Thrifty Car and Van Rental UK Reviews 

Maz was brilliant and helped us when enterprise wasn’t helpful at all!

If I could give 0 stars I would.

This company include HIDDEN FEES, once you provide your credit card at the desk this is deemed "accepting terms and conditions" even though they do not provide their T&C's to you directly. Expect to pay almost as much as you pay for the rental again in hidden fees.

Avoid thrifty Beckton at all costs … surly rude awkward sfaff
Absolutely terrible experience with these clowns

I made a booking through Thrifty’s website on the 10th of November for a van hire from their Taunton branch today. I completed all the details online and assumed, quite reasonably, that my booking was confirmed — as there was nothing to suggest otherwise.

When I arrived at the branch to collect the vehicle, I was told that what I had actually made was merely a “booking request,” not a confirmed reservation. Nobody from Thrifty had bothered to contact me to say that a van wasn’t available, or to offer any kind of update or alternative. I received no email, no phone call, and no message whatsoever.

The customer service at the branch was, quite frankly, terrible. The first staff member, a young man, took my details and then handed them off to a colleague sitting behind a partition. Rather than coming over to speak to me directly, she stayed seated behind the wall, speaking to me from her desk as if she couldn’t be bothered to engage face-to-face.

She told me there was a “national shortage of vans” — but offered no apology, no explanation, and no attempt to help resolve the situation. No suggestion of alternatives, no effort to locate a vehicle elsewhere, and not even the most basic level of courtesy you’d expect from a professional business.

I left empty-handed, having wasted my time and planned my day around a booking that apparently never existed in the first place. The whole experience left me frustrated and completely unimpressed.

In short, this branch (and perhaps Thrifty’s online booking system as a whole) is misleading, disorganised, and lacks any sense of customer care. I would strongly advise avoiding Thrifty Taunton — there are plenty of other hire companies that understand the importance of communication and professionalism.

Disgrace company
I got a car from them (thrifty) as a replacement for my car that broke down and had to be towed away to the garage (Hyundai) by the AA. Hyundai use Thrifty. 
I used it for two days just for a couple of trips to the shops and doing some errands. I took it back to Hyundai garage where it was left for nearly two days. The driver collecting the Thrifty car checked the car and filled in a form with just a chip on the bonnet. The form was photographed and sent to Thrifty.
Then the driver drove a short distance and discovered a puncture, added this to the form and sent that form to Thrifty. Two days later Thrifty send me an invoice of £208 saying the car had a puncture!!!!! 
I agree with the other reviews that they are ripping people off! This should be investigated?!!!
Date of experience: 11 September 2023
I will keep posting my review so people can stay away from these nasty company! STAY AWAY FROM THEM

BEWARE!!!! Hired an electric van from the Hereford depot and did 180 miles to pick up some furniture. Was unable to charge the vehicle here in mid Wales and returned it to Thrifty for them to recharge. THEY CHARGED ME £79 TO DO SO!!! In addition they have no space to leave your car for the duration of the hire and so taking into account car park fees this was all very expensive.

Awful experience. Booked a van to help a friend move, screenshot my booking and paid. Arrived on moving day, no record of my booking whatsoever, nobody seemed to have a clue what was going on. Told even “if” I had booked it they didn’t have any vans and had been calling people to cancel bookings! Made to feel like I’d either not confirmed the booking or booked on a scam Thifty website. We had to spend time and unexpected costs to another van hire place and time spent to my bank doing an investigation as to why you have taken my money and not provided a van. After reading reviews I wish I had steered clear as also no mention of needing all the paperwork and bogus charges for damages and extra insurances/deposits. Luckily we didn’t get the van from here in the end, as all sounds a nightmare.

Staff were really helpful in helping me today select the right type of van for my task, and advising me through the online booking system. Check in and check out were painless. And staff are always polite and smiling.

Shout-out to Angie from customer service and Richard from the Oxford branch: super upfront and communicative about hire T&C's, even on short notice, and took care of us from start to finish with a quick and hassle-free return of the vehicle. Thank you very much!

