Thrifty Reviews 240

The fuel policy in the small print, which I didn't see, was full / empty so they absolutely sting you on the price of a full tank and when you return the tank full you expect to be reimbursed the full amount. Obviously this doesn't happen and they refund a fraction. In addition they hard sell additional insurance which evidently isn't needed and when you email to complain they do not respond. Be wary as they will try and fleece you in every direction. I am now disputing the charges through my credit card company. Avoid but if you must use them good luck !

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I thought I was booking with a reputable company, however, when I went to collect the car they advised that they required my credit card for the deposit - which is standard policy. I advised them I already had my own insurance and didn't need additional cover.

However, now that I've returned, it transpires that they used my credit card to charge me 250 Euros for additional cover which I did not approve (or request!).

PLEASE AVOID

judging by the number of 1 star reviews this company probably does not care.
charged an extra day without being told for a return 9 minutes after return time. That's just cheap, especially as you have to check the car your self when you pick up, take photos and then wait for them to get to you on return.

I have rented cars hundreds of times around the world, and this was one of the worst experiences I’ve had.
I booked a car through a broker for around €50–70 and clearly declined all additional services at pickup. Despite this, I was charged over €280 due to extra services (vehicle upgrade and Premium Road Assistance) that I did not request and that were not properly explained.
The staff insisted on speaking Spanish, even though I only communicated in English, and no clear information was provided before I was asked to sign the agreement. Under these circumstances, it is not reasonable to consider that I gave informed consent to these charges.
When I contacted customer service, they simply referred to the signed agreement and ignored the lack of clear communication and transparency.
I strongly advise others to be extremely careful when collecting a car from this location. Double-check everything and do not assume that your booking terms will be respected.

DO NOT USE THRIFTY. Scammers.
They charged me with the full inssurance without informing me- they lied by saying it is only the deposit and that they would pay it back fully at the end of the rental ageement.

They do not answer Your emails, they dont answer Your calls, even Rentalcars.com is helpless in this situation..

300€ lesson

I got charged extra at the end of my hire for protection cover,. I never ask for it and the staff did not inform me about this on collection or return of the car. I had already taken this out when i booked the car online. I went back to the office to get it sorted. The staff member was unhelpful still not got my £212.75 refund back or any reply from the company or support

We hired a car from Thrifty at Malaga airport. When we returned home, we discovered that £155 had been taken from our credit card. When I questioned this charge, I was told that it was for supercover insurance, something which I would never have agreed to. The insurance had been added in very small print in the corner of the invoice and as it was so busy at the office, (my mistake, I now realise), I did not have time to read all of the paperwork. Thrifty seems to rely on this in order to con people in to signing and rushing you out of the office. Take care if you ever book with these to review everything in the documents....absolutely disgusted....

Concerns: Malaga Airport Car Rental Agency.
Read the contract carefully before signing it ! They try to add extra charges with additional insurance !
I had an offer of 117€ for 7 days car location. Finally, I must pay 308€ !!!

Bought and paid through Ryanair with extra insurance to be told on arrival that the axtra axa insurance was with a broker and I had to have theirs at 177 euros, they would not budge its a massive scam, do not use. It needs to be looked by management.

They added on extra charged that were way more than the rental cost without telling me anything and claiming it was part of the deposit. Be very careful, read everything before you sign, they will try to pressure you into just signing.

Please avoid using this company. I rented a car for 5 days from the Murcia Airport branch. Was told I needed to take out additional insurance of £159 which I had already paid for. Told that I had to do it and that I would get a refund when I requested it on my return. Paid it and have made the request on my return. Told this is not refundable! I have now gone to my bank to refund the payment.
I also had to pay £122 deposit which I was not aware of. This has actually been refunded.
AVOID THIS COMPANY!!!!

On picking the car up and dropping it off there was no problem all very quick,my problem started when I got home as all of my money wasn't returned,I thought at first it was the deposit for the fuel but I had filled up before returning the car and left the receipt in the car,on double checking my invoice after I got home I noticed a 4 day charge of €24 a day for insurance,I never asked for insurance,it was never brought up during picking the car up and I also have my own car rental insurance so I avoid the hard sell from companies at airports,I've asked easy jet( who I rented the car via) to look into it and I've also emailed the thrifty office in the airport office but had no reply whatsoever,seems like a scam to me and the rating of the company on this site seems to back that up so beware and be prepared to be ripped off by thrifty if you don't,I've not given up waiting on my money coming back and I will keep pushing until they get bored.I HAVE JUST HAD AN EMAIL BACK FROM EASYJET SAYING THAT AS I HAD SIGNED THE FORM THEN THERE WOULD BE NO REFUND, I JUST ANSWERED BACK THAT THEY WERE COMPLICIT IN A FRAUD DUE TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVING MOINEY TAKEN OFF THEM UNKNOWINGLY AND THEM DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT, IVE ALSO ALERTED MY BANK TO NTHE POSSIBILTY OF THIS BEING A FRAUD TRANSACTION,SORRY FOR THE CAPITALS I WASNT TYPING THIS OUT AGAIN,

Hired a car from Thrifty for 6 days filled up with fuel when I took it back they checked all round the car and said everything was good 4 days later I noticed they had took £172 off my card but haven’t told me why so if you don’t want to get ripped off don’t hire a car from THRIFTY.

