“Payment details not clear. Arrived at our destination, Credit card needed full name on the card and they refused to see through the booking so we had to pay more than double quoted.”
“Do Not Hire From VIP Cars – No Aftercare / Consumer Support
Rented a car through VIP Cars – and wanted something specific. Luxury SUV, Automatic. So hired a BMW X5 through VIP Cars from a company that stated it was “On Airport”.
When we arrived at our destination, we were sent a video to follow directions to the car rental office, which was 15 minutes’ walk off site, and down roads with no pavement. With suitcases and a baby in pram, you can imagine not great, and clearly VIP Cars does not validation of the data they hold on their car rental vendors.
When we arrived, the office was a worn down cabin at the side of the road, and the car was a 2010 BMW X5 (13 years old) that was in such bad condition with dents, scratches, and illegally worn out tires. We told the company this was not acceptable and we would not take our baby in a car that was clearly unsafe, and we needed something more modern and in reasonable condition considering we had paid a premium. The only car they had to offer was a 2022 MG Manual. This is not in the same class (BMW Vs MG) and was manual so would not work for us. We were told that to cancel we would have to contact VIP Cars as they do not control the deposit and it was nothing to do with them.
We contacted VIP Cars, who said they would speak to the car rental company. After they spoke with them, VIP Cars claimed that the rental company had offered a another option, and that if we had not taken it, that was our issue and that they would not return the refund.
I challenged this for the next few days back and forth, and they continued to claim they were working on it with the rental company and then would come back with another excuse. They even tried to claim the original car was 2015, when I had taken photo and video evidence, and then they corrected their story again. They also claimed they had an “Agent” look in to the situation and evaluate the car and that it was in good condition.. again I had the photos and video evidence to refute this. Each excuse they made, we had evidence to challenge it and support their false claims.
After days of back and forward and no help, they offered to return only the insurance.
There is no help for the consumer from this company, and all they care about is keeping their deposit and making excuses even when confronted with all the evidence. My recommendation is to stay well clear of this company, as any issues that arise they will not support you.
In the end, I went to my Credit Card company and they returned the money based on all the evidence I provided.
Don’t use this company if you want any form of customer service.”
“Do not order from this company ... very dangerous ... Fraud caution
We are 3 friends who made a reservation on vipcars website months in advance, received approval and paid an initial payment in advance.
When we arrived at the car rental company, there was no reservation for any of us and the representatives of vipcars avoided the problem and didn't gave any solution.
We had to find another car rental company by our self.
When we contacted them for a refund, they started saying that because we don't have a credit card, they didn't rent to us... that is a lie.
When we wanted to put VIPcars on a conference call with the representative of the rental company, they evaded
Be careful Fraud ALERT”
“STOLE MY DEPOSIT. They owe me over a THOUSAND euros. The car was returned and it was agreed that everything was good and I'd have my deposit refunded asap. It never arrived. I email daily and they fob me off with excuses and no help, no money. AVOID them!”
“What a disappointing experience with Online Chat Carol Hope who provided me with incorrect information and then called me and hung up when I asked if I could go back to my original booking. Not professional and now I've no idea if I have a booking or not, so back to the starting point of booking.”
“My flight was in delay and my car was already given away. No more cars available at the airport. No money refund. When asking for assistance to vip cars, I have been told just to contact the supplier. It is a scam”
“STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - Ruined my weekend. Location of provider incorrect. Insurance provided by VIP cars was not recognised by provider - they insisted for a further 1000 euro deposit which was fine but 270 euros for a minimal damage (for a normal golf/similar). I was told from provider that there would be no charge and deposit would be refunded but VIP cars have refused to refund the £15 deposit but charged an additional £17 instead.”
“I absolutely would NOT RECOMMEND working with this company. They are powerless to do anything if there are any issues with your reservation. I reserved a car via VIP Cars for Dollar rental. When I arrived to pick up my car I was informed that since I was paying with a debit card and not a credit card (which was no problem when I paid for the reservation) that I was required to provide a $500 deposit. This was absolutely nowhere in any of the information prior to the booking. Additionally, they required a printed or digital copy of my actual return flight (and I was not keeping the car for my entire stay so what difference did it make) which I didn't have and which they wanted me to go back to airport to obtain a copy of. I asked the Dollar rep if I could just cancel the reservation (and I paid the senseless $30 at the time of booking so that I could have the honor of being able to cancel!) and she replied, yes, no problem, and she confirmed that she had not charged me. When I called VIP later in the day I talked to "Dave" (no way this was his real name) who said that the $30 cancellation protection is only is you use it 2 hours before the booking time, so I will be charged for one day's rental of a car I never got to use. Total bs.”
“Prepaid the entire rental but they gave away the car for being too late. What is the point of preparing the entire rental. They then refused to refund.”
“Warning! Do not book through this agency!
