Deep frustration with Europcar

Seems like you've done a copy and paste on something you've already sent Europcar. I believe you may have misunderstood the terms. The company agreed to stay open after their normal closing time, at your request. When you arrived after the normal closing time, you were charged an after hours fee. I fail to see a problem here.

From the Europcar website: "If you wish to collect your Vehicle at a time that is outside of the Europcar Branch’s normal opening hours or if you have reserved a Vehicle from one of our airport locations that is linked to a quoted flight number and your arrival has been delayed beyond the due closing time of the Branch then an out of-hours collection charge may apply."

Seems pretty clear to me.

out of-hours collection charge may apply.

That also sounds like they have discretion and chose not to exercise it upon this occasion.

I've rented from Europcar on several occasions and never had a problem like that. I will say that they do have a tendency to try and upsell additional insurance but there's never been any pressure, and they've certainly never forced a charge on me because I refused.

Regardless, it sounds like you agreed to the charge and was therefore liable for it.

I don’t see where there’s an issue. Wheels and tires are seldom included under full coverage. It is an optional coverage with most rental companies just like windshields or personal injury protection. There was nothing misleading in what the agent said. With your next rental ensure you read what is and isn’t covered with full coverage.

You were there after their hours, so you paid the fee. Four minutes late is late. One cannot expect it to stay open for free just because you arrive late. Take your experience as a learning one.

I'm also baffled as to why you're frustrated by this. You asked them to stay open late. They have a fee for this. They charges you a fee. Sounds fair to me.

And on the upwell, its something all hire companies do.

They are justified in charging a fee but they could have made it clear when you called them that there would he an additional charge. That would be good customer service.

To be honest £71 in the context of a big trip is not a lot. Every trip comes with unexpected expenses somewhere along the line. Don’t let it get to you. It’s happened, move on!

How late was your flight?

You may be entitle to compensation depending on how late the plane was. That could be a way to offset the after hours fee.

I believe the UK has a regulation similar to the EU261

We had a negative experience with Europcar in 2017 in Britain.
We booked a car that was a mid-sized vehicle and none of their vehicles that size had a navigation system. The cost of renting a GPS was ridiculous.

Therefore, we had a choice of navigating Britain without electronic assistance in our original car or upgrading to a more expensive one with a nav system.

In the end that upgrade cost us almost double what we had originally booked.

We have rented from Budget, Hertz and Avis in Europe and never had a problem. We always get what we booked and no bait and switch.

We have rented from Budget, Hertz and Avis in Europe and never had a problem. We always get what we booked and no bait and switch.

But did you receive what you booked with Europcar, i.e a midsized vehicle? Simply because none of the vehicles of that size were equipped with satnav doesn't mean you didn't receive what you booked. Satnav/GPS is not a given in vehicle rentals however these days most new cars come equipped with it as standard although I've experienced two occasions with Hertz where they removed the sd card containing the map data and wanted to charge satnav rental rates to replace it! With cars that do not use sd cards they can't engage in this rip off tactic.

I haven't used Europcar before but neither complaints highlighted in this thread are justifiable in my opinion.

JC,
The problem was that a Nav system was advertised when I booked.

JC, The problem was that a Nav system was advertised when I booked.

OK, that changes things then although I have never seen satnav listed as an included feature on any rental site including Europcar when I've just checked, it is always an additional extra.

Taking a phrase from your post: "their initial prices seem cheaper". Occasionally, the prudent thing to do is to spend the money necessary to eliminate these type problems. I have rented cars in all of Europe. The name brand US companies have always provided me with the service and rental product that I paid for. What is more important: Getting in the car and go where you wanted or go thru what you did?

"Occasionally, the prudent thing to do is to spend the money necessary to eliminate these type problems. I have rented cars in all of Europe. The name brand US companies have always provided me with the service and rental product that I paid for. What is more important: Getting in the car and go where you wanted or go thru what you did?"

I would have thought Europcar was a pretty safe bet - it's a global brand with revenues almost of par with Hertz. It's certainly one of the 'name brands' I would think of for car rental.

I think the way that different car hire firms behave can be very location specific. I have twice rented from Eurocar in Malta with no problems but on line reviews for other places tell a different story.

I wonder if the issue here is that when the hirer refused to be sold more insurance (on which the agent almost certainly earns a commission) that the agent then decided to “punish” him by imposing the After Hours fee which is probably at the agent’s discretion.

I don’t think the OP has any real comeback but in his position I would leave very negative reviews on Tripadvisor, Trustpilot and any other similar forums.