Sicily By Car
Reviews and Complaints

Subject: Complaint Regarding Vehicle Rental and Service Experience – Perugia Airport, May 29 to June 4
Dear,
I rented a car in your company on May 29 at Perugia Airport. From the start, the vehicle was not clean and appeared to be in poor condition from the outside.
On Sunday, June 1st, we broke down with the vehicle while in San Benedetto del Tronto. The only solution initially offered to us was to keep driving, despite warning signals clearly showing on the dashboard. We were advised to drive to Pescara to collect a replacement vehicle, but given the state of the car, we refused to do so for safety reasons.

Subsequently, we were told that a tow truck could be sent to assist with the breakdown. However, no arrangements were made for us in terms of transport, accommodation, or an immediate replacement vehicle. We were left to sort things out on our own.

Later, we were informed that if we still wanted a replacement vehicle, we would need to make our own way — at our own expense — to either Pescara or Ancona airport. We chose not to do that.

When we returned to Perugia Airport at the end of our trip, on Wednesday, June 4, we went to the Sicily by Car agency. They told us they had no record of any incident, no documentation allowing them to issue a return receipt, and that if we had handed the vehicle over to the breakdown service, it would be handled from there.

To date, the €200 and €650 that were previously blocked have been released, which we acknowledge. However, your Perugia Airport agency has deducted €191,10 € — presumably for fuel, as the tank was returned about three-quarters full. Charging €191,10€ for aquarter tank of fuel is scandalous.

What I really want to highlight is the unacceptable way we were received, treated, and listened to by your staff at Perugia Airport. Such behavior is shocking and completely unprofessional. We had hoped that this kind of attitude no longer existed in Italy in 2025. Unfortunately, it seems that in some agencies — like Sicily by Car at Perugia Airport — there are still people who are, frankly, dishonest, ill-intentioned, and unworthy of working for a company like yours.
We can’t imagine that this services respect : UNA NUOVA EZPERIENZA DI VIAGGIO
We expect a refund for the excessive fuel charges, as 191,10€ does not correspond to the 3-quarter of a tank.

Additionally we expect compensation for the 3 days without a vehicle, as we were left without a car from sunday, june 1 @ 4pm to Wednesday, june 4.
Of course we demand the full-detail of our account.

We kindly request that these matters be resolved as soon as possible.

Between Jnauary 18-25th I have booked C segment SUV VW Tiguan 2,0 or equivalant which was confirmed by company however when I arrived to Bergamo airport for pickup I have given smaller car - B Segment SUV
Peugeot 2008 which was claimed as equivalant with the same price.

Although I have insisted these are not same segment/size of car's and therefore they are not similar, staff claimed they are same but charged price of C segment SUV price

Bolzano,

I have now printed off the fines and looked at all the information given. Forn this I would like the below questions answered.

Why weren't the fines sent to us sooner? They were sent to you on 27th August 2024 and we have only received these now (8th October 2024).
As you have sent the fines to us late, we can no longer pay within the 5 days time frame of receiving them which would have given us a discount. Therefore, Sicily by car, needs to refund us the difference of 24.90 euros for each fine. We will now have to pay the full amount for each. Because of the incompetence of the company not sending us the information sooner.
You were sent the fines all on the same day and have sent all the fines in one go to myself, so for the charge of 50 euros plus VAT for each of the four fines should not stand as they were all received on the same day 27th August and sent to me on the same day 08th October 2024. This should be classed as one administration charge. I expect a refund of £51.27 x 3 admins fees, totalling £153.81. Sending an email of the fines on the same day does not warrant a cost of £205.08 which is more than the car hire itself.
The fines themselves, do not show pictures of the violation and no proof that the violation occurred, PDF's of the fines attached with no pictures
A couple of the PDF's that I have are named the same so therefore I cannot save them and as they are duplicated. Surely if they were different fines, they wouldn't have the same file names. This in itself is very suspect and I would like a full explanation on this.

