GoldCar Rental
Reviews and Complaints

Avoid Gold Car.

They check in desk won't take no for an answer when you say you don't want the insurance. I take an annual policy out each year in the UK (see money saving expert for details of companies) and it is less than half of a weeks cover when buying with car hire. Around £75 for the year for worldwide cover.

She spent half an hour arguing with me saying I needed there cover or I would be charged the full price of the car if anything happened to the vehicle!

An old couple who were stood next to me in check in and had paid for a single trip cover for 2 weeks for £50 through admiral were told the same but from a more aggressive customer service person who said that their cover from the UK was not valid and through the piece of paper in the bin. The lady got very upset an they ended up paying €174 for the weeks insurance. I tried to reassure them that it was valid but the lady was soo upset that the husband just paid! These are not customer service representatives they are criminals.

The insurance is valid I can assure you as I have had to claim twice and received the full money back within days.

On top of this awful experience I returned my car. It was checked and I got told I would get my fuel refund as I have returned it full. I have not and still have not.

I have called Spain twice now and been cut off each time I ended up getting through.

They make it awkward for you online by not providing a contact form or customer service email to email direct. Instead you have to put in your contract number and email address which then comes up with a message to say they are not associated so you can't complete your request for fuel refund. It is exactly what was emailed so they must be linked?!

On top of the above the queues and the queuing system is confusing for everyone and not only old or non techy people. There is a tiny ipad in a corner where you are meant to enter your booking reference number and take a ticket.

But do not go to to the counter if you are alone and have baggage. You get told to push your trolley away from the counter! I didn't get served unless I pushed it 2 meters behind me. Thieves will have a heyday!

Avoid this company like the plague. There are much better companies to hire from in Alicante Airport.

Hire Agreement No: ES781220440 booked via Ryanair

Hire Dates Collection: 29/11/2017 21.00 hrs Return 13/10/2017 18.30 hrsw

Mr G WEBB

We have properties in Spain and regularly use car hire services and for the past tow trip tried GoldCar. On the first booking we were allocated Fiat 500 rather than the larger vehicle booked on-line and on the second booking were allocated a very well worn and body damaged Ford Fiesta of which we took numerous photos before accepting it as our allocated hire vehicle. We have European Wide Collision Damage Insurance Sorry! but still had over £1250 taken from our debit card for the period of the hire. To date the £1, 000 has still not been refunded some 7-8 week after week returned the vehicle washed and vacuumed inside to San Javier Airport. I checked in with the car and again at the hire desk and was assured I needed to do nothing else and my £1000 would be credited in the next 2-3 days... sorry no sight of it.
As I own and run an international business I have now imposed no hire of any vehicle from GoldCar.
I look forward to your reply and hopefully my money returned before I take the matter further?

Graham Webb

I rented a car from Palma in Sept, paid in full in the UK. I was offered a "...free upgrade... " on pick up which I accepted. I returned the car with a full tank for which I have photo evidence.

Upon returning home, I find I have been charged an extra £160. Not details or info supplied on why? I find out via my credit card that it's because I rented a diesel car (part of the free upgrade) and am still unclear where the the £160 came from.

I repeatedly emailed and tried to contact Goldcar with no success. No details of where the £160 came from, no details of the complaints policy, they refuse to accept that this is incorrect. Their policy seems to be ignore the customer.

This is a scam and I intend taking them to the European claims court to recoup my costs. Need-less-to-say, after being a repeat customer with Goldcar, I will no longer rent from them

Re: Goldcar Car Hire - Contract No: [protected] Vehicle 7369JPR - Alicante Airport 08/10/2017

We reserved the above car through a UK booking agent "Do You Spain" and paid the hire charge of Euros 26.32 (GBP 25.13) through our Barclaycard credit card on 30th August. As you are aware when I picked the car up at Alicante airport on the 8th October the agreed rental charge was Euros 26.52 plus 73.00 Euros for a full tank of fuel. You also took a "suspended" charge for accident indemnity of Euros 1, 100.00. My understanding was that the Euros 1, 100.00 would be returned, in the event that the car was returned undamaged, and we would be refunded the value of whatever fuel was left in the tank upon returning the car to Alicante airport. We were also under the impression that the hire charge was also covered (Euros 26.52) as we had already paid this amount to " Do You Spain on 30th August.

