“We hired a car at Alicante Airport, on 2nd Nov this year, when we arrived we waited a long time to get to see someone, the lady was pleasant but we got pushed into taking an upgraded car which cost us near on double the original car had. The car had a lot of scratches and some dents, all which were marked on the paper work, it was also parked in a very dark area so you can not see the full damage properly so we moved it to a well lit area and took photos of the car ourself.
When we returned the car with a full tank of full a lady went round the car very quickly and said everything was fine.
On collecting the car they charged a holding fee of £1239.66 and also a fee of £150 for fuel which we would get back on return of the car with a full tank of fuel and the car in the same condition as it was when we collected it, which we did, the fuel pending payment was refunded but the pending payment for the car of over £1200 was processed, despite sending us an email showing no payment would be taken and the car had no further damage. This is the second time they have done this and forced us to get the credit card company to take them on and sort it out, there will not be a third time, we will never use GOLD CAR SCAMMERS again. Be warned about this company they will not give back the holding fee unless forced to, DO NOT USE A BANK CARD ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD which gives you more protection against scammers like GOLDCAR. I have also left a review on Google Maps and if your reading this and have gone through the same then leave as many bad reviews as you can against this Company.”
“Returned car with a full tank of petrol and STILL got charged 60 Euro.
The operative checked the car, said there was no issues, got me to sign the I pad (which mentioned nothing about fuel). After I got through the airport terminal I got emailed an invoice for the fuel. I filled it up at the nearest petrol station 3 mins away from airport, there was no way it wasn’t full.
I emailed to complain only to be fobbed off that the policy is to return the tank full (which I did).
No communication, complete scam, avoid like the plague.”
“Awful Experience with Goldcar Alicante Airport Rental
SCAMMERS !!!
I regret renting from Goldcar at Alicante airport. Despite receiving a confirmation of no charges on returning the car, they charged me for full tank of fuel I had refilled!
After multiple emails to them. I got no response. When I called customer service, the representative was incredibly rude and claimed they charged me for cleaning because the car was "dirty."
And the full protection heavy in cost insurance that I paid upfront, which I thought would provide some peace of mind, was not considered.
If I could give them zero stars, I would. One star is too generous for this dishonest company.
I will never return!”
“Absolutely terrible company. In spite of the car being returned and signed off as being in perfect condition with a full fuel tank, they have not returned the full deposit that was originally taken. They are very dishonest.”
“Charged fo. TALKING about getting the car charged for the connection bus not told about any if them only spotted in the bill.con.ill never use them again”
“Hired Goldcar and paid for insurance through DoYouSpain only to find:
1) insurance not recognised and $1400 deposit required
2) can only accept deposit payments on a credit card with EMBOSSED NUMBERS!
3) but they were happy to take a payment for their insurance from my NON-EMBOSSED credit card!?
Goldcar told me to get the issue resolved with DoYouSpain. But their agent were of no use whatsoever and confirmed only EMBOSSED CREDIT CARDs are acceptable.
What a rip off!!!!!!!!!”
“Our experience with ‘Gold’ Cars in Split was an absolute nightmare. We had paid the deposit and insurance upfront. But when we arrived at the counter, they wouldn’t let us have the car unless the credit card was in the main driver’s name, despite the fact that our main driver didn’t even have a credit card! This ridiculous "policy" was buried deep in the small print, clearly designed to trap customers into paying hundreds of euros more.
The man at the desk was incredibly rude and dismissive and told us that we lost our money and it was tough. He showed no interest in helping us. When we called the customer care line, they hung up on us.
This place is nothing short of a scam operation.
Scam! Avoid this company - we didn’t even use our car. This was a terrible start to our holiday.”
“We regularly go abroad and are fortunate enough to have never encountered any issues with car rental either. That's until we used Goldcar. We booked through third party Carjet and paid extra for their own platinum insurance which has never been a problem before as we then expect to pay the extra insurance refundable deposit when renting the car. Goldcar lied to us at Majorca airport refusing us the car until we paid numerous taxes plus for their most premium optional insurance (which is an OPTIONAL extra on their own website) they forced us to pay for the super relax and mega relax cover and stated this was compulsory which is a LIE. This caused charges of an extra non refundable 282 euros which was extremely inflated to add to the cost we had already paid through Carjet.
I rang customer service phone line to sort this out upon arrival at the hotel and they said that yes those premium insurances are indeed optional and that the only way to sort it out is to take the 2 hour round drive back to the airport to speak to them at the office. Can we talk to them on the phone? No is the answer.
So we emailed instead and Luis replied stating that yes their insurance is compulsory cleverly avoiding directly answering whether their 'Super relax' and 'Mega relax' cover is in fact an additional optional extra.
To conclude, we do not engage business with lying corrupt companies like this so will personally never use them again and I recommend you also do not if you want to avoid being potentially scammed out of more money.”
“DO NOT HIRE FROM THESE PEOPLE IF YOUR FLIGHT MAY ARRIVE LATE
Where to start.
If you fly into an airport late. And your flight is delayed. And you arrive after their office is closed. It is YOUR fault.
No car. No service. Too late. Tough luck.
No refund. No care.
We flew from Gatwick to Toulouse. On the only flight available in that day, and it was delayed.
We arrived 1 hr after our landing time and the office was shut. I had to hire a new car from a company that was smart enough to stay open in case flights are delayed, thinking GOLDCAR would understand and refund me.
