Goldcar Rental

They are a scam!!!! Do not use them, they will charge you extra for damage that isn鈥檛 even there. Ruined a really good holiday

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY _ THEY WILL TRY TO KEEP YOUR DEPOSIT. This company is so bad that earlier this year a Maltese court ruled that their terms and conditions were illegal and also they are apparently being investigated for fraud. Basically, you hire a car online and agree to the T&C's, then when you go to pick it up, they demand that you sign an additional three pages of T&C's before you can take the car. These additional T&C's are designed to allow them to keep the 拢1200 deposit they hold on your credit card. If the car breaks down – you have to pay. If someone drives in to you, they keep the entire deposit as an admin fee. They present you with a list of charges you have to sign, the cheapest being 拢100 for a minor scuff to a 拢15 wheel trim. The court case (Maltese tribunal) was when they held someone's deposit because they claimed the catalytic converter was broken when the car broke down – they presented no evidence that they had fixed the catalytic converter and claimed that the customer had accepted their T&C's and therefore the charge was allowed – the judge was serioulsy unimpressed and ordered them to repay the deposit and costs. Others have reported huge "admin fees" for handling parking tickets that they never received. They send you photographs of damage several days after picking up the car, but ours had areas of damage that weren't marked – but with my electronic signature from collecting the vehicle allegedly confirming the damage report was accurate! Luckily I'd taken my own photos. Seriously, don't use this company there are warnings all over the internet – if you do use them, you will likely spend your whole holiday worrying about the hire car. Spend an extra few quid and go with a company who don't have rip offs as a main source of profit.

Worst hire company in Malta. Avoid at all cost.
Vehicle i ordered wasnt there.
Was told id have to wait hr and half for vehicle after an hr wait just to be served.
Had to suggest a lesser grade vehicle just to get somthing to start holiday. Offered my a 41000km battered hyunda i20. Not a straight panel on vehicle. Refused car at collection point. Had to go back to desk and finally offered a citroen c3. Originaly ordered a mini van.
Now in middle of dispute with them. They dont care and will tell you anything to accept a vehicle if the type ordered isnt avaliable.
Poor company. Suck you in with cheap quotes then vehicle isnt there. Not allocated per surname. 1st come 1st serve. How does that even work. Why not allocate vehciles. They ask for flight details, vehcile type and collection time. Waste of time

easy to book online and pay for, picking up car is quick and easy but drop off at Luqa airport always seems a bit of an effort and the staff at times seemed lazy as though they were being burdened. paperwork has taken longer than anticipated, especially when concerned about missing a flight due to the time taken to drop off the car. overall however would recommend as the most efficient hire car co for malta.

Horrible in every way. Scam.

We rented a car, with luckily full insurance, and already when driving out of the airport, a weird rattling sound occurred. Day 2, we were driving on Gozo and at several occasions the steering locked up, stereo turned off and all electricity seemed to be gone for a second. We stopped for a while to eat and when we got back to the car it would not stop. This kept happening and it was obvious that something was wrong. We called the roadside assistance and goldcar office which told us that they would arrive in 1.5h. 5 hours later, they had still not arrived. After 6 hours, when it was getting dark, a guy showed up in a new rentalcar from Goldcar. He did not speak english but his boss was on the phone telling us that the battery was flat and this was the only thing not covered by the insurance. The boss told us that they could charge the battery and give us the new car if we paid 鈧?50, otherwise they would not do anything. We told them that there was something else wrong with the car and refused to pay. The boss then started to scream and said that they would leave us at the side of the road if we did not pay. Keep in mind, that why would they give us a new car if it was only that the battery was dead, clearly they knew that it was something else.

Since we refused to pay, the guy abruptly got in his car and left us there. Luckily, the nearby hotel had a battery charger and a mechanic at hand which helped us charge the battery and also told us that the generator, which charges the battery while you drive, was completely broken.

We managed to get back home, where the car broke down again, and ended up driving to the goldcar office the following day and returning the car several days early in order to not be bothered anymore.

