Drivalia UK - LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT Reviews 

Have become a regular here, and Abbs and Dan are always great with me, very professional and always sort me out what I need.

Abs and the team are always brilliant excellent service consistently

Picked up a car late 2/9/26 at London Gatwick Airport, around 11.15pm and was greeted with a smile from your receptionist, Yas. He was professional, smart and courteous. The rental agreement details were quick and we were shown clear directions to drive out and where to leave our keys on return. Yas clearly must be a fantastic member of your staff and you are very lucky he is in your team.

There should be an option for ZERO stars, they are not worthy of any stars.
I booked the lower grade car for 2 weeks! I was within the 1 hour collection time, but had to que. When I got to the desk, the customer service rep said he could not find my booking. He called his supervisor over, he came over to the desk and signalled to the customer service rep, by saying " have I got something in my eye". (to me when I think back this was a heads up to get as much money out of me as he can). The so called supervisor said that my booking had been cancelled!!!! He was trying to sell me a larger car as the one I had booked was not available anymore......... I said that it was not my fault I had to queue and I was well within the airline company I booked it through contract terms of collecting the vehicle within the 2 hour period during operating hours!! It is clear to me that Drivalia and the Airline contracts with each other are not aligned.
I ended up losing the money I originally paid up front and had to fork out another £350.00 as I would have been stranded without a car.
The customer representative said I should claim it back through the airline company I booked it through.
He printed out the new contract which stated "LATE PICKUP" in the meantime he also emailed me a copy of the contract which stated "UPGRADE" which I did not ask for. This to me is "Falsification of Documentation", is this even allowed...........I think not?
The moral of the story is, don't use them even though the booking comes out cheaper than other car hire providers, if they can they will look for excuses to charge even more. Even though I had full insurance with the original booking, they tried to sell me another at a rate of £15 per day!! DON'T USE THEM!!!!

I've travelled to Gatwick and hired a car for 3-4 days every 3-4 weeks for over 2 years. I've used several different car hire companies and decided to try Drivalia this time. NEVER AGAIN. Huge queues, long wait, need to upload bank statements and utility bills to check-in, got charged for insurance upgrade despite saying I didn't want it and ripped off to the tune of £44 by the fuel policy - which I had to search to find as it wasn't mentioned at collection... Oh, and the car had done 88,000, was rusty and very tired.... Might be a bit cheaper but not worth the saving!!!!

Appalling. Dirty room with rude staff who were incompetent at best. 8 people in the queue and took almost an hour to hire car. Will never use again.

I arrived at the Drivalia desk at Gatwick Airport to collect the car I had hired through EasyJet. I was told by the Drivalia agent that I would have to pay an additional £100 because I was collecting the car “out of hours”.

I checked my booking confirmation and there was no mention of any additional £100 out-of-hours charge. Furthermore, I was collecting the car at the exact time I had specified when making the booking. I also contacted the rep at Easyjet, who checked the booking and confirmed that there was no such charge. However, I was advised that I should pay the £100 and that the matter could be resolved at a later date.
Reluctantly, I agreed to pay the £100 and offered my credit card. However, the Drivalia agent refused to accept payment by card and insisted that I pay in cash. I did not have any cash with me.

I contacted the police to seek assistance. I was advised that this was a civil matter and that there was nothing they could do.

The situation then became extremely distressing. The Drivalia agent told me that I would have to leave the premises. This was not a reasonable option in the circumstances. It was extremely late at night, I was travelling alone, and I had no practical way of getting home to Croydon without the hire car I had booked.
As I did not feel it was safe or reasonable for me to simply leave the airport in the middle of the night, I remained at the desk. The Drivalia agent then called the police. During this interaction, he also insinuated that I intended to make false accusations against him. This was completely unfounded. I had remained calm and polite throughout the situation (for which `I have video evidence) and was simply trying to resolve an issue with a booking that I had legitimately made and paid for.

When the police arrived, they listened to what had happened and confirmed that I was not in the wrong. Nevertheless, they ultimately persuaded me to leave the premises.

As a result, I was left at Gatwick Airport until approximately 5am, when I was able to catch the first train back into London. I was travelling alone and had expected to collect the vehicle I had booked and paid for, so being left in this situation was extremely upsetting and caused considerable inconvenience and distress.

I used this service regularly and the service is brilliant, yas all ways sorts me out. .

3617260
Dear Drivalia Team,

I am writing regarding the damage report and the £230 charge I have received following the return of the vehicle. I wish to formally dispute this charge and make it absolutely clear that I do not accept any liability for the alleged damage.

I categorically deny causing or being responsible for any damage to the vehicle during the three days it was in my possession. The vehicle was returned in the same condition in which I received it.

Furthermore, when I collected the vehicle on Thursday, it was already dark, which made it impossible for me to properly inspect or document its condition. I therefore cannot accept responsibility for any damage that may have existed prior to or at the time of collection.

I would also like to add that, when I collected and rented the vehicle, the member of staff who assisted me specifically informed me that the additional €107 I paid at the time covered everything relating to the vehicle. I am therefore particularly concerned that I am now being presented with an additional charge for alleged damage which I neither caused nor acknowledge.