I would like these questions and requested sorted and also a payment link sent to myself and no unauthorised payments to be taken from the card you have on file.

I will be contacting the Italian police and will discuss this situation with them.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sicily sendet 4 Monate nach der Autoanmietung Mails (ausschließlich auf italienisch), teilweise im Spam Ordner, in denen Sicily Bearbeitungsgebühren in Höhe von € 61,50 einfordert für die Weitergabe meiner Adresse an die italienische Polizei.

Hintergrund soll das Fahren auf einer falschen Spur sein und ein daraus resultierender Strafzettel, den die Polizei nun ausstellen will...

Rental agreement n. 730107004.

I received a fine of 29.40 euros because my car was parked in a paid parking space without a ticket.

I tried to pay via the link mentioned on the ticket (dime.comune.venezia.it/servizio/canzioni-amministrative) but it was not working. Considering this, the day we delivered the car, we went to your information stand inside Treviso airport and told them about the fine and asked to pay it, but they ignored our request and told us that we didn't have to worry, that our request was fine.

Considering this, I feel like I'm being ripped off by being asked to pay 61 euros in administration fees, when I tried to pay the fine and was denied and when your customer support agent told me that my process was fine! I already created a report to the local police, but I want your clarification, since via Facebook you were not able to answer my questions.

I received the 300 deposit completely, so I just paid the rental agreement: 139.60 EUR.

Until now, the 61 EUR was not charged. Can you please confirm why, until now, you did not charge me the 61 EUR? And also, why this value was not deducted from the deposit? Also, how do you have the possibility to charge me something outside the deposit?

Also, I want to make a formal complaint to your Treviso stand, since they provided me the incorrect information and now the same company is charging me 61 EUR for something they told me was "all good".

Thank you,

Tiago Francisco

Bought full coverage and everything was fine... Drove from Orvieto, got a little traffic on the A1 and arrived 64 minutes past the time I was supposed to return the car (which I THOUGHT was 11am as I had put into the computer, but was told via email now that drop-off is based on pick-up time) and they did not say anything at the drop-off expect to say thank you and take a picture that I did indeed fill the tank... But I found when I returned home I was charged an extra FULL days rate... After SEVERAL emails asking what this extra charge was I was told there was a 59 minute grace period... After that it was a full days charge! How about cutting that up into quarters? Good Grief! 5 min difference cost me a an extra day?.. If their drop-off wasn't on the 4th floor of the parking garage I would have made it. LOL & SMH! Most Importantly, I am really irked because I put a return of 11am when booking on the computer (based on my flight) but I guess I didn't read the fine print where I had to return it by the same hour I picked it up (and no one told me)... Fool me once, shame on me... You will not fool me twice... I will go with Europcar, Avis or Hertz next time.

Hello,

I rented a car via SurPrice who had a local agent in Skopje ("Starcar" that provided a dangerous car.

I sent the following complaint to SurPrice on 9th October 2023, with questions directly to them regarding their vetting and due diligence of local agents, and questions related to the local agent.

Neither party responded.

I chased up, and it was the booking agent (VIPCars.com) that chased up the local Skopje agent who basically refused to accept any responsibility and denied any of my claims.

Initial Compliant:

"I have rented a cars from SurPrice in the past, and have always had very positive experiences.

It is with regret that I must complain about the car that I was allocated last week from your office at Skopje Airport, N Macedonia.

Booked via VIP Cars (in cc:, reservation G96515432)

Rental Agreement SC1295542 (on SurPrice Rental Agreement)

Volkswagen Polo

Registration plate: SK 0359 BH

On arrival at the airport, there was no-one at the rental stand (STARCAR with a small printed sign on the desk for "SurPrice")

I called and sent WhatsApp messages to all 3 numbers at the desk with no response.

The lady arrived after 10 minutes, acknowledging she had received my calls, and had been "checking the car" (I had assumed she was perhaps on smoke or toilet break).

The paperwork process was very easy.

There were no indications on the rental document of any damage to the car.

