Drivalia UK - LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT Omdömen 

Sergio and Camilla very good service and check out at Stanstead Airport.

Sergio and Camilla were very good, thank you.

Really happy with the service I received at Drivalia Stansted. Sergio was absolutely impeccable — a really friendly and helpful guy who had everything ready for me, meaning I was in my car within just a couple of minutes.

At first, I wasn’t too sure about the location as it’s not directly at the terminal, but the free shuttle bus was really easy to find and the whole process was very straightforward.

Returning the car was just as easy, with no issues at all.

Overall, a really smooth and hassle-free experience from start to finish. I’d definitely recommend Drivalia Stansted and would happily use them again.

We rented via RyanAir, and gave our arrival flight as required.
RyanAir flight was delayed more than 1 hour, so Drivalia Stansted gave our pre-paid car to someone else. They claimed there were no more cars in the same size to give us, and as we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us, arriving after midnight at best, we were forced to take a larger class car for an extra £264!

RyanAir blames Drivalia. Drivalia blames CarTrawler (Part of RyanAir).
Car Trawler blames RyanAir. So basically a calculated scam.

Never again.
Avoid Drivalia like the plague

AWFUL experience, terrible at paying back money AVOID
Seven weeks chasing a refund, eight cases, and still no money

One of the worst customer service experiences I have had with a car rental company.

I rented a car from Drivalia at Stansted in August and purchased additional insurance at the desk. I subsequently realised I had misunderstood the currency and that the insurance cost more than the actual car rental, so I asked for it to be cancelled and refunded.

I was eventually told the refund had been authorised.

That was approximately seven weeks ago. I still do not have my money.

Since then, I have raised eight separate Customer Service cases, contacted the Stansted branch, spoken to the branch manager, and repeatedly chased Drivalia in writing.

The response has been almost comical: over and over again, I have been told that the refund has been "authorised" and that Accounts have been chased.

I repeatedly asked a very simple question:

When will I actually receive my money?

Nobody could give me a date.

What makes this even worse is that after weeks of being told the refund had already been authorised and was being processed, Drivalia finally contacted me asking for my bank details so their Accounts department could process the refund directly.

So after all those weeks of assurances, what exactly had been happening with my refund?

I provided my bank details immediately. Several days later, there is still no refund in my account and still no confirmed payment date.

During this process, support cases have been closed despite the refund not being received. I also called the Stansted branch, and my conversation with the branch manager ended with the call being abruptly terminated.

I even submitted a formal complaint specifically asking Drivalia to confirm:

• the amount being refunded
• whether payment had actually been submitted
• the date it would be processed
• when the money would reach my account
• a payment reference if it had already been sent

They still haven't provided those answers.

Taking payment from a customer happens instantly. Returning money that Drivalia agrees it owes me has apparently required seven weeks, eight Customer Service cases, repeated emails, phone calls, a formal complaint and providing my bank details directly to Accounts, and I am still waiting.

I deliberately avoided leaving a public review because I wanted to give Drivalia every reasonable opportunity to resolve this privately.

They have had more than enough opportunity.

Extremely poor customer service, extremely poor communication, and an unacceptable way to handle a straightforward refund. I would not use Drivalia again.
AVOID AVOID AVOID

I arrived at the Stansted airport branch to pick up my pre paid car hire that included insurance cover for the excess.

As per my booking confirmation I had with me my driving licence, passport and credit card, which I presented at reception.

My credit card was declined as it was valid for 2 months and 20 days. I was told that Drivalia require all credit cards used for excess deposits to have a minimum of 3 months validity.

I was offered the option to purchase full insurance from Drivalia at a cost of a further £35 per day, reduced from their normal £40 charge apparently. This would have added £350 to the cost of the hire. Good news though, I could pay for that with my debit card, so no need to worry about that pesky credit card!

When I said I felt that cost was excessive the agent asked me repeatedly how much I was prepared to pay, encouraging me to barter with him, which indicated that the £400, or £350 originally mentioned were not fixed prices at all.

I declined and requested a refund of the hire cost. My request was refused as I had booked through a 3rd party (Ryanair).

I have since spoken to Ryanair who insist it is a matter for Drivalia, or possibly another 3rd party ... My quest to unravel the mystery of the liability continues...

Meanwhile, what really galls me is that no where in the booking paperwork or emails I received does it mention a 3 month credit card validity clause, and when I dug deep into Drivalia's own rental terms and conditions (which I had to Google, no link was sent with the booking) it states that credit cards must have at least 2 months, not 3 months validity... so my credit card should have been ACCEPTED.

The member of staff who spoke to me seemed to think that the whole thing was highly amusing; laughed at me and tried to humiliate me when I expressed dismay at the high additional charges he was trying to persuade me to pay.

Thankfully I was eventually able to get to my final destination, and the following day arranged a suitable car hire with a company who were happy to accept the insurance I already had in place without the need for a credit card.

