Europcar UK Reviews 

Do not use this company. We were left on the side of the road with a flat and no answer to our repeated calls for assistance. We purchased the full coverage insurance but are still waiting for the 299 pounds we paid out of pocket for fixing the tire. It has been months. Avoid this company at all costs.

I hired a car from the 7th of Aug to the 9th. When I say excellent service, I’m talking about Europcar. At no point did they charge me extra fees and unexpected fees. Everything was thoroughly discussed. I asked all necessary questions and they were all answered to my satisfaction. I’m a happy client.

Europcar Inverness - They said I had damaged the car which I absolutely had not done. The images showing this apparent damage fail to actually show any damage too. Utter lying sharks.

DO NOT BOOK WITH EUROPCAR. They serve people at the counter based on when they arrive to the counter, regardless of a reservation so there’s no point in making one. We were to pick up the car at 8am, and it will probably be 10am before we get it. We have plans that were booked and paid for, that are now ruined. I don’t know how this place is still in business.

I had a car arranged for me through Ford and hired from Europcar. Whilst the car itself was fine and did the job, unfortunately the cleanliness and the experience around returning the vehicle left a lot to be desired.

When I collected the car, I noticed that the back seats appeared to have sticky residue on them and the carpets clearly hadn’t been hoovered. I took plenty of photos at collection, including detailed photos of the fuel level, just to make sure I had evidence of the car’s condition.

I filled the car up with fuel before returning it and drove less than one mile from the petrol station to the drop-off location. Despite this, I subsequently received an invoice from Europcar for a £13 fuel charge.

Thankfully, because I had photographic evidence showing that I had filled the car up, I was able to contact Europcar and query the charge. They have now responded confirming that an “error” had been made and the £13 charge has been cancelled.

Whilst I’m pleased the charge has been resolved, it does make me wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t taken photos and kept the evidence. The mileage on the car when I filled it up was actually higher than the mileage recorded when I collected the vehicle, which also raised concerns for me.

My advice to anyone hiring from Europcar: take plenty of photos and videos when you collect the car and again when you return it, especially of the fuel level, mileage and condition of the vehicle. Keep your fuel receipt too. Having that evidence made all the difference in getting this incorrect charge removed.

The car itself was fine, but based on my experience, I’d definitely recommend protecting yourself by documenting everything.

Very disappointing experience with Europcar.
I received a parking fine relating to a recent rental and have been genuinely trying to resolve and pay it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the entire process has been unnecessarily difficult.
I spent a significant amount of time trying to work out how to pay the fine. The information in the letter was unclear, the website did not provide an obvious payment pathway, and I could not find a simple way to contact someone for assistance.
I also tried calling to make the payment, but found the automated phone system extremely difficult to navigate and was unable to confidently complete the payment correctly. I then contacted Europcar asking for someone to call me so I could simply resolve the matter and make the payment.
Instead, I received an automated response advising that it could take up to seven days for someone to respond. This is not helpful when the matter involves an outstanding fine that needs to be paid promptly to avoid further penalties.
On top of this, Europcar has charged me a £50 administration fee.
I have asked Europcar to explain exactly what administrative work was completed for this £50 charge because, from my perspective, the main service provided appears to have been forwarding the fine and sending me an invoice.
My issue is not that I received a parking fine. I accept that I need to deal with and pay the fine with NCP.
My issue is how unnecessarily difficult Europcar has made the process of resolving it.
I have tried the website.
I have tried the automated phone system.
I have contacted Europcar asking for assistance and a phone call.
I have asked for clear instructions about who I need to pay and how to pay immediately.
Yet I am still trying to get a straightforward answer while being charged £50 for an administration service that has not been clearly explained.
For a large international rental company, I expected a much clearer, more efficient and customer-focused process.
When a customer is actively trying to pay a fine and resolve an issue, it should not be this difficult to speak to someone or receive clear payment instructions.
Very frustrating and disappointing customer service.

