Maggiore Car Rental

Review of Maggiore Car Rental Venice – Booking #20221996IT4 I am extremely disappointed with my recent experience with Maggiore and feel compelled to submit a review and warn others regarding the handling of my rental and customer service at Venice. When I picked up the car on April 23rd, I was rushed due to the imminent closing of the rental… Read more

office and the urgency of leaving my 15-year-old daughter alone with our luggage. I was tired, in a hurry, without my glasses, and trying my best to understand everything in Italian. Despite thinking I had confirmed my preferred options online beforehand, I later discovered that full comprehensive insurance had been added to my rental agreement — something I did not knowingly agree to.

As soon as I realized the mistake that same night, I attempted to contact Maggiore repeatedly — I emailed three times and called three times (no answer) the very next morning asking for the charge to be corrected or at least reduced from the second day onward. My concerns were dismissed, and I was told there was nothing that could be done, even though I had acted promptly. I was simply referred to your policy without any meaningful resolution or willingness to investigate the miscommunication.

The additional €700 charge for insurance — more than the rental itself — had a significant impact on my travel budget and greatly affected my vacation in Italy. I feel this was not only unfair but that I was taken advantage of in a vulnerable moment. Your customer service, both at the branch and via email, showed no willingness to help despite my repeated, immediate efforts to resolve the issue.

I have requested that Maggiore formally review this case and respond with a fair resolution several times with no answers. I also requested clear information about your formal complaints process an again no answers.

Based on this experience, I will not be recommending Maggiore to friends or family, and I am currently exploring options to escalate this issue further if necessary.

Angelica Noone Booking Number: 20221996IT4

Do not rent from this company. They will rip you off – Do not rent from this company. Their behaviour is fraudulent and they will rip you off. I have rented cars all over the world including many times in Italy and have never had an experience like with Maggiore. Sorry this review is a bit long, but I hope it provides some insight into what could happen to you if you rent with them. I rented the car… Read more

in Sardinia. When I returned the car at Alghero airport, the attendant in the car park directed me where to park and advised me to leave the keys in the car. His instructions were very clear and unambiguous. I then had a conversation with the attendant and 2 of his colleagues in the Maggiore booth in the car park – they were all aware that I had returned the car and had left the keys inside, as instructed.

Several days later and once I had left the country, they charged 218 EUR to my credit card. They didn’t send me an invoice or make any effort to contact me, they just did it, presumably hoping that I wouldn’t notice the charge on my statement.

Upon calling Maggiore, at first they had no record of the charges. It took weeks and numerous follow-ups to finally get an explanation. They claimed that I had returned the car 4 days late and had been charged accordingly. When I explained that this was incorrect and that I had returned the car on time, they asked me for proof such as a boarding pass showing when I had departed. I provided the evidence as requested. Their strategy then changed and they claimed that I should have returned the keys to the desk, rather than leaving them in the car as I had been instructed to do. As a result, they supposedly did not find the car in their own carpark until 4 days later. What a joke.

There are so many suspicious elements to this situation: • They did not provide me an invoice for the additional charges. They just charged my card and didn’t tell me. • They did not have a record of the charges on their system. It took weeks for them to investigate and confirm what the charges were for. • It supposedly took them 4 days to work out that the vehicle was in their car park. Surely a company like this, owned by Avis/Budget, would have systems in place to alert them where their cars are and when a car is not returned. • They did not try to contact me at any time to understand why I had supposedly not returned the car, or to discuss the additional charges.

I’ve spent many frustrating hours trying to get this resolved, but the Maggiore representative [Name Removed] refuses to accept that I was advised to leave the keys in the car and refuses to refund the unauthorised charges. Unfortunately, they know have you over a barrel. I have notified my bank that this is a fraudulent transaction and hope to get resolution that way.

Do yourself a favour and go somewhere else.