Drivalia UK - NEWCASTLE Reviews 

Helpful staff

I used the Newcastle airport branch, it’s very convenient for the metro & airport. The staff there are helpful & kind. I dealt with Abdul & Abdullah for several of my rentals & they were excellent. Thank you guys!

The best staff I have met in any car hire setup, great car, fair fuel policy and really competitive pricing.

I had a wonderful experience with this company in Newcastle upon Tyne. I had a really big problem with another car company and I could not get a car. I booked one straight away with Drivalia and when to collect it. I arrived within 30 minutes of my booking. The manager was so nice and could not have been more helpful. I was driving away with my hire car in less than 10 minutes. They were really friendly, efficient and explained everything, they even offered to drop the car off for me if I ever needed it in the future. Well done Drivalia, maybe other companies should take a leaf out of your book

The admin cost is outrageously high at 60 pounds per incident which far exceeds the cost of the ticket. I expect this was 15 mins worth of work which means they are charging about 240 pounds per hour.

Another great Drivalia rental, this time the "new" operation at Newcastle Airport. I'd rented from the Easirent Ponteland office many times before they closed a few years ago and this was the first time from the new boys, who are based a few minutes from the airport. Excellent service, quick pick up at the airport and fun banter from them all in the office (is it a family?). Fast, efficient, a good, reasonable upgrade too. All you could ask for, thanks!

Our reservation, made on Booking.com weeks ago, was canceled four days in advance. The only option we were offered was a smaller car, unsuitable for the whole family. This risked our vacation, so we had to rent at the last minute at a much higher cost. We were not offered any compensation for the damage caused.

On April 14, 2025, I had a 3:00 PM reservation at Newcastle Airport. The vehicle was delivered one hour later than I had booked for a 3:00 PM pickup, which delayed my trip. I was asked to sign a vehicle pickup document, but at no point was I given the opportunity to read the vehicle rental terms and conditions. I was told that a copy of the contract would be sent to my email, but you never sent me the contract. The vehicle was also delivered to me without the emergency triangles or any electronic emergency devices, a fact we realized when I had to make an emergency stop due to a flat tire. Your towing service took 7 hours to pick me up. We lost our hotel reservation because the towing service could only take me, and not the rest of my family, to the hotel we had booked. We had to pay 142 pounds at a nearby hotel after spending 7 hours waiting for their tow truck on the road, freezing and sometimes without mobile coverage. (I've attached the hotel bill). Not to mention that their helpline didn't work; they never answered the roadside assistance line. They answered the phone at their Scottish branch after calling all the Drivalia numbers in the UK. And they gave us the number of the tow truck company, which we also called countless times during the 7-hour wait on a road at night with minors. And now you're asking me to pay 55 pounds for a PCN that, according to you, is in the contract I never received, which you never showed me so I could read it when I picked up the vehicle. I had to ask your PCN department to send me the contract because I was unaware of the £55 charge clause. I reiterate that they never sent me the contract, nor did they show me the terms of the contract to read upon vehicle collection, which is their obligation according to the BVRLA's code of good practice. I must say that your PCN management service incorrectly sent my address information to Parkingeye, which meant the letter arrived a month late (after two address corrections I had to request from your PCN management service). Parkingeye demanded I pay £90 instead of the reduced £45. This PCN has now been canceled (screenshot attached). Your PCN management service is demanding that I collect this £55 by mail without sending me the payment link or even the correct bank details for making a transfer. I even had to ask them for Parkingeye's contact details so I could contact Parkingeye directly because their management service charges £55 in administrative fees for not doing their job. And thank goodness I decided to file a complaint because their PCN management service also hadn't informed me that they refund the administrative fee in the event of a PCN cancellation; I just saw this on their website. Therefore, I am submitting this complaint to them and, of course,we will report it to the BVRLA. Your Manager contact me and tell me they will refund me the administrative fee but this never happen. I will report to the BVRLA.

Rented a Skoda Scala Estate from the Newcastle Airport branch, from Monday 30th June to Saturday 5th July the car was virtually brand new (just over 2000 miles on the clock).
The staff were extremely helpful and literally couldn't do enough to help.
On return of the car the staff were once again courteous and polite.
For such a short rental period very happy with the customer service and would recommend to anyone.
Thank you

Had a great experience with Drivalia, got a brand new Skoda for a month of our travels seeing family in the UK. No issues at all, friendly and efficient. Will use again and recommend to friends.
Danny dropped us off in our hire car the airport too so didn’t have to change cars for our free transfer