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CarTrawler

www.cartrawler.com

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Latest Reviews and Complaints

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2:05 pm EDT
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CarTrawler Rude customer service

I had booked SUV with 4 baggage kolli in March 2025 from 31st. July til 10th August 2025. When I arrived at car rental office to pick the car, they didn,t have SUV but offered me sedan with same catagori. I asked them that my baggage won't fit in it that,s why I had booked SUV. They gave me lower catagori car, so I can manage to put my baggage in it. They...

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4:36 pm EDT
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CarTrawler Credit card charged despite them cancelling my reservation

Car booked via Emirates Airlines on Car Trawler 28 Feb. Booking reference BE325491240 confirmed by email on Feb 28. The Car Trawler system cancelled reservation the same day.

On 6 June my credit card was charged for the initial rental agreement despite it being cancelled by them. I was obliged to find another vehicle (much more expensive!) with a different company on the spot at the airport.

I sent 3 emails to request a refund. No response received still. There is no phone number either so I suspect a fraudulent action by them and am considering legal action if no response sent.

Claimed loss: 1,426.08 AED + 3,468.26AED which is the rate charged for the new rental car

Desired outcome: Refund of the amount that was charged to my credit card and an apology

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468 CarTrawler Complaints

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9:37 pm EST

CarTrawler Third-party bill from uber and dollar rental for cartrawler

I received an email from dollar rental company stating that Cartrawler handles

billing issues for their company and Uber rental car services; stating they cant issue me a refund for my reservation (which I kept on Sat March 2nd at 8:30 am) they (the car rental company) wanted to over charge me past my receipt statement amount. I decided not to book a car for the 7 days I paid for in advance as a reservation. Now non of these companies want to issue me a refund for my reservation/ not even half the money I paid for the car and the days- nothing was put back into my account. Uber redirected me back to dollar car rental; now this morning dollar car rental sent me to Cartrawler- which does not exist in the real world: due to no email, no contact, no chat app works for this company! I got cheated out of a car and my money this week!

Claimed loss: $213.00

Desired outcome: I want my refund for keeping the reservation; The booking agent was no good and tried to over charge me on pick-up!! and UBER car rental customer service sent me around in a circle knowingly). SHAME on them!!

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8:21 pm EST
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Sirs Please be aware of my complaint below regarding Firefly Car Rental. Booked by Car Trawler Although I am aware of this also happening with other rental companies. And this should be stopped. Booked through Car Trawler via Easyjet Firefly Car Rental OCJ3RD ES753540660 I am writing this formal complaint regarding a Fraudulent transaction of one...

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1:32 pm EST
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Considering that a "significant delay" would be defined as one that affects the departure or arrival time of a domestic flight by three hours or more (or by at least six hours for an international flight), my delay was not severe at all. As soon as I arrived at the airport I contacted Cartrawler and after a while they said the driver didn't answer our...

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Is CarTrawler Legit?

CarTrawler earns a trustworthiness rating of 31%

Be careful. Check reviews and watch out for issues before dealing with CarTrawler.

Our conclusion: ComplaintsBoard has concerns about CarTrawler's legitimacy, so we recommend caution. Be sure to check complaints and reviews to understand CarTrawler's practices before engaging with them. If you've had a negative experience, please let ComplaintsBoard know by filing a complaint.

CarTrawler protects their ownership data, a common and legal practice. However, from our perspective, this lack of transparency can impede trust and accountability, which are essential for establishing a credible and respected business entity.

However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:

  • We found clear and detailed contact information for CarTrawler. The company provides a physical address, 30 phone numbers, and 2 emails, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.
  • Cartrawler.com has a valid SSL certificate, while Scammers can obtain a valid SSL certificate by using fake information or by using a stolen or hijacked domain. In some cases, they may even use a certificate issued to another legitimate website.
  • Several positive reviews for CarTrawler have been found on various review sites. While this may be a good sign, it is important to approach these reviews with caution and consider the possibility of fake or biased reviews.
  • We looked up CarTrawler and found that the website is receiving a high amount of traffic. This could be a sign of a popular and trustworthy website, but it is still important to exercise caution and verify the legitimacy of the site before sharing any personal or financial information
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4:37 pm EST
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CarTrawler Car hire I could not hire but I was charged.

The 04/11/2023 I hired a car for two weeks.I paid through PayPal. When I get to the Company Green motion at the airport, I had to leave some money stuck as a fee to get the car. The Company did not accept a debit card just a credit card. As I did not have a credit card I could not hire the car. I wanted to cancel the rental but the Company did not cancel it and charged me the whole amount of the two weeks of booked. They could have charged me just a small penaly.

Claimed loss: I want a refund of the total amount of 168.96 pounds

Desired outcome: I want my money back as I did not get the service and they did not give me the option to cancel the service.

