Europcar UK Reviews 

STAY AWAY..DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY
If you have no choice but to use these scammers make sure you take a detailed video/pictures of the car and the fuel tank milage.
They told me to return it full with fuel which is fair enough but when I got in the car it was far from full.
Luckily we took a detailed video of the car when we collected it to show any scratches and defects. 2 weeks after we got home they said we had scratched the bumper and we we're being charged. The video clearly showed the scratch was already there so they made a fraudulent claim against us.
NEVER AGAIN!!

Do not use Europcar !! I recently hired a car from Europcar in Malaga airport which I pre booked online for approx £300 for a ten day period, on arrival at the airport i went to collect the car and I was spoken to in Spanish, I tried my best to understand and I was hastily taken through a contract and prompted to make another payment, I tried to explain I already paid and just wanted to collect the car I was then told in broken English this payment was just a deposit so after along flight I reluctantly agreed to to just get on our way. Turns out I was miss sold a premium insurance to the price on £474 on top of the original £300 price. I have tried to fight this and get my money back with the customer service but they simply refuse saying I signed the contract on a arrival which again is completely in Spanish. Avoid Europcar at all cost !

Europcar cancelled booking after customer services confirmed all OK, on day of collection, without apology or offering alernatives.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Absolute scammers. Messed up my booking so had to pay more on holiday when I arrived, which they admitted eventually and refunded me the difference, but had to pay more on the day I arrived on holiday or be left with no car. Put pressure on the start of what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday and didn’t even offer any compensation on top of giving back the difference despite causing all the stress and refused to pay the bank charge I got for paying so much on a card in a different country. Despite it being their fault, which they admitted! Shocking service.

Plenty of hidden charges like donations etc and no adequate customer service to resolve the problems when back overseas. I will never use or recommend this rental company again.

Very awful service. Rented the van online, paid for it. Received an email confirmation, initially rented Mercedes but in the email I was notified that car will be VW. Confirmed the job for a Saturday as I had the van rented yesterday. Today morning, without any discussion with me, received an email cancellation confirmation!!! Don’t work with this company, unreliable, dishonest and incompetent.

Woefully inadequate. The staff do not have the systems in place to serve customers quickly and efficiently. Only 2 staff at the desk and most of the time they were working together on one booking. Car rental village Manchester airport the person before us had waited over an hour for her car. We were headed for an equally long wait (and we're going to be late for our appointment as a consequence). We got frustrated with the staff and they withdrew our booking, would not rent us a car. We went to enterprise desk next to the Europcar desk and were on the road inside 30 mins. Never again...

Avoid Europcar – Unfair Charges and Extremely Poor Process - Posting on Europcar UK too, as I raised this complaint with them as apparently I am legally allowed to do so, and they have not assisted either.

I’ve used Europcar multiple times before without issue, but my most recent experience has completely changed my view. I would strongly advise others to think twice before booking with them. When I read reviews beforehand, but after I had booked online via their app, I thought to myself that these poor reviews I was reading, was just very unlucky, because I have never had a problem. However...

After returning my rental, I was hit with over £100 in charges for a TINY scuff on the wing mirror casing (1cm) which looks like it could just be rubbed off, and I can categorically confirm I had not cause it. What’s most concerning isn’t just the charge itself - but the way the entire process is set up.

At collection:

The car was parked in an incredibly poorly lit garage, making any meaningful inspection nearly impossible.
I was required to sign the agreement before even seeing the vehicle. No staff member walked me through the condition of the car.

At no point was I clearly informed of any “24-hour damage reporting rule.” The only reference was buried in Spanish on the agreement, with no explanation and literally all it said was "Observaciones 24h damages" - with an email address. For a non-Spanish speaker, this is completely unreasonable and lacks transparency - I hired the vehicle from an airport!

At return:

A lady carried out an in-depth inspection with a torch, highlighting this "damage". I disputed the damage immediately. Staff were dismissive and uninterested, telling me “you can go now”. I felt pressured to sign paperwork without a proper opportunity to challenge the claim, they just said "we need to record it for the next customer". I reiterated I did not accept the damage and I was dismissed over and over again.

Europcar has provided no clear evidence that this damage occurred during my rental—no proper before/after photos, no repair invoice, nothing to justify the charge. Yet they still applied:

Damage fee
Additional admin fee

Together, these were completely disproportionate to what is, at most, normal wear and tear.

To make matters worse, the vehicle itself wasn’t in perfect condition when I received it (less than a full tank of fuel and an electrical fault), which I chose not to make an issue of at the time, because I'm not petty - unlike Europcar.

Overall, this experience felt less like a genuine damage claim and more like a revenue-generating exercise at the customer’s expense. It is even listed on the invoice as "Other revenue".

