Drivalia UK - MANCHESTER AIRPORT Reviews 

Superb experience down to James who was so incredibly helpful, after having a dreadful ecperience eith Sixt i will be using James again for my business.

James in Manchester was exceptional. He clearly explained what I had purchased externally by way of insurance cover and helped me resolve quickly and effortlessly. Exceptional level of customer service by going the extra mile. Would highly recommend and will certainly use in the future.

I used Manchester office. I have purchased a car rental and all insurance online but when got to the office I was charged extra 26 pounds for some extras. I was waiting for someone to collect me for 50 min at the airport and then was rushing as was late for my meetings. I told the guy that I dont want any extras and he said that will refund. I have complained and got a message that the refund was processed and will get it within 30 days. I have never received a refund and they closed the case. I used them before and every time they tried to get some extra money so avoid !!!

Nice quick no nonsense rental, James was extremely helpful and I was on my way in 15min.
Excellent see you again soon!

Every aspect of this company is terrible.
Terrible process picking up the car
Terrible process dropping the car off
many many hidden fees that are a scam (I received 60 pounds in admin fees for absolutely nothing and then was threatened by them with the debt collection agencies).
Staff are rude and unaccommodating

I’ve used Drivala before without any problems, but this time was an absolute disaster. I booked a van online, paid in advance, and was drawn in by their so-called “discount.” When I arrived to collect the vehicle, I was told my credit check had failed — a ridiculous excuse, considering another company approved me the same day and provided a van without issue.

To make matters worse, Drivala refuses to refund the payment, hiding behind their “non-refundable” policy. So I ended up with no van and no refund. This is completely unacceptable and feels like a deliberate tactic to take customers’ money without delivering the service promised.

Drivala should be ashamed of such unethical business practices. I strongly warn anyone considering them — do not pay online or trust their discounts. This company clearly prioritizes profit over honesty and customer care.

Awesome service from Ryan helped me load my bags to the car, very happy customer

Avoid Drivalia Manchester – Hidden Charges & Unfair Practices -Section 75 Fraud Claim!

I rented a car from Drivalia Manchester Airport and was pressured into paying an extra £350 in-branch after they refused to honour my prepaid booking. They called it an “upgrade,” but it was a forced upsell — pay or walk away. We gave away your car - no budget ones available - the usual nonsense many others have reported.

To make matters worse, my credit card provider initially tried to fob me off, saying they couldn’t help because it was a chip-and-PIN payment. That isn’t true — if you’re forced to pay under duress, you can still claim protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

If this happens to you:

Keep every receipt, call log and email.

Use a credit card (not debit) so you’re covered under Section 75.

Challenge the charge immediately after your Drivalia deposit is cleared/refunded with your card provider — even if the forced upsell was chip-and-PIN. State you were charged under duress (very important - and true!)

Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if your bank refuses to act.

There’s a growing pattern of similar complaints at this branch — long shuttle delays, pressure tactics, and add-on charges. Consumers deserve better. Hopefully my experience (and my active Ombudsman complaint) helps others avoid the same trap.

We paid around £90 to rent a car for 5 days with Drivalia through rentalcars.com. We then paid around £50 or so for the accident insurance with rentalcars.com. I couldn’t find my credit card before the trip, so had only a debit card. It does state credit card, so I was a little bit anxious, but assumed we would be able to sort it out without any extra charges etc. We ended up paying £184 for insurance again, this time with Drivalia, because apparently this is what has to happen if a credit card is not provided. I would have been willing to pay the deposit amount they reserve on the credit card and then get a refund upon returning the car, but this wasn’t an option apparently, so lost £184 which was more than the total cost of renting the car. Left a very sour taste in the mouth and will now never use Drivalia again, regardless of whether this is a common policy amongst rental car companies. Very bad start to our holiday and also we had to wait around 30 mins to be picked up by the private Drivalia bus from Manchester Airport, which wasn’t ideal. Rafal on the front desk appeared to be sympathetic and said he had given us a better car and unlimited miles (We would have done less than 500 anyway) but you never really know if that’s just to sweeten us up after making us spend so much extra. Nothing against him personally, but the company policy seems to be very harsh and has insured next time we visit my family we’ll be hiring a car from one of the other companies instead.

