Cicar complaints: phone, email and the fuel deposit

Cicar complaints: official channels

The company is Canary Islands Car, S.L. (CICAR), tax number B35051820, based in Playa Honda, Lanzarote, according to the legal notice on its website. Email customer service so you have a written record, and keep the reply.

Where Cicar operates: its terms say it runs its own fleet only in the Canary Islands, and its site offers car hire on Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma. In mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands it works with other car rental companies, under different terms.

No-excess insurance and damage in the Canary Islands

Cicar's rental terms for the Canary Islands say "El seguro es 100% a todo riesgo sin franquicia": the insurance is 100% fully comprehensive, with no excess. That page lists no exclusions, so in the Canaries a damage charge is a less common problem. If you're charged anyway:

1. Ask in writing what the charge is for and which clause of your contract it relies on.
2. Check your rental agreement for any exclusions or conditions that differ from the website.
3. Gather your evidence from pick-up and return: photos, video and the handover document. Our guide to disputing hire car damage explains what to look for.
4. Email atencionalcliente@cicar.com, quoting the no-excess insurance in its terms. You can start from our complaint letter template.

If you bought excess cover elsewhere: with no excess in the Canaries, a standalone excess insurance policy rarely comes into play there. On the mainland and in the Balearics the cover has exclusions (see below); if you're charged for excluded damage, you normally pay and then claim from your insurer, if your policy covers it. Our guide to being charged the excess explains how this works.

The fuel deposit

Under its terms for the Canary Islands:

• When the contract opens, you pay a fuel deposit for the amount of fuel the car is delivered with.
• The deposit is returned at the end of the contract if you bring the car back with the same amount of fuel.
• If not, you're charged for the fuel actually used, at the price Cicar sets. Refuelling correctly is your responsibility.

Photograph the fuel gauge at pick-up and at return, and keep the petrol station receipt. If the deposit isn't returned, or you're charged for more fuel than you used, complain with that evidence. See our guides to card holds that aren't released and to getting a car hire deposit back.

Additional drivers and fines

• Additional drivers: Cicar's terms for the Canary Islands say you can add them free of charge by asking at the rental office. If you were charged for one on a Canaries hire, ask why.
• Fines: all offences and their associated costs are the renter's responsibility. Its terms add that you must always carry the physical rental contract in the car, or the Spanish authorities may fine you. Check that any fine falls within your rental dates.

If you hired with Cicar on the mainland or in the Balearics

Outside the Canary Islands, Cicar says it works with other car rental companies, and it publishes separate rental terms for mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, in English. Several things change:

• Security deposit: €200 for the Small, Compact, SUV, Estate and V1/V2 categories, and €400 for V3/V4/V5, Premium and MPV (5+2). You need a physical credit or debit card in the main driver's name.
• Fuel: if you don't return the car with the same amount of fuel, you pay for the fuel used plus a €25 administration charge.
• Insurance: also "full risk insurance with no excess", but with exclusions: damage to the upper bodywork, the suspension and the interior, missing parts, deterioration not from normal use, and damage caused by misuse, negligence or recklessness.
• Additional driver: €15 per day of hire, up to €150. Drivers under 25 pay €23 a day, up to €230.
• Returns: cars must go back to the office during opening hours. If you return one out of hours, you remain responsible for it until the office opens again and receives it.

If Cicar doesn't reply or rejects your complaint

• European conciliation: Cicar isn't among the companies taking part in Leaseurope's European Car Rental Conciliation Service, so that route isn't open.
• If you live in the EU, Iceland or Norway: the European Consumer Centre in your own country can help with a dispute with a trader in another of these countries; the Canary Islands are part of the EU. If you live in the UK, the UK International Consumer Centre can help.
• Consumer bodies in Spain: a municipal or regional consumer office can take your complaint. Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs explains the official channels (in Spanish), including your right to ask for the company's complaint forms and to get a stamped copy.
• Your card issuer: if your card was charged an amount that was not fixed when you gave it as a guarantee, and it is more than you could reasonably have expected, you may be able to ask your card issuer for a refund within eight weeks of the charge. This comes from articles 76 and 77 of the EU Payment Services Directive and, for UK cards, regulations 79 and 80 of the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Ask your bank how it applies to your card.

How does Cicar compare with other car rental companies? See our comparison of ten car hire companies in Spain: deposits, deadlines to dispute damage, fuel and conciliation.

Common questions about Cicar complaints

What is Cicar's complaints phone number?

+34 928 822 900, its customer service number; its website says that department handles suggestions and complaints. Complain in writing to atencionalcliente@cicar.com as well, so you have a record.

Does Cicar have an excess?

Not in the Canary Islands: its terms there describe the insurance as fully comprehensive with no excess ("100% a todo riesgo sin franquicia"). On the mainland and in the Balearics it's also without excess, but with the exclusions those terms list.

When does Cicar return the fuel deposit?

At the end of the contract, if you bring the car back with the same amount of fuel you collected it with. If not, you're charged for the fuel used, at the price Cicar sets.

Does Cicar charge for an additional driver?

In the Canary Islands, its terms say additional drivers are free if you ask at the office. On the mainland and in the Balearics, €15 a day, up to €150.

Does Cicar have its own cars outside the Canary Islands?

No. Its terms say it runs its own fleet only in the Canary Islands and works with other rental companies in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands.