Drivalia UK - MANCHESTER AIRPORT Reviews 

This was one of the worst experiences I’ve had with a car rental service.

I tried repeatedly to contact Drivalia by phone, but they simply did not respond on 00:20 even though it is with working hours. There was no support or communication at all when I actually needed assistance.

The next day, I was told that my reservation was no longer available, despite having already booked it. This is completely unacceptable and shows a serious lack of reliability.

To make matters worse, I was then asked to pay a much higher price than originally agreed. This feels misleading and highly unprofessional, as customers should not be pressured into paying more due to the company’s own failures.

Overall, the service was unreliable, poorly managed, and extremely frustrating. I would strongly advise others to avoid using Drivalia and consider more trustworthy alternatives

Pick up from the airport was very efficient, Immad on the desk was pleasant and informative no pressure to take any extras even gave me a larger vehicle to fit my case. Will definitely be returning!

Rahat at Manchester Airport provided an excellent service during the check in process Keep up the good work

Customer service shocking, we booked the van from 8am, due to a RTA we were late to pick up. Arrived at 9am. There was only one person on the desk and one customer... We waited 30minutes to be served. We shared we were in a rush, was there anyone that could support as needed the van to move house... Told us we will have to wait.Despite two other men being in the warehouse! Shocking service. Will not use again.

UPDATE:
Dear Drivalia Manager,

As mentioned in your response - I have contacted the branch again as, we were promised a full refund. We have not received a response however, notice a part refund was given... we are unable to add any more to the portal as our current complaint is not resolved... i have therefore sent the following email to the branch manager:

I am writing further to my email dated 5 May, to which I have not yet received a response.

I have now noticed that a partial refund of £95 has been processed. However, we are expecting a full refund of £130.01, as we did not receive the service we paid for through no fault of our own.

As outlined in my previous complaint, we were informed on the day of collection that we had failed the credit check, yet no explanation could be provided as to why. This was particularly frustrating given that:

We had already received confirmation that the van booking was secured;
We had completed the online pre-check-in two days beforehand;
We were only informed of the issue at the point of collection, despite having travelled to the branch and waited over 30 minutes to be served.

This situation had a serious impact on our day, especially as the van had been booked to assist my elderly father with his house move within a limited timeframe.

We also do not understand how the credit check could have failed, as we have an excellent credit history and encountered absolutely no issues when subsequently hiring a van from Arnold Clark, located less than 500 yards away from your branch, on the very same day.

Given the circumstances, we do not believe it is reasonable for Drivalia to retain any portion of the payment for a service that was ultimately not provided.

As previously advised, I have now raised a formal dispute with my bank regarding the transaction.

Please arrange for the remaining balance of £35.01 to be refunded immediately, bringing the total refund to the full £130.01 originally paid. In addition, I ask that Drivalia considers appropriate compensation for the inconvenience, stress, and disruption caused by this experience.

I would appreciate a full response to my complaint without further delay.

Yours sincerely,

Denise Nicholls

Courteous and knowledgeable staff, especially matt

Typical experience from a cheap vendor. Incompetent desk staff, hidden terms and conditions that lead to an attempted upsell, passed off as 'doing you a favour'. Avoid these buffoons at all costs and just go direct to a reputable provider. I only tried them as I landed late (and still had to wait over an hour for their shuttle service). I walked out after they tried to increase my booking by £80 a day...clowns.

James was a great help with the hire and mileage
Would use again

Rahat was very helpful and clear made checking out the van very easy

Suberb. Cant fault

Really smooth service and no pushy upselling by James..

All good. Rafa was very helpful

Mat was so helpful definitely use this company again

Gurdas dealt with to hire car was amazing Experiance nice and polite and helpful

I will never use Drivalia again. This was not a car rental; it was a strategically engineered exercise in consumer exploitation. I arrived for a pre-paid booking only to be told it was "void" because I was over 60 minutes late. Despite having already paid in full, the staff member — who possessed the worst customer service skills I have ever encountered, informed me the only way I was leaving with a car was to start a new agreement at a staggering £525.55. They effectively held my travel plans hostage. Knowing I had an urgent event to reach, they forced me into a "new" contract that included a £90-per-day "UPGRADE" fee. I didn't want an upgrade; I wanted the service I had already paid for. This is predatory upselling under duress, plain and simple. To make matters worse, the "premium" car they forced me to pay over £500 for (MD22 0JK) was a disaster:

Mechanical Safety: The steering wheel suffered from violent vibrations at speed, casting serious doubt on their "roadworthy" claims.