The team at manchester airport was very flexible and offered the best service possible. @james darlington made aure we got the right car with the right conditions. We will be back

Booked car hire at the last minute at manchester airport and was helped by Immad. He was so polite and helpful and I will be booking again . Excellent customer service

I'm happy with the way James Davenport got my car ready and available for me to drive.

I had used Drivalia in August for a trip, and my experience was really good. So I used them again at Manchester Airport for this recent trip. Rafa was polite friendly and extremely helpful when I arrived to collect my car and, because it was my second rental with Drivalia, he upgraded my car for free and signed me up for the loyalty program.
When I returned the car, Ivan was thorough, courteous and took me straight to the airport after processing the return. Which he did extremely quickly.
I received fantastic service. It was hassle free, start to finish!

Fantastic customer service and great attitude from James on the counter and also from the shuttle driver .Lovely new car

Very friendly staff, very helpful. Especially James.

Rental was great. Really happy with the service. Thanks Ryan.

The worst car company to rent from. Pie in the sky quotes and most of all something will go wrong if you ever begin to depend on them. Had to get a taxi at 2.30 in the morning, after three hours of waiting, we were let down for a car because Drivalia systems were down… it was a nightmare for myself and everyone in the queue … I’m confident in saying never ever again…. DONT DO IT

*****If I could rate this zero I would!!!! This company was a shocker. We travelled from Australia. Booked online. When we booked it said ‘located at airport - not offsite’. It was offsite!!!!

Picked up from Manchester airport. Took us 45 mins to find out WHERE to pick it up.

Didn’t bring original actual visa card to pay refundable deposit. They wouldn’t accept tapping a card. He wanted it inserted into the machine. Didnt have it. Isn’t this a modern world??!! Who carries an actual Visa card?

They wouldn’t help us sort this. They wouldn’t take partners REAL Visa card to secure the deposit, because the booking wasn’t in their name.

They wouldn’t cancel the booking and immediately rebook the car in partners name… who had the actual Visa card.

So ended up having to pay the whole security bond up front NO REFUND. An extra $2700 AUD!!!! On top of the car hire ‘which was offsite’. DISGUSTING.

Returned car to London Heathrow 22 days later and they wouldn’t take us to airport. We had to UBER. Am furious. This is not ok! Disgusting service.

**** BE CAREFUL ***

Drivalia is miles away from Manchester Airport. The shuttle bus, which Drivalia provides, took an hour and a half to arrive. By this time there were about ten other groups waiting so it was a struggle to get on a lots of people were left waiting for the next shuttle bus.
I had paid already damage waiver in advance online, but in the office the salesman was insisting I pay hundreds of pounds extra for even more insurance. He was very passive aggressive and arrogant. I felt really uncomfortable. The whole experience made me feel like I was being scammed (even if the company is actually legit).
My suggestion is to book one of the car hire companies which are based at Manchester airport such as Enterprise. It's nearer and the customer service far exceeds Drivalia's.

If your flight is delayed. Please ensure you change your time of arrival in the app and pay the difference before you go to the desk on landing. They advise you to call them, but that is a complete waste of time. (one lady kept them updated 4 time, same result). They do not hold your car after 2 hours (generous they say), but they do not advise you of this when you call. Around 6 of us were greeted with a smiling going to do my best for you employee (I wasn't convinced I had seen him in action before) "But my hands are tied, all the small cars have been reallocated and it going to cost X to upgrade" which you can accept and pay or lose what you have already paid as a no show. We were told we were lucky we had booked direct and it cost an extra £160, bear in mind it was 9.00 p.m. after a 2 and a half hour flight delay, 30 minutes wait at the airport to be transferred, and a wait at the desk as only one person was on duty. We couldn't get through by telephone as directed when we landed and had to hope there was space for us on the minibus. All in all not the experience we expected, I have complained to customer services but I am not hopeful.