Rent Direct Reviews 

If I could give 0 stars then I would.
I booked online after it showed the vehicle dates were available and I paid the hire fee. 2 hours later I received an email stating they had no vehicles available for those dates and had cancelled the booking. When I phoned requesting the money back as it was pending on my account they told me they were unable to at that moment and would have to wait. Unfortunately I needed the money back immediately so I could source another vehicle from a different company. I phoned a second time after speaking to my bank and the staff were rude and very unhelpful and told me the money had been released…. We are still on money pending and waiting for it to be returned. Avoid this company at all costs, do not take the risk.

Took a deposit, couldn’t fulfill the rental, and currently at week 3 with a pending transaction.

No response from the Cambridge branch, by phone or email - completely ignored. Never picked up. Bunch of cowboys that shouldn’t be allowed to operate. How are they still going is beyond me…

Awful company, took our deposit to rent us a van. Then said they didn't have one but it would take upto 5 days to return our deposit which we needed to hire with someone else.

When they finally paid it back , they deducted 12% admin fee from it even though they couldn't supply a vehicle!!

Cowboys, won't be using them again

Great price for van hire for the weekend at the Bury St Edmunds branch, highly recomend. We got a 2024 VW Crafter that had modern technology that helped make the driving easier like lane control, parking sensors and auto headlights.
There were plenty of tie down points in the back, and it was also fully plywood, making it easy to transport all our stuff and keep clean. The van was easy to drive with a smooth gear box. There was so much storage and were never limited on space.

We had several queries prior to booking and also acomodated our needs in returning the vehicle, which was greatly appreciated. Pick up was extremely easy and only took a couple of minutes, since all documents were sorted prior to pick up day. The excess waiver was a reasonable cost and the cover offered better than other rental companies.

Some feedback, the mileage allowance is not stated when booking and only confirmed after payment (or by enquiring prior). Every other company we looked for hire, clearly stated the allowance pre booking, so it would be nice if their system could do this too.
For a modern van, there wasn't a reversing camera or speed limiter / cruise control, that would help hirers and reduce risk of them damaging the vehicles / vehicles being off road if something unfortunate did happen.

This company takes your money then phoned you 5 minutes later saying they haven’t got a Vehicle available even though I called them minutes before to confirm availability. I’m going to have to take legal action to get my money back. You have been warned use at your own discretion.

Not the best customer service.

I booked a van online, checked the criteria. All is well.

2 days before they requested driving license and proof address to be sent over. Addresses on both docs did not match because my driving license is at my old address (I just moved).

They could care less. Took my money, no refund, nothing to soften the blow.

Both managers I spoke to were argumentative and kept quoting Ts&Cs. However, nothing on their website stipulates this requirement.

I have heard from an employee that this happens all the time. Free money, yay!

I used Enterprise and Mildenhire in the same week without any problems.

We had a good experience hiring a van from the Huntingdon branch of Rent Direct. I booked on-line, it was a competitive rate and they confirmed promptly. I initially decided not to take their excess damage insurance but then did as it was competitively priced. There was an email request (and reminder!) for documents (licence and proof of address), this was all performed efficiently. The pick up was smooth, a very friendly guy (Ash) showed us the vehicle and went over prechecks – it was clean, well prepared and full of fuel. There was also plenty of good parking to leave our own car during the hire. So ‘Rent Direct’ was a good experience and I would certainly use again.

The old hire trick of take the money, Worry about a van later then cancel last minute when you don't have a van in stock to rent out. BEWARE of these cowboys!

Went to rent direct after issues booking with enterprise. I requested the largest car possible that was not a van to transport 4 adults and one toddler in a seat for a family wedding 3 hours away. And they delivered.
I was supplied with a Kia Sorento that was in perfect condition, seemed to have every extra going, and a full tank for a competitive price over 3 days.
The only reason I have not given 5 stars is my local branch closed while away which caused a slight delay on off hire, and I was only told about the mileage limit on collection, however that was not an issue for me, but that does need to be a little more transparent upfront.
Had the branch not closed, I would definitely have used again for any future needs had the branch not closed.

Worst car rental experience ever. Unwelcoming and slow delivery. Trying to force you to take their local insurance, and if you don't take it, they will find some already existing damages to charge you. They will threaten you if I don't pay.

By far the worst service I've ever received.

First and foremost, there are conditions that are not disclosed prior to booking such as a millage limit of 200 for a day's hire. My pick-up and drop off times were also amended and varied from the time I stated all of such details only get sent to you via email and evidently did not match what I had confirmed upon booking over the phone.

Furthermore, absolutely no one was to be found in the office upon collection and I was made to wait 10 minutes both upon collection and drop-off. What's worse is they charged me for late return when it was only due to there not being anyone to attend me when I had arrived on time.

Shameful to say at the least.
Your far better off booking with a better company even if it means spending more money.

If I could give 0 stars I would. I needed a van at short notice, booked online and they took my payment. Only to receive an email saying they rejected my booking. I called them and they were able to provide me with an alternative van, okay great. Went through everything to get this sorted on the phone. The representative then told me I would now need to pay £196 for the rental plus a £200 deposit? Even though I have already paid £200!! That’s nearly £600 to pay in one day?!! I don’t have that kind of money! The representative explained that the £200 paid will go back into my account but couldn’t say when and to speak to my bank!! I’m now £200 down and cannot afford to pay for an alternative company to rent a van from. Avoid at all costs - this company are not transparent when you book about there also being a £200 deposit & paying again if booking rejected. Awful. Now left stuck needing to move house without a van!!!

Nice clean van at a good price.

On return theres a minute (2mm) piece of paint chipped been spotted on the door. Could've been there at the start. Easy to miss unless tou know it was there. Could be a stone chip?
Bang! There goes £95 fee for repair.
Absolute rip off.

Buy cheap...pay twice. Never again.