Europcar UK Reviews 

Very disappointing experience at Europcar Heathrow

I rented a car from Europcar at Heathrow Airport on 1 August 2026. I had booked the car online through a Lufthansa Group/airline offer for approximately €400. At the Europcar counter, however, I was subjected to what I experienced as very persistent and aggressive upselling of various extras.

The agent was personally friendly, but so insistent in recommending additional products that I ultimately accepted extras I had neither intended nor wanted to purchase. The final cost of the rental was approximately three times the amount I had originally expected to pay.

I subsequently complained to Europcar through its customer support system. I received a polite response saying that the person concerned was not responsible and directing me to another UK department. I contacted that department as instructed but never received a substantive response.

Ironically, Europcar then sent me three automated requests for feedback. I responded each time with a one-star rating, but still nobody contacted me about my complaint.

I rent cars frequently, including in the United States, and in my experience this kind of aggressive counter-selling is increasingly unacceptable to customers.

My advice to other customers: be very firm right from the beginning and make it clear that you do not want any extras – for example, simply say, “No extras, please.” And check carefully what you are agreeing to before signing.

Not only was the car not the one we requested, or the fact that the office was closed at the time we requested to pick up the car, but they continued to charge £400 from our credit card for a parcel shelf that wasn’t even there to begin with. Probably should have read these reviews before booking! Absolute shambles.

Was offered an upgrade at Exeter Airport for an extra £150 for a 9 day hire in July. Signed the paperwork on that basis relying on the word of the customer service advisor. When I returned the vehicle I was told that the invoice would be emailed to me in a day or two. When I got the email Europcar had charged me £150 per day not for the entire hire period and I got a bill for over £1,600 on top of the £330 already paid for the initial hire! Complained but was told because I signed the contract I was liable. Avoid this company at all costs they are basically a criminal enterprise exploiting customers who just want to get into the car after a long flight. You cannot rely on their word. Have complained to the relevant authorities in an effort to stamp out this sharp practice and misrepresentation.

I had an accident on Tuesday 18th August. My Insurance Company arranged a hire-car through Europcar. I was promised a car on the 19th, but nothing arrived. There was a phone call on the 20th explaining they couldn't get a small automatic car, did I mind driving a bigger one. No? They would contact my Insurance Company to get the OK. I rang my Insurance Company this morning, the 24th. They had heard nothing from Europcar and already knew there were difficulties getting hold of small automatics so there was no problem with my having a larger car. They got in touch with the company again, as did I. I am still waiting. In the meantime I went on the local Europcar website and if I wanted to book a car today or tomorrow for 3 weeks, there are 3 available. Curious.

I'd certainly say that if you are female, and older, you might ask questions.

Absolutely terrible experience with Europcar. I would strongly advise people to stay away and not trust what you are told at the rental desk.

The staff were extremely friendly, spoke very nicely and made the upgrade sound like a great deal. Because our flight was delayed and we collected the car after midnight, the employee specifically told us that the €25-per-day upgrade would only be charged for 3 days, not 4, making the total upgrade cost €75.

We also clearly asked whether there would be any additional or hidden charges, and we were assured that there would be none.

After returning the car, we discovered that we had been charged differently. When we complained, Europcar simply referred to the signed contract and completely ignored what their own employee had clearly told us at the desk.

This feels extremely misleading. They are very pleasant when they are trying to sell you an upgrade, but afterwards the story changes and suddenly only the contract matters.

My advice: do not trust verbal promises from Europcar staff. Get every single price and condition in writing before signing anything. Better still, avoid them altogether and choose another rental company.

If I could rate them less I would !
We are on holiday and have broken down so we decided to rent a car from europcar .. what a horrendous ordeal it was. We booked online and it said they would deliver it to where we were staying so we let our broken car be sent home leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere. The next morning they call and said we can't give it to you .. hours of stress and we still have no car and the best bit is we have been charged£45 because we cancelled the rental even though they told us they couldn't deliver it !!!!!!.. PLEASE AVOID at all costs and use your money elsewhere

Stay away...The worse possibe car renting company. They practice hidden fees, be aware. They will charge you the deposit without any expanations. The support is the worse can possibly be, nobody aswers the phone and if eventually they do, they couldn't care less. I have tried explaining that I was charged unfairly few fees, one being a car ugrade which I never asked for but I was told that I should have read thoroughly the paper I signed. I thought I was signing the contract with the option I chosed via the website.

Dreadful from start to finish. First they failed to make a booking I paid for, then would not repay the money they had taken despite numerous requests. At one point I was even told "the matter was now closed." Only by enlisting the help of the credit card company was I able to get the refund of some £800. Avoid at all costs.

All in all, the rental process was okay but at the time of the final invoice, we were charged a service fee for returning the vehicle out of hours. Apparently that's standard practice in the industry but I wasn't aware so it felt like a hidden fee that I had no choice but to pay. I would have been okay to return it when the branch was open. They should really make things like this more obvious during the booking process, it's not hard to be transparent about it.

