Southern Italy and Malta

Great service

I rented a car from Thrifty, and the return process was extremely frustrating. It took from 3:30 PM until 7:49 PM to finalize it! Due to an incorrect return location provided by the rental service (I've already contacted their customer support to resolve this), our plan to return the car in the city center was redirected to an IKEA location even further than the airport. So we decided to compromise and head to the airport. The first time we went to the airport, the Thrifty staff said this was not the designated return location and we would need to pay an extra 55 euros. We were confused, but since we had some time left, we decided to look for the IKEA return location. After wandering in the dark and failing to find it, we returned to the airport ready to pay the extra 55 euros. Fortunately, a different staff member helped us and didn't charge us the extra fee. However, by that time it was too late to refuel the car ourselves, resulting in an additional 50-euro cost!

The lady at the store was very friendly and specifically suggested a route for our return to make it easier to refuel before dropping off the car. She also pointed out that since we had already purchased full insurance through QEEQ, we didn't need to buy any additional coverage. The staff was very polite during the car exchange, the whole process was smooth, and there were no issues.

Due to language barriers, we were inexplicably given a Ford Focus. There was noticeable damage to the car exterior, but the staff had us sign the form stating the car was in good condition before we noticed it. Though we weren't charged for it, we still felt deceived. Our bill did not match the one we received from QEEQ. We suspect we were overcharged, as Thrifty's bill was over 100 euros higher, allegedly due to taxes according to the staff, which is outrageous. While driving, the dashboard showed a tire pressure warning, but we found nothing unusual when we checked. When returning the car, the staff pointed out a random mark on one of the tires and charged us 160 euros for tire replacement. We really felt scammed, it was absurd.

The car delivered was different from the one I booked