Drivalia Italia Reviews 15,918

Drivalia have refunded me the full amount !, my fault as i read the email wrong, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
(IT26FLX76yh21 P.BRYAN)
5 stars....

This company scam you, DONT ever use them. We arrived with a booking, the correct licence and a credit card (Mastercard) in the right name and with enough credit. We have our own excess insurance but they said they couldn't accept our credit card for the excess as we were from the UK! This is absolute rubbish and a lie. We couldn't cancel the rental as we'd prepaid and they forced us to accept to pay Euro439 for the full cover.

Once we returned home we got a statement and they'd charged our card Euro556! Absolutely no response from them to explain why.

In short - DONT EVER USE THIS COMPANY

We rented a car through Drivalia, and unfortunately the overall experience was frustrating from start to finish.

First of all, the pickup location in Rome city center was extremely difficult to find. When we finally located the office, communication with the staff was almost impossible. The woman at the desk spoke very limited English, worked incredibly slowly, and seemed more focused on arguing with a colleague than assisting customers.

After a long wait, we were simply handed the keys and vaguely pointed in a direction where the car was supposedly located. The car itself had numerous scratches and dents, although to be fair, it drove well and had no mechanical issues during our rental.

The real problems started when returning the car. We had filled the tank completely just before arriving, yet the staff insisted it was not full. Although we knew we had just refueled, the gauge did not show completely full. We had to drive back to the gas station, where thankfully an attendant explained that the battery needed to be disconnected to reset the system. Once that was done, the gauge suddenly showed full – exactly as expected.

We returned again, only to be told that a compressor kit was missing from the car. This was never mentioned at pickup, and all documentation was provided in Italian, leaving us with no realistic way to verify or dispute the claim. As we had a flight to catch, we simply did not have the time or energy to argue further.

In summary, while the car itself was fine, the service, communication, and overall handling were extremely poor. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend this company

Very Slow Service To pick up the car and the car was not the category booked.

The service from staff before during and after was very good. Our rating is based solely on the condition of the car we received. It should never have been put on the road. We wanted to refuse it but were told to return to the airport rental counter in order to get a different auto; as we had a previous issue with a car we reserved from another company and were running behind schedule, with a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us, we chose to keep it. It barely made it and was towed away the next morning.

Honestly, I got nothing good to say about Drivalia.
I arrived a day late, which the company was informed about. When I got there I had to call, because no one was at the desk. On the phone the woman was really upset that I called 5 minutes before my appointment. Rude Staff!
Then apparently they weren't informed about my delay and my booked car wasn't available anymore. Following this they wanted to give me an upgrade which I would've had to pay for, but they wouldn't accept my credit card and said it's not their problem. Turned me away.
I booked via a third party booking page, which was my luck. I called them and got my money back through them.
Nonetheless Drivalia's service was very disappointing and I would 100% recommend to book at another car rental provider at the airport.

***Left stranded when car broke down***
***Appalling Customer Service***
***Not to be trusted***
We were left stranded by Drivalia when the car we hire in good faith broke down. It took hours of our holiday to get this sorted. The customer service desk (18.2.26, 19.02.26) promised to refund unused car hire and pay for our taxi to get to the airport (approx £600). On returning to they advised they'd only pay 200€.
They are now trying to wriggle out of this agreement.

1 star because 0 is not an option.
Due to a delayed flight in Milano Malpensa, I was not able to pick up the car on time. I was 24 minutes late, at the desk. The lady named Hadi, refused to give me the car, and said I only could have an upgrade to 200 euro extra per day. And when I accepted that, she did not even have the exclusive Mercedes she told me was the only car left.
Like almost all others in this business, it’s robbery at daylight.

Please don't ever use this company.!! I arrived late due to flight delays due to bad weather. Even though the office at Stansted was informed twice, they also had my flight number they insisted on charging me an extra £216 for a car I had already paid for, apparently because I was late they had given my car away..!! .The manager was extremely unhelpful, rude and could do with some customer service training. I will never be using this company again and can only warn people to not use this useless car rental at Stansted. The head office have sent automated emails in response to my complaint and have not been helpful in any way. I also had expenses of taxi fares, a hotel stay and additional hire car costs. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY . They will always appear to be the cheapest...but you get what you pay for...don't bother use a reputable company instead.

I am shocked by how Dervilia treats its customers. We stood at the counter with our 3-month-old baby, and after a small issue with the card type, the staff just sent us away. No empathy, no English support on the phone, and no help at all.

They even kept the 112 Euro we paid for the baby seat! They are literally taking money from a baby for a seat we never received. We had to find a last-minute solution ourselves while being completely ignored by their "customer service."

