I am THIS close to never making a booking with Sixt again. The service is totally inconsistent and ranges from great to deplorable, the latter being a more frequent occurrence.

Example 1:
Our booking in Lyon : not only were we incorrectly overcharged for the amount of km driven for an amount close to 2000 EUR, but we also had to pay a hefty fine with the issuer of the particular card used as the charge put the card limit in overdraft. Got the 2000 Euro reimbursed, but not the fine.

Example 2:
We have just booked a car in Berlin (CPMR class) for a very good price of 105,67 Euro. We then decided to upgrade to PTMR with 216 Euro price tag and in the booking we stated that we would be traveling to Poland - the booking went through. When our travel plans changed, we needed to update the drop off location from Tegel to Schoenefeld. We presumed that there would be a fee for this and we were perfectly fine with that. However, when we called customer service, it turned out the PTMR class cars cannot be taken to Poland and we were forced to rebook the rental entirely and ended up with ECMR class (even lower than the original) and new invoice for 152 Euro!

We have contacted the customer service raising the issue of being downgraded for a higher price and the fact that the system allows booking that is against the company policy. If we had not called, would we have been informed about it only at pick up? All we got in return was 'company policy' blahblah with no real answer to the concerns and - at least - a free upgrade : with the new price of 147 Euro. Fine.

My boyfriend was picking the car up. Now, he has a Danish passport and doesn't speak a word of German, so the conversation was in English entirely. Yet, he receives the agreement printed out in German (without any car scheme with marked existing damages) and nobody checks the car with him for scratches and other issues before he drives away.

I then look at the agreement and I can see that the new total for the car rental became out of nowhere 210 Euro! The insurance which was declined by us not only when we made the bookings but also at the counter while picking the car up. Not only that, we were charged a fee for a GPS that was built in the car - the presumed FREE upgrade we had been promised.

My boyfriend returns the car and is informed that nothing can be done about this additional balance. Sixt has became yet another company that cannot provide the customer with modicum of confidence and comfort in using their services. We need to double and triple check every detail just to be sure we are not taken for a ride (pun not intended, but stays;-) ) and I am not sure we are willing and want to use our time to do this.

Why can the bookings go through when they are against company policy?

Why were we charged almost 50 Euro extra for items we did not order especially after the original price went up 50 as well for a downgrade in rented class?

Why isn't an agreement in English with clear way of describing car damages available for foreign customers?

Why aren't the cars being checked properly upon pick and delivery?



tl;dr Sixt managed to cause issues before, during and after our rentals and we are sick and tired of it. Aaaaaargh.