AVOID GOLDCAR AND THEIR CLANDESTINE SUBSIDIARIES AND THE FEEDER SITE GOTRENTALCARS.COM OR PAY THE PRICE!

This company and its subsidiary Zing Rental (and there are probably others) are geared to rip you off. Be warned. This is based on my experience in March 2018. Booked car through GotRentalCars.com. Wanted to avoid Goldcar at all costs due to their reputation. Booked with Zing Rental but it turns out they are just a front for Goldcar! No meet and greet as promised. No Zing rental desk. After several phone calls was referred to the Goldcar desk. Aaagh! After queuing for two hours at the desk (I kid you not) we arrived at the pick up point just outside the airport. Took photos and a video of the bashed-up car as a precaution. Alas on returning the car at the end of our holiday the Goldcar guy made an immediate bee-line for some damage under the front bumper which unfortunately I had missed as it was hidden just under the car. We had not caused this (or any) damage to the car. Got charged 400 euros – total rip-off.

We had purchased fully comprehensive insurance provided by Goldcar which months later eventually paid out some of our outlay after a tortuous claims process (Mondial Insurance – avoid them too!) but we were still left substantially out of pocket.

These people are lurking sharks and they exist to rip you off. Malta government needs to regulate car hire. We will not be returning to Malta.

Do not rent at Goldcar, run away!
Very bad experience in Malta
When booking no problem, the Martercard Gold card is (of course) accepted … and then, Goldcar is waiting for you at his airport office to charge you 鈧?160 extra MANDATORY insurance because your Mastercard Gold is not not a credit card.
Obviously there is no warning or warning message at the time of booking via internet!
This is pure scam and a way to force the billing of insurance … one of their favorite tour.
Moreover the team on the spot does not put at all in confidence and is unpleasant.
I will never rent Goldcar here or anywhere else.

Terrible service. Like other users I was given a car with multiple marks, scratches and a broken bumper. The very helpful guy at check out tried to get me a new one but the office didn鈥檛 respond. It took us half an hour to write up all the marks on the check out form. On return a different employee found two more scratches. I have been charged an extra 拢380 – no explanation, no document – nothing. Never again – I booked a inter rent car not realising that it was now owned by gold car with which I had already had a bad experience. They want you to take out the extra insurance and if you don鈥檛 they find something wrong with the car on return.

Never ever again!!!
Why should I give 1 star? They don't deserve any!!!!

Repeating word for word Birgit wrote several days ago: "This is a scam business. They give you a car with hundreds of scratches and when you return it, they find a small old scratch and claim it's new". And they charge you by hundreds euro for this 10 milimetres old scratch (luckly we had the Icarhireinsurance)

We made the mistake of hiring a car through Goldcar at Malta International airport.

The car was given to us in a poor state with significant damage to the rear bumper and trim and not well valeted. On descending a steep hill in Gozo, the steering became erratic. I visited a garage and checked the tyre pressures to find that they were all significantly different and in the case of the offside front tyre 鈥?very low. Obviously, I rectified this immediately.

On returning the car on 29 October, I was asked if I was happy with it, to which I commented on the tyre pressures. The Goldcar staff member ignored my remark and went immediately and unerringly to a small mark on the offside front bumper / trim and stated that this damage had been caused by me. He did not go on to check the rest of the car or to even check that I had refilled the petrol tank (which I had). My wife showed him a picture that we had taken of the car when collecting it on 23 October that showed that the mark was already there when we were given the vehicle.

My wife and then were then subjected to intimidating, threatening and rude behaviour by 4 individuals. The individual who appeared to be the manager of the team even informed me that he would not assault my wife 鈥?he clearly thought that I may form this opinion on the basis of his actions and tone of voice!

At this point, I visited that Goldcar desk in the airport terminal in order to pursue the matter with the management team. I was informed by the individual on the desk that this was not possible as the office closed at 15:00 (the time was about 15:02 when I was at the desk). I was also informed that this was not a matter for the office anyway 鈥?they just handled the contracts and paperwork.

