Drivalia UK - MANCHESTER AIRPORT Reviews 

Gurdas dealt with to hire car was amazing Experiance nice and polite and helpful

I will never use Drivalia again. This was not a car rental; it was a strategically engineered exercise in consumer exploitation. I arrived for a pre-paid booking only to be told it was "void" because I was over 60 minutes late. Despite having already paid in full, the staff member — who possessed the worst customer service skills I have ever encountered, informed me the only way I was leaving with a car was to start a new agreement at a staggering £525.55. They effectively held my travel plans hostage. Knowing I had an urgent event to reach, they forced me into a "new" contract that included a £90-per-day "UPGRADE" fee. I didn't want an upgrade; I wanted the service I had already paid for. This is predatory upselling under duress, plain and simple. To make matters worse, the "premium" car they forced me to pay over £500 for (MD22 0JK) was a disaster:

Mechanical Safety: The steering wheel suffered from violent vibrations at speed, casting serious doubt on their "roadworthy" claims.

Health Hazard: The interior absolutely reeked of stale cigarette smoke, to the point it felt like a health risk for the entire four-hour journey. Cosmetic

Condition: The exterior looked like it had been driven through a rally stage, with heavy scratches and alloy wheels in appalling condition. Drivalia uses "hidden" terms in their fine print—contradicting their own 2-hour grace period mentioned elsewhere—to cancel pre-paid bookings and force customers into extortionate new rates.

They are a disgrace to the industry. Advice to others: Avoid at all costs. They will take your pre-paid money, cancel your booking on a technicality, and then fleece you for hundreds more at the desk.

i came a bit late to my booking ant the people be hide the desk were so hard to deal with and they told me that the small car that had been booked is not available and there was no refund with no explanation, when i went online myself i booked a car they gave it to me so i had to pat double the price for the same thing ALL THEY WANT IS YOUR MONEY be careful with them

After my initial review, I was hoping for a genuine attempt from Drivalia to acknowledge and resolve the issues we experienced. Unfortunately, the responses from their team have only reinforced my concerns.

Rather than addressing the core problem, Drivalia has repeatedly relied on quoting policies and terms and conditions, while ignoring the actual circumstances we were placed in.

To be clear, this was not simply about “policy.” My partner had a physical credit card available at the counter, yet we were unable to use it because she was not listed on the booking. We were also not allowed to amend the booking to add her. This left us with no practical option other than paying an additional £800 under pressure, late at night, after a long international flight.

This key point has been consistently overlooked in their responses.

Drivalia continues to suggest that “options were provided,” which is not accurate. We were given one option only, presented as the only way to proceed. That is not a genuine choice.

Equally disappointing is the continued defence of their airport “pickup” process. Regardless of what may be buried in third-party booking terms, the reality for customers is a confusing and poorly communicated system that does not match reasonable expectations of airport collection.

What stands out most is the lack of accountability. At no point has there been any meaningful acknowledgment of the situation, no ownership of the poor experience, and no attempt to offer a reasonable resolution.

Mistakes can happen in any business. What matters is how they are handled. In this case, the response has been defensive, inflexible, and dismissive.

Based on both the rental experience and the way this complaint has been handled, I cannot recommend Drivalia to other travellers.

The office is about 10 minutes away from the airport, a minibus came and collected us promptly after a call to a very friendly, helpful person. Collection was speedy and James was great, professional and chatty. Both he and the minibus driver, Mike, made us feel welcome and valued. The car was OK, clean and full of fuel.
We've used Drivalia before and would again.

never never again. ive searched for car hire companies who do NOT use drivalia. at pick up i paid my credit card for the excess. i was one hour early and asked if i could take the car now. RAHAT said no unless i took out extra insurance. i said oh you will give it to me 1 hour if i pay extra insurance, he said yes. i got on phone to husband telling as i was going to wait. RAHATOOL THEN SAID HE WAS CANCELLING THE BOOKING. i said why ? he said abusive agressive and racist behavior. i am mixed race and never use racist words. i asked to speak to the manager he said he was the manager - later found out he was the assistant manager ! he also we arrived 2 hours early -it was 1 hour early. total lies !!! from him. he said hes cancelled the booking. he would not give me his full name just his first NAME rahatool. HE WASNT WEARING AN identification badge. he was rude rude rude. i then had to walk back to airport get train get taxis taking me over 4 hours. full complaint has gone in but i will NEVER use drivalia again. I have written a formal complaint via manage bookings BUT STILL NOT RECEIVED A REPLY. they are a complete rip off - do not use them they want to get you to pay extra insurance, pick up snmall scratches and cherge over £400 - they are cowboys

Flew into Manchester and as my first hire with Drivalia wasn't sure of procedure so I called the number provided.
Polite and clear instructions as to where I would be picked up - easy.
The driver was charming and I explained that I'd like to drop the car back the night before my outward flight. They will deliver me to my airport hotel- brilliant!
Once at the office Mathew, again very helpful and charming ,went through the procedure of insurance and deposit together with obvious form and ID verification. An easy efficient process.
Great service - perfect for my requirements
Thanks Drivalia Manchester Airport

A long wait in the cold and then someone pushed in . Only one person working and 4 desks.

