rentalcarhire Reviews 

SCAM – Terrible experience with ECH. I booked through VipCars and, upon arrival, was charged almost double the agreed price. On top of that, they imposed an excessive fee for a small scratch, despite my having purchased full coverage insurance. They refused to coordinate with VipCars to resolve the issue and took advantage of a vulnerable situation — arriving at 10 p.m. with two young children and no alternatives. A complete lack of transparency and abusive practices. I will never trust them again.

Very friendly and helpful, the shuttle service is great and we got lost on way back but called and explain would be 10minute late they was very understanding. Perfect size car for what we needed it for and clean. Would recommend

Great friendly service, spotless clean car

This is a warning to fellow travelers regarding my recent experience with the car rental company ECH, booked via Discovercars.com. Despite early notification and confirmation of my changed arrival time, I was told upon arrival in Pisa that my reserved car was unavailable due to damage. I was forced to accept a higher-category vehicle at a significant extra cost, with no possibility of obtaining confirmation documenting the unavailability of the reserved car. Discovercars.com failed to assist in resolving this dispute, and the claim was dismissed without proper investigation. Travelers are advised to insist on written proof from the rental company if the reserved vehicle is not available, and to exercise caution when dealing with ECH or similar suppliers through the Discovercars.com platform.

Poor service. Gave me a car with the tyre pressure light permanently showing on the dashboard and told me to ignore it. I later had a flat tyre. I was fortunate that this was on a short journey and not during previous use of the autostrada.
Then charged me for the flat tyre.
Never replied to emails sent outlining the flat tyre occurring or in response to being told that I had to pay for the flat tyre.
Avoid.

I would strongly advise against renting from this company.

First, we were forced to buy their overpriced insurance because we were paying with a debit card – something that was not clearly stated anywhere during the booking process.

Second, after returning the car in perfect condition, they kept our entire deposit, claiming there were scratches we definitely did not make.

This company relies on hidden rules and unfair charges. Save yourself the frustration and rent from a more transparent and trustworthy company instead.

I arrived at the ECH Palermo desk 3 hours late due to being stuck on a plane at Gatwick airport with engine trouble.
When I got to the ECH desk I was told the booking had been cancelled as I hadn’t let them know I was going to be late.
I had no choice other than having to book another car as I had family and luggage with me.
I had to pay nearly DOUBLE what I was originally going to pay!
Young lady behind the counter had no compassion or empathy at all.
Outside a guy checked the car (Dacia Sandero 😧) like a forensic investigator.
Had loads of marks on it which made me paranoid about them “finding’ new damage upon my return.
Bunch of crooks…stay away from this company!

When we arrived in Pisa, we witnessed several customers being denied their reserved cars simply because their flights were delayed and they arrived more than 2 hours late. They were forced to make a new (and more expensive) booking on the spot. In our case, we were also delayed, but since we happened to be within the 2-hour limit while waiting in line, our reservation was still accepted. The whole process felt arbitrary and extremely unfriendly.

From there, things only got worse. At the desk, no explanation was given about the contract or the deposit. When we picked up the car, it had multiple visible damages, yet the damage report was handed over completely blank. We immediately documented everything with photos, which later proved crucial.

On return, the car inspection was unusually intense, clearly aimed at finding something to charge us for. We noticed that other customers had their cars checked in a matter of seconds, while our inspection was dragged out and targeted. Only thanks to our photo evidence were we able to dispute their attempts.

ECR does not care about service or transparency. Instead, they appear focused on making money through false or repeated damage claims. This behavior is unacceptable, especially towards tourists who simply trust that a reservation means peace of mind.

We will never rent from ECH again and strongly advise others to avoid this company. There are plenty of other rental agencies in Pisa that operate honestly and professionally.

The company was very easy to deal with. They treated us well and though offered extras they did not do the 'hard sell'. We are returning customers and Willis ECH again.

We rented a car through ECH (Easy Care Hire) in Florence and had a great experience. The whole process was straightforward, quick, and stress-free. The car was in excellent condition and the price was very fair compared to other options we looked at. Everything was simple from start to finish, making it easy to get on with our trip.

Good value and excellent service — highly recommend.

Please use someone else. The company does not deserve to be in business.
I hired a van and paid extra for insurance. When I turned up as I didn’t have a physical credit card (only on my phone and a physical debit card) they nulled my insurance that cost me £68 and charged me their insurance covering exactly the same for £500!
Why?
Because I didn’t have a credit card…
Is it in the terms and conditions…yes on page 6 under section 7.2…in tiny writing of course…
But not on the front page listing what to bring (which includes driving license, booking reference etc etc., but not the need for a physical credit card)…
I accept I am at fault give their policy…but to charge over 7x more again for insurance I’d already paid for is (IMHO) extortionate, unreasonable and unfair…
But what can a customer do? Cancel…maybe rebook? yes…but this made the cost an additional 50% again on top…
Walk? Probably not…
Interestingly (and possibly why I’m so miffed) was not the extra money necessarily but the way in how quickly the agent seemed almost delighted I did not have a physical credit card…are they on commission…I wonder!?

A company sets its stall out by the treatment of its customers…ECH showed their cards and I will tell the world to never use them if only to save 1 person the pain I went through with them…

Use Europcar or Hertz (other brands are available:)) …will you pay more for the initial hire…yes, but they are less likely to rob you in broad daylight.

Organized SCAM!! DO NOT RENT WITH EASY CAR HIRE
My partner and I rented a car from Catania airport. On pick up they showed a car full of paint damages, scratches etc. The representative noted the major damages in a very easy and fast inspection.
After 4 days of rental where absolutely no incident happened, upon delivery another representative found a minimal sctach almost invisible to naked eye. This was intentionally to suck some money after us.

