Thrifty Car and Van Rental Bristol City

Have rented from this Thrifty branch twice (I thought I'd give them a second chance) and they still appear to enjoy treating all customers like car thieves until they can prove otherwise. I got off lightly last time but all three couples in front me were turned back for "administrative reasons" - despite having documentation that would get them a hire car in any other place in the world.

Also, be very, very careful when returning the car as what Thrifty regard as damage and what the rest of the world regards as damage are two different things. Overall, this is a genuinely appalling customer experience - not worth saving a few quid for. Thank goodness there is strong competition in Bristol...

If I could give it a half star I would. Having rented many cars from other providers, I have never experienced such a poor service throughout the rental process. When I went to pick up the car it took awhile to be served and then the service seemed really slow. The walk around the car was quick in a dimly lit environment and on a wet car.

At some point during the rental the windscreen was chipped in the drivers zone. When I returned the car I told the guy at the desk about the chip and he initially marked it down as a 4mm chip. A couple of hours later I received a call stating the chip was not 4mm but 11mm which meant the windscreen had to be replaced. They took the money from my account and I have been trying to chase for an invoice to confirm the charge that have been made, but it has been like pulling teeth. After chasing them, I was sent an invoice with no financial details on it, not exactly a useful document to send a customer. I've never experienced such reluctance to provide an accurate billing.

Don't let yourself fooled with the low prices! You will end up paying ridiculous amounts of money for damages you didn't do!
They are extremely clever when you're checking the car for scratches, dents or any damages. They will distract you from a damage with another then claim you did it when you return the car.
Very kind and friendly at first; when I returned the van the bloke went straight to a dent as if he knew it was there before even inspecting the car. I clearly didn't dent it and became a victim of their fraudulent business. When I said the damage could not have been made by me the bloke just laughed and had a stupid smug on his face.
I was told that photo evidence will be emailed to me and it never happened. Clearly cause there wasn't any.
Save yourself some discomfort and find other renting companies.

I chose Thrifty as the rental was the best value on the market. However, my experience was terrible! They fabricated damage and informed me later on the day of return. I challenged it as it wasn't there when I returned the car so they backed down. Then, they fabricated a story that I smoked in the car and admitted it, to get another £60 out of me. They are cheap for a reason- their business model is based on dishonesty and deception. IT WOULD BE LESS HASSLE TO HITCH HIKE YOUR JOURNEY THAN RENT FROM THIS PLACE.

DON’T RENT HERE! When I went to pick up the car, they asked me for the ID and for my drivers license, and since I’m not from England they also asked me for two profs of address (something that nobody told me in advance, and I couldn’t find in the email they sent me without reading every little letter), I had to be calling my employer and trying to find the fastest way to get these documents, as I needed to rent the car at 12:00 and I ended up getting it at around 16:00. Very slow service, they don’t tell you in advance what documents you need!!
When I was driving the car during the rental, the oil little light kept blinking, and then another light for engine problems, I called them to see what happens, to ask if they had checked the car before the rental, the woman didn’t even know how many wheels does a car have and had no idea of anything, she said that we could go to the closest rental place to change the car, but obviously that wasn’t an option for us, she said that “It should be fine, don’t worry about the lights”. We kept driving and the next day to return the car.
The lady was looking at every detail of the car when we returned it, and thankfully I got my deposit back, but the service is poor and not nice at all!!!

Not sure why there is so many bad reviews, as I've been using this company for years and they've always made it very clear about ID and documents required as part of their T&C's for renting a vehicle. The service is never quick in the car rental industry and patience is expected. Leanne and the team are very professional and I rate them highly.

I have rented a car from them a couple of times now. The service is great and so is the price. You can drop the car in a different location for a slightly higher fee. If you pay in advance there is usually a good discount. The website booking interface is easy to use. I would definitely hire a car from them again.

Negative #1I went to collect the van and they took over an hour to process it even though I was the only customer at that moment. Negative #2 fuel tank not full but gauge shows full. Before taking off I checked the fuel gauge how much miles can it travel and it showed 517 miles. After refuelling full tank I checked the gauge and it showed 578 miles. Negative #3 the van they gave me was filthy and smelly and that’s the only available van that they’ve got so I didn’t have a choice but to get on with it. Negative #4 they’ve sent me an email with a photo of chipped alloy wheel saying it was a new damage. I went back and clarified that the chipped was already there when I took the van and it’s obvious that the chipped looked old. So they said not to worry as they won’t charge me for it but I have to asked for an email from the manager confirming that they won’t charge me anything. It’s easy to say they won’t but they might.
I have also pre-booked and paid for another car for next month but I’ve already cancelled it. No I don’t wanna go through another stressful transaction with them no thank you! TRY THEM AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES!