Europcar South Africa Arvostelua 

Europcar’s Fuel Card Failure and Zero Accountability

I hired a rental car from Europcar and got a petrol card from them. After driving nine hours from Bloemfontein to Springbok, I needed to refuel late at night. When I got to the petrol station, the card declined. That was strange because I knew there were still funds on it. The attendants tried different machines, even one inside the store, but it kept declining. By then, the fuel was already poured.

I called customer service and explained the situation. The agent was calm and told me to try another machine inside. Still nothing. After several attempts and waiting, the agent finally said there was a technical error and their system was down. I’d have to pay out of pocket. No apology. No concern. Just “pay from your own pocket.”

This put me in a financial bind. Like anyone else, I have other commitments. What’s worse is that Europcar never warned customers about the system failure. No SMS. No email. Nothing.

The next morning, I had to follow up myself. Still no apology. No communication. I was passed to the petrol department who said they’d sort it out. They told me to go back to the petrol station and they’d arrange for me to get my money back. The station did their part — sent statements and everything needed. All they needed was Europcar to acknowledge the debt. That never happened.

They also said someone from Europcar Upington would bring petty cash to Springbok. That didn’t happen either.

I made countless calls. Sometimes I couldn’t reach anyone. Some agents were rude and didn’t care. A few even hung up. I drove to Europcar Upington and got hold of management. Their response? “You’ll get your money on Friday” and that whoever promised Wednesday was just “thumb-sucking information.” No accountability. No apology.

It’s now Thursday. This started Monday night. I’m still chasing a refund for something that wasn’t my fault. I just got off the phone again and was told to call tomorrow morning.

I’m disgusted and disappointed. A company this size should take responsibility and communicate with clients. Instead, I’ve been met with delays, poor service, and no concern for the customer.

Zero stars. Europcar has shown me nothing but incompetence and a complete lack of accountability.

I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND FOR ANYONE TO GO TO EUROPCAR, NO MATTER HOW DESPERATE YOU ARE. SAVE YOURSELF FROM THIS INCOMPETENT COMPANY!!!!

Don’t give them your visa card! They might misuse it like they did with mine

I was involved in a vehicle accident on 07 July 2025 with a Europcar rental vehicle driven by one of their clients. I submitted all required documentation for a third-party damage claim (Claim No. 1530***) within a few days including photos, police case number, an affidavit confirming I’m not insured, and three repair quotes.

Despite this, and after multiple follow-ups by email and phone, I have received no proper feedback or progress updates from Europcar’s team. Most of my communication has been with Hanli Strydom, who continues to delay the claim. I was recently told that the claim cannot be processed until the renter returns the vehicle and pays their outstanding account. I fail to understand how the renter’s payment status affects my third-party claim — which is a separate legal matter.

This delay is incredibly frustrating and seems to be a common problem, as I’ve seen other customers report nearly identical experiences involving third-party claims being ignored or delayed. I’ve now been without resolution for over 4 weeks, and the vehicle remains unrepaired.

This kind of poor communication and avoidance of accountability is unacceptable from a company of Europcar’s size.

Via Sunny Cars (uitstekende maatschappij !) bij Europcar terechtgekomen. Aflevering verliep vlot, de auto (een prima Toyota Corolla Cross, wel met nogal lichte motor) was nieuw (kleine 800 km op de teller), zonder schade. De stand alone GPS (TomTom) werkte wel niet naar behoren: als er al signaal was zat die constant te herberekenen.
De voor ons ongebruikelijk slechte score vloeit voort uit het feit dat er bij de inlevering bij Europcar geen enkel schriftelijk bewijs wordt gegeven dat de auto in perfecte staat en volgetankt werd teruggebracht, zelfs niet na aandringen. Er werd ons enkel mondeling gezegd dat 'alles in orde was'. Maar wat als men bij het verplaatsen van auto meteen na inlevering zelf schade veroorzaakt ? Of nadien beweert dat de auto niet volgetankt was ? Dat laatste gebeurde tot onze consternatie ook effectief : men stuurde ons 3 dagen later een factuur van benzine en service kost hoewel de auto vlak voor onlevering volgetankt was. Gelukkig hadden we een foto genomen van het dashboard met kilometerstand en het volle tankpeil. Na het protesteren van de factuur met dit bewijs werd ons droogweg een volledige creditnota bezorgt. Moraal van het verhaal : Europcar Kaapstad heeft ons vertrouwen beschaamd. ADVIES: maak ALTIJD een filmpje van de auto bij ophaling EN inlevering (vergeet velgen, interieur en dak niet) en maak daarbij zeker ook een opname van het dashboard.

