Europcar

### ⚠️ My experience with Europcar – Think twice before booking! If you are planning to rent a car from Europcar, I strongly suggest you think twice. Based on my experience, I would not rent from this company again. During my trip to Italy, I had a flat tyre and contacted Europcar roadside assistance many times because I expected to receive the… Read more

help included in my rental agreement.

I made numerous phone calls, received automated SMS messages from Europcar roadside assistance, and also contacted the assistance provider through WhatsApp, where I shared my location. I even video-recorded another phone conversation with a roadside assistance provider, who confirmed they knew my location but could not send anyone to help. They told me to find a local tyre repair and towing service myself.

In the end, I had to organise everything myself and pay:

* Towing and tyre replacement: €446

* Taxi and bus expenses: €183

The most frustrating part was dealing with Europcar afterwards. They claimed they had no record of my roadside assistance requests. I provided call history screenshots, WhatsApp conversations, automated SMS messages and video evidence, but they still only agreed to reimburse the €183 taxi and bus costs. The remaining €446 is still unresolved.

Honestly, this experience has completely damaged my trust in Europcar. What is the point of paying for roadside assistance if you cannot get help when you actually need it?

My advice to other travellers: If you have already booked with Europcar, check whether you can cancel and choose another rental company with better customer support.

I'm sharing my experience to help other travellers avoid the same stress, disappointment and unexpected costs.

Think twice before booking with Europcar. Your peace of mind is worth more than saving a few dollars.

absolutely terrible service, I would never use europcar avoid at all cost. we had a hire car for a no fault accident they try to sell additional insurance to a person that has English as a second language and said when we requested a refund where in the business in doing sales they should asked. be very wary go somewhere else does not even deserve one star

Pre-booked car at heathrow in Aug 2026 and when arrived at the counter at 8.30am after a long trip from Australia (22 hours) was told my car was unavailable but could have another one. Signed a few forms not realising that the price i was paying was nearly three times what i had booked it for originally. Discovered the increase later that day,… Read more

tried to call (weekend no response except answer message to phone on Monday). Phoned Monday and was told to sort it when i return the car (two weeks later), returned the car to Gatwick and filled in a couple of forms, later when i got back to Aus i received an email saying basically tough luck. Scammed, definitely yes, avoid this company at all costs

My review concerns EuropCar Gatwick South Terminal and in particular the actions of their employee. I had a prepaid car rental voucher for a… Read more

