Drivalia UK - LIVERPOOL JOHN LENNON AIRPORT Reviews 

The service has been really helpful, Gareth from Liverpool John Lenon Airport branch was very helpful and the service was outstanding

I’d like to say a big thank you to Gareth for making the whole car hire process so smooth and stress-free! really appreciate your excellent service, professionalism, and support throughout. You made everything easy for us, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. Highly recommend this car hire company, and thanks again, Gareth, for all your help! 😊

Had a great experience! Gareth was brilliant from start to finish and sorted us out with a fantastic deal for our weekend getaway.
Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to hire a car and will happily use them again in the future.

Gareth was amazing

Great service from Gareth. Thank you!

Stuart knows his stuff, helpful at the office and gave us hints and tips on his home city. Easy pick and drop off, I would recommend.

Top marks to Stuart super guy,no bull easy process to rent

Stuart exceeded my expectations, used this branch a number of times and always dealt with by Stuart. No fuss car always ready and rental process super quick.

Used the airport branch a number of times now and Stuart is amazing and easy to deal with, happy to recommend to friends and family.

Excelent communication before the drop off at my house and when picking up a week later. The delivery and pick up driver Karl was really good to deal with.

Good car staff were nice

Henzel the lady was so help full can’t than her enough

Gareth was very helpful at the Liverpool Speke location and helped us pick up a van promptly on a short notice hire. He explained all the excess options throughly to help us choose the best one. Thanks!

Gareth was great and helpful

Checked on my hire van today with karn at liverpool, very easy transition such a pleasant guy

Great customer service particularly henzel who was a great help when I was struggling with using my phone for proofing of statements.

I had a great experience with Drivalia UK. Gareth provided exceptional service—he was extremely helpful, professional, and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. I would definitely rent from them again and highly recommend their services!

Smooth and easy car rental experience. The staff are friendly and helpful as weel. Thank you Henzel

Fantastic service and help from everyone especially Karl. Can’t fault them

AVOID DRIVALIA LIVERPOOL AIRPORT — ESPECIALLY WITH AN OVERSEAS CREDIT CARD

One of the worst car-rental experiences I have had anywhere in the world.

I booked directly with Drivalia and prepaid approximately £136 for a 10-day rental using my Australian credit card. They had no problem accepting that card when taking my money online.

At Liverpool Airport I provided everything requested: two driving licences because I was transitioning from an Australian to UK licence, two utility bills proving my UK address, identification and even underwent a credit check.

I knew a £1,500 security deposit was required and was completely willing and able to pay it.

Drivalia then refused to process my Australian credit card for the deposit, saying their machine could not take the PIN for my card.

I WAS NEVER EVEN ASKED TO ENTER MY PIN.

There was no declined PIN transaction, incorrect PIN or insufficient credit. I was simply never given the opportunity to enter it.

I then offered to pay the entire £1,500 deposit by debit card.

They refused that too.

What makes this extraordinary is that I had rented from Drivalia in June and successfully used my Revolut debit card for the deposit. The Liverpool staff could see that previous rental on their own system.

Apparently that made no difference.

So I had prepaid the rental, supplied all their documentation, passed through their checks, had £1,500 available for the deposit and was a returning customer whose previous debit-card deposit they could see.

Yet apparently there was no solution.

Then suddenly there was:

BUY THEIR ADDITIONAL INSURANCE.

I was offered insurance at £25 PER DAY and then the £1,500 deposit would apparently no longer be required.

That's another £250 for 10 days.

I refused.

Regional manager Kinza then became involved and told me Gareth had offered £25 per day whereas she would have charged £48.99 PER DAY — almost £490 extra over 10 days.

She then said she would “allow” the £25-per-day price so there would be “no bad taste left.”

I found that comment incredibly patronising.

I was apparently supposed to be grateful for the opportunity to pay another £250 for insurance on a rental I had already paid for.

What troubles me most is the sequence:

My £1,500 deposit couldn't be accepted.

My debit card couldn't be accepted.

My previous successful Drivalia debit-card deposit was apparently irrelevant.

But buy another £250 of insurance and suddenly the £1,500 deposit wasn't needed.

That left me with the strong impression that selling additional insurance had become more important than finding a reasonable way to honour my prepaid rental.

I refused and the result was:

NO CAR AND APPROXIMATELY £136 OF MY PREPAID MONEY LOST.

I then witnessed the next customer being faced with approximately £550 in additional charges, and he appeared every bit as shocked as I was. I cannot comment on his circumstances beyond what I personally witnessed.

Drivalia head office is welcome to explain publicly:

Why accept my Australian credit card online to take my money but refuse to process it for the deposit?

Why wasn't I even allowed to enter my PIN?

Why refuse my debit card when staff could see Drivalia had previously accepted my Revolut debit card for a deposit?

And most importantly:

WHY DID THE £1,500 DEPOSIT PROBLEM APPARENTLY DISAPPEAR IF I BOUGHT £250 OF ADDITIONAL INSURANCE?

Potential customers can draw their own conclusions.

My advice, particularly to international travellers: get written confirmation that your exact card will be accepted for the deposit before prepaying anything.

I arrived as a returning customer with a prepaid rental and the required £1,500 available.

I left without a car and approximately £136 poorer.

Based on my experience, I would never rent from Drivalia Liverpool Airport again.