Our reservation for a vehicle at Catania airport was made via Vipcars.com, an entity that received compensation for providing insurance services. Our intention was to collect the vehicle on the 2nd of June 2023. The reservation was made by myself, and my Italian partner, who possessed the appropriate credit card, was designated as the primary driver. However, the individual at the rental counter exhibited extreme rudeness and promptly denied us the vehicle, asserting that the person who makes the reservation is automatically considered the primary driver. Despite our efforts to contest this, the individual abruptly resorted to employing derogatory language in Italian, while her adjacent colleagues found amusement in our predicament. The entire encounter bore a striking resemblance to a scene from a mafia film, presenting an utterly surreal atmosphere. A refund of the payment for reservation as for insurance was denied as VIPcars refused to reply in person to my request, instead answering via bot with autoreply. As a seasoned travel journalist specializing in inflight magazines, and having previously worked in the corporate department of a prominent car rental company, my familiarity with the industry is extensive. Acarent, a company registered in Sicily, exclusively operates within Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Morocco, Malta, and Greece—countries known to harbor a level of corruption conducive to their business practices. Subsequent investigations revealed that the car rental aggregator VIPcars.com operates under the trading names of Webart Softech Ltd and Inc, offshore companies registered in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively, with company directors conducting their operations from India. The aforementioned entities purportedly offer rental car insurance at discounted rates, which prove to be non-refundable and demonstrate a reluctance to fulfill claims, as attested by other reviews. It is strongly advised to steer clear of these two entities, as engaging with them will invariably result in financial losses and a highly unpleasant experience. I am compelled to notify the relevant authorities such as the financial ombudsman, UK trading standards, etc regarding the fraudulent nature of these agencies, in order to instigate a thorough investigation into their illicit activities and, ideally, bring them to justice.”
“We paid for a car through VIPCars, and the car rental company would not honor it. Everyone acknowledged that we paid for the car, but everything did not match perfectly. We had to rent a far more expensive car, and VIP still charged us a cancelation fee -- even though it was clearly their mistake. They need to learn how to do things.”
“If you are from North America, Australia and many other countries outside Europe and you rent a car through VIPCars you’ll lose your money without getting the service you paid for. At the time of my reservation, the company took immediately 201$ deposit from my credit card and sent me a voucher. However, when I went to pick up the car from the rental car company, they declined to provide the car on the basis that I don’t have a valid International driving permit. They told me that having only a North American one is not accepted, you need two. On the voucher VIPCars sent me, they deliberately omit to say that drivers from North America must have an International driving permit in addition the regular one. Instead they say that “A full driving license must have been held with no major endorsements.” The small print later says that only permits from EU/EEC countries and Geneva/Vienna Convention on Road Traffic member countries are accepted and an International driving permit is also accepted. It doesn’t say that you need both. It happens that I have rented cars previously directly from the same rental car company at the exact same location and counter and they have never asked for the International one. As a matter of fact, after my reservation was declined, I went to the next counter to another major rent-a-car company and rented a car on the spot without any problems. They laughed when I mentioned that I don’t have an International driving permit. Maybe if I have dealt directly with the rent-a-car company and not through VIPCars, the outcome would have been different. Anyway, after declining the VIPCars reservation, the rental car company cancelled it, and they told me to contact VIPCars to get my deposit back which I promptly did. To the 3 emails I sent, I got an unVIP treatment, and a point blanc refusal to give me my money back, even if I have not received the service I have paid for. The reason they gave me was, cit.: “We would also like to inform you that we are unable to refund the booking amount as the booking time has already passed.” It wasn’t. The rental car company cancelled the reservation at the time that was mentioned on the voucher. It’s certain that VIPCars are deliberately using this schema to deceit their customers from North America, take their money and then decline to reimburse them for the service that has not been provided. I’m sure that happed to others, so if you don’t want to happen to you, please do yourself a favour and stay away from VIPCars.”
“This service is total scam.
I booked the rental service though vipcars and when i went to Maggiore to pick the reservation and get the car i was expecting to pay around 100 euro but the final bill was over 140.
I asked for resignation from the contract and the agent said there will be some fees or penalties to be paid.
Therefore it wasn't convenient neither to quit.
This is unacceptable.
Service support? Completely useless.
Delivering answers only to fit the KPI timing but not solving my case. Ticket is open since 3 weeks, still waiting for answer.”
“I booked through VIP Cars for a rental in Costa Rica. Prior to the trip my wife checked to ensure everything was still ok. The booking had been cancelled by the rental company and noone contacted us. VIP Rentals had no information on the cancellation and never fixed the issue. Since we now had to rent a vehicle short notice, the cost was over double.
DO NOT USE VIPCARS
We even talked to 2 seperate representatives via phone and noone ever contacted us back.”
“Buyer beware! This company is a rip off. I will never use them again. I booked a vehicle in Portugal for my recent trip through them. I paid for a 7 passenger vehicle but when I arrived in Portugal, I received a 5 passenger vehicle. I was advised there was nothing they could do.
In addition, I was advised to ride with my 6 year old on my lap and have my 80 year old father transport luggage on his lap after squeezing into the second row.
I had to spend the majority of my trip contacting car rent companies to try to secure another vehicle.
VIP Cars initially offered to refund me the 500 dollars I paid them and are now refusing. I asked to speak with upper management, to which they denied me the opportunity, stating there was no upper management.
Oh, and the additional vehicle insurance I purchased through them was useless.
I am appalled and disgusted.”