I paid for large car but they gave me uncomfortable small car (too small for the family) they messed up my holiday

Absolute trash - got a fine for cross blackwall tunnel and Europcar just paid it and slapped on a £50 'handling fee'. No opportunity given to appeal it or to pay it directly. Avoid these scammers

Manchester airport collection closed early despite knowing was coming to collect vehicle and then cancelled a pre paid 2 week hire. Went next day and they stated would have to rebook for an extra thousand, complete con

Worst experience ever - delays - got told the 7 seater i booked wasnt available and i needed to take a 9 seater. When i did it wasn't even there. I demanded my 7 seater but was told i had now agreed to a 9 seater thererefore i had to take it. Person at Nice airport pickup was the rudest person i've ever met. laughed and tutted at me to my face. customer service does not exist - i will never use europcar ever again

I give them one star as none doesn’t seem to be an option.
The hire car broke down half way through a 5 hour journey. AA attended and noted two faults on the diagnostic tool. As we paid highest insurance, AA person requested a replacement car for the onward journey. After some time, we were advised there wasn’t one available. No offers to get us back home.
On a Sunday afternoon, we had to get our own way home. Three of us had to pay for taxi, then two trains and a further taxi, costing over £200.
I was advised I had to stay with the vehicle even though they couldn’t provide any way home for us. I had to leave it in a safe place, with the AA picking it up the day and returning it to the pick up base. As I couldn’t drive the car, I couldn’t fill the petrol. Europcar took the amount from my deposit even though they had been advised of the cost to ourselves to get home. You couldn’t make it up. They couldn’t fulfil our contract of replacing the car, wanted us to stay with the car until pick up (which was two days later), and to date, no agreement to reimbursement for the public transport we had to use.
Something seriously wrong here.

There are many hidden costs they try to keep hidden until days after you return the vehicle. How dare their partners use the term 'what you see is what you pay' or; 'no hidden charges/cost. Twice whilst there I saw staff fraudulently claimed off client's insurance stating there was a scuff on the vehicle which wasn't there before! Cancel all access they have to your bank account immediately after, better still, report them to the police and NEVER use them or their culprits again.

Referred to Europcar by insurer so I had no choice but to use them if I wanted a car whilst my own vehicle was being repaired.

Guy who dropped off car at my house didn't want to inspect the vehicle, told me to scan some QR code and report any additional damage within 24 hours. He just wanted me to sign their paperwork and go. Car was not very clean inside and out and there was already quite a bit of damage especially to all four alloys. I insisted on the inspection and guess what, I noticed more damage/issues that had not been recorded. The guy was so resistant to the inspection, so odd. The guy wasn't writing down everything I was saying. He was just huffing and puffing and arguing with me.

Also, the outside condition of the car made it difficult to tell what was dirt, watermarks or actual damage. I wondering if that was on purpose, I hope I didn't miss anything.

When signing their paperwork, I took pictures so I could have a record of what he had written.

Based on the other reviews, I am very glad I insisted on the inspection and took numerous photos and a video, including photos of the fuel gauge when getting the car and when returning it. Do not let them fob you off with scanning some QR code rubbish because when they get the car back, they will go over the car in detail.

When returning the car, all the additional damage and issues I had pointed out had not been included in the paperwork yet I was still asked to sign that I agreed the damage recorded. There is something very off about this company and they way they do business. I never ever want to deal with them again.

Very disappointing experience. We specifically asked whether the quoted price already included the best insurance and were assured that it did. We later discovered that we had been charged for additional insurance costing more than the car rental itself. When we explained that we had relied on the employee's assurances, customer service refused to accept any responsibility or offer any compensation. Be very careful and check every document before signing.

Quoted under £200 for Corsa 4 days. Paid £395.
Forced at Southampton Airport to pay premium insurance £30 a day.
Forced to take out Roadside Assistance. £19 daily
I was was wioth my son..he was told you can only take this car IF you take maximum insurance,.
A few years ago would have recommended Europcar BUT my sons experience as above was A RIP OFF.
Try Arnold Clarke.....MUCH BETTER REVIEWS.
Eiropcar now tring to copy GoldCar of Spain the biggest rip off firm in this industry.

They don't take responsibility for anything. Passed the ball to the AA, then to the garage. No solution and we still don't have a usable car.

I booked a Kia Sportage (or equivalent) from Europcar Glasgow Airport several weeks before my holiday and received a confirmed reservation at the agreed rental price.

When my family and I arrived at Glasgow Airport after an international flight, including my 76-year-old mother, we were informed that the vehicle we had reserved was not available.

Instead of honouring our confirmed reservation by providing an equivalent vehicle at the agreed price, the Europcar staff informed us that the only available option was a much more expensive BMW (or similar premium vehicle). Since our accommodation and four-day travel itinerary across Scotland had already been planned and prepaid, we had very little practical choice but to accept the significantly higher-priced vehicle.

What concerned me most was that this did not appear to be an isolated incident. While waiting at the rental counter, I personally observed several other families being told exactly the same thing—that their reserved vehicles were unavailable and that they would need to rent a more expensive vehicle instead. That was extremely disappointing.

