 and when I went to collect the car I was notified ONLY then that my profile is blocked and that I cannot get a rental car. Woodford says i have to wait up to 14 DAYS for the REFUND !!! I went through great discomfort trying to organise another vehicle, apart from the other expenses I carried Ubering to the airport to collect the rental car.

I am very upset about this entire situation as I have been a loyal customer and had no prior issues or damages EVER to any of the rentals.

My trip was delayed by an hour and a half thanks to Woodford. I am a DJ and I use the vehicles to go to my gigs. This made me late for my performance.

Been renting from this company over 15 years without any damage to their vehicles. On last rental I did not notice damage to front bumper as I took a quick walk around (as usual). After rental, I get billed R3700 which I naturally queried. They insist I did the damage. I've been driving for over 30 years and all accident-free. Engaged with customer care and they tell me sorry, too bad, they did their own investigation and I am to blame for someone else's accident. They then try to offer a R500 discount...what a joke.

Beware of renting from Woodford, someday you too will be caught out even if it is not your fault. If this is how they treat their long-standing customers, then I will never return!

DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY.

For the past month I have been fighting to get my deposit back along with unauthorized charges to my card after the car was returned and inspected with no damage.

The customer service agents are pure trash, and have no record of transactions.

Save yourself time, energy, and money! The lower price is NOT worth it!!

I rented a car at Woodford Car Hire O.R Tambo. I rented the car from on the 23-25 September 2023 , unfortunately on the very same day I had an accident at Bethlehem at night. Well I phone the Woodford and the police, well the guy who pick up the phone call arrange a towing truck but he said that the I will have to pay the towing truck from my pocket,then the Woodford will only responsible for the cost of the vehicle since it zero-excess rental. Well I agreed on paying for towing truck since it was at night and I was traveling with my fiance so I wasn't gonna risk watching a car over night that is why I ended up paying for towing it was R6500. So this guy I was talking with from Woodford he requested to speak with the towing guy, the name of the towing was Blackman towing company. Then they spoke with the towing guy then their agreement was to tow the car to Pietermaritzburg on Woodford premises.

Then on the following day on the 24 later I called the Woodford to check if the car has arrived on their premises then this guy said the car hasn't arrived on Woodford premises. I quickly called the Blackman towing , they said the car is at Pietermaritzburg, it was confusing then I called Woodford again I found another agent he checked for me and then he said the car is at O.R Tambo I got even more confused because now their stories are different, the first guy said the car hasn't arrived the towing company said he towed the car to Woodford premises at Petermaritzburg and the second guy from Woodford said the car is at O.R tambo. Well I call on 25 to check if the stories they were telling which one is correct well on that day I found a lady on a call well she requested my details to check the car, she found that the car is at Pietermaritzburg. On the 28 I went to do an incident report then I found out they have charged me extra 2 days 26 and 27, I showed them that they charged me 2 days more. They have said this will get fixed after insurance claim.

It's almost 2 weeks now my deposit has refunded I'm tired I have been emailing them non stop, they responded with my deposit escalated to R358 and it will reflect soon on my bank account. And my deposit is supposed to R4000

grossly overcharged for a simple puncture

Terrible customer experience. We booked a week in advance and paid in full online. We waited for over 1 and a half hours to be told that we have been declined the car due to lack of communication between the guy in the Onsite remote approvals office.
Really diassapointing