lmschmale

I can't believe the e-mail I just got - AND, upon coming to my trusty forum here to look for advice, the post someone else started just today about the exact same problem (see post here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ljana-town.cfm).

I too rented a car from Europcar in Slovenia in August 2013 (picked up at City Hotel in Ljubljana and dropped off in Portoroz). The car was fine and the guy we returned it to said we were OK. Not only that, but he used the same car to drive us to our hotel in Piran - clearly the car was driving just fine.

2 months later and we just received an email saying that we broke the clutch on the car and have to pay about 950 euros for mechanical repairs. Our experience was great until now so I hate to bash them, but this is absolute BS. Moreover, I cannot believe that someone else out there is currently dealing with the exact same problem.

We just received the email today so I have yet to dispute the charges and/or contact my credit card company, but any additional advice from my fellow travelers would be much appreciated.

Andrew

Don't wait too long to dispute the charge if you rented the car just in August. I'd also contact the company Europcar directly about this matter.

Michael

Did you rent through Europcar directly or through a broker? If the latter, you might want to contact the broker.

lmschmale

We rented directly through Europcar. The charge has not shown up on my account yet, so I'm going to call the credit card company I used for the reservation first thing in the morning!

michele_d

I'd cancel the credit card and get a new number reissued. It would be easier than dealing with a charge back / reversal if the bogus charge goes through.

ParisAmsterdam

>>>I'd cancel the credit card and get a new number reissued.<<<

Do you think that would work? Or would the CC company just put the charge through on the new card since they know it is you and they would also know you'd rented from Europcar?

madridmas

Perhaps they could explain how you drove it to the drop-off location? How they determined the clutch is broken? Where the car is now and how did it get there? Photos of the worn clutch?

This isn't a new scam (I've heard about it lots in Italy and Portugal). Your credit card company probably has heard about it too!

Good luck

Christina

I agree, I don't think getting a new card will solve this problem, as charges are transferred from old numbers to new ones, even if they are made after the first one is cancelled, especially if you have an agreement with them.

SandraHe

They used to be so respected company, what happened to them this is like third complaint I have heard in last 6 months. Sad, hope you can somehow solve this.

Michael

Europcar sometimes owns the local agency and sometimes that agency is only a franchise with slight differences in operation. I discovered that when Autoeurope could not resolve an overpayment with Europcar in Périgueux because it was a franchise, and for some reason the central Europcar office could not broker the dispute (it got resolved when I personally called the agency in question). It may be a franchise in Ljubljana, or it may be that the Slovenian branch of Europcar from the central office (in Ljubljana?) down is crooked.

lmschmale

So sorry, I meant to write an update on this months ago! We DID finally get our money back in early January, nearly 3 full months after the initial charge. It took multiple phone calls to our credit card company (it was too late to stop the charge), lots of communication between my bank and Europcar, me sending documents to my bank for their investigation, etc. It was a hassle, and Europcar never responded to any of my e-mails, but we did get the charge removed from our account after the bank decided that the charge was not legitimate. As I said before, it was our first international car rental experience and while I don't think we'll rent with Europcar again, the incident won't discourage us from renting in a foreign country with a different agency.

kovsie

Thanks so much for taking the time to post all this! I am thinking about going to Slovenia, and would have rented a car from them. With forums such as this one, companies cannot afford this kind of trick -- they will lose much more than 900 Euro!