I am now formally disputing the charges and pursuing recovery. Europcar has rejected my dispute but still refuses to provide any evidence (no before/after photos, no repair invoice). This only reinforces my concern that these charges are not being applied fairly.

My advice:

Take extensive photos/videos at collection and return.
Do not rely on their inspection process.
Be extremely cautious—especially in poorly lit collection areas. Report any unknown damage within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, what should have been a straightforward rental turned into a stressful and disappointing experience. I will not be using Europcar ever again. Their charges have resulted in lost revenue from a once loyal customer, which seems ludicrous, for the sake of a £100 charge!

Well done Europcar - excellent business acumen!

I booked online car rental with a broker for Stansted airport. I read the terms and conditions of Europcar and I fulfilled every criteria to rent the car. However, on arrival I was refused a car due to the fact Europcar was unable to perform a credit check on me, (UK BASED CREDIT CHECK ONLY), I do not live in the UK. Europcar needs to rethink this policy, you cannot expect all your customers to have a UK registered address whilst you are based at an international airport with foreigners wishing to rent cars. This policy is losing you a huge amount of trade.

Rented a vehicle in March 2026 through a company online called Car Jet. This directed me to Europcar in Wallisdown, however when I handed over the voucher, literally got coerced into spending double as apparently my voucher didn’t cover the whole cost as advertised on Car Jet. Apparently Europcar have had a lot of issues with Car Jet not explaining the full costs to customers …. Unfortunately I had no choice due to work commitments that morning, and they refused to give me my £190 back when I challenged the extras (n.b. couldn’t get in contact with anyone at Car Jet). Vehicle engine also caught fire on the A31 during the hire (3hrs later got recovered back to Wallisdown). I was then given another vehicle this wasn’t an automatic as purchased, furthermore I was downgraded to a basic small vehicle (which then ended up having an oil leak). Was then told I’d be getting a refund for all the extras I was told I needed to pay, in addition to a discount next time for the aggravation. Eight weeks later they took £238 from my account. Still can’t get anyone to deal with my case (spoken to them directly since and emailed head office with evidence etc), clearly not bothered in engaging. Interestingly when I first arrived there were two gents arguing with the manager about getting their deposit back (must be an reoccurring theme!). But yeah, lesson learnt avoid like the plague.

​Do not use Europcar Cardiff Roath unless you want to be scammed and stonewalled. I booked and paid in full over a week in advance for an Intermediate class vehicle (VW Golf / T-Roc or similar).

​When I arrived, they handed over the keys to a Ford Puma—a subcompact vehicle in a completely lower category. There was no apology, no explanation, and no offer of a reduced price or partial refund. They simply tried their luck, hoping I wouldn't notice or care. To make matters worse, they sneaked the vehicle through the paperwork and tricked me into signing the agreement without once mentioning they were downgrading the car I had paid for.

​When I sat in the car and realized how small it was, I went straight back inside to demand the Intermediate vehicle I actually paid for. The staff refused to swap it, claimed they had "nothing else," and stated the manager had gone home. I had to force the desk agent to write down on paper that no manager was on site and no correct cars were available.

​I specifically booked a larger, comfortable Intermediate car to take my elderly mother on a 6-hour round trip to her brother's funeral. Forcing an elderly woman with mobility needs into a cramped, lower-category vehicle on an emotionally draining day is absolute disgusting behavior. Zero empathy, zero customer service, and zero accountability.
​This is a classic "bait and switch" operation—a clear breach of contract under UK Consumer Law.

I have formally logged a complaint ticket (Ref: 26934901), and if this is not rectified with a full refund and compensation, I will be escalating this directly to the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) and initiating a credit card chargeback.
​Be warned: Europcar Cardiff Roath will take your money for a decent car and hand you a budget box without telling you. Extremely dodgy company run by dishonest staff. Avoid at all costs!

Got a booking declined less than 24 Hours before I was supposed to pick up the vehicle. Charged me the full cancellation fee.

Unacceptable hygiene standards and unsafe vehicle preparation

I am extremely disappointed with my experience. The vehicle I was given was in a completely unacceptable condition and should never have been rented out.

The interior was not hygienic. There was dirt and rubbish, including leftover plastic packaging from a previous customer, making it obvious that the car had not been properly cleaned or inspected before being handed over.

Even more concerning, the windscreen was covered in watermarks and residue. When driving towards the sun, the glare severely affected visibility, making the car uncomfortable and potentially unsafe to drive. A clean windscreen is a basic safety requirement, yet this was clearly ignored.

Customers pay for a vehicle that is clean, safe, and properly prepared. Instead, I received a car that looked as though it had been handed straight from one customer to the next without even a basic clean.

This level of hygiene is unacceptable, especially for a major international rental company. If Europcar cannot carry out simple cleaning and safety checks before handing over a vehicle, it raises serious concerns about the quality of their overall inspection process.