Richard at Thrifty was particularly helpful Lovely to see an MND charity collection there, too.

Great customer service - good cars.

When I got a hire van from this company, due to mine being broken, some one called Charlotte sorted me right out. Quick service, ty

I hired a van from Thrifty Car & Van Rental in Truro to move my son from Cornwall to Bristol. He had a limited amount of things in the back of the hired Ford E-Transit - a bed, a flat screen TV, a IKEA Kallax storage unit and about 30 cardboard packing boxes.

On return of the van the assessor pointed out a small mark on the bumper and a scuff mark on ply lining. I was surprised to see the mark on the bumper as I had no recollection of anything having bumped it.

A couple of days later I was advised that my £250 would not be returned as the mark on the bumper was not considered to be normal wear and tear and the cost for repair would be £482.16. Thank God I paid an extra £40 to reduce the excess from £1250 to £250 as my £100 van hire would have cost me closer to £600!!!!

But it’s not a car it’s a van and it’s used for transporting goods both big and small which are loaded via the back or side doors so you would expect for wear and tear otherwise the van hire is not fit for purpose. I honestly can’t

So my suggestions to the people at Thrifty are:
- have a big sign on the back van stating the following - “Please do not load/unload items into this van using either the back or side doors as you could incur significant charges for using the van for its intended purpose.”
- Provide very thick rubber mats to the hirer so that they can protect the loading areas of the van.
- Return your fleet of transit vans to Ford advising them that their vans as not fit for purpose and that the slightest mark incurs a hefty repair bill.

I will never hire another van from Thrifty and would advise anyone else to do the same as doing so will cost you a lot more money than you originally thought.

I think the “sorry not sorry” response from Thrifty below demonstrates exactly what kind of company they are taking no accountability or actively addressing my issues. Never ever again!!!

Turned to these folks after Enterprise took a booking they couldn't fulfill. Really helpful staff here found me a car on zero notice, and were just super easy to deal with throughout. Made for a really easy car hire experience, thank you!

Welcoming friendly service and very efficient. Car was lovely and nice to get a cheeky upgrade which was not expected! Thank you to Richard at the Oxford branch on the front desk a true star with impeccable customer service skills. A truly enjoyable stress free experience which was very welcome before a break away.

My car having been recalled, the manufacturer offered me a courtesy car until it was repaired. From the very first moment I spoke to Witch/Thrifty Gloucester, this experience was a pleasure. From the ladies who organised the car to Bev, who brought it to me and came to pick it up, it was a pleasure. Not only were they were all very professional, but they were punctual and friendly. The car I was offered was a very nice car indeed and have only handed it back today after 4 weeks of enjoyment. It only had 9000 miles on the clock, was very clean and delivered with a smile. Keep up the good work, it is noticed. Thank you to all the team. Michele Jackson

would like to share some feedback regarding the Thrifty Leeds Branch, which I’ve been dealing with for the past four years. Throughout this time, my experience has been consistently positive.

Whenever I contact the branch, Jackie is always incredibly helpful and goes above and beyond to assist, she is truly a credit to the team. I’ve also had interactions with Naqash, who similarly delivers outstanding service and support.

Steve, the branch manager, whom I’ve met on several occasions, has also been fantastic. Additionally, all of the delivery drivers I’ve encountered have been consistently polite and professional.

Overall, the level of customer service at the Leeds Branch has been exceptional, time and time.

Professional and trustworthy staff.
This is specific to Thrifty Ford House, Birmingham. I forgot a personal important item in the vehicle. They called me about it on the same day. They did tried to drop it off, but i decided to collect it personally. The staff handling the call was funny as well. Applause to him and his team.

Staff at the branch were brilliant!

The website booking didn't quite go to plan but the staff in the branch were brilliant especially Noel. I would recommend booking direct as they were all super friendly and willing to help

Leeds Thrifty - Naqash is absolutely amazing, he goes above and beyond to try to help - cant recommend him enough.