Beware of Bait-and-Catch by Car Rental Companies in Lisbon

Was the insurance part of the original quote? If so, was there a deductible associated with it? It's a common practice to have a hold on a credit card up to the amount of the deductible so that the rental company would be able to collect in case of an accident. In those cases, you need to make sure to bring a credit card that has enough remaining balance to use. Good warning for folks to read the terms and conditions of rentals.

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for your reply! To clarify, the insurance was NOT part of the original quote. The advertised price of €73.86 made no mention of the €4,000 deposit or the additional €400 insurance package that I was ultimately forced to purchase.

While I agree it’s standard for rental companies to place a hold on a credit card for the amount of the deductible, the issue here was how poorly this information was disclosed. The €4,000 deposit requirement was buried in the Terms and Conditions, which were not visible during the booking process unless you actively clicked through multiple links. On top of that, the terms were only in Portuguese, which would be inaccessible to most international customers.

I did bring a credit card with sufficient balance, but Movida refused to split the deposit across two cards, leaving me with no viable option other than purchasing their €400 non-refundable insurance. This felt less like a standard deposit policy and more like a coercive upsell.

To make matters worse, the rental premises were located some distance from the airport and required a shuttle to reach. At that point, swapping out for another company would have been incredibly inconvenient and time-consuming, so I was effectively trapped into accepting their terms.

I completely agree that reading the terms and conditions is important, but the lack of transparency here goes beyond that. If critical terms like this deposit aren’t made clear upfront, it’s unfair to expect customers to navigate hidden details after they’ve already committed to the booking.

Hopefully, this helps others avoid the same experience!

Best,
Neil

What a yucky way to start a trip. There are so many stories around less than ideal experiences with car rental companies. One has to be so, so careful.

I would highly recommend sticking to the recognized reputable car rental companies. The obvious American companies plus European companies like Sixt and Europcar. I've rented dozens of times here in Lisbon without an issue.

Hindsight truly is 20/20, Scott! I completely agree with you—sticking to the reputable, recognised companies is clearly the way to go. Lesson learned the hard way!

Oh, and a helpful resource for those following this thread:

I’ve since learned about the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS). This service, established in 2009, assists customers with unresolved complaints regarding cross-border vehicle rentals within Europe. They review evidence against a Code of Practice and provide impartial decisions, which are binding on participating companies.

The full list of participating companies includes:

• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget
  
• Dollar
• Europcar
• Enterprise
• Firefly
• Hertz
• Maggiore
• National
• Sixt
• Thrifty

While the findings may not always align with your expectations, it’s reassuring to know that reputable brands are being held accountable through this process. If you’ve had issues with any of these companies, it’s definitely worth exploring this option for a resolution.

Hope this helps others avoid or resolve similar challenges!

For Portugal, I recommend checking out Zest. Search "Zest" in this forum, tripadvisor or google reviews. Comments are overwhelmingly positive, which is really saying something considering most reviews of car rental companies are mostly negative.

Zest is a UK consolidator. They do not rent cars directly to you. They arrange for you to get cars from local rental companies which they work with including a couple of international companies. Because of their popularity and volume of business, Zest demands the best prices and service from their providers.

For example, a car rented from "X" via zest is usually cheaper than renting directly from "X". Reviews by people renting directly from X often include the usual car rental complaints e.g. hidden charges, hard sell for extras at the counter and unscrupulous charges for damage on drop off. On the other hand, I do not see the same frequency of complaints about X when people rent through zest. And if a problem arises between you and X, Zest will step in to deal with it. I believe that many Portuguese car companies will go the extra step to avoid problems so as not to lose the volume of business from zest.

The zest website is very easy to navigate and to compare the different companies.

Different companies may require different deposits or holds. I chose RentCar4Less because they did not require a deposit or hold at all.

All zest rentals include the full collision damage waiver, free second driver and cancellation up to 2 days before pickup. The top up coverage for miscellaneous damages, e.g. tire, window is optional and clearly set out. I declined this coverage because I do not have it on my own car at home, plus my credit card assured me that it will cover any loss that is not covered by zest.

Zest also clearly states that it's unnecessary for you to buy any further coverage from the rental company at pickup. The car rental company may still try because they are always happy to accept more payment from you if you are willing to pay. Just decline their offer.

One reason I always go with a major company. It may cost slightly more, but everything is upfront.

Unable to post in response to a specific message. But thank you for the Zest recommendation! Very cool.