Unfortunately, the problems did not end when the rental ended.

After returning the vehicle, Europcar's own inspection confirmed that:

the vehicle was returned without any new damage,
there was no accident, and
the fuel tank was returned full.

My final rental invoice also confirmed that my rental account had been fully settled.

However, weeks later I discovered that an additional £50 Administration Fee had been charged.

When I contacted Europcar requesting an explanation, I received only an automated acknowledgement. Instead of answering my questions, Europcar later sent another invoice simply stating "Outstanding Admin Fee" with the reference "FINES IMPORT", but without explaining:

what the charge relates to,
the date of the alleged incident,
the issuing authority,
or providing any supporting documentation.

As a customer, I do not object to legitimate charges that are properly explained and supported by evidence. What I find unacceptable is charging a customer's credit card first and then failing to provide any meaningful explanation when asked.

Only after returning home did I look at Europcar UK's Trustpilot profile. I was surprised to see that it currently has an overall rating of around 1.5 out of 5 stars based on more than 17,000 reviews. Reading through many of those reviews, I found recurring complaints about vehicle availability, unexpected additional charges, poor customer service and unresponsive complaint handling. Unfortunately, my own experience was very similar.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Europcar UK. There are several other reputable rental companies operating from Glasgow Airport with much stronger customer satisfaction ratings, and I wish I had chosen one of them instead.

I genuinely hope Europcar improves its customer service, honours confirmed reservations, communicates transparently regarding additional charges, and responds professionally when customers raise legitimate concerns.

Ipswich branch- Horrible, pathetic and disrespectful staff and service. I wish I could rate then ZERO. They never answer phone calls, and when I turned up at 18:04, despite being still open, they said sorry we are closed and cen't help. The lady was rude and it would have literally taken her 30 seconds to solve my query. First, they don't deliver the car citing staff shortages. Then I personally went and picked it up, they issued a wrong category car. And then they leave a vague voice msg asking csn you come pick up another one on friday? And you try to call them they never answer. Literally wasted about 2 hours in 2 days, not one call answered. And when you take you bloody personal time and arrive at their shitty office, they show attitude? The lady was rude, and when I said to her you guys never answer calls and now I'm here why can't you answer a simple question? She starts playing the "rude customer" card. And then another man turns up, apparently her husband, "you can't talk to my wife like that". bro chill, "like that"? like what? go play your husband wife drama at home. learn to treat customers with respect first. I'm so pissed that my company keeps choosing this provider I'm definitely going to raise a formal complaint.

BEWARE! We had booked a rental car with Europcar for our stay in Scotland. At the time of booking, we were told that we would have to pay a security deposit of approximately 287 €. Shortly before our trip, we were notified via email by Check 24—which had arranged the contract—that the security deposit had been increased to 700 £, no explanation given; a corresponding amount was then also reserved on our credit card account. We assume that this highly unusual and irregular increase in the security deposit was intended to pave the way for what followed: When we picked up the car in Inverness June 13th, 2026, the employee at the counter gave us a pre-filled document labeled “Rental Agreement.” Since we had already booked and paid for comprehensive insurance coverage in addition to the car rental when we made the reservation, we assumed that the “Rental Agreement” simply confirmed the contract we had entered into for the rental of the car, including the insurance we had booked and paid for in andvance. The counter clerk also referred to the fact that we had booked comprehensive insurance coverage, without mentioning that we were offererd to order additional insurance on top of that. It was only when our credit card was charged after our return to Germany that we realised Europcar had “sneaked in” additional and unnecessary insurance coverage – a coverage which we had already booked and paid for—when we picked up the vehicle. As a result, the bill for the rental car—with an agreed-upon rental price of €254, including comprehensive insurance with no deductible—increased by more than £550, which Europcar charged from our security deposit without further comment.
We filed a complaint with the UK Customer Service, who then falsly claimed that we were given the option to decide whether or not we wanted to book additional services. They essentially argued that it was okay for us to be stuck with the costs if we were foolish enough to let their employee foist these absurdly expensive and unnecessary insurance benefits on us. As might be expected after all of this, they denied any refund.
Addendum: Today (August 07, 2026), Europcar has blocked and reserved another 650 € on the debit card used for the deposit, no reason given.
2nd addendum: At least they returned the 650 € they took from our account on August 07, 2026.

Ordered from peterborough branch online was rushed through signing process, after dropping the car off I recieved an email invoice and they had added on all available extras to the rental agreement without even discussing with me doubling the price of the rental. Borderline fraud.