I was advised to take photos and we can compare them with hers if there's any future issue.

I was also advised that the car only had half a tank of petrol, and that I should return it the same.

The car had several scratches and dents of which I took photos.

Then inside, I noticed stains and broken sensor above the rear view mirror and broken armrest between the front seats (see photos).

The rear tyre did not look fully inflated, so I asked via whatsapp if I could easily find a tyre pressure machine at petrol stations (no response).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y5rbVk7xTNBM1QtE7 (car condition)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KeYxJbBpZB2tYJi98 (whatsapp screenshot)

I stopped at the first petrol station to fill the tan0k, and pump the tyres

All 4 tyres were at different pressures, some dangerously low at 1 bar.

I suspected one rear tyre (in photo) may have a leak, and checked the boot (trunk) for the spare tyre - there was no spare tyre!

I messaged the lady at the rental company to advise her of this and ask if there was an emergency number I could call?

I received no response.

Over the following hours, I noticed that the car would not lock (the mechanism was broken and simply rotated constantly, and the electronic locking mechanism did not work).

The radio would not work (inconvenient, but I could live with that)

The following lights on the dashboard were lit:

Engine light - constantly lit

Flat Tyre light - constant from day 2

Bulb light - from the afternoon of day 1 - constantly lit (I was unsure which lights had failed)

Glow Plug (Diesel engine management lamp) - intermittent from day 1 - but lit for over 50% of the time.

The engine frequently lost acceleration power and I was unable to overtake slow moving vehicles at times.

You can imagine the danger of losing power to the engine if I am pulling out of a junction with oncoming traffic.

You can also appreciate the danger of driving with underinflated tyres

The rear car tyres had leaks and deflated overnight from 2.2bar to 0.4 bar!

I had to constantly top them up when passing a petrol station throughout my trip.

I returned the car 3/4 full of fuel (unfortunate), and when returning the car, I advised the lady at the desk that it was dangerous and should not be on the road, and certainly not rented to customers. She simply said "I'm not the one that checks the car" (different than she told me when renting it out 2 days previously)

I encouraged her to tell her colleagues to check the vehicle and repair it or take it off the road.

I wanted to reach out to your for your response and proposed resolution before I respond to the feedback requests online.

I would like to know if you vet your providers and that they check their vehicles prior to rental.

Whether you consider this an acceptable rental, or agree that not only my personal belongings (car not locking), but my personal safety was at risk with such a car.

What compensation you propose for this experience, and to encourage me to consider SurPrice in the future when renting vehicles"

I chased a response on 26th October with SurPrice (VIP Cars in cc).

VIP responded on 29th October:

"

VIP Cars Support

Sun, 29 Oct, 19:33 (9 days ago)

to me

Dear Nick,

Greetings from VIPCars!

We have received a response from the supplier and here's what they have stated:

"Dear Partner,

Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in reply.

Kindly note that further that further to the information received from the station the car was not in a very bad condition. It is noted that there was indeed a problem with the lock at the time of the rental however it was only because the battery of the key was not properly charged. Other than that the car was in good condition and was fully drivable.

As of the above, should the client has evidences to support his allegations, kindly provide them to us in order to check further and take necessary actions should this will be deemed appropriate.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance with this. We are looking forward to hear from you in order to resolve this case to the best interest of both parties.

We remain at your disposal.

Kind Regards,

Antonia

Reservations and Customer Service Manager"

Could you please share any valid proof so that we can share the same with them? Hoping to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Martin Gerrard

Customer Care Specialist"

My response on 29th October:

"ello

This is a disappointing and incorrect reply from the rental company.

Their claim that locking mechanism was due to a flat battery is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who can put a key in a hole and turn it!

The car lock did not physically work. Ie the door lock was broken.

In fact, I may have demonstrated this to my Airbnb host in Ohrid, and could ask him to confirm this.

It would be interesting for you to ask them to prove to you that it is working. At the very least they may spend money to repair it.

