13th March 15.35 received email confirmation of car hire from 17th-21st March pick up/drop off Kinston upon Thames.14th March 13.05 received call from mobile 07815 464792 to inform me that the Kingston branch would not be operational w/c 17th March therefore pickup and drop off needed to change to another depot. It was agreed reluctantly on my part that new pickup/drop off station would be Gatwick South Terminal which is 30 miles from where i live. I was assured by the female caller that this modification would not alter the t&c's of the hire contract including the cost.14th March 13.12 , the modification email came through which still stayed pickup and drop off Kingston upon Thames.17th March 08.04, i rang europcar customer services to again ask for reassurance that this booking had indeed been modified correctly. I was assured that despite the modified booking stating Kingston upon Thames, the team at Gatwick would see this change on their system.17th March 11.30 ,i embark on 2 and half hour journey on public transport at my own time and cost to travel to Gatwick.17th March approx 14 00, approach service desk, i am.told there is no booking. Customer service agent calls over manager who also looked perplexed and repeated no such booking. I insist and relay the information provided by Kingston. After 5 mins of phone calls and deliberation Customer service agent, tells me that i have 3 different options of car, each costing £30+ per day additional to what i had already paid. I declined having been completely misinformed by Europcar and was told only alternative was a refund. I went outside and immediately called Europcar customer services who passed me back and forth and eventually to complaints. They refused to acknowledge their error and when i asked them to resolve the matter as they were at fault i was told that i would have to make a new reservation at a new cost £200+, but that i would have to wait at gatwick another 3 hours as their system did not allow immediate booking and vehicle retrieval. I have now travelled 30 miles from home on buses and trains to be told a) booking not valid b) i would have to pay another £120+ c) if i want new reservation i would have to wait 3 hours.UNACCEPTABLEWhile this has been now registered as a complaint and assures an investigation, i insist on satisfactory answers to the following:Why was Kingston upon Thames showing as open and operational on Gatwick system which initially impeded the gatwick staff from seeing the booking?Why, when a customer has already been subjected to a 30 mile trip instead of a 20 min bus ride to their chosen and confirmed place of pick up and drop off, at their own inconvenience, time and money, does Europcar not accept their own internal failures and endeavour to resolve the problem?I will also be submitting a claim for compensation to cover travel expenses to the airport and the additional cost of hiring a vehicle with another provider who were extremely helpful in overcoming the ridiculous bureaucracy around 2/3 hour wait times for a vehicle when they had one available and ready to go. Needless to say i will not be using Europcar ever again.I would appreciate a swift and satisfactory response addressing the abysmal customer service illustrated above Blanket response from Europcar which failed to address the specific failings of the booking."Thank you for contacting Europcar Customer Services regarding the vehicle not provided for your reservation 1187068944.Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for the lack of provision of the confirmed vehicle. On occasion, unforeseen changes to our fleet utilisation, resulting from extensions or breakdown can result in the Rental station responsible for your hire being unable to fulfil the booking. I would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused, and would like to assure you we constantly review ways to improve our services and minimise any disruption to our customers. I trust this information assists with your query. Regards, David"Europcar UK Group | Customer Services
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