Drivalia UK Reviews 

Really helpful and friendly customer from alina she was great and i loved her pink desk

This is not the first time I have used Drivalia at Stansted Airport and, similar to my previous experience, I was very impressed with the service. There was a bizarre and very unexpected issue with my credit card that was the fault of my bank, but complicated payment for my pre-arranged car hire. Mehmet, who assisted me at Drivalia, could not have been more helpful and understanding, making a challenging situation far less stressful. Eventually, a solution was found, and I was able to begin my journey having impressively been given a free upgrade to my original reservation. With such good customer service, I would certainly recommend Drivalia Stansted when considering car rental options from the airport.

If I could give this shower of s**t a negative review, I would. Hours waiting in line. Gave us a faulty car…. Not like the air-con didn’t work or something trivial. No a positively DANGEROUS car who’s clutch pedal would not disengage. Called Drivalia on the numbers provided to collect the car. No response. Wrote emails. No reply. Wrote an email
To the UK office. We were told to contact Madrid office. This surprised me as we were in Tuscany, Italy and made this very aware.

After 5 days with the help of the resort staff we finally got the car collected and taken back to Pisa. End of the problem? Fat chance.

Drivalia then started emailing, demanding their car returned. We told them it got collected on June 18th and sent a picture of it on the breakdown truck. Still they insisted and threatened Interpol on us unless we returned it. Then we got an email back from Drivalia Italy apologising for our breakdown issue and we should stay with the car.

Then the issuing office at Pisa Airport messaged politely asking the whereabouts of the car as they have looked in the airport car park and could not find it. This was getting beyond a joke but it doesn’t stop there.

We got Booking.com involved as we got it through them. Drivalia then denied any responsibility and said we had broken the clutch!!! They refunded us 1 day rental because that was how long we had ownership of the car. We pointed out that we emailed the same day we collected it but it fell on deaf ears.

It’s still ongoing so unless you want YOUR honeymoon ruined because of some sub-standard, backward thinking, antiquated car rental company then stay well away from these clowns.

I would like to report an extremely distressing experience with a member of staff at a Drivalia location near London Airport.

I booked my rental car through Booking.com for my summer holiday in Europe. When I arrived at the rental desk, the representative told me that I would need to pay an additional £400, otherwise I could potentially be liable for £2,500 in the event of any damage to the vehicle.

I explained that I did not wish to purchase the additional coverage because I already had rental car insurance through my Visa card. He strongly insisted that this would not be acceptable and told me that he knew the policies. I also explained that I am familiar with Drivalia, having rented from the company in Italy as recently as January without any issue.

Eventually, he told me that £1,500 would be held on my credit card as a security deposit, which I accepted.

However, when it became clear that I would not purchase the additional coverage, the conversation took another direction. I had reserved a Peugeot 2008 or similar, and he then told me that I would not be allowed to leave with the vehicle because I was travelling with one 23kg suitcase and three smaller 10kg bags.

He insisted that every piece of luggage had to fit inside the boot and said that I could not place the smaller bags on the passenger seats. He claimed that cameras would record this, that it could affect Drivalia's brand, and that he would not allow me to leave with the vehicle under those circumstances.

I was then pressured to upgrade to a seven-seater vehicle for approximately £270 extra. I explained that I could not afford all these additional charges and that I simply wanted to collect the vehicle I had already booked. At that point, he refused to continue assisting me and made it clear that I would not be leaving with the car I had reserved.

By then, I was extremely distressed and shocked by the way I was being treated. The representative had also retained copies of my personal documents as part of the rental process, which made the entire situation even more uncomfortable and intimidating.

During the exchange, out of frustration, I told him, “You are a joke.” He responded by saying that he could sue me and that I was not allowed to say that to him. I am including this detail because I want my account of the interaction to be completely transparent.

To make matters worse, the larger vehicle I was being pressured to pay extra for was visibly dirty and appeared to have damage.

After travelling for many hours from Brazil to London, waiting to be served, and going through this entire situation, I ultimately had to leave the rental location without any car at all. We had to take all our luggage back to the airport and pay approximately £200 for an Uber simply to reach our destination.

I am now on my summer holiday without the rental car I had booked and planned my trip around.