Health Hazard: The interior absolutely reeked of stale cigarette smoke, to the point it felt like a health risk for the entire four-hour journey. Cosmetic

Condition: The exterior looked like it had been driven through a rally stage, with heavy scratches and alloy wheels in appalling condition. Drivalia uses "hidden" terms in their fine print—contradicting their own 2-hour grace period mentioned elsewhere—to cancel pre-paid bookings and force customers into extortionate new rates.

They are a disgrace to the industry. Advice to others: Avoid at all costs. They will take your pre-paid money, cancel your booking on a technicality, and then fleece you for hundreds more at the desk.

i came a bit late to my booking ant the people be hide the desk were so hard to deal with and they told me that the small car that had been booked is not available and there was no refund with no explanation, when i went online myself i booked a car they gave it to me so i had to pat double the price for the same thing ALL THEY WANT IS YOUR MONEY be careful with them

After my initial review, I was hoping for a genuine attempt from Drivalia to acknowledge and resolve the issues we experienced. Unfortunately, the responses from their team have only reinforced my concerns.

Rather than addressing the core problem, Drivalia has repeatedly relied on quoting policies and terms and conditions, while ignoring the actual circumstances we were placed in.

To be clear, this was not simply about “policy.” My partner had a physical credit card available at the counter, yet we were unable to use it because she was not listed on the booking. We were also not allowed to amend the booking to add her. This left us with no practical option other than paying an additional £800 under pressure, late at night, after a long international flight.

This key point has been consistently overlooked in their responses.

Drivalia continues to suggest that “options were provided,” which is not accurate. We were given one option only, presented as the only way to proceed. That is not a genuine choice.

Equally disappointing is the continued defence of their airport “pickup” process. Regardless of what may be buried in third-party booking terms, the reality for customers is a confusing and poorly communicated system that does not match reasonable expectations of airport collection.

What stands out most is the lack of accountability. At no point has there been any meaningful acknowledgment of the situation, no ownership of the poor experience, and no attempt to offer a reasonable resolution.

Mistakes can happen in any business. What matters is how they are handled. In this case, the response has been defensive, inflexible, and dismissive.

Based on both the rental experience and the way this complaint has been handled, I cannot recommend Drivalia to other travellers.

The office is about 10 minutes away from the airport, a minibus came and collected us promptly after a call to a very friendly, helpful person. Collection was speedy and James was great, professional and chatty. Both he and the minibus driver, Mike, made us feel welcome and valued. The car was OK, clean and full of fuel.
We've used Drivalia before and would again.

never never again. ive searched for car hire companies who do NOT use drivalia. at pick up i paid my credit card for the excess. i was one hour early and asked if i could take the car now. RAHAT said no unless i took out extra insurance. i said oh you will give it to me 1 hour if i pay extra insurance, he said yes. i got on phone to husband telling as i was going to wait. RAHATOOL THEN SAID HE WAS CANCELLING THE BOOKING. i said why ? he said abusive agressive and racist behavior. i am mixed race and never use racist words. i asked to speak to the manager he said he was the manager - later found out he was the assistant manager ! he also we arrived 2 hours early -it was 1 hour early. total lies !!! from him. he said hes cancelled the booking. he would not give me his full name just his first NAME rahatool. HE WASNT WEARING AN identification badge. he was rude rude rude. i then had to walk back to airport get train get taxis taking me over 4 hours. full complaint has gone in but i will NEVER use drivalia again. I have written a formal complaint via manage bookings BUT STILL NOT RECEIVED A REPLY. they are a complete rip off - do not use them they want to get you to pay extra insurance, pick up snmall scratches and cherge over £400 - they are cowboys

Flew into Manchester and as my first hire with Drivalia wasn't sure of procedure so I called the number provided.
Polite and clear instructions as to where I would be picked up - easy.
The driver was charming and I explained that I'd like to drop the car back the night before my outward flight. They will deliver me to my airport hotel- brilliant!
Once at the office Mathew, again very helpful and charming ,went through the procedure of insurance and deposit together with obvious form and ID verification. An easy efficient process.
Great service - perfect for my requirements
Thanks Drivalia Manchester Airport

A long wait in the cold and then someone pushed in . Only one person working and 4 desks.