I was skeptical first due to all of the bad reviews but it seems that this is the case across every single car hire company, i therefore chose Thrifty knowing they were an international company and heard of these before.

Thirfty in Murcia airport was absolutely fantastic. I was not pressured into taking out the insurance as I already had 3rd party insurance through another procider.
The car I was given was great and fit for purpose he let me take as many photos/videos of the vehicle before I took the keys from him to make sure I was happy with the car.
The hold for fuel/excess was unheld from my card within a matter of days I could not fault them and would definitely use them again.

I have booked a vehicle through an online broker with clearly stated expected charges but when collecting the vehicle at Thrifty office at Valencia Airport I was given a rental contract to sign without a clear explanation of all the stated charges. I was charged for a service I did not ask for and was not asked if I want it. Look out for a "My choice" option on the contract before you sign it under Estimated charge and ask that every single point is explained to you.
When I contacted Customer service there was no help or understanding at all.
I definitely won't be renting from this company again!

alicante airport - absolute conmen! had family in tow, late at night, long day of travel... stupidly signed not realising they had added supercover despite me telling them im already insured. Tried calling, said couldnt access account details as booked in by someone else...again lies.
Just dont do it - they play a game of nice in pick up then rude as hell on return. Giving the regular real Spanish folk a bad name.
Update..thankfully got the money back through credit card company...would recommend for anyone as its clear Mis-selling and illegal what they are up to and thankfully my credit card co agreed.

Avoid - shady, deceitful sales tactics from Thrifty/ Hertz.

Recently booked car hire for a few days in Malaga. I had already purchased 3rd party excess insurance due to the cost of this through Thrifty.

At collection, Borja rushed me through and made me sign various documents and handed me the keys. Following my return I had a charge for 118 euros for additional insurance. None of this was explained or communicated to me. I did not need this, after all - I had already purchased additional insurance. At no point were any costs mentioned.

Thrifty Customer Services were not helpful, even sending me the paperwork (I might add, they had highlighted the additional insurance AFTER I had left).

I contacted my credit card company who issued me a charge-back relatively easily (obviously very clear to see what a diabolical outfit Thrifty are, and have had to go through this process countless times).

Avoid at all costs.

AVOID AUTO TO AUTOPŮJČOVNA MALAGA BRANCH AT ALL COSTS!!!Do yourself a HUGE favor and STEER CLEAR of this predatory car rental outfit in Malaga—seriously, go anywhere else! They scammed us into buying mandatory insurance for €300 for just one week—that's 3 TIMES the cost of the actual car rental! All because we didn't have a "real" credit card; we offered multiple debit cards and even cash, but they flat-out refused and hid behind their so-called "general terms and conditions."These guys are utterly shameless and inflexible. We tried everything to cancel it, but nope—they claimed it was already locked in, conveniently outside the 48-hour cancellation window. This NEVER happened to us anywhere else in Spain. Total rip-off artists who prey on tourists. DO NOT RENT HERE—save your money and your sanity!

The clerk never asked if I wanted these services. Instead, he signed them without my knowledge. I have these insurances through another company. It is not my signature after each addition either. I am now reporting this to my card company. I will never rent a car from Trifty/Herz again.

WARNING! AVOID THRIFTY IN SPAIN!
On December 30th 2025 I picked up a car, pre-booked, through Booking.com, at Malaga airport. At the counter I was met up by a very friendly lady, who was given all the booking details I had been given by Booking.com, including my full insurance, which she seems to acknowledge. The only question I was asked in terms of adding optionals, was if there where any additional drivers, which I declined. She got my bank card, and I signed the contract, and thought no more of it. Until two days later, when I noticed €374 was charged to my account, which is just as much as I had pre-paid for the entire rental. When I contacted their customer service I was informed that this was additional insurance, airport tax and VAT??? And the reason for the added insurance was that I had presented a debit card instead of a credit card, which I, of course wasn’t informed of on site. The extra taxes weren’t even explained.
My asking for full refund of these extra charges were completely ignored by Thrifty.
Booking.com should have some cred though, for refunding the prepaid insurance.
The reason I picked Thrifty in the first place is that I thought it was a reputable company and not a company with shady business practice, bordering to fraudulent behavior.
I’m going to Malaga/Costa del Sol at least 5-6 times per year, and I’ve never had this experience.
It’s not much money, but it’s the feeling of being ripped off that hurts.
THRIFTY, NEVER AGAIN