predetermined type vehicle through a third-party provider. On my arrival in the UK, I went to collect the vehicle from EuropCar Gatwick South Terminal only to be told by the female EuropCar employee that the vehicle we ordered was not available. She said “We are giving you a free upgrade”. No mention in anyway of any charges or cost we would have to pay etc. because we were told they were GIVING us an upgrade. GIVING! It is my understanding that under law, if the company cannot provide the car ordered (and in this case already paid for) they must offer either a free upgrade or a lesser vehicle with a monetary refund, The upgrade we were given was a very luxurious vehicle and I was immediately resistant and anxious and expressed deep concern to her because it was not what I wanted. I was told by the EuropCar Gatwick South Terminal female agent not to worry because the vehicle was at the end of its rental life, it had 50,000 miles on the odometer, which it did, and it was to be disposed of when I returned it. Reluctantly I accepted it but I felt it had been foisted upon me. When I was outside loading the car, the female agent came out and said the car had damaged wheels and I had to sign a form to acknowledge the damage. She presented form with a diagram of the car, both sides, with X marks on the wheels. I now believe that this woman had folded the paper in half so that I could not see and therefore would not know what was on the other side. In hindsight I should have said NO! NO! NO and I should have run away, screaming, and rung the third-party provider and complained, but I didn’t, fool that I am. However, after 26 hours of travel I was exhausted, and yes, I now know I was dim witted, no need to tell me. I hated the car from the start. This car wrecked my entire holiday and nearly wrecked me. I was highly anxious when I drove it and it made me quite ill from worry, It was too large and too wide for UK parking spaces. It literally got stuck in the entry to a shopping centre car park. It gave my daughter high level anxiety attacks. I had to try to park it away from other cars because I was terrified they would dent the car’s doors. This car was just too big,and too wide for UK narrow roads, even some A roads were scary and it did things I found hard to accept. It was so technical it was dangerous, simply because it was distracting. But just as importantly, mechanically it was difficult. When the car started off there were many times when it just didn’t want to change up gears. Leaving Cobham Services, the car wouldn’t change gears at all and I held my breath thinking I would need a tow truck, but eventually it did change up. I am used to driving a Subaru with CVT automatic, but this vehicle had a habit of just stopping and not moving off. It would stop and go into Neutral and once you realised why the car wasn’t moving and what had happened, you had to go through the set process to get it going again. This happened in dangerous places at times like waiting to enter a large roundabout on a 70mph road. A friend suggested I return the car and I jolly well wish I had. On the day I had to return the car to Gatwick, a yellow message about the tyres appeared on the consol. 8 calls to EuropCar proved useless and so I drove just down the road to the local dealership for the marque. Service personnel said it was ok to drive it back and gave me instructions as to what to do with the gadget in the trunk should tyre pressure deteriorate. And this is how I returned the car. During the term of the car hire I did check my credit card several times to see if EuropCar had levied the £1500 block for security and I was surprised they had not. I returned the car on 1 August and flew home. The day after I arrived home, I checked my credit card and found that on 28 July a huge charge against my credit card had been made and cotinued to be made until 9 August (8 days after I had returned the car). EuropCar had charged me $3,630.06 in my money for the upgrade of the vehicle their employee had told me they were GIVING me because they were unable to supply the car I had ordered and prepaid for. It was then that I remembered the EuropCar Gatwick South female employee who had asked me to sign the document acknowledging the damage to the car, and it was then that I realised she had folded the document in half and therefore I could not see what was on the other side. I dont think you have to be that bright to know that on the other side of that form was the upgrade charges etc.What a Fool I am!!! Of course, I have lodged a dispute but EuropCarUK is notorious for completely ignoring disputes. I guess they hope they will just go away. Whether this is correct or not, I have been told that what this woman did could be a criminal offence called Fraudulent Misrepresentation which applies to both verbal and written matters. Some might say that this woman could not benefit financially from what has happened but that isn't quite correct. Significant bonuses and incentives are attached to sales and basically that is what these people do - sell us car hire and especially very expensive car hire insurance. The more you flog to the "marks" (we the consumer), the bigger bonus you get. Apart from putting me in a difficult financial position, what has happened has absolutely destroyed my trust in others. Stupidly I thought that the car rental business was past all this sort of nasty thing but after reading many reviews, I now realise that nothing has changed over the years and although not everyone is a rip-off merchant, there are still dishonest, unscrupulous people (crooks?)involved in the car rental business. When all these numerous complaints are put online, I just dont understand why the car rental companies dont investigate these claims of unscrupulous and dishonest behaviour and either sack those who they know have a pattern of bad behaviour or at least put them somewhere where they cant rip off customers. Or maybe it is a trait that some car rental companies may see as a positive? Of course I will not be letting this matter go, because I cannot afford to - $3,630.06 is just too much dosh to walk away from. Everyone I tell is appalled and others in the travel and insurance industries have been advised. And I intend to follow this right through to the bitter end.

Unsafe undriveable, unroadworthy vehicle – Placed a booking for a vehicle, but when I arrived to collect the vehicle it had two, yes 2 flat tyres. They knew I was coming given the booking, but had still organised for the vehicle to be unroadworthy, completely dangerous to drive, in fact… Read more

undriveable. Yet Europcar claim to get you moving. It is hard to move with2 flat tyres. What a lying fraudulent business.