We have never had such terrible service. As a British travelled to South Africa this was a very disappointing welcome. Arrive JBH with our 3 month old baby and we were given a car without a damage report that was clearly damaged.
Asked for another car and were made to wait for 2 hours in a freezing car park. We were then pushed into taking a £2000 damage insurance which I understand is not standard practise in SA. The car was then hit by a driver who ran a red light and my husband was unable to get through to the call centre for assistance- then made to drive an hour back to the airport to pick up another car which took hour and we lost the £2000 deposit that we were scammed into taking.

The only reason I used them was out of desperation - trip was last minute and they were the only ones with the vehicle I wanted. I had an accident, went to police station and called them. I took pictures and a video of the accident. After handing the vehicle in - I received a note that the vehicle had not been returned - which I disputed. It turns out the agent that had collected the vehicle didn’t log it. I later received a huge bill of over R25k, for what I thought was a minor accident. I disputed this and asked for the assessment report. Report had pictures of ripped off vehicle. I fail to understand why you would rip apart a vehicle for assessment? So naturally I disputed the cost as I believed it was hugely inflated - at this point I have no guarantee that the assessment cost is even for the vehicle I used. They also lied and claimed I didn’t report the accident when this was not the case as at at least 4 of their agents knew about it. The partially completed form that I signed when handing in the vehicle clearly stated that I had had an accident as I provided a brief description of it. As I was concerned with missing my flight I didn’t complete all the sections - there was an understanding that I would receive a call to furnish them with the rest of the details - which I believed would happen; instead I received an email about the car being unreturned and later on the R25k. In disputing the validity of the assessment/repair cost, I was offered to go to any RMI dealer for a comparative quote - reached out to 2 who indicated that they don’t provide quotes based on pictures, that they needed a vehicle.
I am extremely disappointed in this company and the people that represent it. Disappointed because I had received such great customer service at the branch ; so the lack of consistency in customer care and professionalism is disappointing. Add to that the absolute lack of integrity is very concerning - how can you have dealings with any company that you can’t trust? I’ve learned my lesson the hard way!

Our company has an account with Europcar and I always send emails to Tatolo. He is efficient and reliable. My directors always changes the arrangements but he arranges and responds on time with so much patience.Thank you so much for the best services you have provided to us.

Wish I’d read these reviews beforehand, I assumed a large company like Europcar wouldn’t behave like this. Hired a car for 2 weeks from East London to drop back at Cape Town. Upon pick up I took a recording of the car as nobody went over it in person, a day after drop off I was informed of a small dent that I had caused- sent them the video but had no reply since (2 weeks later). They do not respond to emails, and no sign of my deposit. In fact, the only correspondence I’ve had is a small speeding fine, which funnily enough they managed to charge very speedily! AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Avoid at all costs!! Filled car at airport and then dropped off . A week later got billed for fuel administration fees and filling. Criminal behaviour and fraudulent.

Avoid Europcar South Africa – Dishonest Charges After Rental

I would strongly advise against hiring a car with Europcar South Africa. After returning our vehicle in perfect condition with a full tank, we were charged an unexplained amount with no warning, invoice, or communication.

We tried repeatedly to get in touch and were finally told by a staff member at the Cape Town Airport branch that the call to us was a mistake, our deposit had been returned, and there was nothing to worry about. Yet money was still taken from our account without explanation.

Looking at other reviews, this seems to be a common issue. If South Africa wants to encourage tourism, companies like this do more harm than good. We’ll be disputing the charge with our credit card company. Think twice before booking with Europcar – not worth the stress or the risk.

Awful experience,they dont hold your money they charge you... just insane. This company has to be banned from doing bussiness

Europcar doesn't give you all the options when you hire a vehicle,I recently hired a vehicle and returned it with a minor scratch which just needed a polish and shine,they took the vehicle for an assetment without explaining that you can take the vehicle to your own approved panel beater,the scratch which I sent my approved panel beaters a picture of promised me that the job will cost around a R1000,europcar sent it to their panel shop and the bill came to R7000,which was actually a ridiculous quote,so people please when hiring a vehicle from europcar make sure they explain all the insurance details related to the hiring,I had a bad experience and will not be hiring from them in the future

Die Übernahme und Rückgabe erfolgte schnell und einwandfrei. Das Fahrzeug war in sauberem und guten Zustand.
Aber 2 Monate nach Rückkehr nach Deutschland wurde die Verwaltungs-Gebühr für einen Verkehrsverstoß mit ca. 21 € berechnet und eine angebliche Geldstrafe von 1000 Rand, ca 52 € gefordert.
Auf mehrfache Anforderung wurde keine Unterlage übermittelt noch angezeigt, welcher Verkehrsverstoß angelastet wird. Übermittlung erfolgte angeblich elektronisch ohne Beleg. Angeblich soll nunmehr Belastung über die Behörde metro erfolgen.
Wenn keine Belege hierzu übermittelt werden, besteht der Verdacht eines Betruges. Ich werde dann die Staatsanwaltschaft in Südafrika entsprechend unterrichten.

