Internationalcar Reviews 16

When returning the rental car, the agent spent a long time looking at the car in order to find something wrong with it. She eventually found a small white mark which none of us had noticed previously. She then told us we would have to pay €175 just for this absolutely miniscule white mark, which was probably there before anyway. There is no way it would've cost that much to repair, probably only like €5 or 10 or something, although there was really no need to do anything about it anyway. We had filled up the petrol even more than they had asked and done everything correctly, but now we were trapped and being forced to pay this extortionate price. However, we obviously had a flight to catch, and the lady knew that, and told us that if we didn't pay, she wouldn't close the contract, so we would still be liable for the car, and therefore we would have broken the law in that regard. So now obviously we were trapped, with no other choice than to pay the price she demanded. We asked to see the person in charge but she refused to let us. In the end we were forced to pay the money anyway, for a tiny mark which we did not even cause in the first place.
This was in Faro, Portugal.
These people are criminals; don't deal with them.

We hired a car from their Faro outlet. At pick up, an employee quietly advised us to video the car, which we did. On returning the car in perfect condition three and half weeks later, an official examined the body work in minute detail, picking out minute defects which he claimed were our responsiblity, but fortunately our video evidence cleared us of any wrong doing and he was forced to admit that the car had been returned in good condition. It was a very stressful experience. Worse, when we picked up the car, the company immediately deducted the £2,000 deposit from our credit card account (we have been travelling to Faro for over 20 years and this has never happened before - car hire firms simply place a block on the card). It was a fortnight after we returned home that the money was credited back to our account, by which time we had been forced to pay the money to settle our credit card debt. I will never use this company again and recommend that nobody else does either.

There is no way to speak to a live person over the phone at this company. They claim they have an agent working in Lisbon airport and they have a shuttle running every 15 minutes. Both are untrue.
They rented me a car with a dangerously worn tire that blew while I was driving it. Thankfully I wasn't traveling at high speed otherwise the it could have caused a fatal accident. They are a very poor company to deal with, avoid them at all cost.

My experience with this car rental provider was unfortunately very disappointing. I would not book with them again.

Under contract number #3590.. we booked an SUV but were given a Dacia Jogger instead. Upon pickup, the vehicle already had 20 documented pre-existing damages. Additionally, the front tires were at the legal wear limit — fortunately, we didn’t encounter any rain.

On a positive note, the shuttle service to and from the airport was well organized.

Upon return, an additional fee of €127 was charged for what was termed a “special cleaning,” because the car apparently needed to be vacuumed (seriously?). This assessment was made by an external service provider who, while located in the same building, is said to be organizationally separate. As a result, direct clarification was not possible.

My written complaint dated October 18, 2025, to the quality department of the parent company “Internationalcar Portugal” went unanswered — not even an acknowledgment of receipt was sent.

Overall, the business model does not leave a trustworthy impression. In my view, it lacks transparency and customer focus. I therefore give only one star and recommend choosing a different provider not affiliated with the mentioned parent company.

Similar Reviews to many others - Wish i had paid more for a better company - They pretend they have an independant company checking for Damage so both say speak to the other when you try and resolve .. They charged for damage to the underside of a bumper and said people should take pictures of underneath the car .. Advised they had no pictures of the underside themselves of car prior to collection. On car return didnt check any part of the car but went straight to the underside front ... Damage had rust on it but still said it was recent ... Please avoid .. Three cars returned when i was there All had damage and conversation starts with .. How was the car , are you in a rush to get to the airport

This company is a total scam!
They charge you on car scratches that were existing before! When we showed them the video we did they still did not believe us! They also make pictures of the car where they photoshop away the scratches to charge people. Please report !

We had to wait for 55 minutes before the shuttle arrived. I already paid the full amount for insurance and the guy at the desk was very unfriendly and told us to pay 475 euro for another insurance. A little scratch of 3 cm would cost us approximately 500 euro to repair. And he told us that every day car windows were broken. If that was the case I would pay 1845 euro. And another 1845 euro to get another car. I even spoke with the lady on the Phone, she works with DiscoverCars, and asked her about my insurance. She reassured me that everything was fine! The guy at the desk spoke negative about DiscoverCars. It was very unpleasant! I almost dindn't dare to drive the car.

This was for porto airport but the contact numbers are the same for the all of portugal…Useless i had booked two vehicles,i tryed to contact their phone number to ask a question but seems disconnected so i sent a email but email cant get delivered,i cancelled both so if you rent from them how will you contact them when you encounter a problem🤔

I booked a car for 5 weeks and then my flight was delayed by 2 days. I called ahead to have them hold the car for me. They told me they would. then when I arrived at the airport, they said they didn't know about my booking. They had even charged my credit card (which I didn't know about until 2 days later), then they offered me a "deal" to get another car at half price. In the end, I ended up paying 50% more. Scam #1. Also, I took very detailed pictures of my car before I drove away. These saved me because they claimed a lot of damage that they didn't have on their records but thankfully I had the proof. Scam #2.