I have sent photos to show the flat tyre and the warning lights on the dashboard and general condition of the car.

These photos include screenshots of the ignored calls and WhatsApp messages to the rental company.

The car was not in “bad” condution. It was in “terrible” condition and is not fit to be on the road.

Can you ask them to show you the last official check or the car (this is called the MOT in the UK)?

If the rental company does not respond satisfactorily by the end of this week (Friday 3rd a November) without such ridiculous claims, I will proceed with the various requests for online reviews, and contact the local police in Skopje to advise that they investigate this car as a danger to the driver and others on the road.

Kind regards

Nick

"

I have not had any response from an party.

I had an incident last year in Naples regarding a hire car and a traffic fine. I had no idea there even was a charge zone in Naples you didn't tell me about this when you hired me the car in the airport - and a year later i received a fine which is a joke in itself.

I've not had a message 18 months later asking for an admin fee? There's no way i'm paying anything i'm going to look at legal options.

I am from Canada and we were in Italy a few weeks ago and we prebooked and prepaid for our car from Sicily by Car on August 4th 2023 in the amount of $307.78 Canadian dollars.

We picked up our car on Sept. 15 2023 (with no issues, staff was great) and returned it on time on Sept.19 2023. We were met by staff that checked our car over , said everything was good, we signed the paper work they gave us and left.

We get home to Canada only to find the on Sept. 19 2023, there was a charge on my credit card for 192.63 euros? We were told all was good by the staff at Sicily by Car. What is this charge for? I need an explanation please.

My reference # is [protected] Name is Don Desjardine

Email : [protected]@mymts.net or [protected]@mymts.net

It is extremely difficult to contact Sicily By Car after the rental is completed. It was my first time renting so I was not aware about which documents I will need and it turned out I had not received an invoice. Initially I thought it won't be a problem since the company claims it is possible to download the invoice directly through their website - However the invoice itself is not available and I am unable to download it myself. I tried contacting SBC by calling the Customer Care numerous times throughout the week but to no avail. They also do not respond to emails. It is really dissapointing since obtaining the invoice is not a demanding request and I had no problem with recieveing it from other companies.

I was instructed by the associates at the Sicily by car at the Venice Marco Polo airport location to get in contact with costumer service in regards to my situation.

This was the start of my honeymoon vacation with my wife. My situation is as followed. I picked up my rental car on July 6th 2023 at the Venice Marco Polo airport location. On July 15th the “adblue” notification came up on the dash followed by the “engine power reduced” notification.

I called the Venice location to ask what to do in this situation. They stated that I needed to “adblue” and keep the receipt to be reimbursed by customer service. You will find this receipt attached to this email. I asked if I needed to be worried about the reduced engine power notification, and they said I could bring the car in to them to exchange it if I wanted.

As of July 15th 2023, we were in San Daniele del friuli and heading to lake como. When we reached Pordenone on the way to the Venice airport to exchange the car, the cars engine started to over heat. I immediately pulled into a parking lot and call the Venice location once again.

I was instructed to call road ride assistance and organize a taxi to the Venice location. I was informed that I would 100% be reimbursed for the taxi to the airport by customer service. This receipt will also be attached to this email for your records.

I called roadside assistance and was told a tow truck would be there within 40 minutes. After an hour of waiting I called them back for an update. When I called, I received an associate that was rude to myself and yelling at me that she did not understand me. She asked me to tell her the licence plate number and as I did they would interrupt me saying “what city”. I told her I did not understand her question. I asked to speak with someone else as she and I were not understanding each other. She then hung up on me. I called back and received a different associate and I was told that it would then be another 40 minutes. After over 2 hours, the tow truck arrived. My wife and I then took a taxi to Venice (which is out of the way of our current destination, lake como).

When we got to the Venice Marco Polo location the associates met us with hostility, anger and continuously interrupted myself and my wife when we would try to ask questions or get clarification on certain things. This got so bad that eventually while we were trying to ask questions the one associate stood up in the middle of us asking a question and just walked away and never came back.

