Drivalia UK - MANCHESTER AIRPORT Arvostelua 

During my rental, I received a parking fine. When I returned the car, I informed the employee who confidently told me that Drivalia immediately pays parking fines upon receiving them, using the deductible. This was clearly misleading.

In reality, the fine wasn’t paid at all. Instead, it arrived at my home in Belgium long after the rental, and because of the delay, I was obliged to pay twice the original amount. As if that wasn’t already unacceptable, I then received a letter from Drivalia’s bailiffs demanding an additional £60 “administrative fee” for handling the very fine they failed to process in the first place.

The communication was atrocious, the service was nonexistent, and the entire situation was careless and irresponsible from start to finish. I left feeling taken advantage of and completely ignored as a customer.

I cannot stress this enough: avoid this company. My experience was a disaster, and I wouldn’t trust them with a rental ever again.

Everything was great, had a quick and smooth experience. Ryan was especially very helpful with our vehicle. Would definitely rent again 👍

I don’t review car hires until the process is finished and the car handed back with no surprises. Which was today. Very impressed with this operation in Manchester. Key point, no driving round the airport when dropping with risks of being fined for being in the wrong lane, they are just outside but close. Picked up quickly on landing, shuttled 5 minutes, paperwork easy (read the mail though and get your stuff printed). Ryan sorted us what we thought was a very good deal and we were able to familiarise ourselves with the car under cover (storm Claudia was doing its worst). Nice car, but with the usual NCAP 5 star safety nanny stuff that all new cars have to have. You get used to it. What really impressed was the drop off, just parked behind a car being washed, the damage report (clear) was done almost before we’d unloaded the cases and we were in the shuttle and to the airport in 10 minutes. Which was about an hour earlier than we’d guessed. Nice people, pleasant, polite, helpful. Email to complete the process received soon after. Highly recommend and will use again.

Rahat was an absolute professional and provided a service that made me feel comfortable with my choice.

I have been using this company for many years & have always received the most professional, helpful & pleasant attitude from the staff in many different locations, & today I met Raf at Manchester airport who has gone out of his way since I reserved my car hire to make sure I had the best car for my requirements at the best rate, thankyou Raf, I will certainly be contacting you again for my next car hire.

I traveled to England to visit a dying friend who was lying in a Hospice. The pick at Manchester airport was quick it was around 11 in the evening when we arrived at the Dravidian office. The guy at the office started with the paperwork he asked me if I wanted the excess Insurance which I didn’t as I had already bought another one when it came to paying he said he couldn’t accept my Credit Card as my name wasn’t on it which wasn’t true my name was on the the card the white colouring had faded but not completely but he wasn’t having it and said if I wanted the car I would have to pay for the excess insurance and that I could pay this with a Debit Card all of a sudden ( they don’t normally accept a Debit Card) here I was eleven o’clock at night with my back against the wall and he was forcing me to pay this excess Insurance because he couldn’t see my name on the card which wasn’t true , I also have two other cards from the same bank both Also with my name on them both Debit cards just to prove that the Credit card was mine. He wasn’t interested he just wanted the 348 Pounds for the Insurance it all stunk to high heaven. I had no other option but to pay or I would been stuck there. A disgrace. Giving the car back was no problem and I was given a prompt lift back to the airport.

Peter Savic

Superb experience down to James who was so incredibly helpful, after having a dreadful ecperience eith Sixt i will be using James again for my business.

James in Manchester was exceptional. He clearly explained what I had purchased externally by way of insurance cover and helped me resolve quickly and effortlessly. Exceptional level of customer service by going the extra mile. Would highly recommend and will certainly use in the future.

I used Manchester office. I have purchased a car rental and all insurance online but when got to the office I was charged extra 26 pounds for some extras. I was waiting for someone to collect me for 50 min at the airport and then was rushing as was late for my meetings. I told the guy that I dont want any extras and he said that will refund. I have complained and got a message that the refund was processed and will get it within 30 days. I have never received a refund and they closed the case. I used them before and every time they tried to get some extra money so avoid !!!

Nice quick no nonsense rental, James was extremely helpful and I was on my way in 15min.
Excellent see you again soon!

Every aspect of this company is terrible.
Terrible process picking up the car
Terrible process dropping the car off
many many hidden fees that are a scam (I received 60 pounds in admin fees for absolutely nothing and then was threatened by them with the debt collection agencies).
Staff are rude and unaccommodating

I’ve used Drivala before without any problems, but this time was an absolute disaster. I booked a van online, paid in advance, and was drawn in by their so-called “discount.” When I arrived to collect the vehicle, I was told my credit check had failed — a ridiculous excuse, considering another company approved me the same day and provided a van without issue.

To make matters worse, Drivala refuses to refund the payment, hiding behind their “non-refundable” policy. So I ended up with no van and no refund. This is completely unacceptable and feels like a deliberate tactic to take customers’ money without delivering the service promised.

Drivala should be ashamed of such unethical business practices. I strongly warn anyone considering them — do not pay online or trust their discounts. This company clearly prioritizes profit over honesty and customer care.

Awesome service from Ryan helped me load my bags to the car, very happy customer

Avoid Drivalia Manchester – Hidden Charges & Unfair Practices -Section 75 Fraud Claim!

I rented a car from Drivalia Manchester Airport and was pressured into paying an extra £350 in-branch after they refused to honour my prepaid booking. They called it an “upgrade,” but it was a forced upsell — pay or walk away. We gave away your car - no budget ones available - the usual nonsense many others have reported.

To make matters worse, my credit card provider initially tried to fob me off, saying they couldn’t help because it was a chip-and-PIN payment. That isn’t true — if you’re forced to pay under duress, you can still claim protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

If this happens to you:

Keep every receipt, call log and email.

Use a credit card (not debit) so you’re covered under Section 75.

Challenge the charge immediately after your Drivalia deposit is cleared/refunded with your card provider — even if the forced upsell was chip-and-PIN. State you were charged under duress (very important - and true!)

Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if your bank refuses to act.

There’s a growing pattern of similar complaints at this branch — long shuttle delays, pressure tactics, and add-on charges. Consumers deserve better. Hopefully my experience (and my active Ombudsman complaint) helps others avoid the same trap.

We paid around £90 to rent a car for 5 days with Drivalia through rentalcars.com. We then paid around £50 or so for the accident insurance with rentalcars.com. I couldn’t find my credit card before the trip, so had only a debit card. It does state credit card, so I was a little bit anxious, but assumed we would be able to sort it out without any extra charges etc. We ended up paying £184 for insurance again, this time with Drivalia, because apparently this is what has to happen if a credit card is not provided. I would have been willing to pay the deposit amount they reserve on the credit card and then get a refund upon returning the car, but this wasn’t an option apparently, so lost £184 which was more than the total cost of renting the car. Left a very sour taste in the mouth and will now never use Drivalia again, regardless of whether this is a common policy amongst rental car companies. Very bad start to our holiday and also we had to wait around 30 mins to be picked up by the private Drivalia bus from Manchester Airport, which wasn’t ideal. Rafal on the front desk appeared to be sympathetic and said he had given us a better car and unlimited miles (We would have done less than 500 anyway) but you never really know if that’s just to sweeten us up after making us spend so much extra. Nothing against him personally, but the company policy seems to be very harsh and has insured next time we visit my family we’ll be hiring a car from one of the other companies instead.

The team at manchester airport was very flexible and offered the best service possible. @james darlington made aure we got the right car with the right conditions. We will be back

Booked car hire at the last minute at manchester airport and was helped by Immad. He was so polite and helpful and I will be booking again . Excellent customer service

I'm happy with the way James Davenport got my car ready and available for me to drive.

I had used Drivalia in August for a trip, and my experience was really good. So I used them again at Manchester Airport for this recent trip. Rafa was polite friendly and extremely helpful when I arrived to collect my car and, because it was my second rental with Drivalia, he upgraded my car for free and signed me up for the loyalty program.
When I returned the car, Ivan was thorough, courteous and took me straight to the airport after processing the return. Which he did extremely quickly.
I received fantastic service. It was hassle free, start to finish!

Fantastic customer service and great attitude from James on the counter and also from the shuttle driver .Lovely new car