One of the Most Stressful Car Hire Experiences I've Ever Had - I am all for the change over to electric cars, per say, but by choice and not on this occassion...!I recently hired a car from Europcar, and it turned out to be one of the most stressful experiences I've ever had. I originally booked a Vauxhall but, to my surprise, was given a fully electric Jeep instead. No one informed me of this change beforehand—there was no notice in my email or on the order. To make matters worse, I was charged an extra £35.When I arrived to collect the car, I was told there were no other vehicles available, and one of the staff rudely suggested I should just cancel my order. I had an important meeting over 220 miles away and had no choice but to take the car. I had no idea how it worked, and the staff didn’t have a clue either. They didn’t know how many miles I could drive or how to charge it, but they incorrectly assured me that 200 miles would be enough to get me to my destination.After just 30 miles of driving, and when I figured a couple of things out, I realized the mileage was dropping much faster than expected, and I found myself in a panic, with only 43 miles left and 35 miles to go to the nearest charging station. I called Europcar twice for help and was left on hold for 20 and then 35 minutes! I ended up having to call a local dealership to get information about charging the car, who were so helpful and supportive.Despite calling Europcar multiple times to ask for a different vehicle, I was told they couldn’t get through to other branches, and I didn’t have time to go hours out of my way to try Plymouth or Exeter locations. I was late to my meeting and to my hotel in Cirencester, which left me stressed and anxious. The next day, the nightmare continued. The car was at 15% charge in the morning, but I had to drive slowly and risk running out of charge just to make it to my next meeting. Afterward, I drove to two charging stations that were both not working (Shell). I had to go to a third location, which took 20 mins to get to and an hour to charge, and I ended up driving in the dark—a situation that made me even more anxious. I didn’t get home until 9:45 PM, completely exhausted.I wouldn’t have rented this car if I had been told about the change in advance. The potential breach of contract, misrepresentation, lack of communication, rude staff, and complete lack of knowledge about the vehicle made this an awful experience. I felt unsafe throughout the journey, constantly worried about the mileage and being stranded with no charge. This hire wasted my time, energy, and money. Absolutely terrible service, and I feel upset by how badly this was handled and hope this can be redressed.Europcar needs to seriously improve their obligation to customer service and communication. If you're thinking of hiring from them, I would advise you to double-check your booking and be prepared for a lot of hassle.Would not recommend.
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