I asked for confirmation that the tow truck company had communicated to them that our car was picked up. They said they received an email from the company that it had been. I asked if I could get confirmation of this in writing for my own records. The associates said they would not give me this and stated that “that’s how things might work in the US but not here”. I found this comment very insulting and unprofessional of your associates. I stated I was not from the US and that I just wanted to have confirmation from the company that they received the vehicle, i wanted this so that I would not be liable in the future for this car.

I then wrote out three pages of a Self Declaration Affidavit explaining the situation. This will also be attached to this email for your records. After this we received the keys to the new rental car and went to locate it. When we located our new rental, the dash had an orange wrench symbol on it stating it needed to be serviced. We went and located the Sicily by car working near our car and he came to look at it. He said that because it is not red it would be fine and that we can take it.

After all of this, my wife and I had missed many planned reservations in lake como (the very first day of our honeymoon).

Over the last two months I have been emailing customer service. In the first week, no one responded to me. After two weeks, they responded saying the car is under “investigation” at the mechanics and under they are done I cannot receive my refund. I continued to check in twice a week for about a month. No answer. I have now emailed almost every day from multiple emails. I have had zero response.

Sicily by car owes me over 200 euros and is completely ignoring me.

We hired a car at Malta airport 22nd to 26th May 2023. We returned the car at the end of our trip and have the signed document to proove that there were no issues on returning the car.

However the 1000€ deposit had been registered as a "sale" instead of "pre authorised" and was cashed. Reference RA830026733.

We managed to exchange several mails with someone in the office who admitted on 7th July that a mistake had been made and she asked for our bank details which we sent straight away. However the 1000€ has still not been paid back and the person we were in contact with has not replied to any of our subsequent mails. Telephone contact is impossible, the line is either busy or it rings by no one ever answers. We have contacted head office by mail but have had no reply.

I rented a car (GE333XE) Fiat 500 from the company on 10/02/2023. When I signed the contract I did not see the terms and conditions and pricelist for the damage, I signed the contract on their tablet where the terms and conditions were not shown and only after signing they were sent to my email along with the price list for the repair/damage. The signature on rental agreement is mine, on the conditions is not mine.

At the time of renting there was dark so the video I took is not very clear. On the day of returning the car the worker found two dots on the window. These are seen blurly also on my video record. The worker did not accept it and pushed me to sign the document because this is "the nice way" they deal with me. If I do not sign it, it will be worse for me. I did sign the paper and wrote that I do not agree with the damage, because it was already there.

After I left their office they stole from my credit card the amount of 900 Eur (it was the maximum they could withdraw) and after few days they stole the rest = total 1237,99 EUR! FOR 2 DOTS on the glass. It was not for replacing, it was for putting 2 euros glue and problem solved.

Such price is ok if you break the whole window or you damage the clutch or engine or so, it is not proper price for 2 dots.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Kind regards,

Katarina

When I was in italy (20.04.2023 to 24.04.2024), I made a mistake and I took the wrong lane to the highway (20.04.2023 at 20.55 pm). After that I was at ”punto blu ” I paid the mistake. When I let the car at the park spot at airport (check out) I let all the documents there, and after 3 months sicily send me an email to charge me 61 euros to send me the documents. Car series (gg386cs)

I reserved a Group L (luxury) car from Sicily By Car through Rentalcars.com to be picked up at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Despite this being done three months beforehand, when I arrived at the desk I was told they had no Group L cars available. Instead they gave me a downgrade car and told me to claim the difference as a refund from Rentalcars.com, but they tell me that the car I had was actually more expensive, which I find hard to believe as Group L is SBC's top category. SBC tell me the car I had (Seat Cupra) was Group QW and any refund should be collected through Rentalcars - this will be impossible unless I can prove that the 'QW' car daily rate is less than 'L' - but I've asked SBC three times for the QW rate and I am just being ignored.

