Van Hire Genie

Van Hire responded quickly to my short notice van request. Communications were clear as was the pricing. Pick up and return was easy. I opted to go to their depot rather than schedule a drop off though so can't comment on that aspect of their business. My main observation would be that its preferable from a customer point of view to receive the vehicle with a full tank. Had I been on a tight schedule then the extra time to refuel could prove unhelpful. I recommend you re-consider that policy. All in all, useful no frills service that did what i needed it to. Thanks guys.

Van Genie and their staff, especially Deshan are absolutely excellent. They helped me out enormously with a last minute Van hire to pick up my stranded relations from the airport, when there was virtually no short notice availability anywhere. The location of the depot is a bit hard to get to, but the service was outstanding. Deshan the sales assistant was a god send!! He not only waited after closing to insure I could pick up my vehicle but also gave me a small discount to help me in my circumstances. Fantastic service and people. Will definitely be coming back!!

I would not recommend this company. My friend originally booked a 17 seater van. On the day, the person on the phone said they could not locate the driver, our group were kept waiting for 2 hrs and the company could not provide an alternative van. 3hrs later, a 11 seater van turned up instead of 17! Apparently the van had broken down in France but they were not able to tell us earlier. Too many excuses and rubbish customer service. The client should not be the one having to constantly call up and chase. Still awaiting a refund and resolution for the smaller size van provided.

Update: 20/04/2018
The business seem to think this is an example of trolling?! What I have stated above is legit and happened. Your customer service is appalling! You can report this to Google to remove my review if you wish but I think the public are allowed freedom of speech! 2 weeks on and still nothing has been resolved.

Initially communication was great. After payment they were much harder to reach. When the van was delivered it seemed ok but a few miles into the drive we knew we had a problem. Van had 1 13 year old mid shaped tire that we had to stop and replace. Tire shop told us it could have blown any time! We were going across to Europe and they knew this! Not sure if it was Van Genie or budget4u who was subcontracted but both did us dirty. We missed our shuttle crossing and were set back over 4 hours in our travels.
Would not recommend these guys!

Hired a Ford Transit van. 10 people going up to Liverpool for a work weekend. Within 2 hours the van engine light came on and went into limp mode on/ off. Managed to get to Liverpool but call out services could not fix the engine fault. We were left abandoned and had to organise a private mini-van hire costing £500 to get everyone back for their families/ work the next day etc. Company were difficult to get hold of. On return just cared about the collection of their van from the breakdown service people and offered no refund or further communication. Would not recommend using them.

Do NOT be lured in by their constant sales! Booked a 17-Seater minibus via an Early Bird Special for 2 weeks in October to take a group of American friends on a tour of the UK. Some say “you get what you pay for,” but with this company, you don’t even get that! Van was delivered as promised, but had a faulty side door step and a warning that AdBlue would be required in 387 miles. Our driver questioned this and was told not to worry, we had plenty of miles to drive before we needed to ad it. We drove no more than 125 miles and broke down on the side of a busy road on the FIRST day of use, when driving from London Heathrow to our first accommodation in the Midlands. Recovery Service was through a subcontractor and took nearly 3 hours for someone to arrive after dark! Imagine 10 women (aged mid-50’s to early 70’s) stuck on the side of a busy road with no facilities! Van Hire Genie had no after hours means of communication. Once I could reach someone the next morning, I was told they had to get their vehicle back from the recovery service to see why it broke down BEFORE they could do anything. They expected it around noon. Later I was told, they still did not have the vehicle and would get back to me the next day. This next day was also when our group needed to check out of our 1st accommodation and get to our next one in Wales. Van Hire Genie never called, would not answer my calls and would not respond to any of my emails. While they have many more vans in over 100 locations in the greater London area, they basically REFUSED to provide a replacement vehicle. I paid for a vehicle for 14 days and had use of it for 26 hours! We were forced to spend even more money to rent another vehicle from a reliable company to be able to leave the accommodation we were no longer authorized to stay at and continue our “trip of a lifetime.” Obviously, I requested a refund, but weeks have past with no resolution and most of the time they refuse my calls or don’t respond to email. In the rare occasion I get a response, it is again an empty promise to contact me the next day, but nothing happens. This company can be relied upon to provide you a poorly maintained vehicle and poor to no customer service once you get. DO NOT HIRE FROM VAN HIRE GENIE!

We used Van Hire Genie for a staycation and from the moment I contacted them to when I dropped it back the service has been immaculate and concise. The vehicle was clean and ready when I asked and all the queries I had they had an answer for me and supported me. This is now the second time I have hired from them and will continue to do so.
Keep up the good work and will surely be recommending you to family and friends.

Would give this car company a big fat zero if I could. DO NOT USE THEM! Put 16 passengers including two young persons lives in jeopardy as van we hired from them for 3 days had a motor problem and was given to us with no oil. Sneakily said they would refund us for the £80 oil we had to buy for van along with compensation for giving us a dodgy and inadequate van for the weekend but in the end they dismissed us after numerous emails and calls about our complaint and gave us the run around. The problem with the van really spoiled our trip to Dorset end of December 2019 and put our lives at huge risk. On our last leg of the journey back home to London we were towed back as the van was too dangerous to drive! Please do not use this company. They are a load of crooks and they just enjoy taking people's money! Companies like this should not be operating and should be shut down fast! It's a real shame.