I have just received my credit card statement and it was of some surprise to note that Goldcarhave deducted a charge of Euros 255.08 (GBP 234.61) on 17th October and a further charge of GBP 24.98 on the 8th October, that appears to be a duplicate charge, which had already been paid to "Do You Spain" to reserve the booking. The car was returned undamaged and I have received no notification or explanation from Goldcar that there is any additional charge applicable to my booking . I expected to pay only Euros 73.00 for the full tank of fuel, less a credit for the remaining fuel. As Goldcar have double charged me for the booking I expect to pay only for the fuel charge of Euros 73.00 less the double charge car hire fee of Euros 26.52 and whatever credit for returned fuel.

My total charge expectation is around Euros 40.00 and Goldcar have charged me a total of Euros 255.08 and 26.52 = Euros 281.60. I have notified my credit card company to withhold payment from Goldcar until the overcharge is sorted out.

Goldcar have charged me for a cleaning charge over in Spain at Alicante Airport.
All cars have a vacuum after people hiring them!
This company I will never use again.
They rip people off.
After going online I have read so many complaints about them.
They have lost my business from now on.
I left an empty water bottle on the seat when I returned the car is this what they are charging me for and to clean it? I couldn't see no bins in the car park.
They state that the cars should be left in the same condition inside.
DO THEY EXPECT ALL CUSTOMERS TO VACUUM THE CAR BEFORE THEY RETURN IT.
Very annoyed.
I am going to make a complaint to the European Consumer Authorities
Regards
Geoff

Tenerife Sur, collected a very dented old VW Polo on 31st October - damage to bodywork was noted on documentation. Interior had not been cleaned, salty/ water marks on back seat. We assumed this was normal for a rough car.

Returned it on Monday 6th - no one at office. When an employee was found he casually waved at the key drop-off box.

A day later my son received an email with a bill for 150eur and photos of the back seats and a crumb on a front seat. However, there was no photo of our sandy footprints in the front footwells caused by not having removable mats to shake out.

I am appalled by this charge and ' dismissive attitude to my son's email. They've already taken the money out of his Nationwide credit card account. Is this legal?

On the 13/10/2017 I rented a car with GoldCar. I paid for taxes and activation of the road toll monitor for the car on my Tesco credit card. I was asked to provide a credit card for any additional charges and road tolls. I gave them my Barclaycard. On returning my car, on the 20/10/2017, they inspected my car and informed me that were happy with it and I would not need to pay any additional charges (except road tolls). On returning home I noticed that my Tesco card have been charged 50 euros on the 20/10/2017. I have received an email informing me on the 5.90 euros that have been taken from my Barclaycard for tolls, however have not been informed of why they have taken 50 euros from a card that were not authorized to use. This is stealing and they will not reply to my emails asking why they took this money.

I've made mistake and booked car from Goldcar in Gran Canaria via Ryanair, before reading reviews. The original cost was €43.30, but actual cost was €900. This is what everyone should know before renting with Goldcar.

I've booked and paid for a VW Polo like car in advance £36 via Ryanair car hire and was supposed to pay €2.32 at the desk, but they charged me additional €29.

I was supposed to leave deposit of €1100, but they took €1213 for some reason. Actually, the money was taken and not just blocked which cost me additional £31 non sterling transaction.

Well the nightmare started with thieves breaking rear door window. They charged me €150, which is supposed to be excess, but this actually covers new window and labour in London, so I assume the labour is either the same or cheaper in Spain plus the window should cost about the same. I paid that. Anyway, they gave me a new car with two damages. I was able to find additional two damages despite very dim light in the underground car park in Gran Canaria airport and had it signed.

The car was booked to be returned at 5:30 and no one was serving out of hours, so I had to push the key through the letter box on the office door as I had a flight to catch. This means I had no signed check in document. Two days later I got email from Goldcar claiming I've done three scratches. One on bonnet which cost €250, one on front door €200 and one on rear door €200. Well, I've been parking in underground expensive car parks to avoid this as on street parking in Gran Canaria is worse than in London. Funny enough they did not find any of the damages which I had signed.

However, the scratches are so shallow you can easily wipe them with T-cut or any paint polish. Actually, if I knew about them I would polish them with toothpaste and clean cloth. The whole car could be painted for €650.

I've contacted Goldcar with complain and they responded I was offered collision damage waiver CDL and refused. I asked for proof of damages and real cost after repair with no response from them.

Booking Reference Number: IT823027600

Confirmation no. [protected]

We rented car at airport due to flight delays as we had to change flights and stay overnight.
Brought back next day 3 hours late due to more delays at airport.
Lady said she rang us but did not receive any calls or missed calls.
Explained about flight delay and she said ok.
Just checked my credit card and £62.47p taken out of credit card.
As I appreciate there is a charge of late returns it would have been more professional and law abiding notification of money being taken from my credit card before you take it. But most of all due to unforeseen circumstances a little leniency of penalties would have been more appreciated after a somewhat already expensive and stressful trip.
Just taking money from peoples accounts without informing them must be illegal.
I am very disappointed with this company with the way they conduct business and feel something has to be done to regulate what companies can and cannot do concerning helping themselves to your money without permission or notification.

On the 2nd of november 2017 i've been scammed to pay a load of car insurance out on this rental car, because they didn't accept the insurance which I had already covered the car with (Part of their broker) through ryanair!
Not only do I wait one hour in the line to be seen, but they ask me to insure the car again.. Make it clear on the website if you don't accept insurance through other companies! After it was mentioned that I get the deposite on some of the insurance back.. I take the car back with full petrol no scratches etc waiting for some money back... But no I get charged even more money with out knowing why?
This whole experience has made me so angry and if I don't get my money back.. Will have to take this a step further because this is unacceptable!

Ryan gallagher
[protected]@hotmail.com

On 15 sptember coming from Begium I rented a car in Bucharest Airport three days for de price of 32.12 € car Opel Corsa. when I arrived at the Goldcar office they told me to bring the car in three days but after 9 am. I said I can't because i'm leaving early at 7 a clock, so I will gonna bring the car earlier, they said it is possible but they will gonna charge me more 40 € cause wil come someone specially just for me to check the car and to receive de keys. Me I didn't agree because on de site i've seen something about it and other companys have box letters where you can return the keys. The person in charge told me not by them an isn't other solution just to pay the extra amount. I was already to pay but then the guy told me to say at what hour sharp I will be there, I couldn't say exactly and I said that is not normal for rent company. Then he become very nervous and refused to give me a car, me I said I wouldn't go till i've my car because I paid for it. He answered very brutal that he will gonna call the police to put me out then he tried to lock me up in his office. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then he started his lunch behind the desk. Then I realized that I don't have any choice and I left without a car. Money that I paid i've never seen back. So 32.12 € gone away or theft I should say. Is not a huge amount of money but is about honesty and being polite to the customer.

Unfortunately I had an accident in a Goldcar rental. I had paid for separate insurance back in England. I have paid the bill in Palma and I need a detailed report of the damage to the vehicle together with a copy of the invoice for the repair to claim on my insurance. I have emailed repeatedly, together with compiling a number of automated queries. I have also telephoned the Palma office. I keep getting copies of the information that I already have rather than that which I require. Follow-up emails addressed to individuals go unanswered.
I have had several notices to say that the email addresses I have utilised "will no longer be used to provide customer support."
I do not think that my request is unreasonable, but I am just hitting my head against a brick wall. I really don't wish to get to the stage of contacting the CEO but not sure what alternatives I have left.

See Incident Numbers :-
1341457
1366244
1366266
1443220
Contract Number:-
[protected]

Extremely rude worker in GoldCar name Bella (that does not wear a name tag).
My Booking Ref Number:- DYS-[protected]

Arrived to the airport of Seville airport on the 24.10 at 23:30-00:00 the Car rental was open as all of the rest, we booked the car through DoYouSpain.com, bought an insurance with them and fully payed for the car for two weeks, the woman at the Goldcar rental started explaining very rudely and aggressively that the insurance doesn't work and that we need to buy another insurance with them for 250 euro or have a deposit of 1100 euro on the card, we didn't have that amount on our card so we offered cash for the full insurance of 250 euro, to which once again she started to raise her voice saying -"Madame", -"Madame I told you, credit card credit card!" talking to me like I a kid, I fully understand the rules and that if it has to be a card its not a problem but I didn't have a lot of experience in car rentals and wasn't aware all that could have been explained in a calm manner. She was very very aggiated!
After that we made a few phone calls to get money transferred to our card for the amount of 1100 euro to give them the deposit, the lady waited a little and then started to say that is will be charging is another 40 euro because of the late arrival (after 23:00 and that she had to wait for us, even though there were other costumers that came after us that were also charged 40 euro also, but never mind that that is written down in their rule and just has to be know of.
That night we didn't manage to pay the deposit pf 1100 euro or pay full insurance of 250 as we only had cash and that is our fault, we decided we will stay over night in Seville as we didn't have much options, the lady said she had to close down and not mentioning the fact that the car will not belong to us next morning (we only had 6 hours to pick it up)
Next morning we returned to the airport and spending a lot of time on the phone to DoYouSpain which was very helpful actually and helped us find another car that we could rent, the prices were 3-4 times more expensive than we originaly rented. But we had to go for Goldcar again for 76 euros a day with full insurance (rented for two days) and then would have to return to Seville and change the car to Europecar. The rude lady was not there anymore and the other staff was polite.
We returned in two days to give the car back to GoldCar, the lady who was on the Parking Office of Goldcar was the same rude lady that was on the desk in the airport on the 24.10, she accepted the car from us went to look at it, my boyfriend asked her a question about the return of the deposit as the car tank being returned full, she didn't understand the question and was once again very rude replying with a -"what"? (not sorry, or I didn't understand your question…)

Once again noticing her rudeness I asked her for her name as she didn't have a badge on, she said -"For"? I replied that I wanted to leave a review.
She didn't give me her name and said that the name is on the contract that we are holding in our hands, which as we looked after clearly was not her name because she was not the one that gave us this particular car, as we took it next morning when she was not on post it was another lady and she knew that.

I went to the GoldCar office straight after and asked for the name of the woman who was on post outside in the parking they first told me that she should be wearing a name badge and I said that she wasn't and they thought that was strange and so did I because all of them were wearing one, they gave me the name, the name is Bella, if the name was not given to me correctly just in case she is about 165 m tall, very curly black hair, wears glasses.

As I told Bella that I was going to write a review, she could have got in trouble another colleague as I would have used the name of that person on the contract instead oh hers when writing the review but that didn't bother her. She wanted to keep clear of complains toward her.

As we were leaving the airport I seen another customer arguing with her outside on the parking, being very irritated as she told him to go to the wrong building or something like that. And hearing her talking with that rude tone again.

I fully accept our misreading and misunderstanding of the payment and timing of our contract, but this particular unhappy and angry worker should not be working in an office in an airport and dealing with costumers as its is clearly something she is not happy doing and not enjoying a little bit even tries her best to annoy the clients id say not helping at all, just because of that experience with her I will not be ever returning to GoldCar. And will not be recommending, terrible Costumer Service.

Previous complaint is absolutely NOT resolved.
I have been charged €520 for a missing parcel shelf that was absolutely not missing! Goldcar have even sent me a photo of the boot with the shelf in the picture! The complaint number was 1385443 and this is absolute fraud. You can see the shelf Goldcar claim I didn't return in the picture they sent me!

Background:
Arrived at Girona Airport (GRO) Aug 12th 2017 at 20:30 with my young family. rental reservation number [protected]
Was told I had to pay an extra €520 for an unpaid fine from a previous (2015) rental. They claimed the boot cover was missing upon return, and that 'special cleaning' was required (it was only a beach holiday, so would have been dust/sand at worst).
Saturday night, middle of August, so clearly I had no other options but to pay (on top of the €700-ish for the initial rental) the demand before they'd release the car. No other firms had cars available so I was left hugely out of pocket. This is on top of the usual rubbish about up-front charges for the full-to-full policy (incase you return it empty) and the extra insurance (even though I paid maximum levels of cover when I booked the rental in England.
Annoyingly I have used Goldcar many times since 2015 with no problem at all-it seems the 'penalty' was applicable only to the local Girona Airport desk. I will never use them again and if anyone has any tips for complaints procedures or claims chasing please let me know. I am requesting a full reimbursement of the extra money I have had to pay. The claim (which I had no choice to pay) is completely unprovable and no one from Goldcar has EVER contacted me to tell me what happened since Aug 2015.

