europcar.co.uk

Let down by Incompetence

I had Prebooked with a Carflexi Voucher from abroad but was denied rental when arriving at the (Heathrow) pickup desk due to Europcar's error. The worst part was that they couldn't contact their own internal department to correct the system because that department was closed for the long weekend.I was left stranded and so had to go next door to Hertz and pay a large amount more for a 'walkup' rate hire (but was fortunate they had a car available.) I have still not had my original pre-paid deposit refunded (but in fairness to Europcar, that would be by Carflexi - another issue).A bit more explanation if needed - after hiring a car from Europcar the previous year, I received a notification from them that I had been issued an automated parking fine & associated Europcar admin fee (I don't have an issue with paying an admin fee for any legitimate infringement). However, I successfully challenged the parking ticket and Europcar confirmed they had rescinded the Admin Fee. Then I got a follow up letter from their Collecting-Agents / Solicitors chasing payment of the Admin Fee. Again, I sent the correspondence to them and again Europcar assured me this was rescinded and they had corrected it in their systems. They obviously couldn't be bothered to actually do that. When I arrived at Heathrow (after a long flight) they said they could not provide a car to me because I was on the 'watchlist' for this very same 'outstanding invoice'. I realized exactly what the issue was, but the department I needed to talk to was closed for the weekend. When they opened a few days later, they confirmed they were in error & I should not have been denied rental - but it was way too late by then.Absolutely appalling systemic incompetence on Europcars part.

Date of experience: May 02, 2025