Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Provo, Utah
United States
europcar.com

For part of our family vacation to France in August 2009, I prepaid for a car for four days through Europcar's website. On arrival in Pau, France, I walked over a mile from the train station to the agency where I was informed my car had been given to someone else because I was late. When I expressed my shock at the deception and asked whether a car would be available the next day, the agent then proceeded to berate me for my tardiness and informed me that as an American I needed to accept that I was in France and must adjust my expectations and attitude. When I asked whether he could help me find a car through a different agency, he stated there were no rental cars available anywhere in the south of France. Finally, the truth! He obviously was offerered more money by someone else and took it.

All of this is in direct violation of Europcar's printed Online Terms and Conditions which state,

8.2 Credit Card Details Provided - Guaranteed Reservation Hold:
If you specified at time of booking your debit, credit or charge card details and Driver ID (or your Driver ID only in which card details are stored) the Europcar pick up station is required to provide the requested vehicle category until the station closure or up to 12:00 (noon) the day following the due pick up time for 24/7 stations.

Their agreement also stated the agent should have offered some minimal level of assistance in dealing with the problem of now being stranded in a foreign city. Instead he rudely left the counter turning his back to me and left me to walk back to the train station where my family was waiting. He wouldn't even offer to call a cab for me or try to find a nearby hotel.

When we finally got into a hotel that evening, I lodged my complaint on Europcar's website. They responded with an automated email and a supposedly real email address. I have sent several requests for a refund to this email address only to receive another automated response indicating receipt of my complaint, an assigned "file number", and a statement that I would have an answer in a few days. Two months later there is still no reply nor an attempt to rectify their misdeed.

This is not a reputable company. They have no concept of customer service and they refuse to honor the terms of their agreements. Plus they use misdirection to shield themselves from dialog with their customers.