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4:15 pm EST
Verified customer The reviewer confirmed their account using Google. Learn more

CarTrawler Scammer, alert

I am sharing this in hopes that other consumers will read it BEFORE not doing business with these scammers.

I booked a car to which I paid a premium insurance, only to find out that the rental company will still secure a $2,250 deposit on my credit card and they will use the ENTIRE amount if the car gets any scratches or dents. When I asked them to cancel the useless policy they said it needed to be cancelled more than 24 hours prior to the rental period, ignoring that I booked the rental only 2 h in advance. I wasn't informed of none of the important facts - that they need 2,250$ security deposit and that I can't cancel the policy if I don't needed it.

I will NEVER do business again with these scammers!

Claimed loss: 540$

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6:47 pm EDT
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CarTrawler Driver airport pick up

DK785870140 was booking number I have sent a complaint to online chat before this was the booking number. The driver did not wait at the airport. There was a delay in our luggage coming out. I spoke to one of the other drivers he said he left. I have complained before they have not refunded me my money this service is appalling and I have complained to Emirates

I have complained on their on line chat and haven’t heard or received a refund

Claimed loss: 54 euros

Desired outcome: Refund

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9:41 am EDT
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CarTrawler No delivery service at Malaga airport

Reservation: ES78998550.

We were met with a closed Thifty office 23 October. Thifty knew about a delay, working with Norwegian Air Shuttle. They got a message. Instead of arrival 23.55 we arrived 01.15. We had to take a taxi to the nearest hotel for the night. Taxa waiting. No free rooms. Next hotel. Okay. Next day back to the airport and the Thifty office to pick up the reserved car.

First of all we had a lot of trouble standing in the middle of the night trying to reach Competa as our destination. So we needed a car. We have paid taxi twice, hotel and a day more for rental. And lost time.

Claimed loss: Hotel: 102 EURTaxa in the middle of the night going to two different hotels: 30 EUR (no receipt)Taxa back again to the airport: 14,84 EUROne day of reduction in rental: 14 EUR, it was prepaid DKR 1126,44 = 84 EUR for the period.

Desired outcome: Please refund: Total EUR 160,84

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10:06 am EDT
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Booking ID PT778828820 Name – William [censored]an email booked under – bill.[censored][protected]@blueyonder.co.uk through KLM I have tried several times to bring a resolution to my request for a refund for the transfer Caparica – Lisbon airport 20 September 2023. Here once again is the gist of my complaint. I purchased a return transfer through KLM for Lisbon Airport –...

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4:42 am EDT
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This company makes scamming an art form. In 40 years of renting cars all over the world, I have never been subjected to such an open and devious campaign to sell additional insurance. At face value, staff are friendly and helpful, but then present a long series of horror stories about what can go wrong on Romanian roads and how much it will cost to fix even...

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8:14 am EDT
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I booked a car with CarTrawler online for my trip to Verona from 4th September to 12th September. The booking reference was IT787761380. My flight arrived at 20:30 on the day, an hour and a half later than expected. When I arrived at the rental desk, the Thrifty desk was closed, despite all other car rental services being opened. After trying for over an...

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10:38 am EDT

CarTrawler Car Trawler car rental (with Thrifty)

Hello.

I booked and paid $465. for a car rental on-line using my debit visa card. It was accepted with no problem. When I got to Edmonton airport I learned that without a credit card I could not rent the car. We were stranded in Edmonton airport with no vehicle. I have tried since August 31st to contact you for a refund but I have not received any response. The 'help chat' does not work. We want our money back as we did not pick up the car because we couldn't.

Barbara Lott

Booking number: CA101250630

Desired outcome: We want a full refund of our money immediately.

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5:18 am EDT
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CarTrawler Rental24H double charged and downgraded no refund and no response

we rented a car in brazil through Rental24H and paid in advance in full. on arrival to pick up the car the vehicle we booked wasnt available and we were downgraded and promised a refund for the difference. The local rental company Foco then proceeded to charge us in full again. we were extremely tired from the journey and had appointments so needed to go after spending two hours trying to get a vehicle at all. Foco said the Rental24H would refund us the money they had taken. when we gave the car back (a day early) they again took ages and said they would refund the difference in the downgrade to one of our party's brazilian account which never happened and that they werent responsible for the double charging. we tried to contact Rental 24H several times to no avail so zero help and support and no refund. This company is the worst, never use them

Desired outcome: The promised refund as we paid double plus the downgrade

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4:23 pm EDT
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Car Trawler booking ref:IT 3274 6380 On the 12th may 2023 we received confirmation that our payment was received. We boarded the plane at Manchester airport at 05-55 on the 18th May and landed right on time at Ciampino airport in Rome, meaning we had time to spare before our transfer was due to arrive, we grabbed a quick coffee and then went outside to...