Used Europcar a couple of times in the past, so used again as they appeared to be the best option. I hired a Transit sized van as I needed it to move a family member. Van was hired from Croydon, to be driven as far north as Leeds. Wasn't until a few minutes after I left the depot that I discovered that the air-con wasn't working because it probably needed re-gassing ( this was during the heatwave - temperature mid 30s) meaning I had to drive with windows down in order not to cook on the journey. I also found out on a service station stop that Europcar have installed limiters in their vans above 3 tonnes, meaning that no matter what, you cannot drive over 60mph ( speedo showed 59mph and no more) which is not safe on long motorway journeys. Many a time, I was unable to safely and quickly overtake HGVs/coaches leaving me caught in lane 2 ( when allowing for vehicles joining motorway from slip road) and unable to increase speed. There isn't anything on the paperwork to say this ; nothing from staff when they hand you the keys and no sticker on dashboard or windscreen to advise driver about this. Also, they tried to upsell to premium insurance to reduce excess, including extra windscreen cover because " I'd be driving mostly on motorways" but I declined.
I think that a rental vehicle should be FULLY functional; everything should work properly, since charges are not cheap. Also, since a panel van ( Transit type) is legally allowed to travel at 70mph on a motorway, it should be limited to 70mph to allow for safer use on a motorway, or at least the driver should be made aware before or at the time of renting

Avoid. Told that the insurance I had purchased was invalid and I needed to spend another £170 (more than the car hire and insurance) to make sure I was covered. Customer services shambles. The car was faulty and illegal to drive and I was told it would be fine. Avoid!

Worst rental company on planet earth. Bought full insurance but they still charge a handling fee for a damage that surely was already there. If you use this company call in a film crew to document the condition EVEN if you have full cover. Worst client experience. No reaction. No reply. They can close down client service and reduce prices.

Gave us a battered car and then claimed we'd done the damage to it! Thankfully my son took photos of it all that clearly shows the state the car was in, even the woman who gave us the keys said it was in a bad way but that we shouldn't worry it was all written down.. disgraceful...

I booked a fully comprehensive rental package through Check24, including insurance, and paid for it in advance in euros. At Europcar Birmingham Airport on 4 April 2026, I explicitly declined any additional insurance or protection. The employee circled “0.00” on the document and assured me that signing would incur no additional costs. I later discovered a £194.21 charge for insurance products I had explicitly declined. An independent eyewitness was present and has provided a written statement confirming the interaction. On 3 July 2026, Europcar also attempted three further charges to my credit card, which were declined because I had already blocked the card. Europcar has refused to refund the £194.21 despite my evidence and escalation to its Executive Office. I have instructed a law firm, filed a police report, and notified the BVRLA about the matter.

Please check every charge carefully before signing anything at Europcar.

Worst experience ever.
Europcar displayed complete incompetence. Expecting international customers to navigate broken payment gateways, uncontactable support desks, and expired physical mail is unacceptable.
Had to log a complaint regarding the abysmal level of service, incompetence, and administrative failure I have experienced from Europcar following my recent rental.
I will never use Europcar or any of its subsidiary brands again.

Avoid at all costs. They are basically a criminal organisation. I hired a car from them and had prepaid. I then went to pick up the car after a flight. As I had pre-paid and was tired with 2 kids I didn't read through the contract as thoroughly as I should have. Turns out that they had almost doubled the hire price by adding additional unnecessary excess insurance cost. Furthermore the car was provided with a tyre that had been faultily repaired so it started leaking and I had to get a new tyre. I've never had such problems before with a hire company. Stay clear of at all costs.

Additional charges and terrible customer service. AVOID.

Do not use europcar, we were hit with multiple additional charges for tolls (we didn't drive through any) and also for premium insurance additions we didnt ask for, and weren't made aware of. Followed up with customer service post rental who were unhelpful (probably AI) and refused to provide a goodwill refund. Will never use europcar again.

Such an awful experience. Europcar are pursuing a malicious prosecution case against me by harassing me for unjustified charges, for a service that I didn't receive! Despite evidence provided by me, the AA and a local garage partner, they have ignored the evidence and threatened me with legal action. Abysmal treatment and very poor customer service, which has caused me severe distress.

I rented a Fiat 500 at the Edinburgh airport. My voucher stated a security deposit of £893. However, at the counter, they requested a security deposit of £100.000 unless I pay their insurance for theft and collision damage regardless of my insurance through a third party (DiscoverCars). This more than doubled the rental cost. I verified twice more that such high deposit was required at the counter when I was returning the car and again by email.
Second issue: I got a parking ticket during my rental. Europcar issued an “administration fee” of £50 for forwarding the parking fine to me (so I was supposed to pay £57 parking fine plus Europcar fee of 50£). I disputed the parking fine and they agreed to cancel it. In such case Europcar promises to refund their administration fee, clearly stated in their contract. They give themselves generous 15 working days to refund the fee. I waited 15 working days but I got no refund. After an email inquiry, they casually replied a week later that the refund failed. I verified my email account and had no previous email to inform me of such issue. I assume that without me actively asking again, they would simply wait if it passed unnoticed. It has been slightly over a month now since my parking fine was cancelled and since I informed Europcar but I still have not received the Europcar administration fee refund.

I would give less stars if possible. Was told at the desk that my rental did not include insurance, it was at the height of summer season and no one else had 7 seaters in stock. The agent I will name him here for public shame BOGDAN DAJA a white male in his 50s then 'helpfully' told me that the only option available at the rental desk is premium zero excess insurance at 650 pounds! I had no chice and agreed... when I came home I found out what a scam he did, EVERY rental by DEFAULT includes basic insurance in the UK! Europcar customer service was really bad, discriminating and harrassing me, refusing to release CCTV footage, sending me away from the desks and cutting out the phone on me. Absolute FRAUD place. stay far away unless you are working for the police!