I have rented cars many times, including previously with Drivalia, and I have never experienced anything like this. Regardless of the company's insurance, deposit, luggage or vehicle-upgrade policies, no customer should feel pressured, intimidated or prevented from collecting a prepaid/reserved vehicle without a clear and reasonable explanation of the applicable terms.

This was an extremely disappointing and distressing experience. I expect Drivalia to investigate the conduct of the representative involved, clarify whether the conditions and additional charges presented to me were consistent with its official policies, and provide an appropriate resolution regarding my booking and the additional costs I incurred as a result.

The service me and my partner received from Drivalia especially the Leeds Depot has been unbelievable from start to finish. The guys in the office are such a pleasure to deal with in particular Ray!

I hired a car from Leeds airport and had already purchased protection insurance, but was told that this insurance was not valid and I needed to take out Drivilia insurance otherwise I would not be permitted to take the car? We felt that we had no alternative but to take the insurance and when we complained afterwards we were told that we had signed for the additional insurance and that was our choice. Terrible experience and I will never use them again.

Just dropped the car at their location near heathrow, they charged me nearly 600£ for small damage that due to my mistake when I took the car it was night and they dont even have lights, maybe intentionally
If it was me, I would have fixed it for 50£ before I returned the car, and I submitted a complaint and they said go raise a complaint with police on us.
Very rude response, the car wasnt new even, and I think they do leave their cars in bad shape to give them a chance. Keep in mind as well that you better take Uber to and from their location, the bus service is not often

Shumail, new gentlemen at Drivalia, but as helpful as everyone else here. Thank you as always. Sang is amazing, a true gentleman

Sanj from Drivalia did an amazing job. He was super nice, upgraded our car and gave us a discount on the full coverage as well. He was so happy and smiling the entire time, despite it being 36 degrees outside with a full line of customer. 5 stars!!

Abs was superb. We always fly in for Abs and returning always to drivalia.

Abs was very helpful and a very professional and excellent. We always come to him. Thank you Abs as always

James was very helpful in providing the right advise for my requirement. Thank you

Outstanding service from Mehmet at Drivalia Stansted

After arriving at Budget Car Hire, I was told they required a physical bank card, which I had unfortunately left in Ireland. They couldn’t accommodate us and showed no real interest in helping, leaving my son and me stranded when we urgently needed a vehicle to attend a funeral.

We went around the corner to Drivalia at Stansted Airport, where we met Mehmet. He was incredibly helpful from the moment we arrived and made sure we weren’t left stranded. He gave us the best possible deal—around the same price I had arranged with Budget—even though he could easily have charged us more given our situation.

He also provided a child seat free of charge and included full insurance cover in the price. His kindness, honesty and professionalism made an extremely stressful day so much easier.

I had never heard of Drivalia before, but after this experience, I genuinely wouldn’t use another car-hire company whenever Drivalia is available.

I rarely leave reviews—this is probably only the second business review I’ve ever written—but Mehmet and Drivalia deserve the recognition. An outstanding employee, an outstanding person and an outstanding company.

Thank you very, very much, Mehmet, for looking after my son and me when we truly needed help.

Sanj easily the best rental rep I've dealt with over the years. Made the whole process effortless and quick. I'd be using this Drivalia branch a lot more often just due to the experience I had with Sanj today. Thank you!

Once again, Janos was outstanding. He booked us the exact van that we needed. He answered all our questions. Offered advice and helped us through the booking process. Janos is an exemplary employee and deserves a raise for his customer service and attention to detail. The price of hiring a van was great too.

Sanj was good

Khadra was so amazing and made the process so easy, thank you so much!

Very efficient and friendly service. Spent less than 10 minutes from entering to driving away. Recommend the online check in. Thanks Alina

Avoid them like a plague. Took my money tried to upsell me to a different car, I refused and insisted on the vehicle I booked for two weeks.

They refused to give me the vehicle and refused to refund my money even as I paid in full for two weeks rental.

I will be taking them to court shortly as it seems the only way to get my money refunded.

Absolute worst car rental experience of my life, and I travel a lot by rental car. We were 65 minutes late and they told us our car is no longer available, and instead charged us 300 pounds for another car. The most awful experience ever. Avoid at all costs.