Today i went to collect a booked rental, advised intime i would be 4 hours later to collect due to work commitments. Was advise it was fine as id advised within collection time. Waiting in line 40min to be advised we have no vehicle's,i asked were… Read more

was the booked car from my booking was advised “we gave it to some one else”. Then was told we also need to clean . I asked why if i was told it was ok why did you give it away without advising me and staff response was “ look do you want a vehicle or not” this was the managers statement. Had this not been booked for one month and paid for, and now over an hour waiting, i was told to take a seat while they clean a car. NEVER again will i allow eurocar treat me like this, i will go elsewhere and i suggest anyone reading this also go elsewhere!! When i finally get into the vehicle i observe a staff members lanyard on the seat with all their work keys on it…. Need i say anymore

I was in a really horrible situation I booked at budget only to be told that because I’m local I had to pay $1000 bond so I really crushed that I wouldn’t be able to see my mum and go to cemetery to visit my dads grave so I called Sherene from europcar in Mackay this beautiful lady went above and beyond to help me get a car as by Friday morning there was nothing around so thank you again ❤️ Show details

Nobody seems to read bad ratings so this may be the cure. DO NOT EVER, EVER HIRE A CAR FROM EUROPCAR UK OR EUROPCAR AUSTRALIA. I have hired 2 cars in the last five years, both from Europcar. The first one was in Australia and they tried to rip us off over pre-existing damage. Luckily my partner was smart enough to take photos. Their claim was… Read more

dropped. Believing that lightning doesn't strike twice I hired a car from them in the UK. I was so wrong. Without so much as a nod from the return inspection employee they tried to charge us for petrol when the car had a full tank on return. This after that same employee directed us to the nearest petrol station to fill it up prior to the final return. I had to compile a brief containing downloads, screen captures and bank statements to prove our case, and the fee again was dropped. It took ages for the refund to come through. Fishes rot from the head down and it is evident that their reputation means nothing to them. Don't take my word for it, look at their satisfaction ratings. I know this rating will boost their ratings but it's worth it if these rip-off merchants can't hurt any more honest people.

Hired a car from Eurocar Adelaide city Aldi Q3, great car, received outstanding service from Dylan, nothing was too much trouble, Dylan is a great asset to Europcar and I will be using them again. Robin Murphy Saratoga NSW Show details

Travelling from Australia to mid-Wales and booked a car online for delivery, which was approved. Found out the day after I arrived and two days before due delivery date that I had to go into the shopfront instead due to having an overseas licence but delivery to a UK address. This entailed a two-hour bus ride has I didn’t have access to a vehicle.… Read more

Emailed the company to say I didn’t have an issue with the policy but was frustrated that their website still approved me for delivery. Response from the company seemed to suggest that even though they knew of the contradiction on policy and process they essentially didn’t care. Should also say that the car was fine and the shopfront staff also good.

Recently booked to pick up a car from Cairns airport. I booked through Virgin Car Hire (to get Velocity points) and they use a Dublin based platform CarTrawler. I researched prior to picking a car which company would allow a pet in the car. According to Europcar's own website a pet is allowed and you should disclose that you will be carrying a… Read more

pet.

I arrived to pick up the car and informed a woman (who later identified herself as the manager) about my pet. The woman then absolutely refused to allow me to take the car. Insisted that Europcar DOES NOT allow pets in it's vehicles.

I looked up the Europcar's website and showed the woman my phone. She insisted I was looking at the information on a third party website?? I had looked up Europcar.com.au.

She then said - you will be charged $500 when you return the vehicle to clean it and I said I was happy to do this. Again she refused to give me the car.

I asked to speak with a manager and she then said she was the manager. I was so angry and I walked away crying. I had to book through another company and as a last minute booking it cost me almost double what I had paid with Europcar.

