CarFree Rent a Car Reviews 

Absolutely shocking. I provided three credit cards and none of them was accepted. One was 5 months valid, other one had initial of my first name and third one was not physical. Ive been instructed in simple words that either I will pay £104 for their “in home insurance” or I will not have car for my trip. As reward I will mot have to provide credit card and will not have to clean car on return. Most pricey car wash in my life.
I find this as extortion.
Will never use them again, even if Ill have to pay more somewhere else.
Ive been told that system would allow to freeze money on the card, company was just not willing to. Card with my initial and surname - there is no proof that this card is mine, even though all my documents including passport and drivers licence have same surname and first letter of my name.
Cracow Balice Airport.
Hope this review will help other people to save this horrendous rate.

I have received my car just because my credit was not paid due to security reasons. I am also willing to buy full insurance from them which is £100 even though I have another insurance from Wizz air.And I am willing to pay deposit and extra money via my debit card.They didn’t accept and my family was suffering sitting in airport.And immigration took 4hrs and ,flight late.But I got car from euro cars in 10 without hassle.And also I lost money which I have paid for car.

Very poor experience with this company.

We were forced to purchase full insurance due to a minor issue with the credit card name format (initial instead of full first name), which felt unnecessary and not clearly explained beforehand.

On top of that, upon returning the car, we were told we may be charged for “ash” allegedly found on the passenger floor mat — despite the fact that no one smoked in the vehicle at any point.

This feels like an attempt to impose additional charges without proper justification.

I have formally requested evidence of this claim.

I would strongly advise taking detailed photos and videos when returning the vehicle, as situations like this can arise unexpectedly.

Very disappointing and stressful experience.

Rented a car for £240 for 10 days with full insurance. They never told me I couldn’t drive outside Poland – not once, not verbally. I drove to Czech Republic and they fined me £1073.

The cross-border ban was buried in tiny print in the contract. I was rushed to sign and had no time to read it properly. When I explained it was an honest mistake, they were rude and said “we don’t care – you signed.”

A penalty over four times the rental cost for driving to a neighbouring EU country with no accident or damage? That’s outrageous. Feels like a hidden trap to make money.

Warning to others: Ask them directly in writing if you can drive to other countries before you pay. Don’t trust the small print.

Please read this before booking – very concerning experience.

I arrived at Wrocław Airport with my wife and toddler, having prepaid for a rental via Ryanair as the intermediary. I had also purchased full insurance through AXA offered during the booking process.

At the desk, I was refused the vehicle because my credit card displays my initial and surname rather than my full first name. While the voucher does state that a credit card with the full name is required, this feels unreasonable given that I presented both my passport and driving licence clearly showing my full name.

What made the situation more frustrating is that the same credit card was then accepted when booking directly with the rental desk – but only after being charged an additional 700 złoty, which was more than the original weekly rental cost.

When I queried this, I was told that with my original booking they could only hold a limited deposit (around 750 złoty), whereas booking directly allowed them to take a larger deposit. This explanation did not seem consistent, particularly given that my credit limit would have easily covered any reasonable deposit.

Overall, this felt like a technicality being used to force customers into paying significantly more at the desk. The lack of flexibility and empathy, especially when travelling with a young child, was disappointing.

I would strongly advise others to double-check the exact credit card name requirements before booking, particularly when using third-party providers like Ryanair, to avoid unexpected issues and additional costs.

Please also read the other one star reviews on this website.

We were provided with a great car at a more than reasonable price, it was given to us in a well presented manor. The customer service was spot on & faultless, highly recommend.

Excellent service and very good value. There's nothing to complain about.
Highly recommended.

I booked them with my ryanair booking so i did not have to take care of looking for different options… wrong! I should have looked at it very closely before booking with them.
I was refused for my car rental as I came with a débit card… ok my fault as it is said in the Check-list, but they ask for credit card. I do have a crédit cart but apparently they do not accept also american express! It is not written anywhere that they dont accept amex! I do hold platinum débit and platinum amex… looks like not enough for a 80€ rental!
Also, this Young Guy at the desk was very rude and laughing at me while i was trying to explain i have been renting car accross the world with those cards!
Acting like they own the world but they are just scammers!
Considering also other reviews I feel Blessed I could not rent with them…
Managed to get a car from another company within 10min with no problem at all!

