Damage Management Policy

Applicable for rentals in the following countries: Germany, France, UK, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Belgium.
For more information about the damage management policy in other countries, please refer to the terms and conditions of hire applicable in these countries.
What will happen if you cause damage to the vehicle during your rental?
In our experience, our renters drive quite carefully and few accidents happen. So cases of damage to the vehicle are the exception rather than the rule. But it is important to understand how we will manage the damage if it does occur.
Europcar has implemented a clear damage management policy to explain how we will invoice you for any damage you make to the vehicle during your rental. For the full version of this policy, please see our Terms and Conditions.
You may not be fully liable
Please note that depending on the type of protection you bought for the rental, you may not have to pay for the damage, or you may only be partially liable. See the Europcar Insurance & Protections provisions in the Terms & Conditions.

1. Damages identified with you at vehicle return

If you identify some damage with the Europcar agent or representative when you return the vehicle, you can acknowledge the damage by signing the Statement of Return of the Vehicle. Europcar will then provide you with an invoice describing the repair costs plus an administration fee for the treatment of the Damage and the Vehicle immobilization that will be charged to you.
Repair costs vary depending on the type of damage:
  • Light damage, insubstantial damage which does not affect the safe driving of the vehicle, such as scratches; light impacts on windshield, scratches on bumpers: Charges are made based on the Europcar Recommended price list available in any Europcar station.
  • More substantial damage impairing the use of the vehicle and requiring its temporary immobilization, such as bodywork damage. This type of damage will be evaluated by an independent expert and charged according to the expert’s report or a cost estimation made by an independent auto-repair garage.
If you contest the damages and decide not to sign the statement of return of the Vehicle, Europcar will apply the procedure described below (see the section 2).

2. Damages identified after you have finished the rental and departed

(For example, you left the vehicle outside opening hours)
If the Europcar Agent or representative identifies some damage when they inspect the vehicle after you have finished the rental and departed, Europcar will send you the following documents:
- Statement of return of the Vehicle describing all damages identified
- Pictures of Damages
- An estimate of the repair costs that will vary depending of the type of damage (see above) plus an administration fee for the treatment of the damage and the Vehicle immobilization.
If you wish to contest the damage identified or the cost of repair, you should contact us by email or letter within 14 days of the documents being sent. At the end of this 14 day period, Europcar may invoice you for the repair cost and administration fee.

3. Claims

If you wish to contest your damage invoice, you can send a claim to our Customer Relations department ecicustomerservice@europcar.com.
You may also file a claim with the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) (http://www.ecrcs.eu/).