Marbesol Car Hire Malaga

I always rent cars here in Malaga from many places and I’ve never had a problem. I’ve been a driver for more than 20 years and I have driven in United States and many different countries.

In two days that I rented this car I’ve had more tickets than I’ve ever had in Spain. Having said this, I have driven this car exactly the SAME way I’ve driven all the other cars I rented in Malaga.

Additionally I only drove places that I’m familiar with and have been to many times so the fact that I’m American and perhaps confused is definitely not true because I’ve lived and driven in Spain almost 5 years now.

Unfortunately Spain has many corrupt companies and things that happen here I believe this company is perhaps owned by a government official or is connected to the government. I believe they go after people who have drivers licenses from other countries. That way they can use the excuse that you are not aware because you are from another country. 

The dutch family who was in front of me missed their flight back to Netherlands because this company thought that they had to scratched their car. They will find any reason to get money from a foreigner.

To add insult to injury we waited an hour at they’re horrible underground parking just to get the car that siphoned my checking account for fines that are ridiculous.

No public toilets, only two people helping. They weren’t wearing their mask the whole time.

Alquile mi coche para mis vacaciones y fueron rápidos y muy amables. Además el precio está muy bien bien. Solo tienes que hacer la reserva por Internet y ya tienes un descuento extra. Además, al llegar nos ofrecieron otro coche de gama superior por muy poco dinero. Sin duda si vuelvo a necesitar un coche de alquiler en Málaga elegiré Marbesol Rent a car.

I have been renting cars in Malaga for the past 15 years, through DoYouSpain although this was my first time with Marbesol. I also have an excess (CDW) insurance with an insurer in England, which is an annual policy

It is therefore unnecessary for me to take any CDW with Marbesol as my insurance covers any damage or excess. I am happy for a deposit to be taken from my credit card

At 11 am on Sunday 7th October 2018, having booked and pre-paid for a car from Marbesol for 14 days. I was served by a man and I presented the necessary documents (Driving licence, passport and credit card ) and my voucher from Do You Spain

I was repeatedly asked if I would take Marbesol’s CDW which I declined. I was asked about 4 times and each time I declined

I was then charged €100 for the fuel and refilling service charge. This was taken from my credit card in the usual manner and a receipt printed. I was then asked yet again if I would take their CDW and the cost could be reduced to €250. I again declined

The person I dealt with then started the procedure to block my credit card in the sum of €1000 for a deposit. I was handed the card terminal to introduce my PIN (secret number). I entered my PIN and pressed the green button (accept) and when it had been accepted, handed the terminal back to the person I dealt with. He then had the terminal so I could not see what buttons he was pressing. After a few seconds he informed me that my card was not accepted by the bank and showed me the screen which said that the operation was cancelled. I could not understand that it had been rejected as it had just taken the €100 for the fuel without a problem. I suggested he should try again which he did and the same thing happened. I then suggested he should try a different terminal and again the same thing happened

I knew there was nothing wrong with my credit card and in front of the person I dealt with I telephoned my credit card company. I was told there was nothing wrong with my card and the €100 had gone through but no attempts made for €1000. They suggested the problem was at their end.

He then informed me that as I was unable to pay the deposit by credit card I could not have a car unless I took their CDW. He then cancelled the €100 fuel charge and gave me the refund receipt

I then left the office to see what could be done and I had no alternative available and had to take their CDW at €250

I was then charged the €250 on the same credit card which was allegedly being rejected!

I did not know why he had kept offering your CDW unless there is some incentive/reward/commission for doing so.

The most logical conclusion is that in order to force me to take their CDW he deliberately cancelled the deposit procedure when I handed the terminal back to him, which is easy to do and done out of my sight.

It was also equally strange that he left his desk twice to speak to a woman who he said was his manager and they were hiding their hands in front of their mouths and whispering.

It makes me wonder if there was collusion between them.

I complained to the company and after a week, they agreed to refund e €210 (The original price less €40 for “admin and refuelling”

I can only suggest that if this happens to anybody else, they refuse to deal with the agent and see another agent. They may not all be the same!!!! OR video the agent when he takes the Credit Card machine from you

Do not rent from Marbesol. I was in their office last Saturday and never witnessed such a circus in a car rental agency anywhere in the world. There were at least four renters complaining that they were being charged for damage they claimed did not exist. All had taken a no insurance option and their cars were subjected to a minute examination after being washed. All had photographs of the car on check-in but the light in the garage was so poor that the claimed damage did not show. Their documents being used by check in staff had a large note saying No insurance.

I had rented through Dyouspain.com and the voucher showed that the basis price was 10.99 euros including free Satnav. I was asked if I had ever rented from Marbesol before and I said I had. I was then told that because I was a returning customer my only options were to pay 298 or 304 as the basis price was not available to returning customers. These prices included insurance and 5 euros per day for Satnav. I tried to decline insurance as I had two forms of my own but this was refused as was the offer of free Satnav. Their terms and conditions mention nothing about returning customers and seem to indicate that you may carry your own insurance with a security deposit. The circus was in full swing with one French customer banging on the desk and calling the Company liars,and another demanding to see a manager who it was claimed was not there. I tried to resolve my problem with the manager but she was disinterested and said take it or leave it those were the Company policies. Guess I won't be worried about returning customer policies as I left.