I was on the flight Ryanair FR124 London Stansted Ancona on Wednesday 24th May 2023 which was supposed to arrive at 21.05 but it was delayed 1 hour. When I arrive at the desk tired and frustrated the Sicily by car customer representative at the desk very abruptly said that I will be charged €100 because I was late as their office closes at 21.30 in Ancona airport. I told him that it was unacceptable as it was none of my fault and totally out of my control. He totally dismissed me and he was rude. I would like to have a full refund of the €100 as this is not proportional to the cost of renting. In fact the cost per day was €32,40 and the customer representative wasn’t there just for me but there were several clients queuing to get their car. I will provide receipt upon request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Enrica Cortellucci

(M) +[protected]

E-mail [protected]@yahoo.co.uk

SCAM ALERT! Sicily By Car. They refuse to refund me 260 euros!

I had to pay an extra 80 euros fee because I didn’t have a credit card, and was told this would be refunded when I wrote an email upon return of the car (Rome to Palermo). I subsequently booked and paid for another car (for Palermo to Syracuse), and was told when I went to collect the car that I couldn’t take it because I didn’t have a credit card. I told her how I’d paid the 80 euro’s previously, insisted she ring her manager, and she still refused to let me take the car. Left high and dry without transportation! She told me I would get a full refund of my 180 euros I’d already paid online. No refund has appeared. Finally received an email back today saying that as it’s in their T&Cs that you need to have a credit card, that I will not get a cent back of the 260 euros they owe me!

I hope people see this review and use SRC (Sicily rental cars) instead. Local company too and they were wonderful and flexible and helped me a lot with this debacle.

I rented a car in Bari Airport in september 2022. The car I got was not the one I've ordered and it was not fully fuelled. Once i returned the car I made sure with the service that everything is good with the car, but the day after I was charged 50 euros with no explanation.

In January this year i was again charged (70 euros) this time with no explanation of what is the fee and why I should pay it.

I've tried to reach the company by emails and calls numerous times with no response.

We rented a car in Venice with engine light on.

Their mechanic checked and said its ok.

On the following day, the car woukd not start.

They took it to garage, and could not fix the problem.

We got no other car.

We were told to take a taxi to Venice (515 euro) and ask fir refund fir it abd for the lost days, from tge customer service, which as I was told, was informed about all info.

No reply yet from the customer service.

Hello Sir/Madam

At (19/01/2023) i received a nofication in my e-mail for a fair during my stay in firenze. You didn't share to me the fine the day that it was notified to you (27/10/2022) and i don't have now the chance to pay the fine in a better price (124,55€) but you tell me to pay this fair X3 times (350,45€). This is your fault as you can understand and I am not obligated to pay the total amount due your fault . You should share to me the fine on time and not 3 months later.

Also i cant understand why I have to pay 50€+22% vat for your obligation to notify me on time about this issue, and i don't understand why i have to pay this fair as you don't do something for my fine. You didn't notify me on time and you asked me 50€+22% VAT? Frustration! Sorry but i don't have to pay all this money under these terms!

I am waiting your Immediate response for these issue

Ho effettuato un noleggio auto di gruppo C tra il 17 e il 20 dicembre 2022 con ritiro e consegna presso l'aeroporto di Verona.

Il numero di conferma era [protected].

L'auto era una Opel Corsa blu. La registrazione era FW787RA.

Devo ammettere che l'auto funzionava, ma era tenuta molto male.

Il paraurti posteriore con una rottura lunga, i tergicristalli che non pulivano bene (lasciano tutti i vetri con striature d'acqua dovute all'usura), la cintura di sicurezza non si riavvolgeva e alla chiusura della portiera una parte rimaneva fuori dall'auto. La radio si sentiva solo attraverso un altoparlante. La portiera del guidatore era dura e difficile da aprire. Aveva quasi 100.000 km percorsi.

Vediamo signori, è chiaro che sapete che un'auto in queste condizioni non va più noleggiata. Con queste cose ciò che ottenete è proprio l'effetto di perdere i clienti e di una brutta pubblicità.