Europcar France Reviews 

Appalling.
The pick up of the car was easy, when we went to check it over for the previous scratches listed on the document, we struggled to find a couple so asked for assistance. I was dismissed and told if we can't find them, they aren't there?! Car was great to drive. Upon returning, we were pounced on by the same lady who dismissed my request for help, before even getting the bags out the car she was presenting to us a document to sign for new scratches. She marked these down as "2-5cm dents" - no official measuring, she wasn't a car dent specialist, just guessed the size and ticked a box (they are NOT over 2cm, they are smaller and covered by their light damage policy - we have photographs to show this). Tried to have a conversation with her about the process of said scratch being examined by their "expert" and how this would be communicated with us. We were not happy to sign the document, she gave us no choice. Again completely dismissed. Few days later, email comes through - we're being charged 618 euros for the "damage". Outrageous. We opened a complaint and they've gone and taken the money/charged our card, despite us disputing it! We've been in contact with Europcar France over email, they have ignored everything we have said, cannot provide answers or evidence for said "expert" and how the scratches were measured etc. Now having to complain through the UK company to France just to get someone to listen to us. (Our rental is N°1193545165 if someone wants to actually deal with this honestly).

Negative stars if I could - don't know how they are still operating. I had a terrible experience with Europcar at Nice Airport. I rented a car for just a few hours to hold luggage before a flight. The car was barely driven and kept in a protected garage for the majority of the duration. When I returned it, the inspector immediately claimed I had caused large scratches on the back corner - damage that was clearly pre-existing and even covered with paint or gloss.

I challenged this since it was impossible for me to have caused it, and asked to see photos from the prior rental. The inspector rudely refused, gave zero effort to check the supposed damage, and ignored that the “scratches” had clearly been covered. He was extremely rude and persistent in pushing the claim, which makes me suspect these inspectors are incentivized or even paid in cash to find “damage.”

To make matters worse, he handed me a form in another language, telling me it was just for returning the car. In reality, it was a damage report that he tricked me into signing.

This is blatant malpractice and feels like a fraudulent scheme to extract money from customers who don’t buy their overpriced insurance. I have since found numerous reviews describing similar scams by Europcar. Avoid this company at all costs.

Despite being first in the queue, it took over an hour to collect the vehicle. By the time we left there was an enormous queue and it was the same when we dropped the vehicle off. The chronic upselling was diabolical and left an extremely sour taste. They were doing this to all parties. There was a huge pressure to pay more for insurance (already paid for), upgrading the car and breakdown cover. When declined, there was even more pressure, and I was told that if I broke down I was on my own and that the car I had rented wasn’t available so I had no choice but to upgrade, when firm that I was not going to do this, I was told they’d have to give me a free upgrade because that’s all they had but it was an automatic. It wasn’t. The American couple on front of us were almost pushed into paying 800 euros for an extra days rental as they were 45 minutes early to collect their car. The bullying attempts at ripping people off were absolutely shocking and seemed to be be overseen by a manager who was standing behind the servers and watching each interaction (but didn’t offer to help or serve any customers). When people are struggling to communicate it makes it very likely that they feel pushed into paying out more money because the understanding between the parties is poor. For example I was told I could upgrade for 45 euro, declined, was offered the upgrade for 15 euro and accepted and was then charged 45 euro. When I said no, I was told ‘I said 15 a day’. I know this was not the case otherwise why reduce from 45 to 15, additionally I had the car for 4 days so this would not have been correct. When I declined I was eye rolled at and told that he’d have to start the process over again now and that was a problem. Genuinely the worst case of customer service and fleecing customers I have ever seen.

Rented europcar in Paris (Gare du Nord)
Car got a tyre puncture, no spare tyre in the car. They towed away car and charged us for damages.
I am chasing a damage report and the customer services have been appalling with no reply :(

Charged 279.01 EUR for damage to a plastic hub cap on a Citroen C3 hire car. Had to repeatedly chase Europcar for the invoice and Statement of Return form after they billed my credit card for it. The SOR stated that it was damage to an alloy wheel which was incorrect as it was damage to a plastic hub cap. One of the hub caps was already missing when we took charge of the vehicle. The cost of replacing one of these plastic hub caps directly from the Citroen website is approx. 60 EUROS and not 279 EUROS.
I was also charged a cross boarder fee of 35.20 EUR despite the fact that I hired the car from the French side of Geneva airport to drive in France and have had no explanation as to why I incurred this charge.
Would never use Europcar again.

EUROPCAR - Has sent me a link to provide information to resolve the bogus charge made to my credit card, but the Iink does not work. IS this another diversion that will prevent me from being assisted? EUROPCAR please send me a proper link. My earlier message follows.....

Unauthorised Euro 570 charge made to my credit card for a tiny scuff on the left hand front wheel rim of my rental car (Paris rental). Non-existent customer service in trying to dispute the charges (multiple emails ignored). The scuff was clearly done by a previous user (tyre adjacent to scuff unmarked), and in any case the scuff was nothing more than normal wear and tear, based on experience from hundreds of past rentals with other companies. I will never use Europcar again.