Very disappointing. Texts wrongly accusing me of exceeding the speed limit during the period of hire and no response when challenged. An immediate credit card charge of approx £500 as a deposit with no confirmation to date that it will be fully repaid, despite advising that no claim will be applied.

Hired a car in PE (Gqberha) in October 2024. I took allot of time to WELL inform myself via reviews of the mostly reported additional charges and thievery by Europcar - and many other sister companies. Not having much choice, I hired through an Agency (Sunnycars Germany)
I dropped rhe vehicle off 8 days later in CT. No issues, all cleared at drop off - filled up around the corner at airport (~3km) tripple checked with staff, showed fuel slip - all was checked as ok, no Damage, clean, full etc. I have photo evidence taken of the handover. Yesterday, Feb 2025 - 4 months later I've just seen that I have been charged on my CC for 21€ / R440 - no info what so ever. I will now have to go through paperwork to claim back! And stop them from possible additional charges- which according to my bank, & they could!

I had hoped I was a to be a happy customer.

To Europcar ! Take the negative review you scum, You deserve it!

No way you will see me, or anyone I know again! Advice to others,. This hwre is to vouch that all the negative experiences are unfortunately true. If you have to hire a csr in SA, Keep records, take photos of handover devices / papers, car condion all over, everything! to support likely claims when they arise.

Used them last month, got constant texts saying I'm over the speed limit. Saying I was doing 120 in a 60kph zone. I was on the motorway every time. Tried phoning customer service, they just hung up on me. Went to Europcar Plettenberg bay they said they know the GPS tracking is incorrect and to just ignore it. Then get threatening texts saying I will be held responsible for the whole cars value if I had an accident due to my speeding. Put a formal complaint in. Cape Town Airport Europcar said someone would phone, never happened. Also took over an hour to get our car upon arrival poor poor service. Will never use them again.

Bunch of incompetent thieves!!

Never again will I use this company. I recently rented a car, picked up from CPT international airport. The car was returned in good order with zero damages. A day later I was telephonically informed of a scratch on the rear bumper, an absolute lie and fabrication of the truth. A full week later and my deposit has not been refunded. To date I haven’t received any proof of the alleged damage. Many phone calls to customer services, messages and emails have yielded no response. Pathetic thieves!!

On collection of the car at Cape Town airport we were told by the agent that the deposit would be ON HOLD. When checking my bank statement a few days later Europcar ZA had taken out the deposit IMMEDIATELY, making me incurr in non refundable taxes in my home country (more than ZAR 700) - also charged me for refuel but I had refueled 5km from the airport. Staff at Cape Town poorly trained. During the period I've stayed in South Africa I've hired with Woodford and Europcar - next time only Woodford or someone else.

Attention escrocs ! Evitez à tout prix cette agence ! Prélèvement d'une énorme caution dès l'obtention de la voiture (contrairement à d'autres loueurs), puis mettent plus de 10 jours après votre retour pour la rembourser, sans compter des frais de dossier à 80€!! . De plus, ils vous facturent des dégâts que vous n'avez pas commis pour ne pas rembourser toute la caution. Faites très attention lors du retour du véhicule!
Je suis en procedure pour récupérer une partie de ma caution retenue.
Serve client ZÉRO!

A bon entendeur.

Please do not rent from this company, they are entirely fraudulent. They made claims that there was damage to our vehicle, with no evidence to support. It has been 22 days since returning the vehicle, the £1,162 deposit still hasn't returned to my account, and they are stating they are automatically taking out £338 with no proof.

Emails are ignored, Whatsapp conversations are closed on their accord, they demand you call them where they won't pick up but you'll be charged huge amounts of money for the call. Senior leadership has absolutely zero interest in supporting.

Even if you take the vigilant approach and take photos before and after, this won't help. We were even told upon returning the car that the car was in great shape.

Please steer clear and don't make our mistake! Horrible thing to deal with after such an incredible trip away.