PANEK RENT A CAR 

We were swindled out of €1,000 in Krakow by these scam artists. They sent us a photo of a blinking light on the dashboard, and said it was proof that we had caused PLZ 4,000 of damage. The photo was clearly not sufficient for our insurance company, so we lost out. They didn't send us an invoice copy of the supposed repair job, as there never was one! On top of this they charged us for apparently speeding during the rental and for returning a dirty vehicle, which we didn't. Absolute scum of the earth. They will try and rope you in offering bargain prices. Avoid at all costs!!
Rental dates were actually 31.10.24 - 03.11.24. I wasn't able to enter these below

Be aware m. Fraudulent company. I have renter a car back in late November. Deposit still not received back. Phone number on Panek website not even working.

I had to cancel my reservation last October 2025. The company should issue a full refund. I never get money back. After involving my bank in this case, the bank returned the money.
I can say they have stolen my money. I will never use them again.

I’ve booked my car in August for long term. The car was in terrible condition with many scratches, disgusting dirty stickers, and as a company I would be shamed to give it to customers, but anyway …End of August I’ve returned it, been charged extra cost for extra mileage, wich surprised me but I paid the invoice straight away. For another month they were sending me threatening emails for unpaid invoice and taking things to court etc … I’ve send milion emails providing proof of payment. After stresfull month they finally admitted that I paid invoice, however my deposit never returned to me (more than 400£ !) I don’t know how many emails I’ve send to them and how many hours I’ve been on the phone trying to contact them. NEVER AGAIN. Don’t do it to yourself. From August till December my case it’s not resolved.
I am taking it to my bank and British and Polish police. They will not be practising this scam anymore. I am determined to make it loud in the Polish “Uwaga” program. That’s it.
With no more respect - KINGA TAYFUR

PANEK IS SCAMMERS, THEY TOOK MY DESPOSIT, 600 EURO! WARNING, DO NOT RENT FROM THEM!

Worst car rental company on earth. Avoid at all costs. I'd rather rent a scooter than a car with this filth of a company.

Warning: Stay away from this company!!! Rental car was filthy inside and when call customer service- no one was there. No customer service and awful cars. Save yourself frustration and go rent car from another provider.

Booked car to be ready at the airport well in advance and upon arrival I found that this was cancelled and there is no car for me and my child without any notification. We were left in the midle of night without any transport and they were not interested. Horrible service and I wouldn’t trust them at all cost. Just avoid PANEK AND BOOK with trusted providers

They keep taking my review down. Their strategy is to wait a few month and ask trust pilot to remove the review. The trustpilot asks the evidence to prove it such as receipts, contracts, conversation... etc.
Panek rent are bullies and liars. EU should close them down due to cheating scams.

This is one of the cheap, low quality companies that will ALWAYS find fake issues with the car and add fees as this is the way they make money. Avoid!!!!

Not much to add - just simply avoid their services... ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTATION!!!

We booked a car from Panek at Bratislava airport on 31st August. We got a confirmation the day before, telling us what documents to bring and the number to call on arrival. But on the day, the number didn't work and we got no answer. We decided to walk to the office but found it closed. We contacted help via VIPcars on WhatsApp and live chat but after nearly an hour, we were told they couldn't get hold of anybody and to get a car from another company. Dreadful service as it left us with nothing on a Sunday with a hotel booking more than 4 hours away in the mountain. We had no choice but to take the only car available with another company at considerable cost. We always research car hire and book well in advance but because of Panek's appaling service, or lack of, we ended up paying a lot more for the car hire and with considerable stress and delay. We have tried to get compensation from them, but got nothing! Avoid at all cost.

Panek has not returned my deposit and is responding to my questions with irrelevant content emails. This practice is worth condemnation. I don't see how they can survive.
The Warsaw place of car return was "sketchy", in the middle of residential neighborhood, gravel spread ad hoc in an empty lot, looked extremely disorganized with NOBODY in attendance, the "office" shack door open, no phone calls or texts were answered, my family confused had to call a taxi to make it back to the airport. Bad experience. Stay away.

Scammers. Not full fuel tank, noone at the desk, charges for late pick up. Thats right, late pick up, not return. At the airport. After delayed flights. Total scam

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
There is not option to leave a 0 star as this is what I want to be giving.
Booked a rental car online in advance for our holiday.
When we got to the airport there was no one at the desk to greet us. Called the number on the sign no answer - called the 24 hour support number where I was told they would contact the person and get them to call me or come to the desk, 30 mins went by and nothing happened, I called the hotline again and they said they couldn’t reach the person but they would try again.
Another 30 mins went by, still no contact. At this point we were all shattered from travelling, my wife & 2 year old boy were getting more and more upset.
I called the hot line again and they didn’t answer, I kept trying and trying but they just ignored me.
After 2 hours waiting we gave up and I had to hire another car at great expense from another company to continue our journey.
This has the be the worst customer service and experience I have experienced when hiring a vehicle.

I rented a car with a baby seat. I arrived, got the keys and I see the baby seat next to the car and obviously the car seat is NOT a baby seat. It’s a car seat for older children. I go back and of course nobody is there, I’m calling the number but of course nobody answer for over an HOUR. I end up giving back the key in the post mail and I have to rent another car with a baby seat.

I have emailed them and no money back. Never again.

Terrible experience!!!
They have cancel my booking due to fly delays.
I informed them about my fly number when I made the booking plus I have msg them to inform.
They have called me when I was on the border control but when finally went to the desk-OFFICE WAS CLOSED!
They let me without the car at 1 am in the airport, even I prepay my reservation.
They switch off the phone.
Never received official proof of my cancellation!
When I have come back next they(have to stay in the hotel) the office was call and when I rang ,,costumer service” twice they said that they will contact me to let me know when I can collect the car…NOBADY CONTACTED ME!!!!

DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. I rented from Panek near Warsaw Chopin Airport and returned the car on time, washed, and in normal condition. Despite this, I was charged 250 PLN for “cleaning a driver’s mat,” which is a normal trace of use. My complaint was dismissed, and the company even refused to participate in out-of-court consumer dispute resolution. This is unfair and shows a lack of respect for customers. Rent elsewhere to avoid hidden charges and frustration.

I hired a car through Panek from Prague Airport. I ordered a Toyota Yaris. Once I got to the rental desk, everything was smooth, including the payment, the handing of the keys and making sure all the paperwork was in order.

When I got to the car however, it was not a Toyota Yaris but a Peugeot Estate, which was much bigger than I had anticipated. Still, I drove the car around the Czech Republic, dropped the keys off and returned home. However, the same day I came back, I got an email stating there had been staggering amounts of damage to the car and they would have to charge me approx £900 which came as quite a shock.

They shared the photos with me and it was absolutely tiny, tiny scratches. Doing some research, I estimated these scratches would be £100 max to repair, not £900. I did not dispute the damages, however, I did ask for a breakdown of charges from a bodyshop so that they can justify such a high cost for such small scratches. They informed me that this wasn't actually a repair cost, but a contractual penalty and they explicitly stated they wont provide breakdowns or invoices.

I invited them to settle this dispute amicably, they never replied. So I opened a disputed transaction under Section 75 of the UK Consumer Credit Act and my bank, HSBC, then opened a case on my behalf. Today's HSBC has ruled that the charges to my account were indeed unfair so either Panek has ignored HSBC too, or could not justify such a high cost for such a small amount of damage.

Bottom line, don't hire these people, stick to a reputable company, take LOTS and lots of photos (take a video as well) and be prepared for some disputed transactions.