We have experienced car hire at Charles de gaulle before and it has got worse. Europ car are poorly staffed and operated, so you have unacceptably long waits to pick up your car and like us didn’t get the suv paid for. When challenged people who can speak English suddenly go dumb and can’t understand what you are querying. They take a 100 euro deposit I assume to cover petrol not being at full on return. We always return full, but still haven’t received a refund despite numerous attempts .

Would definitely not use again and have kissed the extra 100 euros goodbye!!!

Not sure the other car hire firms are any better unfortunately.

We’ve been asked by Europcar to explain more, but to what end as the details above. All we want is the refund of the deposit 100 euros and a gesture re the delay.

Unreasonable charges at end of rental, for some sand on the back seats. Hired a dacia with Europcar from Figari Airport (Corsica). When I returned the car to Europcar at the end of my rental, I was careful to ask the Europcar representative that took the car from me whether there was any issue or he was happy with the condition of the car. He checked it over and told me there was no issue, and we left happily to get our flight. So it was a shock to see a EUR 135 charge appear on my credit card a few days later, with no explanation from Europcar. I wrote to AutoEurope, through whom I'd make the reservation, to ask if they could find out what the charge related to or if it was an error. AutoEurope contacted Europcar, and then came back to me to tell me that Europcar had said the charge was for cleaning the car due to some sand around the rear seats, where my kids had sat. 
While I accept that cars must be returned in a reasonably clean condition (and Europcar have a contractual right to charge customers for excessively dirty cars when returned), this fee is wholly disproportionate. and additionally disappointing where the rep had said the car was ok. Some sand in the footwell is normal usage, particularly in a holiday area near a beach, and does not constitute unusual soiling or neglect. It would have taken less than a minute to shake the sand from the footmats and brush it from the seats (or less with a hoover), which makes this very different from dirt stuck to the seats or which is difficult to remove. If the Europcar representative had indicated any issue to me I would have quickly done this myself.
I was otherwise happy with my rental with Europcar, so to have the rental end in this way is a real shame and very disappointing to the customer. It would have been very easy for the rep to let me know if he thought there was an issue, so I could clean it myself. Or for Europcar not to have imposed a large penalty for some sand that would have been very easy to remove.

Europcar rental Bezier Airport - beware!
Car returned but no one available to check in car (middle of the day). Invoice later showed extra charge taken from my card for 'Premium Station charge' without explanation, and a few weeks later a bill for over €400 received to repair a dirty mark on the alloy (no actual damage sustained).

Scammers and fraudsters
After returning home, Europcar France has unjustifiably charged €439 on our credit card. We have of course objected to this with our bank and the case could drag on for six months.
Europcar France is a dishonest and untrustworthy company.
A piece of advice: STAY AWAY

Regarding Renault Clio TCE GW-078-XG

We have the following complaints regarding car rental at Europcar, Montpellier Mediterranean airport sunday 10/8-25.

1. The staff did not inspect the car for any defects or deficiencies upon pickup.

2. We have prepaid €345.88, but Europcar states that we have only paid €299.76.

3. We are attaching photo documentation with various scratches and dents on the car. All photos were taken within 1 hour of pickup.

We thought we were making a rental agreement with an honest and trustworthy company, but that may just be a myth.

Regards
Karina Lotte Ellegaard Larsen and
René Per Møller

12/9-25
Att. Europcar France

We have already sent a complaint in mid-August, but you have not responded to it.
But you can make an unreserved apology here on the site and refund the € 439 that you have unjustifiably withdrawn

VW Polo Registration No. HD-078-SC

Be very wary of Europcar at Nice Airport!! I hired this car from them on 16 July 2025; at the time of collection I identified 2 areas of significant damage on the car not registered in the Damage Schedule. One an extensive area of scratches on the roof and another on the top of the bumper. I reported these to the attendant.
When I returned the car on 23 July the attendant identified a minor fine scuff on the lower nearside wing extending into the bumper. This is definitely not damage that occurred during my rental and must have been existing. It was in such a position that it would not have been visible in the darkness of the car park on collection.
The mark was so minor that it could easily have been removed with a cutting polish but 3 weeks later 888 euros was taken from my credit card. I challenged this decision but received a weak response from Europcar UK that they could do nothing.
I also noted on the new damage schedule that the extent of the damage I reported on collection had not been accurately recorded; the scratches on the roof which covered an area at least 30cm square were recorded as a scratch 2-5cm. The marks on the bumper were not even recorded. All ready for the next customer to be fleeced. Be very wary using this company; they used to be very reliable and trustworthy but are now as unscrupulous as many of the cheaper operatives, I will never use them again.

I have just tried to forward my complaint to the email address supplied by Europcar in their response but it is not a valid email address and I get a failure code. Not very useful!!!