When I returned the vehicle on Monday at 6:57 am, I followed the instructions provided by your staff member, who told me that, as I was not required to leave a deposit, I could simply leave the keys in the designated key box. I did so accordingly.

For the avoidance of doubt, the vehicle was parked in a private parking area every night while it was in my possession. I have no knowledge of any incident occurring during the rental period that could have caused the damage you are alleging.

Accordingly, I do not admit liability for the alleged damage, and I will not make payment for damage that I did not cause.

I have also come across numerous customer reviews reporting similar disputes concerning damage charges from Drivalia. This raises additional concerns regarding the basis on which such charges are being assessed and reinforces my request that this matter be dealt with transparently and supported by proper evidence.

I will be back in the Gatwick area tomorrow and intend to visit your office in person to discuss this matter and request clarification and supporting evidence.

I expect this matter to be reviewed fairly and resolved promptly.

Kind regards,

Guido Cuba Cruz

We booked a car for 25th June at the Gatwick branch paying in full for the car when booking on line. We arrived to be told there were no cars available, it was up to us to find alternative transport & we would be refunded and upgraded next time we booked. It is now over 2 MONTHS LATER & we have still NOT received our refund! We have been passed from customer services (when they answer the phone) to the Gatwick branch with both claiming it is not their responsibility. the Gatwick branch is pleasant and tells us each time that they will escalate the issue to head office but to no avail. I have spent 2 hours today calling both the branch & customer services without any answer. It appears Drivalia are good when it works and DREADFUL when it does not. Will they pay interest on the money they have borrowed from me for 2 months.

Dreadful experience, but reading the reviews I realise it is a common experience. I had booked a car C category, Nissan Juke, car back in January 26, paid a deposit too. Voucher ref EC90ADOF Upon arrival we we just over an hour late, in part to a delayed flight waiting on the tarmac , also in part to being unable to locate the rental office, on the voucher it is described as being inside the Sofitel Hotel - but it is not inside. Also we then had to wait a while to be seen in the office itself.
The agent stated we were late and stated that our booked vehicle had been reallocated, he stated that he would have to upgrade us to a better vehicle with CDW insurance, ( that we repeatedly rejected because we had our own policy), for an additional £250 !
This later came down to another £180 without CDW.
We stated that we were happy to take then a lesser grade vehicle for the same original price.
In the end I suggested I went to your car park to be shown what cars were available. This happened and whilst there I noticed a black Nissan Juke available for hire, the car we had actually booked. The agent I accompanied noticed me taking photos of the vehicle, this was a different agent to the one behind the counter, upon that he said oh, and said that he would get this vehicle ready for us to take.
However the agent in the office refused this vehicle to us.
In the meantime my partner had gone on to the “ Economy Car Rental” broker site and managed to find a Nissan Juke available for hire with Drivalia for the same hire period at a cost of £84.95, again we have evidence by way of photos. So over £100 less than what the contracted price we agreed back in January 26, and £280 less than what your agent wanted now from us!
However, the agent told us both that if we made a new on line booking with themselves now at that time, he would just “reject “ it.
We tried to reason with your agent behind the desk, we gave him the opportunity to simply overlook his earlier “ extra demands “ . However he would not relent over any aspect. In the end I pointed out to him that what he was trying to do was fraudulent.
In the end we left as we had no choice, but we did re book via Economy Car rental with Hertz. But it did mean we had absolutely wasted an hour of hour time and were out of pocket by £18.84 , which was the deposit we paid for a car hire that Drivalia agent would not honour.

We had an excellent experience with Drivalia, and I would especially like to mention the people who looked after us throughout the whole process: Aileen and Raj at Heathrow, and James at Gatwick.

Our experience actually started before we even left Spain. We had a few things to sort out by email, and the speed, clarity and helpfulness of the replies made everything incredibly straightforward. It was reassuring to have such efficient communication while we were still at home preparing for our trip.

one day later we collected the car at Heathrow, where Aileen and Raj were absolutely brilliant. They were friendly, professional and efficient, and the whole collection process was quick and hassle-free. Everything was explained clearly and we were soon on our way.

We then returned the car at Gatwick, and James (Jay, perhaps) was equally helpful and professional. The return was just as straightforward and efficient as the collection.

What really impressed us was the consistency of the service. From the first email while we were still in Spain, to collecting the car at Heathrow and returning it ten days later at Gatwick, everything was handled smoothly and professionally.

A special thank you to Aileen, Raj and James. People often remember the company, but it is the staff who really make the difference, and in our case they made the whole experience a genuinely positive one.

10/10 for communication, efficiency, professionalism and customer service. We would definitely use Drivalia again.

Abs gave us great information on insurance coverage and, got us a good upgrade

Abs is a treasure to drivalia. He goes above and beyond for his customers. He’s limitless.

Flight was delayed, but we showed up and were seen to by Abs, lovely customer service and smooth renting.

Abs was brilliant, gave us a car upgrade

Abs was an absolutely amazing worker great customer service