Late.... Rented a vehicle from Sadkow Airport in Radom Poland, booking a 9am collection. Had to call the booking desk after waiting 15min with no one in attendance, agent arrived 20 minutes later.

Claimed they hadn't checked collection emails!

Arrange return with agent directly at desk for the Sunday to align with their claimed opening time of 10am. Arrived as arranged and after 20 minutes of waiting no one arrived. Again called their booking number to be told we would need to wait a further 20min!!!

Extremely poor service wasting valuable time and inconveniencing others waiting around to collect us!

Hertz are also based here so highly recommend using them for future bookings from Radom....

Total time waiting for Car Free staff over both collection and drop off was 1 hour 20min.

Terrible experience, I would describe this as a scam/joke! We have booked via Ryanair, just added the car via booking and the results were scandalous, they refused to give us the car, based on out credit card had abbreviation of my husbands name instead of showing a full name as per booking, we have shown his passport and driving licence and still was refused the car, they also took the deposit and forced us to pay for the full insurance with them in order to get the car. Ridiculous really, as we already had insurance purchased separately, the whole thing to be this pedantic and ridiculous is scandalous. I'm pregnant and have a toddler so we didn't have much choice but pay the extra 700zl for their insurance and 700zl for the deposit, they advertise no deposit which is not true. Horrible experience and we used to get the car with flex cars, never had a single issue. This sort of things can happen only in Poland, shocking really, will report this with our bank as a scam.

The whole experience was just as I expected it would be. Professional, friendly staff, both on the telephone and in person all of whom could speak fluent English (my first language) which made the process very easy for me. Thank you CarFree.

This was a seamless rental experience. The staff were friendly and very helpful.

I made a reservation for March 24, 2026. When I came to pick up the car at Krakow airport, it turned out to be impossible because the company has a ridiculous and outdated credit card policy.

In short, they don't accept cards with abbreviations and surnames instead of first names, e.g., MR R M SMITH.

Barclays has been sending me cards with this "defect" for 22 years, and I've never had a problem with it. I had two passports and a driver's license to prove my identity.

It's worth noting that my credit card is a Platinum with a limit of over 15,000.
Unfortunately, for the idiot at CarFree, all this wasn't enough.

None of their neighboring car rental companies had these idiotic rules. I had to rent a car from Hertz for over 250 pounds, compared to the 34 pounds I paid through CarFree.
Since I wasn't particularly impressed with their policies, the "thinker" behind the counter said it was very good that such negative(!!!?) people like me came from Poland... I'm speechless.
It was a waste of time and nerves.
Avoid them like the plague.
booki ref no PL 934615490 Car Free
Ryanair A278ND

Excellent Experience with Car Free Poland!
I recently rented a car from Car Free during my trip to Poland, and I couldn't be happier with the service. If you are looking for a reliable and budget-friendly rental, this is the place.

Why I recommend them:

Unbeatable Prices: They offered the most competitive rates I could find without any hidden fees.

Top-Notch Service: The staff was professional, friendly, and made the pickup and drop-off process incredibly smooth.

Quality Vehicles: The car was clean, well-maintained, and perfect for my travels.

Honesty & Transparency: Everything was exactly as promised. No surprises, just great service.

I’ll definitely be using Car Free again on my next visit to Poland. 5 stars!

All was good

Excellent service and great car!

The car was provided in a good condition, the customer service was helpful and friendly.

Super obsuga

Very disappointing experience with CarFree Rent a Car after booking through Booking.com.

Despite having a valid credit card and confirmed reservation, the rental was refused because my card was not embossed. Many banks today issue flat (non-embossed) cards for security reasons, so this requirement feels outdated and unrealistic. I even showed three other credit cards from different banks, all non-embossed, and offered that they try charging the card to verify it works. All of these cards were issued by local banks here in Poland, yet they still refused.

They also insisted on seeing my physical passport, even though I hold a valid Polish residence card and had other identification available. A digital copy was not accepted either.

Because of these rigid requirements, I was unable to proceed with the rental and had to find another option at the last minute. Very frustrating and a waste of time. I strongly recommend travelers double-check their policies or consider other rental companies.