International car Faro

Company to avoid!
They are scammers. We were given a car full of dents and scratches. On the day we returned the car we were charged approximately €250 for a very small scratch on the tyre. They claimed it was done during our rental period but it was not done by us. Actually, when trying to prove that it was already there, showing a picture, they refused to validate it, stating not clear enough. They even told us to pay, threatening to take a higher amount from the deposit anyway if we could have refused it. Also, one of the rude guys was hurrying us up for the payment as if not they could find something else.
At that point, we understood that that is the way how they rob people.

Not need to mention what a disgusting customer experience!!! The rude man was talking over not allowing us to speak just saying to pay. When asking to speak in English as we don't speak Portuguese he said "we are in Portugal and I speak Portuguese". Such a poor customer service and very unacceptable treatment to customers.

Warning! Avoid This Car Rental Company
If you want to save yourself some stress, we highly recommend choosing a different car rental company. At first glance, this one may seem cheaper, but in the end, it could cost you much more—and most importantly, it might ruin your vacation experience.

Long Wait for the Shuttle Bus
The rental office is not located directly at the airport, so you have to take a shuttle bus to get there. Their website claims that the shuttle runs frequently. That is not true. As soon as we arrived at the airport, we called for a pickup. However, we only reached an automated system that gave confusing instructions and then sent us a WhatsApp message. We had to call three times before the shuttle finally arrived—more than 30 minutes later. By that time, a lot of other people were also waiting, and it was uncertain whether we would even be able to board.

Outrageous "Cleaning" Fees
Even worse was our experience when returning the car. The rental agreement states that additional cleaning fees apply only in cases of excessive dirt, but reality is quite different. We rented the car for ten days, and naturally, some sand got into the vehicle—after all, this is Algarve, where sand is everywhere. Additionally, it rained frequently during our stay. However, there were no spills, no food stains, and no damage—just normal dirt on the floor mats.

Despite this, the employee insisted that the car was "extremely dirty" and demanded €90 for cleaning! When we repeatedly asked to speak to a supervisor, he refused and even threatened to withhold our €900 deposit if we didn’t pay the fee. Now, do the math—our 10-day car rental cost us only €57, yet they wanted an additional €90 for so-called cleaning!

Lack of Communication and Ignoring Complaints
After returning home, I contacted the rental company to request an explanation for this unjustified charge. Unfortunately, no one bothered to respond. Once they take your money, you no longer exist to them.

Final Verdict? Never Again!
This company might seem budget-friendly at first, but in reality, it could cost you much more. We regularly rent cars during our travels, and we have never been charged for normal dirt accumulation. It is clear that this is just a scam to extract more money from unsuspecting customers.

If you don’t want to lose money and patience, stay far away from this rental company!

Also trading as the Surprice franchise. The Lisboa office charged me 431 euros for damage that was pre-existing. They had no evidence to suggest that the tiny mark was new. The scam is that they provide cars that are very scratched and dented so much so that it is impossible to document each mark at the time the vehicle is hired. The customer is never going to be able to photograph all of those marks and provide enough evidence so as not to leave themselves susceptible. The company take a large credit card deposit of 2400 euros, and hold the renter to ransom. This means that if I wanted my deposit back I had to pay the bill of 431 euros even though I was sure that the damage did not happen while I had the vehicle. Subsequently I exchanged some emails with the company and they were adamant and unhelpful and would not return the money that they stole from me. Hire from this company at your peril.

I picked up a dirty car from the Lisboa office (OKIS360) full of dents and scratches and had to wipe the dirt off to make them visible. Yet only one of these was marked up on the check sheet at the start and is clearly a SCAM as the dents are not repaired.
The agent marked up everything we spotted and said he had all the pictures and I didn’t need to take any and would send them to me, but he only sent the one on their system from previously
Once we returned the car he said he wasn’t sure those dents never existed and went straight to the dents which he clearly was aware of and took pictures, which then diasappeared..
And basically lied as my son in law was with me and he is Portuguese I brought the car back in a cleaner state than I picked it up
The lady who charged also wrote down the car had a tank 3 quarters full and then changed this this on the bill to 1 quarter full, which I didn’t spot.
I had no choice but to pay 469 euros.
I would never recommend this company and advise others not to. Shocking service from start to finish.