My name is Guilherme Peixoto and I rented a car at goldcar in Portugal (OPO) (contract nº [protected]).
I picked up the car in 10.10.2017 and returned it in 13.10.2017.
I received a massage arround 15 days ago saying that I would be charged 21, 35 euros in my credit card, in order to pay the road taxes.
Today I got a massage that says that goldacar couldn't charge this value in my credit card and I should pay it directly to the company responsable for the road.
Although the value of 21, 35 was already charged on my credit card in october 17th.
Therefore, i believe there is nothing else to pay.
I ask you to solve this problem as fast as possivel and get in touch to let me know everything is ok.

Dear Goldcar,
To whom it may concern,
Our reference number: [protected]

My wife and I are not complainers but we feel that we have been Victims of a FRAUDULENT ACT and my brother in law is interested to the point that if we are not treated seriously he will be contact your head office for a response to be placed on his consumer programme. He is the programme producer and journalist the programme being the main consumer programme on British National Television.
Dennapa and I have used Goldcar for the last 3 years now and have always found your staff and service to be first class, helping us travel to & from our holiday home in Spain.
By contrast however on our last trip your staff behaved in a very different and unprofessional manner. We can only suppose there has been a change of policy within your company to those clients who have taken out and no independent comprehensive insurance online.
Our first problem was on arrival at Alicante Airport on 11/Oct/17 when we viewed our rental car, we became aware that the bodywork damage on the white Fiat Punto registration number: 8785JPN was different to that which was marked on our damage record chart. I went to your office in the car park to inform you that was the wrong chart. The time was 10:48 PM on Wednesday 11/Oct/17 Your office was closed when it should be open until 11 PM.
On returning the vehicle on Monday 16/Oct/17 my wife waited as we usually do to make sure the car was checked for additional damage to that which was noted on the incorrect damage record chat. After being told to wait 15 minutes for staff members, including a woman by the name of Flo, just talked together behind the counter when asked again if the car could be signed off, Dennapa my wife proceeded to explain to her about the wrong chart. Flo reluctantly examined The car and pronounced that there was an additional mark on the rear of the car, ignoring the fact that many of the marks on the chart weren't on this car. She was rude and told my wife that you would charge us €200.
I had been with my wife in the car for the whole five days. She has never damage any car in her 35 years of driving, or over the world, let alone in this car she is a very proficient driver. I went to speak with Flo and asked for her surname and she said "Flo is enough" she retorted. I tried to explain the situation and she was not rational. I went back to your car rental desk at the airport and they told me that one hour from Flo telling us it would cost €200, Our files wasn't closed and so don't worry.
Eventually the computer said the file had closed and handed me the chart with this one additional mark (no other marks as you can see). I asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and was told none were not available. A tall employee behind the desk informed me that as my wife had driven the car and the insurance was invalid and I explained that Dennapa is a driver on the contract not me. He then said the damage was possibly done while the car was parked, he had no details of our case. I was incensed as I had two of your staff check the car in this hour. Flo being one and a student employee José Maria who did not see the damage in these photos. This younger employee explained when checking our original incorrect damage chart against the car and admitting that it was incorrect because probably the car had been repainted since the chart was made! Impossible as you know because cars are rented out again very quickly as 8785JPN.
I kindly ask you to look into this case seriously. Look at our car and compare this damage photos and chat allotted to this case online. When you do I ask you to reimburse us the new penalty figure of €300.
If you don't respond my brother in law will be contacting your head office for a comment on his television programme. The whole experience has affected our perception of your company and perhaps Spain.
We wish you luck if our €300 will make your business growing in a short term so please consider on this matter.