I also commented on the way we were being treated to a policeman outside the airport. He was very sympathetic and advised that if I wished to take matters further I needed to report the incident at the local police station. I decided not to do this as I did not wish to miss my flight.

On returning to the Goldcar carpark, we were informed that if we did not sign documents to the effect that we accepted that I had caused the damage and to pay for it we would lose our deposit of 鈧?,100. Initially I signed a document accepting that the damage existed but that I had not caused it. I was not given a copy of this document, but Goldcar have two copies of it in their possession. Finally, in order to at least retrieve my deposit and make my flight, I signed the necessary document and allowed them to charge me 鈧?04 on my credit card.

I am insured for this damage. However, as a matter of principle, I did not cause it and the whole manner in which this affair was handled by the Goldcar staff was unacceptable

I am 55 years old and I travel frequently and I regularly hire cars. I have never had to write an email such as this one. This is because I have never been the victim of such terrible behaviour. My suspicion is that Goldcar just want to make extra money from insurance companies 鈥?even if this means ruining people鈥檚 holidays.

We also noticed at the time a number of other Goldcar customers who were not satisfied with their cars and the way in which they were treated

The aggressive and threatening behaviour and unprofessional and disinterested attitude of the staff at Goldcar Rentals at Malta International Airport reflects poorly on the people of Malta which is not fair on them.

We had a booking to rent a car from Goldcar at Malta airport when we witnessed a scene where returning customers where being charged hundreds of euros for a small scratch under front bumper, which was hardly visible. We got worried and immediately canceled our rental and went with a reputable local company.
Their business model seems based on extracting exhorbitant damage fees and trying not to identify existing damage at check-in. They provide the option of buying their insurance but then the price with insurance often exceed the total price proposed by known car hire companies !

If I could give them negative stars, I would. This is a scam business. They give you a car with hundreds of scratches and when you return it they find a small old scratch and claim it's new. The service is very poor, they are rude and has very low business ethics. We have used them twice and it has been the same experience both times. Will never use again.

As a consumer you enter a contract with a company, pay your money, and expect to get what you pay for – right?

Well – if your contract is with Goldcar- apparently not.

Goldcar supplied a faulty vehicle to us which broke down after 2 days and 2 short journeys. Despite this clearly being Goldcar鈥檚 fault, not ours, we were charged 鈧?50 for a replacement car which they will not refund. The most unbelievable part of our story is that such a huge number of customers have had a similar experience to ours. I don鈥檛 know how Goldcar can legitimately get away with scamming customers in this way.

Wish I had read reviews before booking with this shambles of a company. The bombardment of negative customer feedback on their Twitter feed says it all.

I have the same experience right now, what they do they give you a trap car with hidden damages. When you come back they are ready for you, within a second they pounce on you, claim you damaged the car and tot up the costs to arrive to the excess value. I will write with more details with the exact car registration and make of the trap car.

I am taking it up right now with my credit card company and consider legal and other options. This is a simple deliberate fraud to con people.
Lesson to learn:
Do not buy the cheapest, you may pay for it later.
Dont hire a car without checking their credential first
Dont hire a car from comparison web sites unless you can see which car rental company they give you and you can check them.
Photo and video any car you take, insist on good light, and look at the car from the side across the whole length of the car to see hidden curved in dents.
Take excess cover
Book direct from reputable car companies even if it slightly more expensive.

I hired cars for many years, for business and pleasure, this is the first time I was scammed.

My experience was a couple of years ago so this is not just a recent problem they have. I will keep my story short. I hired an old battered Peugeot Estate from Goldcar Malta, the clutch failed (no fault of my own) and broke down after an hour from picking it up. They refused to call the breakdown people to recover us until we agreed that we would pay the excess required. What choice did we have with 3 young children stranded by the side of the road in late evening? I had taken out excess insurance in the UK so thought I could recover the charge. Obviously not. Approx 鈧?700 they charged us! Goldcar were not interested in refunding, nor the excess insurance company or my credit card company. Eventually had success with Financial Ombudsman who were brilliant and forced the credit card company to pay up for this blatent scam. I have hired dozens of cars all over Europe and never seen blatent scams like this. Please please please don't trust them. (PS Malta and the Maltese people are wonderful but the staff at this place are despicable.)