Never again! If you want a reliable car rental, go elsewhere.

UPDATE (May 2026): After a lot of back and forth, the company partially refunded us (the baby seat and 50% of the car fee). However, this means we still lost more than 330 EUR for nothing. The stress of being turned away at the airport with a newborn baby cannot be erased by a half-hearted partial refund. Drivalia only reacted because of the negative reviews, not out of customer care. We still demand a full refund for a service that was never provided. Parents, be careful with this agency!  

UPDATE (May 2026):
Drivalia has now refunded 50% of the booking fee after our public complaints. While we acknowledge this step, they are still withholding over 330 EUR for a rental service that we never received. Keeping half of our money for absolutely zero service after leaving a family with a 3-month-old baby stranded is not a fair solution. The case remains open, and my 1-star rating stays until the remaining amount is fully refunded. We are still prepared to take this to the European Consumer Centre.

UPDATE May 2026:
After my review, Drivalia's customer service reached out and refunded the 136.64 EUR for the baby seat. However, they are still refusing to refund the remaining 668.85 EUR for the rental service that was never provided. They tried to call us to "discuss" the feedback, but we want a fair financial resolution, not just a phone call.

Keeping nearly 670 EUR for zero service while leaving a family with a 3-month-old baby stranded is unacceptable. We are now escalating this through the European Consumer Centre (ECC). My 1-star rating remains until the full amount is settled.
Avoid this company at all costs, especially if you are traveling with children!
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APRIL 2026:
We booked a car and a baby seat (which cost us 112 EUR extra). Because we didn't have a specific credit card, the staff on-site simply turned us away. They refused to find any alternative solution and told us they were "not responsible" for complaints.

To make matters worse, their hotline only speaks Italian—no English or German available. We were left stranded with our 3-month-old infant at the airport.

The most disgusting part: They are refusing to refund even the 112 EUR for the baby seat, even though the service was never provided. This is plain theft and a total lack of duty of care towards a family.

Unprofessional, arrogant, and greedy. Stay away!

There was no one on duty to hand over the car. The woman who handled our booking called whoever was meant to be on duty and could not get hold of them.

So I had to take the car without anyone explaining the basics of it or checking the car for damage.

The car had a number of dents and damage which I photographed as a record of the state of it before leaving the airport.

For example it is a hybrid car but no one explained how to use the battery or re charge it.

Not impressed at all.

That said the car has driven well to date and on the plus side the booking was speedy.

Expensive rip off prices and poor customer service.

Terrible company! They refused to give me a pre booked car in Treviso on the grounds that I don’t have international driver license. I have been renting cars all over the world including Italy on my New Zealand license without any issue for years, but their incompetent clerk declined the hire. Needless to say, I went to Avis straight away and got a car on the e same license. Furthermore, Drivalia now refuses to give me a refund! This is outrageous! What a band if thieves! Avoid this company by all means!

Worst rental car company ever!
They falsly claim I damaged the windshield - and charge me €700 for it.
Fraudsters - stay away from them!

I rarely leave reviews, but the service at Drivalia Bari Airport was appalling. We had a travel delay and spent our entire layover in Rome trying to reach them to ensure they'd hold our car. They wouldn't pick up for us or for Booking.com.
When we arrived, the staff was cold and unhelpful, essentially telling us we were out of luck despite having already paid in full. They actually tried to keep our payment without providing a car. Thankfully, Booking.com customer service was great and forced a refund on their end—meaning Drivalia likely kept our original payment while refusing us a vehicle. The stress they caused wasn't worth it. Stay away.

After an accident delayed our flight to Bari, we got the next flight to Rome and took a train to Bari. Knowing that if you don't collect your car in an hour you might not have it anymore, we tried calling Drivalia repeatedly to update them (after we landed in Rome); they refused to answer to us or even Booking.com, who tried calling on our behalf.
When we finally arrived, two incredibly arrogant staff members (a man and a woman) were completely heartless, although I explained what happened and mentioned that the car is already fully paid.
While I was standing right in front of her, the lady refused to answer the phone for Booking.com, claiming she was 'too busy' while they were calling to help us!
They refused to provide a car or a solution, cancelled our fully-paid booking on the spot, and tried to keep our money, refusing a refund.
They are happy to leave you stranded. Huge thanks to Booking.com customer service for being lovely and forcing a refund. Avoid Drivalia Bari Airport at all costs!

Great service and support by the team at Turin airport. Friendly and service-minded staff.
I’ll certainly use them next time when I need to rent a car again. The whole process was very smooth.

Very friendly and service-oriented personnel, very good service and very flexible.