All the best,
Mr & Mrs S Carpenter

Sent from my iPhone

Hired through Rentalcars.com received car from GOLDCAR Alicante 8 Oct 17. 3 day hire only drove to resort and return. Refused additional insurance so agent was very aggressive and warned me I would be charged thousands of euros for damage when I returned the vehicle. Returned vehicle undamaged three days later in daylight. Parked next to office and asked agent to inspect, he refused said they would do it later. Asked for my deposit return said it would be 5-10 days. Checked my credit card on return a couple of days later, they had charge £1000 for damage to the vehicle, never emailed or informed me, upon request they supplied photos of a few scratches on a dark vehicle, in the dark, bearing no relation to the car I hired, looked like photos of photos, different coloured images, maximised 200% so the scratches would have been barely visible without magnification. Absolute complete fabrication and fraud, there was no damage made to this vehicle whilst in my hire. Total fabrication. Scam. Theft. I want my money returned, plus charges. My reference is Subject: Re: GAP Comentario : 1422342 / Bono Agencia: [protected]

I booked a rental car through Aiport Rentals on 21.08. 2017.

I picked up the car on 22.09.2017 from Goldcar in Mahon, Menorca at 22.11 and there were three marks already shown on the car. I prepaid EUR 37.50 for a full tank of petrol, which I was advised not to fill us as I would not be reimbursed.

I returned the car on 29.09.2017 and the car was inspected and "Sam" an employee checked my sheet as OK and said my deposit would be returned.

On 02.10.2017 at 11.21am I received an email from [protected]@goldcar.com subject bar said MAH Notification - Contract [protected] which said
Dear customer,

Thank you for trusting Rhodium Car Rental for your car hire.

Attached is a message of interest to you.

Kind regards,

Rhodium Car Rental

(No signature, no header, office address, phone number or website address. The charge was not flagged up as pending . The email was not signed off by any person. They did not want to discuss this or even me to see it, by the way it was presented.

There was an attachment showing charges for 3 dents (already shown on car on collection) and petrol, totalling EUR 647. There was no mention of excesss or deposit. I had excess insurance already in place in the UK.

I called Goldcar's customer service line on 2nd October 2017 and was talked through the complaints procedure online and told to say that I had the check out sheet marked OK and signed on inspection and had paid for petrol up front. (Twice what I would use during the holiday).

I paid the outstanding balance showing on my card on 2nd October on my online banking website (Lloyds) and called the bank's Mastercard Department to say that a charge for 647 Euros may be pending. I was told that there was no sign of it being requested and I could call again if it showed up.

£588.78 came out of my credit card account on the same day, 2nd October 2017. It did not even show as pending and this is the same day that I raised my dispute. I have had no further emails from Goldcar since 02.10.2017.

I received one email acknowledging my complaint from Goldcar, showing Incident Number 1405857 on the same day, 2nd October 2017.

My bank's Mastercard department are challenging this for me. I am a journalist and have close family in Spain who work closely with government and speak fluent Spanish. When my money has been returned I am going to take further action as this has caused me stress, loss of earnings and time and I have incurred costs. I expect a full apology and unless steps are put in place to prevent honest customers being treated like this again, I will contact the Spanish Authorities as this is corporate theft.

Was previously a satisfied customer. Numerous previous rentals with no problem. Rented for four days in Faro on 12th October 2017. Picked up car late at night, unlit car park, no Goldcar person available to check the vehicle, stupidly did not check for previous damage, TRUSTED them based on past positive experience. When vehicle returned after 183 kms travel, attendant found scratch on front right wing and mark on front bumper. While in my possession, car was never exposed to damage. MUST have pre-existed my rental. Charge €427 against credit card, way over top for actual cost to repair, no come back. Desk operative as much as admitted that this was regular company practice, hoped things would be better under new Europcar ownership, "Goldcar is Spanish, you know!". Lesson learned, NEVER AGAIN

Good evening, I hired a car with you via autoeurope at Palma Majorca airport on the 2nd October and the car was returned on the 7th October. On returning home you have charged my credit card £158.96 on top of the agreed rental charge I have paid Autoeurope of £66.33. At the desk I was not informed once of any additional fees except a fuel deposit which would be returned when the car was returned with a full tank as it was. I have 2 witnesses that there was no mention of any other charges. You cannot charge people for services that have been withheld. I have instructed Barclays Bank to chase this up as I will not be paying these charges.

Jordan Abayahya
88a Springfield Road
Brighton

The car was a Opel Astra
9014JZR