Ironically, on arrival, on the pick up counter another representative deceived us into make an extra insurance (costing roughly 180€) that would cover all kinds of damages, but in case of an incident we had to pay the first 200€. Guess how much they charged on my credit card for the invisible scratch? yeah, they have charged 198€!!!

I will never again rent and will spread the news around... Easy car hire is organized SCAM!!

What a disgraceful experience! When picking up the rental car, I pointed out several existing damage spots to the staff member on site, including small scratches on the bumper. The lady stubbornly refused to note or report this damage, despite me clearly pointing it out (see photos).

When returning the car, they suddenly inspected it with a magnifying glass to find the tiniest imperfections. And sure enough, the very same scratches I had reported when picking up the car were suddenly labelled as “new damage.” Without any discussion, a staggering €200 was withheld for so-called repairs even with an omnium insurance.

To make matters worse, we witnessed older customers returning their vehicles simply handing over the keys without any detailed inspection whatsoever. It is clear that this company specifically targets younger customers in order to unfairly charge them.

This is nothing short of theft — a disgusting practice and absolutely unacceptable!

Bad functioning cars and business that scams people.

I booked ECH through Discover Cars.
When I went to pick up the car, they insisted that I show them a airline ticket or they would charge me over €200 extra insurance. I was travelling by train so didn't have a flight ticket.
There was no mention of this in the original ad or the rental voucher that Discover had sent me, the service agent had to delve deep into the rental terms and conditions to find it, which I felt was completely dishonest and opaque.
Consequently I cancelled the booking and picked up a car for around the same price from another rental company 10 yards away in the booking hall.

UPDATE
I put the transaction into dispute and I won the case and got a full refund.

Awful. Agree with others, total scammers. Arrive keen to get on with your holiday. Car filthy! “It’s just the planes” other rental cars clean. Tried to charge €500 euros for scratch and dent that we didn’t cause. Avoid like the plague. They are cheap for all the wrong reasons.

📧 Subject: Complaint – Easycarhire Trapani Rental (Booking 1127373947)
Hello,

I am writing regarding my booking made via your platform StressFreeCarRental with the local agency Easycarhire at Trapani Airport (Booking No. 1127373947, from 01/08/2025 to 08/08/2025), with Full Protection insurance included.

My experience was very disappointing, and I would like to detail all the issues I encountered, as well as my request for reimbursement.

1️⃣ Conditions imposed upon arrival
Upon arrival, I was asked to pay an additional €300 because I did not have a credit card, only a debit card.
This information was not clearly communicated to me before booking and ended up more than doubling the actual cost of the rental.

2️⃣ Forced additional insurance
I had already purchased "Full Protection" insurance via StressFreeCarRental (€60 paid at the time of booking), yet the agent forced me to take an additional local SCDW insurance.
Your confirmation email clearly states that the local agency should not sell any additional coverage on-site when the customer already has Full Protection.

3️⃣ Deposit charged
I had to pay a €200 deposit with my debit card. A refund form was filled out upon returning the vehicle, but today I learned that this amount will not be refunded.

4️⃣ Mechanical breakdown and lack of assistance
The day after picking up the first vehicle (a Fiat Panda), the battery failed.
The agency only contacted roadside assistance to jump-start the car, without sending me a replacement vehicle.
I then had to drive over 50 km back to the airport to exchange the car, despite a warning light (ESC fault) being clearly on (see attached photo).
Driving a vehicle in this condition is dangerous and completely unacceptable.

5️⃣ New deposit requested for the replacement vehicle
When I arrived at the agency for the exchange, I was asked to pay a second €200 deposit, which I refused.
I was still given a replacement vehicle.

6️⃣ Retention of the €200 deposit for damage
On August 11th, I received an email from Easycarhire stating that my €200 deposit would be retained for a scratch on the rear right bumper.
They specify that this amount corresponds to the reduced excess thanks to the SCDW purchased on-site.
However, since I already had Full Protection insurance with you, this amount should be fully reimbursed to me under your coverage.

Total scam company, they made up an Italian law that doesn't exist and forced me to pay 220 euro, and also asked for a bribe. I've reported them already to the guarda di finanza.

DO NOT RENT FROM EASY CAR HIRE!
Awful company & an awful start to our holiday at this rental desk in Catania. The small lady with the black hair was a horrible, aggressive woman with zero charisma & even less customer service skill.
She tried to charge us several hundred Euro for additional insurance we had already paid for via our booking company. Our booking confirmation clearly stated in bold ‘You do NOT need to purchase additional insurance at the rental desk’. The angry woman made out our cover was inadequate, despite the fact she had no knowledge of it at all and was condescending and rude asking if it was the 1st time we had rented a car. She didn’t want to let it go and ranted about how much it would cost per mile if we broke down or the car was damaged or stolen and continually threw her hands in the air saying ‘Ok fine’ and generally acted like a petulant child. She then didn’t bother to give us the documents required to collect the car. The people before and after us seemed to be given similar treatment, one of them was charged double. We then got a v small ‘SUV’ with many scratches. I was expecting the worst when we handed the car in but they were actually pretty efficient and fair on the check in; no damage. I would bump the star score up but the pick up was the worst customer service experience I’ve ever endured, so leaving 1 star. I would not recommend using this company.

Never use this car rental! We rented a car for 7 days and they swapped the return date to 3 days at the last minute, so they charged us double the normal price of any other rental place in the area.
After 3 days they started charging us for 700 euros because we didnt return it, when we brought back the car they charged us for an extra day and we didn't get any copies of anything.
Also they told the other customer who came after us that if they rate them 5 stars they get 5 euros and we saw them handing over the money, so anyone rating this place 5 stars were either very lucky or got paid off.