Drivalia UK - EDINBURGH AIRPORT Reviews 

Stuart assisted us in a 5 star manner and helped us with no hesitation

I am so happy to rent a car from Drivalia, Staff Raghil helped me to get this process so smooth and simple. Happy to be a customer.

I have sent an email about this but received no communication back so I will post the email here.
Hello, I hope that you are well.

On the 16th of September I was supposed to pick up a car from your Edinburgh airport location in order to travel to my grandmother's funeral. I was refused the car due to not having a credit card, which I totally understand and take full responsibility for this. However, the customer service I received was so genuinely horrible that I've been totally shocked. It's taken me a full month to bring myself to write this email because of how upset I have been.

The level of apathy and unprofessional conduct on show had me floored. I did not get the name of the customer service assistant who was 'helping' me but I hope that this can be followed up with him.

Firstly, this whole procedure took almost an hour when I was already on a tight schedule, which I had told him multiple times. I wish that he could have come to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to take the car earlier so I could have still made it to the start of the ceremony that night.

The first of the main two issues was that he was on the phone to another employee the entire time who referred to me as a 'f***ing nuisance' among other things. The employee on the phone looked at me when these comments were made and laughed slightly without apologising. At this point I was already crying as he has acknowledged by getting me a tiny scrap of toilet paper. However, he didn't think he needed to apologise for his colleague talking about me in that way whilst on speaker so that I could hear it.

Secondly, when it transpired that I would not be able to take the car he told me I would be able to get a shuttle bus back to the airport to get home, I had already paid £25 for a taxi to the location so I was keen to save money on the journey back. I was told to 'wait out there' dismissively and that he would come and find me when the shuttle bus came. I went and sat outside for almost 30 minutes before realising that I had been dismissed and forgotten. At this point I was inconsolable and couldn't bring myself to go back inside so ordered another taxi back to the city centre which cost me £30. This level of complete apathy to a woman who is stranded, unable to get to a funeral, and clearly in emotional distress is a little difficult to understand even now.

Additionally, I was told by your employee that I would receive a refund, which has been denied by booking.com. I understand this was not a guarantee but I think your employees need to be better briefed on the financial side as this was a beacon of hope for me which was put out very quickly.

I felt that I was walking into a boys club where I was not welcome and where your employees were happy to make fun of, and laugh at, me whilst I was actively crying in front of them. This was the worst customer experience that I have ever had and I would rather walk to Skye than to go through that ever again. To let your locations foster this misogynistic and cruel environment is baffling.

I hope that this complaint will be taken seriously.

Best wishes,

Scott was super helpful and friendly ensuring my experience renting went smoothly.

Amazing…. Marshall was so so helpful!!! 100% recommend!!!

I was really happy with the time that took to order the car and the support from Stuart was great this is the second time I have hired and will re-book in November.

Stuart and Robbie were available this morning when returning the car and arranging the bus to take me to the airport so delighted with the service I have received from your staff.

Marshall is very Kind, we had a great time here in Edinburgh thanks to Drivalia UK

Stewart was AMAZING. Couldn’t of been more helpful, would give him 10 stars if that was an option

Gentleman was so rude on the desk, told us we arrived after 12:30pm which we didn’t. We arrived at 12:29pm which meant we were within the time frame of being charged £100. Would never recommend this company to anyone.

Stuart
Very helpful and professional explained everything perfectly. Don't often get great customer service . Thank you Stuart!

Don was exceptional- communicated terms of agreement well and covered any questions we had. Excellent customer service.

Don was super. Pleasant and explained everything.

We love Marshall !

He was charming and fast. Excellent service. Got us through the booking process and into a car in the blink of an eye.

You can lose yourself easily in airport stress, but not with customer service like Marshall’s. Got our car super quickly!