I'm impressed Drivalia, in one short visit you've lied to me about your T&Cs in order to try to get me to part with over a week's worth of my state pension (oh yes, did I mention, I'm a pensioner, female and was traveling alone). You kept my money, wouldn't give me a car, mocked me and made it abundantly clear that you don't give a damn about your customers wellbeing. I think you can guess how my customer satisfaction survey completion will go.

Update: On 25th September, as per Drivalia's response to my review, I used my portal to provide all the details surrounding my experience. Their response? Nothing, 11 days later I've not even an acknowledgement. Oh well!

Very disappointing experience

Yamna was excellent 👌 super helpful!

Very good service and nice staff and very professional. Specially Marius is so generous

Great experience no pressure when hiring all very clear and easy

Quick and professional
Thank you to the Manager Andreas

I use this branch regularly. Recently dealing with Andreas.
Never a problem.
Highly recommended

Yamma was very helpful and explanatory. Despite a few hiccups with NI driving licence, which took a bit longer to sort out, everything else was great.

Another excellent experience with DRIVALIA at Stansted.

I arranged this rental several months in advance, and from the very beginning the staff were extremely kind, helpful and reliable in making sure everything was properly organised. When the time came, everything went exactly as expected and the whole process was smooth and reassuring.

A special mention to Marius, who was absolutely great: professional, friendly, available and genuinely committed to making sure everything went well.

The car itself was reliable and exactly what I needed, the fares were very competitive, and having full coverage gave me complete peace of mind throughout the rental.

I have used DRIVALIA several times now and have become a very loyal customer precisely because of experiences like this. I sincerely hope these high standards of service, reliability and customer care will be maintained in the future.

Highly recommended.

This is a con. Our flight was delayed and we waited 30 minutes for the bus to take us to the rental office (this is normal) because we were more than 59 minutes late we were recorded as a no show. We arrived within the two hour slot they talk about in their reply but were definitely told we had been recorded as a no show. They did offered us a new rental at 2.5 times the price of the original one. There was another lady in exactly the same position. Avoid this company.

I will not use Drivalia again, from start to finish my experience was stressful. Before pick up I received an email from Carjet urging me to purchase excess insurance for approximately £55, telling me this same insurance would cost over £200 at the counter, in fact it was over £300, I declined. The excess I'd bought from Carjet was useless. The counter staff was unfriendly, it was 9pm and dark. I was shown where the marks were on the car in a picture and asked if this could be emailed to me, confirmed. I never received a copy despite emailing Drivalia following morning, after attempting to phone, I was put on an endless loop each time I called. There was no water in the screen wash and the warning light came on indicating the tyres needed air, all on day one. My credit card was blocked £1,500 and it is still blocked one week later. Drop off went smoothly enough but I had no confidence in this Stansted company so was worried not having had an illustration of any marks/dings. I was with my granddaughter aged 19 at pick up and she commented 'he wasn't very nice!' I don't like reporting or reviewing staff but it makes such a difference to be spoken to in a friendly professional manner. I can't recommend Drivalia and PLEASE unblock my credit card.
In reply to your response - it's your website but fyi
I CANNOT use the portal, it is closed after car returned.
KINDLY UNBLOCK my credit card, it is now over a week.

This is not the first time I have used Drivalia at Stansted Airport and, similar to my previous experience, I was very impressed with the service. There was a bizarre and very unexpected issue with my credit card that was the fault of my bank, but complicated payment for my pre-arranged car hire. Mehmet, who assisted me at Drivalia, could not have been more helpful and understanding, making a challenging situation far less stressful. Eventually, a solution was found, and I was able to begin my journey having impressively been given a free upgrade to my original reservation. With such good customer service, I would certainly recommend Drivalia Stansted when considering car rental options from the airport.

Outstanding service from Mehmet at Drivalia Stansted

After arriving at Budget Car Hire, I was told they required a physical bank card, which I had unfortunately left in Ireland. They couldn’t accommodate us and showed no real interest in helping, leaving my son and me stranded when we urgently needed a vehicle to attend a funeral.

We went around the corner to Drivalia at Stansted Airport, where we met Mehmet. He was incredibly helpful from the moment we arrived and made sure we weren’t left stranded. He gave us the best possible deal—around the same price I had arranged with Budget—even though he could easily have charged us more given our situation.

He also provided a child seat free of charge and included full insurance cover in the price. His kindness, honesty and professionalism made an extremely stressful day so much easier.

I had never heard of Drivalia before, but after this experience, I genuinely wouldn’t use another car-hire company whenever Drivalia is available.

I rarely leave reviews—this is probably only the second business review I’ve ever written—but Mehmet and Drivalia deserve the recognition. An outstanding employee, an outstanding person and an outstanding company.

Thank you very, very much, Mehmet, for looking after my son and me when we truly needed help.