I had the unfortunate experience of
using this company during our trip to Spain last week.
We were charged 95 Euros for a broken
door lock which I suspect was already broken.
If you read their reviews my initial cynicism
actually seems fully justified.
PLEASE READ https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.europcar.co.uk
When we booked the car through the
easyjet website everything seemed fine and the car worked out around 130 euros
for 6 days.
On arrival at Malaga Airport we went to
the Europcar reception and initially I was asked if we would be doing much
driving. I indicated that we would not. I was then asked if I would like to
upgrade to a higher quality car which was on a “good rate”. I said “no thanks”
I was then asked if I’d like to pay
another 22 euros per day for better insurance cover with no excess I said “no
thanks”
We were then given a black Fiat Panda
Reg 3324 JFG
I duly checked the car in the car park
and did not see any visible damage.
The car has a remote key fob. My only
mistake was to use the remote key fob and not try the lock on the driver’s
door.
On returning the car to the airport full
of fuel (we only used 20 euros of fuel during the time we were there) a lady quickly
looked round the car. Bear in mind it is in a poorly lit underground car park
and its 11pm.
Having quickly looked round she asked
where the keys were which were still in the ignition.
Moments later she walks over to the
office and tells the office lady something in Spanish along the lines of “it’s
the black fiat panda with a broken lock”
We were then told by the receptionist
the lock had been broken and we must pay an additional 95 euros.
Looking back I do not recall the lady
who checked the car even trying to put the key in the lock...if she did she didn’t
try twice as I would have noticed.
I returned to the car to check the lock
myself an there was no sign of damage to have spotted the lock wasn’t working before
picking up the car is pot luck especially if you have a remote key fob.
I asked to see the paperwork for the last
person who hired the car to see if they had also been charged but this was
dismissed out of hand as somehow impossible even though she photocopied our
contract/invoice
Reading the reviews for Europcar I am
convinced this is not an unusual occurrence. There is even a review from a
former employee which says:
First they will try to sell you an
upgrade...check
Second they will try to sell expensive insurance
...check
Third.. they will give you the worst car
they can...check
Judging by the reviews I have little
hope of receiving a response from customer services never mind getting my money
back.
Basically we were robbed by Europcar on the
last day of an otherwise pleasant break.
Therefore I shall advise everyone I know
not to use this company. If you are unfortunate enough to hire Fiat Panda 3324
JFG and you are charged for a broken lock please contact fraser@pickseo.co.uk and I can pass the
matter onto the Police.
Hopefully within a few hours google will
pick up this reg no. 3324 JFG and we can see if Europcar actually attempt to
fix this car.