I phoned and spoken with Europcar and was told that the online information was wrong?? and their policy had changed 12 months prior? It's been a an absolute pain to try to get my money back as Europcar couldn't "cancel" the booking or refund me due to it being a third party booking. CarTrawler is impossible to contact

Virgin have eventually heard back and state I will be refunded the total amount. And the kicker.....? Virgin confirmed with Europcar that according to their terms a pet CAN be carried in the car?!!!!! Honestly, skip the hassle of the company! Customer service..... definitely not. I'd give them no stars - particularly the "manager" at that branch. Lesson also learnt ...... don't use a third party to book a car.

Very disappointed with my experience with Europcar. At Brisbane Airport, I asked to add two additional fully licensed drivers. We specifically asked the staff member whether there would be any additional cost and were told there was nothing extra to pay. Had we been told there was a fee, I would have made a different decision. I was shocked to… Read more

later receive an invoice for $582.91, including $440 for the two additional drivers. Europcar has also taken $200 from my credit card, with a further $382.91 showing as outstanding. I have contacted Europcar several times to dispute these charges and have asked them to provide evidence showing when these fees were disclosed to me and agreed to. I am still trying to have the matter properly resolved. For me, the most concerning issue is the lack of transparency. Customers should be clearly told the cost of an additional service before agreeing to it, particularly when they specifically ask whether there will be a charge. I have now lodged a formal complaint and will update this review depending on how Europcar responds. Based on my experience so far, I am extremely disappointed with Europcar’s service and handling of this matter.

Hired a car through Europcar in Geelong for 3 weeks and kept extending it by 1 week - 3 weeks in total. A hold amount was placed on my account for each week, the three holds totaling $1,376.10 Returned the car on 24/08/26 and the amount of $1,376.10 was taken out of my account on the 27/08/26, the three holds on my account adding up to the total… Read more

paid are still being held on my account to this day 10/09/26. Ringing Europcar customer service they state that the holds will be held by them for 7-15 business days, absolutely appalling claiming it is my bank issue, rang my Bank ING they say no Europcar hasn't done anything yet to reverse the funds and that they deal with a lot of similar issues with Europcar. Absolutely do not recommend going through Europcar for car hire, steer well away from them

**1 star — An alleged “free” replacement car that cost me £3,600** **I strongly recommend that anyone hiring from Europcar reads every single line of the rental agreement before signing — regardless of what the staff member tells you verbally.** I booked a car directly with Europcar for a four-week rental from **London Heathrow**, from 16 June… Read more

to 15 July 2026. My original quoted price was approximately **A$1,330**.

At Heathrow, the Europcar representative suggested changing my booked vehicle to a hybrid because it would be cheaper. I agreed. He went to get the hybrid but returned and said it was too dirty to hire.

He then offered me an **Audi Q5**, specifically telling me it would be **“at no extra cost.”** I understood this to mean that the Audi was simply being substituted for the unavailable vehicle I had booked.

I was tired after travelling and in a hurry, and I signed the paperwork without carefully examining every charge. That was my mistake.

After I had returned the vehicle and had already left the UK, Europcar charged my credit card **A$9,251.12**.

When I received the final invoice, I discovered that Europcar had added an **“Upgrade” charge of £3,000 — £100 per day for 30 days — plus VAT, making £3,600 including VAT.**

I had never requested a paid upgrade and, most importantly, I had specifically been told at the counter that the Audi was being supplied **at no extra cost**.

I complained to Europcar, but they refused to refund the upgrade, relying on the fact that I had signed the rental agreement.

I subsequently disputed the charge with my bank. The bank also rejected the dispute, again relying on my signature on the agreement.

So I am left with a four-week rental that was originally quoted at about A$1,330, ultimately costing **A$9,251.12**, largely because of a £3,000 upgrade that I say I was told would cost nothing.

**My advice to anyone considering Europcar:**

Do not rely on what the representative tells you at the counter. Do not assume that a replacement vehicle is being provided at no extra cost. Read every charge on the paperwork before signing, even if the employee is telling you something completely different.

