Car rental woes and a warning

Change the country from Italy to France and your experience is practically identical to my recent rental experience. Same rental agency (AutoEurope), same rental company (Europcar). And like you, when returning the car I was told I'd get an email receipt later (I did, about 2 months later, through AutoEurope). In my case, the extra charge (besides the road tax and similar fees that I expected) was a one-way fee. And like you, it was through the intervention of AutoEurope that the charge was refunded. The moral: just hope for the best.

Last time I got a car through AutoEurope, I could tell by the pickup address that I was going to get a Hertz car. You can Google an address and often figure out what company has the lot.
All rental car companies in Europe are not created equal. Even though the rental agency name may be one you're familiar with from the U.S., many rental companies are franchised in Europe. And they just don't operate there like they do in "The States."

Hertz is company owned in Europe and that's why I try to stick with them.

Sorry for your experience, but glad it was resolved. I will say that I have rented directly from Europcar several times in France and we have had no problems so whatsoever. But it's a good lesson to always make sure you understand what you're signing and to get a copy of the final bill when you turn in the car. We didn't get a final bill until later this last trip and although we had no issues, it would have been easier to rectify at the counter than after the fact if we had. So we'll remember that for the future.

As I said in the other thread, Europcar has suddenly discovered upselling and hardselling this year. This is the first year we've experienced it after using Europcar via AutoEurope for sixteen years. I had the same problem Robert had and was reimbursed by AutoEurope, as well. The AutoEurope rep told me they were working with Europcar to clean up the situation. Whatever good situations you had in the past are in the past.Pay attention now but also know that AutoEurope will make it right.

Just to add my experience from one who has never used a consolidator. I have rented seven times in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and France directly from Hertz, Avis, National, and Sixt via their websites, and had good experience with all. Always got the rate / car I reserved (or nicer for the same rate) and always got a written receipt when turning in the car that matched expected charges. Maybe I've been lucky, but just didn't want folks to be left with the impression that there will likely be a problem when booking direct. Enjoy your trip!

To add more lessons learned: we returned our Auto Europe /EuropCar in France pretty much at the last minute it was due. We dropped it, they OK no problem, but later found out we were charged an extra day. We thought the "no problem" implied it was fine we made it in time. The extra charge was noted on our email.

Then another car we rented we fueled it up as we normally would prior to our return but then on our final emailed receipt we had a fuel charge. This is the first time this has happened anywhere. When we made a complaint we were asked for the receipt of the fuel we bought. We are in the habit of paying cash and not keeping receipts for things like that. In that situation we dropped the keys in the drop box and left the car. Probably not a good idea if you can avoid it, but sometimes you have to drop outside of their hours.

Good lessons to learn!

Susan and Monte---call AutoEurope. They'll take care of these two problems for you. They have reps from all the rental car companies working in their Portland, Maine office, including EuropCar.

Thanks Bets! This was in 2014 and we did call and try to get it resolved. We were stuck paying since we actually were late in returning the car- no grace period of even 5 minutes I assume, and we had no proof of filling the tank. Oh well. Lessons learned for next time.

The AutoEurope rep told me they were working with Europcar to clean up the situation.

That's good to know. I assume that AutoEurope represents a sufficient chunk of Europcar's business that they might have some success. I've rented directly with Europcar a couple of times, but given my recent encounter, I'll probably continue to go through AutoEurope.

Last time I got a car through AutoEurope, I could tell by the pickup address that I was going to get a Hertz car.

I believe that both AutoEurope and Kemwel now always show you the different companies when they list the cars in your search, and then the invoice lists the rental company.