I will not be using Europcar again and cannot recommend them based on this experience.

I wish there was a 0 star 'cos that's what they deserve.
Terrible customer care....You'd choose a car and they want to force you to collect a car different from what you paid for.

I made a booking for over 5 hours, was charged and car not delivered, I was advised to make another booking which I did.....still after 3 hours, no car delivered.

I paid twice, no car delivered, I still have to wait for over 48 hours to get my money back.

THIS COMPANY IS FRAUDULENT AND TERRIBLE.
STAY AWAY IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE YOUR MONEY STUCK.

Charged £361.56 in "optional" extras I was never told about. Never refunded a pence after months of complaints.

Rented from Europcar at Glasgow Airport in March 2026 as a walk-in after my original booking fell through. Base rental was £75.83 for six days. Final bill was £502.55.

The £361.56 difference was three products added to my contract without explanation: Premium Protection Package, Roadside Assistance Express, and Super Personal Accident Protection. I was handed documents, told where to sign, and that was it. No verbal explanation of individual products. No mention that anything was optional. No opportunity to decline.

I complained. Europcar rejected every stage by pointing at my signatures. They claimed CCTV footage from the counter "supports" their account of a transparent transaction.

I obtained that same CCTV footage through a Subject Access Request. The entire interaction — document presentation through to final signature — lasted 65 seconds. In writing to a separate dispute body, Europcar acknowledged the footage "is not audible" and cannot verify what was said. So the same footage they told me proved their case, they admitted elsewhere proves nothing about the conversation.

The BVRLA conciliation service sided with Europcar. The Financial Ombudsman Service declined jurisdiction on a technicality.

Europcar never refunded a pence.

I will never rent from Europcar or any Europcar Mobility Group brand again (Goldcar, InterRent, Ubeeqo included). I will tell every friend, family member, and colleague to avoid this company. What Europcar did to me is what a "reputable" rental company does when it thinks nobody will push back. I pushed back for months. Save yourself the trouble and rent from someone else.

We collected our rental car at Manchester Airport after a long journey with our one-year-old daughter. We had already waited over 30 minutes at the desk and then another 15 minutes while the car was supposedly being cleaned.

When we finally got the car, it smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. The smell was so strong that we spent the next day trying to air it out ourselves by leaving the windows open. This is not what you expect from a non-smoking rental vehicle, especially when travelling with a young child.

What disappointed us even more was the customer service afterwards. Europcar’s response was essentially that because no one had reported the issue internally, there was no evidence anything was wrong. They also suggested we should have returned to the desk for another vehicle, despite us already having waited 45+ minutes with an exhausted one-year-old who desperately needed sleep.

Instead of taking responsibility, they dismissed our experience and offered a 10% discount on a future rental. After this experience, I have no intention of renting from Europcar again.

Poor vehicle preparation, poor customer service, and a very disappointing start to what should have been a family holiday. I cannot recommend Europcar Manchester Airport.

I will never, ever use Europcar Swansea again. Indeed, I will simply never use nor recommend Europcar. I hired a car in March 2026 yet here we are nearly August 2026 and I frequently have a £90 debit made against my credit card by Europcar of which my bank can do nothing about yet the staff at Europcar appear to be too incompetent to clear. The staff are beyond useless, it has been one thing after another, beyond annoyed that I am still having to sort this out all these months later. Will likely end up having to cancel my credit card.

Multiple hidden charges levied after the rental period, especially beware of the ‘island explorer charge’. We were charged £36 after just going over the Skye bridge for less than 5 minutes after taking a wrong turn. When we explained the situation we were just told the standard ‘the computer says no’. Awful customer service.
Additionally the car was left at Inverness airport in perfect condition, no one was available to check the car so we left the keys in the box as directed. Some days later Europcar claimed there were ‘heavy scuff marks’ on a corner of the bumper and that we were not present to check the car out.
I would avoid this company at all costs!!!

I had a very disappointing experience with this car rental company - Europcar in Dover. My reservation was accepted, and I paid in advance. However, on the day I was supposed to collect the car, the company suddenly cancelled my booking without any proper explanation.

This left me without a vehicle at the last minute and caused a lot of stress and inconvenience. The customer service was not helpful and did not offer a suitable solution. I would not recommend this company to anyone, especially if you need a reliable rental. I will not use their service again.
Unfortunately, this is another company that treats the customer like a slave. You’re expected to show up without discussion, meet all the conditions that benefit the company, and in the end pay.

Soon we’ll see the company’s “delightful” response below.

!!!! Don’t ever go for this car company !!!
They take money from your account without permission .I had to be calling them and email them for more than three months to get refund and I’m still waiting while they done that mistake or they do it to take money from people without consent .no Ben one star straight robbery