If I could give no stars I would. Horrific don鈥檛 use this company. Chose them as competitively priced why a mistake. Had to turn down 2 cars after waiting 45 mins in line to get car and complete paperwork. Both cars totally unroadworthy. 3rd and final car available to me as I was told they were going home had a strange noise to it but we had to take it as no one left at desk. Realised when we got to the Gozo ferry that it had a puncture and the noise was a 3鈥?screw in the tyre. Called the always there 24hr number left a message no one called back. Called the office the following day who said I was covered as I had to take out their full insurance- another long disgraceful story- so would send someone. Then got told after waiting all day for someone e to arrive that it was costing me 鈧?50 which they鈥檇 take off my credit card. The young lad didn鈥檛 agree but said he needed the job! In all this car cost me 鈧?00 more when arrived to collect and the tyre so not cheaper at all. Had to pay out of hours fee even though my paperwork said is already paid it. They were quick to underline with a pen that I had to put with a credit card in my name for the cover insurance which I didn鈥檛 have with me as left at home Jensen their full insurance hung to be taken which they took my husbands card for, but wouldn鈥檛 take my underlining that I had already paid ooh fee. They are scammers and there are literally thousands of people been in the same boat if you look online. They definitely need investigating. I have tried contacting them several times but only one response referring to their t&c鈥檚!!
They didn鈥檛 understand that I had asked the company and was told u wouldn鈥檛 be charged for the tyre especially as it was damaged when it was given to me

STOP! Do not rent your car at Goldcar you will definitely be cheated

Wish I could leave no stars.

This company is fraudulent. They charged me 拢200 extra upon arriving in Italy as I had to be the named driver due the booking being made on my credit card. I DON'T HAVE A DRIVING LICENCE!!!! This extra money was to cover the higher insurance due to me not having a licence. They advised that we could crash the car multiple times and we wouldn't have to pay anything more. Now, nearly 3 months they've deducted nearly 拢50 from my credit card for an apparent "penalty" charge. Was told I could complain in writing and have been told nothing of why this apparent penalty has occurred.

Simply the worst company I have EVER dealt with in my life, avoid them at ALL costs

AVOID AVOID AVOID!
The most awful experience. Waited in a queue between 45-60 minutes to be served. The staff were rude and unhelpful. Spent more time speaking on their personal facebook pages than they did with customers.
Our flight was delayed and as such our scheduled 2pm landing was actually 4pm. The car was booked for 2pm, however when we got to the front of the queue, Goldcar didn't have any cars!!!!
Their email confirmation advised to bring a credit card. I brought an AMEX by mistake, which apparently they don't take, so I had to take out their insurance policy on my debit card for an additional 鈧?20. A policy which was exactly the same a policy I already had, and had taken out before leaving the UK.
I asked for a refund, but was told I was already in contract, as my car was booked for 2pm (DESPITE THEM NOT HAVING ANY CARS TO GIVE ME!!) and as such a refund was not possible.
We had to wait for a further 1.5 hours for a car to become available, and no end of nagging them.
This was not an isolated incident, and everyone in the queue had the same issue. Someone approached us whilst we were waiting, to advise they had been waiting 3 hours for a car to become available.
AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE ABSOLUTE PLAGUE!!!

As all comments on every review web site states about Gold Car Malta, they are pure scam artists. They give you damaged and scratched cars and then charge you for the damage on your return. They'll find the smallest spot you missed on check in and charge you thousands for a new door or wing, even though that door or wing had considerable damage already on collection. . DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! You have been warned.