No.
It is in their small print that if you are late. You forfeit.
This has to be the worst, dumbest, and most useless service and company I’ve ever encounter.”
“Avoid this company!
Collected the car from Reus Airport for a 3 day hire. The representative was like a time share agent when trying to get me to pay extra insurance. Then said it would be cheaper for me to pay the insurance rather than pay a large deposit which would be deducted from my bank and paid back once the hire was finished. He said it would be cheaper than bank foreign exchange charges. The insurance was 117 euros on top of the £80 hire cost.
I stood firm and after 20 mins of him trying to persuade me, in a forceful way his attitude changed to arrogance.
Upon return, nobody was there to check the car over. I spoke to the rep in the airport and assured me everything would be fine.
When I received my deposit refund they deducted a further £180 for excess mileage. I travelled from Reus to Benicàssim a one and half hour journey. I’m currently awaiting a response from my complaint. Their headline price is vastly different to what you’ll end up paying.
Please don’t fall for this scam company like I did.”
“SCAMMERS!!!!!!! Do not book with them, everything will be fine until you return the car and they will charge a bunch of random costs and fees associated to wear and tear!!”
“BEWARE of hidden additional charges! When I picked up my car I had already bought and paid for insurance. I was told all that was left to deal with was a deposit for fuel that would be fully refunded once the car was returned with a full tank. They took $331 from my card and told me ALL of this would be refunded. I have now returned from my holiday to receive a refund of only £131. I have now spoken to Goldcar who have informed me this is apparently a £200 charge for ADDITIONAL insurance. This was not at all made clear at the time especially considering I had already paid for insurance. Goldcar are now refusing to issue me with a full refund. I implore you to never use Goldcar. They are scam artists, exploiting unassuming travellers of their hard earned money. I'm utterly disgusted with the poor customer service and lack of clarity when outlining ALL charges that will be incurred.”
“They refused to provide the car using the excuse that I didn't have an International Driving Permit. They claimed it was a new rule introduced by the police last week. When I told them I drove in Spain just days ago, they changed the story to say that if caught, the police will confiscate the car for 20 days. I booked with no problems right after with another company. Later I found out that this is their excuse when they are overbooked. If they do have a car, they will use the same excuse to coerce you into paying additional insurance (suddenly, the police concerns no longer apply!). Avoid at all costs if you want to enjoy your travels! You might pay a bit more, but at least you'll be treated with respect. I wasted an hour with Goldcar, and got no car, while with the other company where I didn't even have a booking I had the key in 10 minutes...”
“The worst experience I’ve ever had: I booked online and verified my license for Key 'n Go, but it didn’t work, so I had to contact the counter for assistance. The representative was not only incompetent but also rude, informing me that I needed an international license and that she couldn’t issue an immediate refund. It was disappointing, frustrating, and a major inconvenience. I ended up going with a more established company and received the professional service I should have had from the start.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187427-r175138201-Spain.html#”
“I booked a car for 28 days, prepaid, registered my documents, etc. I was late picking up the car, due to their office hours. Despite trying to communicate my expected delay days before the pickup date, my booking got cancelled and my money never refunded. A mafia company, their policies designed to take your money without a service. Imagine what could have happened in case of an accident. Don’t use them.”
“Had a rental agreement prior to picking up the car which included the 21% tax .
When I went to pickup the car , I was charged for the tax plus so called express pickup. in all an extra cost of 60 euros .
May not seem like much , but to me an agreement is to be honored , this company doesn’t.”
“Very bad! booked special upgrade for not charging a deposit but at the pick up the guy say that this is mondatory and no questions.
Booked full/full tank service but received half tank car.
extra cleaning is offered or you can gamble what dirty is..
never ever choose it..”
“Goldcar Rip off - avoid!
10 Sept 2024, 12:56
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Booked a car for 3 days in Bari from Goldcar at Airport. Prepaid, submitted ALL documents , scanned as requested and accepted on their database and confirmed booking received for @exclusive and instant car delivery in office". Further included in booking: "Cancellation guarantee due to unforeseen circumstances. Price guaranteed. No deposit required" and I prepaid rental of Euro 167.91 by card. The information supplied went through a vetting process on their website before they issued confirmation and contract. On collection they did not supply the car in an expedited manner. Then refused because I did not have an international drivers license, although my drivers license is in english and has prior (on same trip) been accepted by various car rental companies in the UK, France and Italy. I insisted then on getting a refund , the very unhelpfull assistant, Claudia, would not help and said I had to contact their customer service who would arrange refund. On contacting them they refused, claimed that I should have cancelled the rental an hour before pick up time and did not. This despite the fact that I was refused the rental and Bari Goldcar effectively cancelled the contract well before the one hour before pick up time. All my mails to Goldcar Customer service has been ignored and not replied to, subsequent to this exchange. This is clearly a rip off and unethical practice and I would advise everyone to avoid them like the plague, unethical rip off. Rather go to another local car hire operator in the Airport terminal where I got treated very efficiently immediately afterwards and had a good experience. AVOID GOLDCAR, they do not even honour their own rules including; "Super Relax Cover Included: "Key'n Go!’ Collection Included", "Cancellation guarantee due to unforeseen circumstances. Price guaranteed. No deposit required" (these clauses copied from the actual contract confirmation), and their separate free cancellation 1 hour before pick up rule in the fine print. AVOID and spread the word. They do not deserve 1 Star..”