Was happy with the service. The staff were great and helped get us on the road quickly

Terrible service. Damaged unclean car. Fuel only 1/4 full. Excess mileage charges (anything more than 100 miles) and still waiting for them to release “reserved” funds (1500 pounds) 30 (THIRTY) days after the car was returned. Located miles away from the airport in a grubby industrial estate.

Would not book again . Over charged
Last year there booking staff very clever what they get away with there charges regarding Insurance be very very careful at Manchester branch they Over charge me by 2 hundred pounds. Did not realise till I got home
Please be careful

Read this before you decide to rent from this ‘company’ so you know what you might have to deal with.

UPDATE:

In my original review, I explained that I was charged £200 for a small scratch on the passenger-side mirror that was clearly pre-existing and documented in the inspection photos emailed to me before the rental. At the time of return, the staff member initially blamed me, but after I showed him the original photos, he acknowledged the damage was already present and accepted the vehicle.

Despite this, £200 was later charged to my card.
After my review, the company replied here on Google asking me to contact them through their official channels so they could investigate. I did exactly that and submitted complaints through the “Manage My Booking” portal, email, and other contact channels.

Since then, I have been completely ignored. No one has contacted me or responded to my dispute.
Charging for damage that clearly already existed — and then ignoring the customer after publicly asking them to get in touch — is completely unacceptable.

(Ref: 3484905) - This photo was taken and emailed to me by the ‘company’. I showed it to the staff member, but they still charged me.

On a very wet November evening 2025 I waited over an hour in the cold and rain to be collected from Manchester airport. On arrival at Drivalia we had an uncomfortable discussion about insurance.
I was then sent outside to inspect the car for scratches in pouring rain and darkness(around 5.30pm Nov) which was clearly impossible. When I got into the car, the passenger-side wing mirror didn’t work. After initially feeling dismissed, this was eventually confirmed and I was given another vehicle, again without any realistic opportunity to check its condition due to the rain and lack of light.My suitcase was left inside the first car and I was told the keys would be found so I could transfer it, all while standing in heavy rain. I am 77 year old woman and no consideration was shown for either the weather conditions or my age. On returning the car a few days later in daylight, I could see that Drivalia has covered garage parking. This made the whole experience feel completely poorly managed. A very stressful start to what should have been a straightforward car hire. NEVER AGAIN!

I dropped a car on 3rd feb with a small bump and advised them of it. But they have still not provided me with a receipt of the cost so can not claim it back from my insurance.
Have written twice (the maximum allowed) on customer service but am being ignored. Have used messenger and phoned the branch but no solution offered. In the meantime I'm outstanding £1500!!!!!!! which I can't afford. PLEASE SORT THIS OUT!!!!!!!

James was very helpful, answered all our questions and was able to give it a good deal on insurance

WARNING- This company is an absolute disgrace. We booked through Easyjet. Our booking was for 00.05am they were not there when we arrived as they close at 11pm. So why can bookings be taken for these hours?
The following day we were told the booking was cancelled so we would need to pay extra to get car. I it was cancelled how come we coukd not be refunded the original payment and do a new booking for a cheaper price.
Their attitude was disgusting, no customer service, they were rude to my Husband abd everyone in there were complaining. The seat belts did not work in the rear of the car but we were to scared to tell them because they would have blamed us and made us pay. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Very poor company, the pick up bus wasn’t in location, finished early, I called 4 times, before there closing time, was on the called for over 20 minutes and nobody answered,
U got a taxi to the car collection point that was also closed, I stayed over in a hotel get another taxi back to collect my car at 8am they said it’s gone, then said it’s cancelled, they then stated I needed to pay another £150 for a new booking! I walked out, they wouldn’t refund me! These companies structure it so this happening to get more money out if you,
The manager at the Manchester brand was very rude and not helpful at all, zero customer service experience.
I’ll never use Drivalia again and

Do not use this company. I arrived over an hour late as my daughter wasn't well. I also called to advise of this, said it was ok.
They refused to provide me with the car and asked for me to pay the full price again plus an extra £50 (extra £181) for the only car they have left. I had pre- paid in full including the full insurance option
Terrible customer service, just want to get more money from you
Update - I left without a car. I looked on the website on way home and there were multiple other cars immediately available at that branch small, medium and large cars. I actually booked numerous cars and then cancelled. I have submitted a complaint. I have looked at others reviews and Drivalia have lots of bad reviews regarding upselling and damage claims. Be careful.

Complete scam upon returning the car. The guy claimed we did smoke in the car for which we were fined £250 + £80 administration costs, which is complete nonsense. In addition, the guy (who introduced himselves as Mike, but turned out to be Mo) created some claim of damage costing another £270. From the pictures, you cannot even see it's the car that we drove. The claims are 100% fake for which I will ask a refund from Drivalia. 100% SCAM