If you have been charged for damage you didn't make, *PLEASE* get in touch so we can gather evidence – someone else may have already been charged for the damage you've just been blamed for: cheeky.dave at gmail.com

Never again. So rude personal only think about selling extra insurance and if you said no they get crazy angry with you and the same when you come back for returning the car then you can wait until nobody 6is in queue if you haven't pay extra insurance.
Extra hidden prices.
Never again

I collected a car from Gold car/ Rhodium boot at Malta airport on Tuesday 27 March 2018 at around 21:00.

I was offered an insurance that was more expensive than the rental itself. I politely refused and for that I was given extra two detailed penalty documents to sign. I never saw anything like this anywhere else in the world! But I wasn鈥檛 given a choice.

At the street garage, the agent handing over the car did a very fast walk around the car, it was 21:30 and the inspection took place under a semi lit streetlight. He kept on assuring me that the many little scratches and dents are too small to mention in the report.

He didn鈥檛 give me any copy of the inspection report therefore I insisted to photograph it.

I then drove directly to the hotel (25mins drive) the car was full of loud mechanical sounds and scary noises and the overall feel was that I drive an unsafe , unmaintained , old car. I am having twelve days holiday in Malta with my partner, my mother age 73 and my 3 years old son and my guts feeling indicated the situation is not safe nor professional.

25 mins after collecting the car from Malta airport, while I hand the keys to the concierge to park the car in the Intercontinental Hotel parking hotel I quickly noticed a little scratch on the front. I remember myself wondering at the back of my mind if we included that in the inspection report that took place only 25 mins ago. I was too busy with checking in to the hotel and dealing with a 3 years old toddler therefore I could not pay too much attention or thoughts to this.

After putting my little boy to sleep while sitting in the bath I recalled on the scratch and remembered I took a photo of the inspection report. I checked my phone and surprisingly it was not included. The following day I asked the concierge to get my car out of the hotel garage. Under day light I could inspect the scratch more closely. I took a picture on my phone and emailed the branch as soon as I got back to my room.

At that stage, on Wednesday, I was unconcerned and confident that my quick report will be quickly resolved assuring me not to worry, or that they forgot to include this in their report or any other explanation but instead I received a generic copy paste reply that did not answer any of my queries.

It was only when I started to call the car rental office branch the following day (Thursday), when the phone was put down on me during the conversation a few times, and then when my further calls were totally ignored, that I started to get suspicious. A quick internet search and online review website revealed the hundreds of bad reviews and similar incidents of scratches that appeared from nowhere and the heavy fines. I started to get really concerned that this rental company was operating a large scale scam.

On Friday morning, before heading further inland, I returned to the airport to have face to face chat with the manager. I first looked for the guy who inspected the car in the inspection garage. He wasn鈥檛 there. I talked to other employees and they all seemed to be briefed with a fixed short reply 鈥榯his is why you should have taken the insurance we offered you鈥?!

I walked to the airport terminal and after an hour wait I managed to meet the branch manager. Her name is Kaycee Pope. She is the person who replied my email with a standard copy-paste reply that you can see at the bottom of this page (*1)

Her approach/attitude was very strict and unpleasant. Rather then listening to my story she kept on repeating that 鈥榠f not on inspection report then it is my fault鈥?she already came with a price tag of EUR 430 which EUR 150 would be as an admin handling fee.

It sounds and felt a very professional scam and fraud at that stage but there was nothing I could do about. I felt frustrated and helpless. I kept on wandering it could have been worst when you are in a rush to get to your flight and have no other choice.

Although I do have an annual insurance back home in the UK I knew it wasn鈥檛 my fault so I decided to keep on with my argument on and on and on and see what happens. Eventually, all of a sudden, she came with a surprising suggestion. She suggested that I would quickly register online for car insurance and that she would amend the dates of the car reservation to start after I start my new insurance (30/3) and that she would issue a new rental agreement. She also offered to change the date of the scratch/incident to the last day of the rental (8/4) so I could claim it back from this new insurance.

I was overwhelmed by her upfront and direct suggestion to me committing fraud /insurance crime and immediately refused. I decided to go to the nearby police station but she was not intimidated at all 鈥?it is your word against us she said鈥?

