Europcar International review: Car rental

I booked a car for my family vacation in Canada with Europcar. I arrived in Vancouver with my family on July 21st and made my way to the Routes office by shuttle from Vancouver Airport. On arrival at the Routes location, I was informed by the employee that the type of car I had reserved ("Dodge Caravan or similar" - see below) was unavailable. The best alternative he was able to offer was a Ford Escape. He offered to exchange the car on a subsequent day, but this would have been impossible for us given our plans, which were to travel immediately on to Vancouver Island and not to return to Vancouver until the day of the end of the rental (i.e. July 31st). The employee offered us a fuel discount (i.e. that I could bring the fuel tank back half full instead of full). I had no choice but to leave the Routes location in the Ford Escape under these terms.

The Escape was wholly inadequate for our needs. Instead of a roomy 7-seater like the Caravan, the Escape only had 5 seats, one of which was quite uncomfortable (the middle seat in the back). Consequently, my 3 children complained constantly and bickered about who had to sit in the middle seat. Luggage space was just about sufficient, but only with some very efficient packing of the trunk.

Moreover, the Escape was not in good condition. There was a problem with the steering, causing the car to shudder every time we turned left or right around a corner. This was very disconcerting and we spent the whole 10 days wondering if the car was going to break down completely.

Given that the Escape is not "similar" to the Caravan, but is clearly a downgrade, and given that it was in bad condition and potentially unsafe, I feel that a refund is in order. When I returned the car to the Routes location outside Vancouver Airport, the employee informed me that I would only be able to make a claim for a refund if I filled up the fuel tank first. So I did this, meaning that no compensation of any kind has been provided for the downgrade to a smaller vehicle that was in poor (and potentially unsafe) condition.

I complained to Routes, and they refused to engage with the details but suggested I complain to Europcar. Europcar has not responded to complaints made to their Belgian or Canadian offices via their web site.