If I could provide a 0 star review I would. They are terrible to deal with, they have overcharged my credit card without justification and have not provided any information or receipt for my mid-August car rental at Paris airport. Service team was disorganized and slow. Still trying to get my deposit refunded. Beware of this company, service is so poor they should not be trusted.
Now they will autoreply to my complaint with a script message that is only meant to seem like they care.

I pre-paid a car through booking.com and after the rental Europcar in Nice still charged me with 372 euros even though I left the car with no damage and a full tank of fuel.
I also had full insurance through booking.com.
I feel like they robbed me now so DO NOT USE Europcar in Nice or at all is my recommendation.

It took me 2 months to actually submit a review. I originally booked an automatic car with Europcar and pre-paid using Booking.com.
When I got there, the kind person attending us made us confirm that our car was in fact an automatic car, and made me sign the contract. When he went to get the keys, he realised the car we signed for was just returned, and said we'll have to sign another contract for the new car that is pretty much the same. I did not think to ask AGAIN if it was an automatic.
Anyway, we end up going to the car by ourselves (no one was here to check the car), and noticed 30 mins later that the car was in fact a manual. My bad, I thought, I'll request a refund of the difference when I get back - we have to get going...

When we go back, I let them know and the same person was very apologetic and confirmed that we will be able to get a refund since we were not given an automatic car. I only need to email the client service.

2 months later, 9 calls made to the client service, countless emails and follow ups. I finally got an answer that since I had signed that contract (not knowing the type of car was changed!!!) I am not eligible to a refund. I have been following up on emails and ringing, they are absolutely useless and SCAMMERS. Do not book with Europcar.
(I will also mention a few more things, such as how difficult it was for us to get a report of the minor scratch there was on a car to claim insurance, or the 'pre-paid' gas tank that was in fact also a bit of a scam...)

The car itself was fine.

I rented a car from Europcar at Geneva Ferney Voltaire Airport and had a very disappointing experience.

Despite booking Premium Protection (full insurance), I was later charged an “Administrative Damage Fee”. The car already had visible damage at pick-up, and the staff said taking photos or videos was unnecessary. The car was returned full of fuel and in the same condition, so these charges are unjustified.

The check-in process was also unpleasant. Staff were overly aggressive in upselling, insisting we needed additional services and trying to charge for insurance already included in the booking. Only after repeated clarification did they acknowledge it was covered.

Renting a car should be transparent and hassle-free, but this felt like a constant struggle with hidden fees and misleading information. I have filed a complaint requesting a refund, and until it’s resolved, I cannot recommend Europcar.

We went to France three weeks ago and rented a car from Europcar. I've rented cars in many countries. I've never seen service as bad as the Europcar branch at Paris CDG Airport. They charged me for the rental car, provided full insurance, and took a €100 deposit. It's been almost two weeks since I returned the car. They haven't refunded my deposit, and there's no communication. They said it would be refunded within 48 hours. There are so many low reviews, and most of them are complaining. Is there anyone in authority to find a solution to this and reach out to the reviewers? We're still stunned.

I rented a car from Europcar this summer and a stone on a road caused a very small scratch on the paint (barely visible). They have ended up charging me 700 euros in damages which is outrageous! A complete scam. Will never use them again and seriously discourage anyone else from using them.

A few days ago I wrote a review detailing my poor experience with a recent Europcar rental. The company replied sending a link and suggesting getting in touch with them. The next day (today) I filled in the form and explained the issues - only to receive an error message saying that due to a technical problem on their part, the form could not be submitted. So the complaint procedure itself seems to be a scam!

I have rented from Europcar Nice Airport now for about 20 years. Always been good (expect the long wait times). However this year I had a terrible experience. The agent I was dealing with offered to switch our car to electric. I then agreed and she said I only needed to change the deposit amounts. It now seems afterwards that my rental price doubled because they charged for an upgrade. This was absolutely outrageous because I specifically asked many times to confirm that the price would not change, she printed loads of forms and it seems one was a change in price. Now they have just said because I signed it, nothing can be done. Absolutely terrible service, will now change to one of the other providers and recommend others do as well,

Terrible experience with Toulouse Europcar and am still fighting to get a duplicate charge of the rental back over 6 weeks after the rental ended.

From the start of the rental we had to wait over an hour to collect the car with the queue almost doubling during the time we were in it so almost definitely those that joined later were in that line for two hours.

The rental car itself was fine, however following departure despite them returning the holding deposit in time they tried to bill me over 700 euros for a tiny scratch which luckily I had evidence of being there on arrival so they have dropped.

The rental charge itself has been taken from my credit card twice and nearly three weeks ago they admitted that this is an error and will be returned in 'approximately' a week. Why they need to hold onto a charge that shouldn't have happened at all is beyond me, however here we are another almost two weeks down the line with no sign of the refund despite chasing. Will need to now pursue through my credit card, not what you want to be doing after a nice holiday.
Cannot recommend.