Drivalia UK Reviews 

Great service
Friendly helpful staff

Outstanding service both times we've used Drivalia Gatwick. Always friendly and go out of their way to help. One time we had a problem returning the vehicle and the help was excellent.
Will continue to use this office as a our default rental service via Gatwick.

I would strongly advise anyone hiring from Drivalia at Birmingham Airport to take a full, detailed video of the vehicle before driving away.

We collected our van at around 10pm. The member of staff was clearly looking to close up and we were directed through the building and out the back, where the van was simply pointed out to us in the dark. There was no proper walk-around with us and obviously very limited opportunity to inspect minor marks in those conditions.

Fortunately, once it was daylight, my wife took a video walking around the vehicle.

When we returned the van, staff spent a considerable amount of time inspecting it and eventually identified an absolutely tiny hairline mark on the front left, approximately an inch long, barely the width of a hair and not even appearing to break the paint. We were then told we would be charged £450 for this.

Thankfully, we checked my wife's original video and the exact mark was clearly visible when we received the vehicle. Once we showed them the evidence, the charge was dropped.

What concerns me most is that, without our own video, we would apparently have been charged £450 for pre-existing damage. Drivalia carry out their own vehicle inspections, so why was this mark not recorded before the vehicle was handed to us? If such tiny marks can result in charges of hundreds of pounds, their pre-rental inspection process should be every bit as forensic as their return inspection.

We were lucky enough to have proof. Another customer might not be.

My advice: photograph and video absolutely every inch of the vehicle before leaving, regardless of how late it is or how much of a hurry the staff appear to be in.

It is always a pleasure to deal with Drivalia; super efficient and reliable service with excellent rates. I will not booked anywhere else when traveling to the UK, it is so hassle free, thank you!

They do not tell you about the £60 admin they charge you if you get a parking fine. Do not use this car hire company

On Aug 19 2026 our hire car broke down. Mansfield recovery team provided very poor customer service with no updates on a tow truck. After 4 hours waiting on the roadside I called the Winsford Trivalia branch and immediately spoke to Sharron Pearson. She understood my distress and the gravity of the situation and very quickly put procedures into place to get us home safely & promptly. She reassured me that it would be resolved and personally oversaw everything. Sharron arranged for a new car to be located & the next day personally accompanied us to the Winsford branch. Her customer care is exemplary and should be recognised. I would like to thank Sharron and the Winsford team for their professionalism and excellent customer service. The same can not be said for the Birmingham airport branch and Mansfield team and I will be following this up. Sharron stepped in and resolved a long catalogue of errors and problems that were not directly connected to her and undertook it all in the most professional manner. Thank you so much. Sarah Priestley.

Car was booked and paid for via CarJet.com brooker 2 days previouse to 11.00am pickup.
Rental car company was DRIVALIA.
Due to flight delay i arrived at DRIVALIA office at 12.15am

At DRIVALIA office Gatwick North Terminal, first he told me they had upgraded my car.

Then he tried hard to sell me extra insurance at 34 pounds a day which I didn't need or want as I already have separate excess cover.

After that he told me the upgrade will be 120 pounds a day extra. So I told him I didn't want an upgrade. I wanted the car i had booked and paid for.

He then said they had rented the car i had booked because I was more than 1 hour late for pick-up.
So in the 15 minutes previouse to me arriving they had a random walk in who wanted a compact auto. What are the chances.
Discussion got heated and he would not give me his name.
I left the DRIVALIA office extremely annoyed. I called CarJet and informed them of what had happened, they said they could not lodge a complaint for another 2 hours on the DRIVALIA website as my booking was only 1.5 hours old but they would send an email.
The day after I still have zero communication from either CarJet or DRIVALIA, so I have cancelled my card payment.

It was a great experience renting a car with them. Mr Sanjeev made it so convenient and explained the terms and conditions nicely. Kudos to the team Drivalia. Thank you.

Sanj has been super helpful. Guiding us in the best options that would work for us. Thank you for all the help!

As usual had the best time with Drivalia!! All thanks to Mr Sanj, Omar and Aalina! Even got a free upgrade which was a cherry on the top. Exceptional customer service!

I had a booking with Drivalia at Manchester airport (actually offsite in an industrial estate). My flight was delayed by around two hours. I called Drivalia before takeoff to advise them of the delay and they confirmed this had been noted in the booking.

Upon arrival, I was informed that because of the delay, “the system” had automatically cancelled my booking and there were now no cars available in the booked category. I was forced to pay a supplement of over 30GBP/day for an upgrade to another category, or be left with my family and luggage in the industrial estate to find another solution.

Several cars of the booked category, with Drivalia stickers in the windows, were visible in the car park. I was told that these were staff cars… they looked like rental cars to me.

The exact same thing happened to another lady who was on the same flight and arrived at the same time, for a different vehicle category. Clearly Drivalia policy is to run this scam whenever possible.

After returning the car, I contacted Drivalia, the booking agency and my credit card company to complain about this unfair practice and breach of contract in cancelling my booking despite being informed of the delay. I have now been informed that the upgrade fee will be refunded, a tacit acknowledgement of Drivalia’s abusive practice.

Lesson learnt: if you will be late to pick up your rental, make sure to call Drivalia and take a screenshot of the call log. If they try to scam you, complain and provide documentation, escalate to your booking agent, credit card company and car rental associations (BVRLA in the UK) if necessary. Resolver.co.uk may also help. Good luck!

Layek was polite and efficient as always.

I went to drivalia on the last minute in speke liverpool airport
I met stuart who was very helpful
And sorted everything out for me,
His customer service could not of been any better,
I would recommend them to anyone.

Beware: 1-hour late rule will cost you your booking and your money!

We had a terrible experience with Drivalia due to their rigid and unfair policies. Our flight was delayed, and we had to wait a long time at the baggage carousel—things that are completely normal and out of a traveler's control at an airport.Because of this, we arrived about 2 hours late to pick up our car. We were shocked to find out that Drivalia has a strict 1-hour grace period. They cancelled our booking, marked us as a "No-Show," and refused to give us a refund. An airport car rental company should have policies that accommodate standard flight delays. Instead, they took our money and left us stranded. Avoid them if you want peace of mind when traveling.

Hard to have had a worse experience. Customer service is appalling and breakdown service is dangerous to rely on.

Collection: Verona Airport
Booked: 16th-19th August.
17th August: Car broke down
18th August: Drivalia finally have someone collect it.
19th August: Despite several emails and phone calls I have no idea when I'll get a refund or remove the credit card hold.

Customer service:
- Hire came with breakdown servce.
- I spent 4 hours trying to report the breakdown.
- I picked the "English" option on the phone line but every time I got through to someone who only spoke Italian. Once when I asked if the operator spoke english, the operator told me "no, this is Italy" and hung up.
- Eventually I had to ask my hotel reception to report the breakdown in Italian. I was advised that the pick up could only happen the next day.
- I was lucky because the car broke down in the hotel. If I was genuinely stranded, especially if somewhere rural I would have been stranded with my family (wife, 7 year old child and 4 year old child).
- Once the car was collected, I was told the standard process was to get a replacement car instead of the refund. I was an hour away from the airport and at that point I had only had 1 day use of the car and 1.5 days of trying to get through to breakdown service and customer service.
- I still have had no feedback about the refund or getting the credit card freeze taken off despite providing them evidence that the car has been collected.

Allways excellent service from the guys at Drivalia. Today's master was Janos.

From the begining Jonas was very professional. What other hire company refused to do, he sort me with no time. A++ service. Thanks

I have been emailing lots of question, they have been replying very promptly

still have car. runs, drives fine but totally abused on the exterior when I picked it up(noted by staff before I left). leaving 1 star because they deceived me into taking "Family Vacation Plan' which is really insurance, so they assume all liability. my credit card was declined initially for $1500 deposit which is accepted in lieu of "vacation package". gave guy at desk a different card and he switched it to the Vacation plan without asking or informing me. horrible. Underhanded, deceitful. READ everything very carefully before you sign. This was at the Edinboro Airport location. Fortunately, Karma always wins.

We rented a car in July, and upon arrival, we were told that for an extra £10 we would get better coverage, so we agreed. However, when I went to pay, the invoice had jumped from £470 to £920. I asked the employee about the increase, and he told me it was a deposit—unrelated to what we had booked—to cover any potential traffic fines.
​An hour later, when I received the contract, I realized they had charged me twice for coverage on the exact same car. When I returned the vehicle, I spoke with a manager who promised they would refund my money. As of today, nothing has happened.
​BE CAREFUL with what you sign and agree to, because they will try to "sneak in" a higher rate. Everything is now in the hands of my lawyers, and I will do whatever it takes to get back what is rightfully mine.