I accept responsibility for not reading the paperwork carefully enough. However, I do not accept that signing a document proves that I knowingly agreed to a £3,000 upgrade when the Europcar representative had expressly told me the replacement vehicle would be supplied at no extra cost.

**I will never hire from Europcar again.**

Car was provided by insurance company. Nothing wrong with car but the pickup process was a disaster when they insisted on a PHYSICAL credit card. Yes, the insurance company did say something but who remembers to carry one when everyone has a smart phone??? 2 hours later and $50 of Uber to go back home, search for card and return, to finally get… Read more

car.

And the poor girl at the counter said many people forget and they cop it a lot. Shame on you Europcar! You have asked us to respect your employees but created the environment where abuse is very likely. You can easily create a safer workplace for your employee by upgrading your technology.

If i could give europcar a 0 stars i would. Do not ever rent a car with this company. Extra charges deducted, invoices are produced with extra charges that were not disclosed when signing the contract at pick up, $500 deposit taken and then the transaction disappears from your bank ststament and you have no evidence they took the deposit and you… Read more

will not get it back. Asking for no insurance and then being charged for it anyways and after disputed they acknowledged it was an error on them however you signed the contract so you will not get a refund. Scammers, scammers SCAMMERS

**Extremely Poor Customer Service – Lost Two Bookings Over a Cancellation Fee** I would strongly recommend avoiding Europcar based on my recent experience. I originally made a vehicle booking for the Gold Coast in October 2026. Our travel plans later changed and we needed the vehicle in Sydney for exactly the same dates. There was no obvious or… Read more

user-friendly way to simply change the pickup location online, so rather than take our business elsewhere, I made a **second reservation with Europcar in Sydney**.

I then called Europcar to cancel the original Gold Coast reservation. Despite explaining that our plans had simply changed location — and that I had already rebooked with Europcar for the same dates — I was told I would be charged a cancellation fee.

What made the experience considerably worse was being asked, **“Did you not read the terms and conditions?”**

That is not customer service. It was dismissive, unnecessary and completely missed the point. I was not trying to walk away from Europcar or cancel our travel altogether — **I had already made another booking with them.**

I escalated the matter to a manager named **Ghian**, expecting some common sense and discretion to be applied. Unfortunately, the response was no better and the cancellation fee was still not waived.

At that point, we cancelled **both reservations**.

It is genuinely difficult to understand the business logic here. Europcar had a customer who had made two bookings because their travel plans changed. They could have waived a cancellation fee on the superseded booking, retained the Sydney reservation, and left us feeling that we had been treated reasonably.

Instead, they chose to enforce a fee and lose the entire booking — along with any future business from us.

We regularly hire vehicles for both **business and personal travel**, and after this experience we will simply use another company going forward.

Terms and conditions are one thing. Good judgement, customer service and understanding the value of a long-term customer are another.

**Europcar failed badly on all three.**

I would not recommend Europcar, and we will not be using them for either business or personal vehicle hire in the future.

⭐️ 1 star — Warning to other customers Extremely disappointing experience with Europcar Tullamarine. Following my rental, Europcar alleged damage relating to a windscreen chip and subsequently sought approximately $1,000. I dispute both my liability for the damage and the amount claimed. I only wish I had Googled “Europcar windscreen damage”… Read more

before renting. I was shocked by the number of reviews and complaints I found from other customers describing similar disputes involving windscreens and unexpected damage charges. Had I seen these experiences beforehand, I would have chosen another rental company.

The way my matter has been handled has left me with very little confidence in Europcar. I have disputed the claim in writing and made it clear that I do not authorise my credit card being charged while the matter remains unresolved.

My warning to other customers: photograph and video every part of the vehicle, particularly the windscreen, before leaving the rental location and again when returning it. Keep every document and piece of correspondence.

Based on my experience, I would not use Europcar Tullamarine again. I would choose Budget, Avis or another provider instead.