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I returned my car. The woman at the 'counter' (her office was a people carrier in the public car park at the airport in Fuerteventura) was too busy to talk to me so I gave her the keys and paperwork and caught my flight. Hit with 424 euro damage surcharge 2 days later on my Visa debit card. No itemised bill or explanation why on the invoice they emailed me. No response from customer services via email. No telephone number visible on the website. I have cancelled my debit card to ensure no more fraudulent transactions happen, but am at a loss as to how to recoup the money. I will avoid Europcar in future. Do me a favour and avoid them too.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I used Europcar to rent a vehicle two weeks ago in Ireland. The office was extremely busy ahead of Christmas and I was provided the keys by someone who confessed they "had not done this in a while". My family and I got to the vehicle which was parked out in the cold rain, so with a baby and a child, I rushed them into the vehicle and drove off, assuming all was good.
When I returned the vehicle the representative showed me a scuff mark on the underside of the bumper. I honestly had not noticed it, nor had they, since their assessment said the car had no scratch (which is not true as the vehicle had minor signs of usual wear & tear). I was told to fill an accident report, where I wrote nothing had happened. Still, I was charged €416 - I was shocked as the scuff is superficial. I contacted them and asked how many quotes they had requested, they said none. They explained by email, they they essentially run a quote through an automated system which - finger in the air - gives a price, and that is the industry standard. No challenging quotes, no second opinion. I am utterly baffled by the clear lack of transparency and disregard for their customers.
In the end, I think the only solution is to simply never use their service, and warn anyone considering them. I am very disappointed.
I ran into the same problem in Italy. I rented a car from Europcar in Milan. The vehicle had significant damage on the right side around the front wheel well. There was also a small scratch along the moulding on the rear door, same side of the car. When I returned the car, they claimed this little scratch was "new damage" and insisted I fill out an "accident report". I wrote that the damage was pre-existing and that I caused no damage to their car. They charged my credit card more than $500 (US) to fix the scratch (which was so old it was rusted, by the way). My card reversed the fraudulent charge, so now Europcar is coming after me with letters threatening to sue if I don't pay them. I'll be contacting a lawyer.
Europcar at the Florence airport recently provided me with a defective vehicle that was in need of maintenance. When I returned the vehicle three hours after renting it, the sales woman became hostile and rude, and told me that I do not know how to drive, and that I damaged their car. They did not provide me with another, or offer any help. At first they charged my credit card over three thousand euros which effectively ruined my vacation as I was distraught after I called my credit card company to check what they had done to me. They ended up charging me 1000 euros, sending the repair invoice as if it were proof that I was responsible. I have been driving cars with standard shifts for more than 30 years. I suspect that since they saw that I was American, they thought I was a good target for obtaining money to repair a vehicle with a faulty clutch. Don't let Europcar ruin you European vacation and steal your money! By the way, they also claimed that they did not receive confirmation of my internet reservation and then charged me double the price. They were determined to steal the money one way or another!
Europcar.. stay away at all cost. We got the rental car from the Melbourne airport and returned the car about a week later. My husband noted the scratch on the rear fender when we received the car. The car was wet when we received the car, so any obvious scratches would be missed. When we returned the car, the inspector went over the car with a fine tooth comb and measured a scratch in
the paint on the back door panel. When we paid the guy at the desk, he charged us $150 Australian for the scratch. When my husband complained, he said "well I could charge you $2750 Australian". So we paid the $150. Now about 10 days later we get a charge for $1000 Australian for the same scratch. BAD NEWS.
DON'T USE EUROPCAR UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE ABUSED.
I booked a car for pick-up Sofia airport, Bulgaria, and check-in three days later at Skopje in Macedonia. EUR 385 hefty, but OK it worked with my travel plans. When picking up the car I signed the rental agreement, this time for EUR 237, nice - but I was in agreement with EUR 385 so fine, I can live with that... Left the car in Skopje, no damage, all documents in order... Fly home, great trip... Open the credit card invoice a few weeks later: EUR 487. After five weeks of complaining I today filed a police report for fraud. The company claims pricing was wrong in systems, and that the final settlement is the correct one..
Great company - give promises to company of which number 2 is a solid promise: No surprises... Sorry, I can not recommend this rental company. The worst of a bunch of bad companies.
Documentation is availble...
Im in the uk and just had a similar experience with them. They charged me 375gbp for a cracked windshield. the damage was already on the car but I didn't notice it until driving away, I took a photo immediately though to be able to prove that I didn't cause it. They didn't even notice the damage when I returned the car the next day, I was the one that told them to ensure that I would not be charged and I was told it should be fine because it must be in the system. The very next day 25 December Christmas morning to be exact they email be a bill of 375gbp. 250 was from the deposit that I authorised and the rest they made another charge on my card without my authorization.
Anyhow since apparently this is a common practice with them I am contacting as many people in similar situation that are willing to take them to court and raise a class action lawsuit against them. If you are interested email me at pissedsphinx@yahoo.gr
EuropCar tries to embazzle money from us even as I write this comment. We were in Italy last July. We rented a EuropCar for 3 days. First they charged my card for $400 even though the bill was for $200. After a long try to get hold of a person on the phone and find someone who speaks English, we were told that it waa only a deposit. It will be corrected in a few weeks. It took them 3 weeks to return $600 and chare $200 instead.
5 months later, I received a bill on the mail saying that they charged me $216 (144 Euros) for "Administrative fees for electronic notification of trafic violations*. I had no ticket during the time I rented the car. I called my bank to file a dispute. They told me to contact with EuropCar first. Once again, I've been trying to get hold of them after midnight my time. EUROPCAR is a legitimate looking PIRATE Operation. Don't fall into their traps.
I recently rented a Europcar at Vienna airport. The vehicle was damaged. I pointed it out. I was told it was prviously reported damage. I took photos in the Europcar enclousure at the airport. After the trip they sent me a repair bill for $1400 dollars. Now i get to fight them over it. The company has no ethics and are scam artist.
I have the same situaltion at Mediolan Airport. I payed in advance before picking-up and Europcar charged my even with bigger amount. I thought it was deposit or something but the sent me post-rental invoice that everything is ok and my due balance is "0", but my money are still blocked on credit card