Arrived at Edinburgh airport.The instructions were to phone Drivalia and ask them to send the bus to collect and take to the car hire centre.Phoned several times.No answer. I then looked for Stance 7 where the bus would arrive.It isn't called Stance, it is just called bus stop 7 !!
The bus arrived and i was taken to Drivalia.There was just me and one other customer and 4 members of staff.I was given a buzzer to tell me when they would see me.25 minutes passed and i made it clear i was stiil there but didnt make a fuss.The phone rang many times and on most occasions the staff did not answer.The one time they did they gave a rather gruff response to someone who was phoning asking where the bus was.At last,my buzzer goes off. I am given 2 surprises. The first that because i was returning the car to a different location i had to pay extra. The second was that i had limited mileage and i had to pay extra if i were going to do more miles.Neither was made clear on booking. Then, they actually decide that they will get my allusive car !! The man set off to get it and was gone for ages. I asked where he was and they said he was cleaning it !! At last, i was on my way but to put it in perspective,it took as long to get the car as the flight from London to Edinburgh !! Massively frustrating and no apologies,no communication and lastly, what were they all doing ? Goodness knows how they would cope if they had more than 2 customers at a time. DO NOT USE THIS CAR HIRE COMPANY !!!!!!

We booked a jeep and were given an awful Geely Chinese hybrid that was so annoying to drive with constant beeping and weird controls.
The car was scraped and dirty inside which made it difficult to see out when the sun was shining.
Pick up was fine but no instructions how to operate the car.
Drop off was slow with inadequate parking and a long wait.
We spoke to another guy dropping off who’s car broke down 4 times in one week and no working windscreen wipers - dangerous.
Expensive to add a second driver.
I would not use them again or recommend this company.

Prepaid rental → £803.88 extra at the desk → £72 after the rental → £50 late fee

I would strongly advise anyone considering Drivalia Edinburgh Airport to read this before booking.

I booked a Toyota Aygo or equivalent through HolidayCars.com for 8–20 August 2026. The rental was prepaid and included a NoRisk Warranty.

Before travelling, I was explicitly told to bring a Visa or MasterCard credit card in the main driver’s name, issued by a traditional bank. I arrived with my physical Visa Premier card from Caisse d’Épargne, a traditional French bank.

At the Drivalia desk, the card was refused.

What I still have not received is a satisfactory written explanation identifying precisely which requirement my card allegedly failed to meet.

I was abroad, starting a prepaid holiday rental and needing the vehicle. Instead of a clear official written breakdown of the alternatives, three prices were presented to us handwritten on a sheet of paper: £100/day, £75/day and £55/day.

We had to make a rapid decision if we wanted to continue our trip.

The result: an additional charge of £803.88, despite the rental already being prepaid and despite the NoRisk Warranty already purchased with the booking.

£803.88 extra at collection.

The problems continued after the vehicle was returned.

At collection we had said we intended to travel around Scotland. We were not clearly warned in that conversation that travelling to Lewis and Harris would generate a separate charge.

Two days after returning the car, Drivalia demanded another £72 for travel outside mainland UK. Their email stated that the payment link would remain valid for 10 days and warned that the account could be referred to debt recovery with an additional £50 late payment fee.

When I later tried to resolve the £72 issue, I asked Drivalia in writing for a new payment link. I did not receive a usable payment method before the matter was sent to Wrights Recoveries / Red 2 Black Recoveries Limited.

The demand then became:
£72 original charge
+ £50 Late Payment Fee
= £122.

I paid the full £122 to prevent any further recovery action and immediately disputed the £50 fee in writing with both Wrights Recoveries and Drivalia.

So my experience was:

• prepaid rental;
• NoRisk Warranty already purchased;
• Visa Premier from a traditional bank presented;
• card refused without a satisfactory written explanation of the exact requirement it allegedly failed;
• three additional price options handwritten at the desk;
• £803.88 additional charge;
• £72 demanded after the rental;
• request for a new payment link;
• referral to debt recovery;
• another £50 added;
• £122 ultimately paid.

I have retained the booking confirmation, rental conditions, emails, payment records, rental documentation and recovery correspondence supporting this chronology.

Drivalia ultimately maintained its position, refused reimbursement of the disputed charge and closed its internal case, directing me to external dispute resolution.

I am deliberately stating the dates, documents and amounts rather than using insults. People can make up their own minds.

For me, the most concerning part is the combination: a prepaid customer abroad, a card that appeared to match the written instructions being refused, no satisfactory written explanation of why, a very expensive alternative presented under immediate time pressure, and further charges after the rental.

I would never rent from this branch again.

If you are considering Drivalia Edinburgh Airport, get written confirmation that your exact card will be accepted and demand an official written breakdown of every additional product, alternative and total price before signing or paying anything.