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1:19 pm EDT
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I booked a car (IT731319700) for a two weeks period in August in Italy for a total cost of 710 eur. The general terms and conditions mention that failing to present (among others) a valid credit card will result in the company car to not release you the car... And I presented a Revolut Visa card which appears to be a debit card, although it had more than...

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7:37 am EDT
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CarTrawler Car rental not delivered; money not paid back

Booked a car from car rental company "Surprice" to be picked up at Milan Malpensa airport for 284,49 euro charged by Cartrawler from my credit card. Surprice was not able to process my credit card, so no rental car was delivered. Cartrawler refuses to pay back my money "because there are abbreviations in the name on my credit card". Upon pick-up, I showed all required documents including ID, driver's license and credit card, and it was 100% clear that the credit card was mine and corresponded to the one used for the payment to Cartrawler. What a scam!

Desired outcome: Immediate pay-back of the 284,49 euro paid.

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4:01 am EDT
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CarTrawler Private taxi

BOOKING ID. ES777861460

A taxi was booked from Alicante airport to Benidorm (booking details attached) our flight was delayed by 4 hours so our driver had left and we had pay for an alternative. I could not contact Cartrawler as the access code sent did not work. I called Cartrawler and could not speak to anyone as they directed me to the website (the call cost £3.20 screen shot attached) As I booked through Ryanair I assumed the driver would know the flight delay. I attach screenshots & details - I would like a refund of the unused taxi fare due to the flight delay - I attach copy of the gate we had to pay for an alternative taxi.

Date. 17th August

Flight Booking ref QGCSPJ

Flight number FR9185

Desired outcome: Refund of taxi fare on 17th August due to flight delay and refund of call charges

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3:50 am EDT
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I recently had a deeply concerning experience with a car rental company operating at Miami Airport, and I feel compelled to share my cautionary tale to prevent others from falling victim to a blatant scam. My family's trip took an unfortunate turn due to what can only be described as a classic bait-and-switch maneuver. I had meticulously booked and paid...

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11:12 am EDT
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CarTrawler Go direct, avoid easyjet/cartrawler!

Booked via EasyJet. They hid a requirement for an international license in the fine print for picking up a rental car in Italy and wouldn't issue a refund when the vendor would not release the vehicle. For context, both my wife and I used to live in Europe and go there at least once a year. We rent cars every year in Europe. We rented a car in Sardinia 2 years ago. We rented a car in this instance, one desk over from where our car rental with car trawler was supposed to be picked up, with no problem and only our US license.

Desired outcome: Refund

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5:27 am EDT
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CarTrawler Not refunding the money

Hi how are you I reservation the for 6 day and me when I am arriving late they said the car it’s cancel I told them they should any body call or send email for because me I am not told them to cancel the reservation and after I call the company they said the money not refunded i told the now only you take money and doesn’t not do any thing ,, I swear that not good and I want my money returned

My reservation number for car PL779414860

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5:46 pm EDT
Verified customer The reviewer confirmed their account using Google. Learn more

CarTrawler Product and car not provided at airport on arrival

We hired the car through easyJet, only to find out that the rental was managed by ETrawler UK Limited in Barcelona. During our attempt to resolve the issue, the company's customer service was extremely rude, and they cited their policy that denies a car or a refund if the customer is late for car collection. As a result, we were left without the reserved vehicle and without a refund. Consequently, we were forced to pay an additional €500 to Alamo Car Hire for a significantly smaller and less powerful car, which could not accommodate our luggage adequately.

This situation has caused extreme stress to both myself and my partner, particularly because my partner suffers from anxiety. Given the significant distress and inconvenience caused, we are now seriously considering taking legal action to address this matter.

During our attempt to clarify the situation with ETrawler UK Limited Barcelona, we asked a straightforward question: Are they stating that they will not refund us or provide the vehicle we had booked and reserved? However, the lady we spoke to refused to give a direct "Yes" or "No" answer and merely reiterated their policy without addressing our specific concerns.

We firmly believe that, as customers, we have the right to a refund or the vehicle we reserved, despite the delay in collection.

We find it unacceptable to pay for goods and services that were not provided to us. Consequently, we are seeking the help and assistance of the legal team to address this matter promptly and ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

Regards,

Richard Kidger

Desired outcome: Refunding and a written apology for stress and extreme anxiety caused to my partner who has mental health issues.

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Overview of CarTrawler complaint handling

CarTrawler reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Dec 29, 2009. The latest review Rude customer service was posted on Aug 11, 2025. The latest complaint Help Center system does not work was resolved on Jun 04, 2023. CarTrawler has an average consumer rating of 1 stars from 469 reviews. CarTrawler has resolved 12 complaints.
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CarTrawler is ranked 10 among 110 companies in the Vehicle Rental and Leasing category