She was right, at the airport police station they briefly explained to me that this is a civil case and that it is my word against them.

I then called you at MasterCard where you confirmed that EUR 1,400 were provisionally blocked on my card but that you cannot do much before they actually confirm how much money they will charge my MasterCard card account.

I returned to the terminal to see again the branch manager, Kaycee Pope, giving it one last chance to see if I can talk senses to her. This time I decided to secretly record my conversation with her. She kept on suggesting me to do fraud while handing over a printed bill of EUR 430. It was only the beginning of my 3rd morning into my car rental period and I already got a bill double than my twelve days rental fees. She kept on ignoring my request to check if the scratch was already recorded by previous rentals. I refused to pay and left the airport keeping the same old car.

I have nine more days left on my rental, in a car I don鈥檛 feel safe to drive and I have no way to change it unless I pay hefty fine and claim responsibility on a tiny scratch at the front.

To summarise:

1. The scratch seemed to be 鈥榩eeling off鈥?revealing itself during the drive to the hotel. Another option is that we might have noticed the scratch during inspection but it was deliberately omitted/not written down.

2. The scratch that seemed to be deliberately caused by a sharp metal/key got bigger and longer with each passing day.

3. I was given an old car that felt unsafe to drive in.

4. I was offered to take part in an insurance fraud.

5. I am anxiously await to see what else they might blame me for after returning the car.

Update 8.4.2018 | Upon returning the car , the scratch was dismissed by Maz saying all is OK and no extra charge. He even signed my form as all OK. The following day a charge of euros487 appeared on my card which included euros40 for loss of use due to repair of the scratch (seriously?!).

Update 1.7.2018 | After returning to the UK, I emailed jcazcona at goldcar.com and pedrobonet at goldcar.com . I then got reply from Rachel escalationheadcs at goldcar.com which promised to investigate my claim. It has been 3 months now and no one answers my emails.

Update 3.7.2018 I just got email from Rachel at escalationheadcs saying that "the charges applied are to be correct".

Update 4.7.2018 I contacted mccaa.org.mt they were quick to reply and also suggested me contacting ukecc.net.

Update 20.7.2018 I get a surprising email from Rachel at escalationheadcs "we re-opened your case and discussed your issue at length with our management team. I am happy to inform you that as a Commercial gesture we have decided to refund the damage charge. To be able to issue a refund we will need your IBAN and SWIFT number. Please if you would be so kind to forward your details onto me. "

They ruined my holiday and this "commercial gesture" is too little too late. Stay tuned for further updates

This is a WARNING !
Do NOT use Goldcar – Malta !

What we expirienced is the worst I have tried with any company in any business.

We were forced to pay more than 1400 Euros, for 4-5 damages to the car, which i'm certain they knew all about before we came.

Picking up the car in darkness and parked between other cars makes it almost impossible to observe the real state of the car. The Goldcar employee clearly has no intention of documenting the correct condition, they only "see" what you explicitly make them.

I went to the local Malta police station, and I quote:

[me] : I think i've been cheated by a car rental company !
[police]: Which company was it ? 鈥?. Goldcar ?
[me]: yes
[police]: unfortunately that is what they do ! 鈥? they are the worst !

We had to pay because otherwise we would loose another 400 Euros for renting another car. I was sent to the managers office to be shut up, otherwise i would not get another car. These people can't be trusted.

The car rattled and made noises that if it happened in my own car at home, I'd take it straight to the garage. There were lots of people waiting to get their car, and the same when we returned, people waiting to drop off/collect.

My issue with them is that on return, the guy opened the boot and said there was damage to the rim of the boot. Its true there was. We hadn't seen it, and it was only visible either when the boot was open and you paid particular attention to the shape of the rim, or if you stood a good 20 feet away. The only way I can see that it could have been damaged is if we had left the boot open and reversed to cause a gentle bump. This didn't happen and I am convinced the damage was already there and that the guy knew it. He didn't pay much attention to the rest of the car. We were charged 860 Euro for the damage, and we had no choice but to pay on the spot.