Europcar complaints: email, phone, damage and deposit

Europcar complaints: official channels in Spain

The company that hires out cars in Spain is EUROPCAR IB, S.A., company number A-28364412, with its registered office at Avenida del Partenón 16-18, 28042 Madrid, according to its terms and conditions of hire (01/06/2026). You can write in English; include your rental agreement number.

If you live in the UK or Ireland: Europcar's terms say that, wherever your rental took place, you can choose to deal with the customer service department in your country of residence, which will contact the country of rental on your behalf and try to resolve your query.

How Europcar charges for car hire damage

Europcar's damage management policy, which applies to rentals in Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Belgium, distinguishes two situations:

• Damage found with you there: if you acknowledge it by signing the vehicle return statement, you get an invoice for the repair, the time the car is off the road and an administration fee for handling the damage. If you disagree, you can refuse to sign, and the procedure below applies.
• Damage found without you (an out-of-hours return, or you didn't stay for the inspection): Europcar sends you the accident report if there is one, the return statement describing the damage, pictures of the damage and an estimate of the costs. You have 14 days from when it sends them, by email or post, to challenge them. If you don't reply, it reserves the right to invoice you.

How much you pay depends on the type of damage:

• Minor damage: charged from a price list of average repair and parts costs certified by an independent firm of assessors, available on its website and at any office. The current list (10/12/2025, in Spanish) prices each part by severity and car category, and by the size of the damage, for example dents of 2 to 5 cm, 5 to 15 cm or over 15 cm.
• Other damage: charged from a repair shop's estimate or an assessment by an independent external assessor that Europcar hires.

How much of that you pay also depends on the protection you took out with Europcar.

Out-of-hours returns: some offices offer them. Europcar's terms say your rental agreement doesn't end when you drop the keys: the car is inspected when the office opens, without you. You must note any incident or damage on the document you were given at pick-up and leave it in the key box with the keys. Europcar recommends photographing the car once it's parked, before you drop the keys, and if no damage is found it sends you a document saying the car was returned undamaged.

How to dispute a Europcar damage charge

1. Note the 14-day deadline if the damage was found without you, and reply before it ends.
2. Ask for anything missing: the pictures, the return statement and the cost estimate, which its policy says it must send you.
3. Check the amount against the price list: the part, the severity, the size and your car's category.
4. Gather your evidence from pick-up and return. Our guide to disputing hire car damage explains what to look for.
5. Email ES_CustomerService@europcar.com with your rental agreement number, what you dispute and the outcome you want. You can start from our complaint letter template.

The deposit at Europcar Spain

Under its deposit policy, for rentals in Spain:

• If you prepaid the rental, the base deposit is €500. If you didn't, the rental price is also authorised on your credit card, so the total held is the rental price plus the deposit.
• With a protection that reduces the excess, the deposit drops to €300; with one that reduces it to €0, to €100.
• The deposit covers extra charges such as missing fuel, extra days, extra mileage or a one-way fee.
• It's released up to 4 working days after invoicing, or up to 30 days if it was authorised and you then cancelled the rental.

If it hasn't been released after that, ask Europcar in writing and see our guides to card holds that aren't released and to getting a car hire deposit back.

Fuel, cleaning and fines

• Fuel: cars come with a full tank, with two options: a refundable full tank (you pay for a full tank at pick-up and get it back if you return the car full) or full to full (you return it full and pay nothing for fuel). The tank counts as full if the gauge shows the maximum (8/8), and Europcar may ask for proof that you refuelled, so keep the receipt and photograph the gauge. If it isn't full, you're charged for fuel at the price per litre its staff give you at the return.
• Special cleaning: only if the car comes back in an unacceptable state of cleanliness, beyond ordinary use. The charge depends on the level of cleaning needed, as set in its Recommended Rates Guide.
• Fines and tolls: you pay them, and Europcar adds an administration fee for handling them. Check that the offence falls within your rental period.

If you bought excess cover elsewhere

A standalone excess insurance policy, or cover bought through the booking website, doesn't stop Europcar charging you. You normally pay Europcar and then claim from your insurer, so keep the return statement, the pictures, the cost estimate and the invoice, and check your policy's time limits. Our guide to being charged the excess explains how this works.

If Europcar doesn't reply or rejects your complaint

• European conciliation (ECRCS): Europcar has signed up to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service. Its terms limit it to cross-border rentals within the EU: you must live in the EU and have rented in a different EU country, so if you live in the UK, its terms don't offer it. According to Leaseurope, the service covers rentals booked directly rather than through a broker, after the company's final answer.
• 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. 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).
• 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.
• Courts: Europcar's terms submit disputes to the Spanish courts.

How does Europcar 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 Europcar complaints

What is Europcar's complaints phone number in Spain?

+34 91 343 45 03, the number its damage policy and its terms give for customer service. Complain in writing to ES_CustomerService@europcar.com as well, so you have a record.

How long do I have to dispute Europcar damage?

If the damage was found without you there, 14 days from when Europcar sends you the documents, according to its damage management policy.

How long does Europcar take to return the deposit?

According to its deposit policy, up to 4 working days after invoicing.

I live in the UK. Can I complain to Europcar in the UK about a hire in Spain?

Yes. Its terms say you can deal with the customer service department in your country of residence, wherever the rental took place, and that it will contact the country of rental for you.