Drivalia UK - East Midlands Airport Reviews 

Just had the normal automated response that every other one star review had! They’ve asked me to use their online portal but I’ve left two messages and it says I’ve exceeded my limit now and the phones don’t work, but I still need my money back…is this even legal?! Where are the managers??? Where is a human to talk to about this?!

After being badly let down by a major hire co, it was a relief to discover the two great guys at EMA. Friendly and helpful, with a great value deal, I was soon on my way.
Cheers guys!

Very helpful staff, the PDF inspection file showing all the existing damage on the car was very useful.

Lots of extra charges and we were given a car which was absolutely filthy and has spray paint all down the side. The brake pads also screech so the car clearly has maintenance issues. Would avoid this company in the future. I have taken multiple videos of the car before leaving the drivalia car park because from what I see of other reviews, they charge you for prior damage anyway.

I’ll receive an automated response to this saying to use the manage driving but our booking reference isn’t recognised and they never respond to emails,

Great service

Drivalia East Mids Airport. Booked Ryanair flight and car rental together with Ryanair. Flight delayed, arrived approx 70 mins after due pickup time. Told car requested not available so need to pay £100 extra to get next level up car. Car covered in stone chips, cracked windscreen, under half full fuel. Warning light on. No washer fluid. Smell of cigarettes. Told by Ryanair not there problem it’s 1/3 rd party booking. Left £1500 deposit on credit card and still pending on credit card after 28 days. Bank cannot do anything yet ? Do not use them

I hire cars possibly 5/6 times a year in the UK and this was by best experience by far. Having been let down completely at the last minute by Europcar, no car and unhelpful staff, Drivalia saved the day. Adolfo could not have been more helpful and made the whole process very easy. He went over the car in detail when I picked it up and explained how everything worked, he also helped me to extend my booking. Couldn’t have been happier and will definitely use again as service and opening hours better than any other car hire company I’ve used.

Excellent customer service.
Clean car
Easy car Processing, pick up and drop off.

I have hired from Drivalia a few times now from EMA. The service has always been excellent, professional and friendly. I chose the pick up and drop off at the terminal which was very convenient and stress free. The car was as expected and all paperwork straightforward. I will definitely hire again on my next visit. Thank you to the team at EMA for a great experience.

AVOID DRIVALIA EAST MIDLANDS
Turned up to collect the car we booked and paid for only to be casually told that they had no cars left. Simple as that. She said she tried to phone the day before to let us know but I had no missed calls or messages and no other attempt to contact us. This was not an isolated incident either as another customer arrived while we were there to be told the exact same thing. Completely unprofessional and unreliable - avoid this company at all costs. Completely let down.

Adolfo was great and sincere. Being honest and trying to help us obtain the best deal for the conditions we required.

All in all great person to deal with

Amazing service as always. Excellent communication, support for amendments for the booking led by Adolfo.

Amazing experience. It is the best car rental we have tried so far. Adolfo was very helpful in the entire process. Will definitely recommend.

My wife flew back to East Midlands earlier today. The Ryanair flight was delayed so she arrived at the Drivalia desk later than planned (1.5 hrs) but still during opening times so no worries as she had prepaid in full for the car. Or so she thought !

My wife was told they had given her car to someone else as she was late ! Even though she had paid for it already !! But they could get her another car for an additional fee of £72. Travelling alone they knew she had no option but to pay.

This is outrageous behaviour from a supposed reputable company. The staff member involved and his company should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

My wife was visiting our grandson. A happy time but she arrived thoroughly upset and angry.

Update based on response below:

There is a difference between a booking and a prepaid booking. If just a booking I can understand why you might only hold for a set period of time (although an hour at an airport with all the possibilities of delay seems a little too short) but a prepaid booking I don't. This should be allocated to the customer for the period paid for irrespective of whether they use it or not. To give it to another customer and then charge you for an alternative is outrageous.

Adolfo and the team at Drivalia EMA were great from start to finish - very friendly and helpful throughout! Thank you!

First class service most helpful

Great experience from start to finish. We arrived at East Midlands airport, telephoned the Drivalia office and spoke to Adolfo. He came to pick us up, took us to their site, we filled out paperwork quickly, we were shown the car (which was meant to be a polo but was upgraded to a top specification Nissan Juke), all marks / stone chips were pointed out and the petrol policy was explained. We got quickly on our way and returned the car a few days later. Drop off was just as easy. We were then taken to the airport. We never felt pressured or ripped off in any way. We did have to pay £5 for the pick up and drop off, but that is the airport drop off fee and not the fault of drivalia. We could have saved and walked, but felt the £5 was worth it. Will definitely use again.

To start with, the information on how to get there, said get on the shuttle bus to the car rental village. Got on the shuttle bus and went to the car rental village and Drivalia are not located there. Got back on the shuttle bus, back to the terminal and then had to get on public transport to there office.
The office is not very well sign posted as it is inside a much larger building with many small units in it, Fortunately the girl on the front desk directed me there.
The evening before I had an e-mail from Drivalia asking if I wanted to check in, to save time on the collection, which I did, and got a code from the DVLA, as it said I would be charged for this at Drivalia.
At the desk I was asked to go thru the check in all again verbally by the staff and show the relevant bits of paper, which fortunately I had with me, plus my Passport and Driving license. So why did I spend and hour of my time the night before scanning in all the these documents and uploading them to who knows where, just to have to do it all again when I got there? Then came the real kick in the nuts.
They asked for swipe of my credit card, which I told them that I do not have one, only a debit. ( My debit card has always been ok at various car rentals, both in the UK and abroad). The man at the desk said a Debit card was not ok and that I was going to be charged £39.99 a day for the rental period, which worked out at £560, which was non refundable which made the overall price of £822.31 for 2 weeks, the man decide to give me a generous discount of £100, at which point I told him where to go and walked out.
Being physically disable and having taken a number of buses to get there, I was furious, as I then had to take a number of buses to get back home. This then left me without transport for 2 weeks till I eventually bought a cheap car for £800, which is great.
The booking was to get me around while my own vehicle was having some restoration work done to it.
Really discussed with Drivalia.

Collected my hire car from East Midlands airport and Adolfo was incredibly helpful and made sure I knew all that I needed before driving away. Highly recommend 👍🏼

Adolfo is a legend! Smile on his face always, very pleasant and a credit to the Drivalia team. I ended up hiring two cars over two consecutive weeks and despite some setbacks with the vehicle I had hired Adolfo made it right. I was skeptical hiring off Drivalia given they’re not ‘main-brand’ but I wasn’t disappointed. Great customer service, open and transparent, and decent price. Couldn’t ask for more!