If you want clear transparent terms and conditions with no hidden rip offs then try a different Company and avoid Marbesol.

Please read this and look at the other bad reviews of which there are many.

My advice is do not use this company whatsoever unless you are using their insurance

35 years on the Costa, over 50 rentals from many companies, they all try to hard sell their own very expensive insurance. However only one so far I have come across have you well and truly cornered if you do not use their insurance and it is Marbesol.

Initially I booked the car through a 3rd party, which I am sure 90% of holiday makers do.

As expected they then tried to sell me their insurance, no thanks I have my own.

They then assumed wrongly I’d booked full to empty and wanted to charge 100 euros for a tank of fuel in a VW Polo! Sorry no I booked full to full. Can I see your papers was their response, which I duly present. Begrudgingly they accept then after some delay and 3 people looking at the computer they state I am limited to 45 kilo meters per day (never mentioned before) charge 40 euros for Full to Full, let’s see if this will eventually be refunded?

So I left the usual holding deposit 1000 euros and given the keys to a VW Polo with 20,000 kilometres on the clock.

They gave a sheet representing the car with different numbers on the picture of the car basically indicating damage on most panels. These numbers were representing dings or scratches or marks. I was told to check the car and report back any other marks that are not noted as I would be charged 140 euros for any damage on return.

The VW was parked in their underground parking area with no full viewing access around the vehicle, as it was parked next to other pick-ups. So I had a quick look at it, being a spectacle wearer I don’t have 20/20 vision but thought it looked accurate. I was a little unsure about a large graze around a wheel arch, so took a picture with my phone of that side of the vehicle, just in case the size of damage was going to be disputed on my return.

So on return having only covered 147 kilo meters I parked in upstairs in their drop off area next to someone else who had just arrived before us. However their representative asked me to move the car to another area, thought nothing of this until the guy started checking the vehicle. I actually sold cars for 14 years as a younger man and I have never seen anybody check a vehicle so thoroughly. He highlighted 4 marks which were not on the original sheet, I was obviously dumbfounded at this, as they were not that visible to me. The car was kept in a car port so taking off the 50 kilo meters each way from Malaga Airport to the villa, we only did another 47 kilo meters and I am always parking in the safest of areas. At this point I realised that I had moved the car to an area where their chap had better lighting to view it. So I then decided to check my photos on my phone, unfortunately the one side I took a photo of had only 1 of these supposedly new marks, so I when I expanded the photo it yes you’ve guessed it low and behold the mark was there on pick up. I do also firmly believe the other were too.

Raising this with their representative he stated I must speak to the manager I he is only paid a basic wage. I went to see her in the office and stated my case, showing her the evidence on my photo. She was quite rude, just ignoring me at one stage to answer the phone when I was in mid conversation then taking the time to talk to another Spanish lady customer without an excuse me or nothing. She also said in response to me saying I am a careful driver and can assure you I have not done this to the vehicle in quiet sarcastic tone you all are.

Anyway after 45 minutes of messing around she said she was going to charge me just for 1 mark at 140 euros. As highlighted by another unhappy customer in a review at this point time was becoming precious so I paid needing to get our flights home.

Sharp practice used to be a term used in the UK and this is nothing but. I therefore recommend you do not use them unless you do take their insurance out. Never again for me. I only hope you have read the review fully and take heed.

I booked them via holidayautos.co.uk

When we arrived at their office they insisted I pay an extra £86 for some kind of option I didn't want or need.I told them I had car excess insurance, but they said if i didn't take out their plan they wouldn't give me the car.

You must avoid these people.

I returned my rental car to Marbesol today after a week. The car was returned in exactly the same condition it was received. Yet I was charged €420 for three marks which I could not see.

On renting the car on May 2nd, I was offered insurance cover costing €196 by the lady who served me . I told her that I had already got insurance . She then offered me a downgraded insurance costing €98. Again I declined stating that I already had arranged insurance. She then went to a supervisor. She came back stating that the next time I rented with Marbesol that I would need to take out their insurance. Even though I know this not to be the case I nodded as I wanted to speed up the transaction. I took the key and examined the car finding no obvious marks. The attendant agreed saying it was a new car. I remarked to my wife that the company did not seem too happy that I was not taking out their insurance.

On returning the car I was ushered by an attendant,to park the car in a particular place which I did. On opening my door I was careful not to hit the pillar beside where he had his work station. He noticed this and opened the door fully so that it rested against the pillar. I assumed he was doing this as a gesture of assistance. It did not seem to be done with the force necessary to leave a mark on the door, let alone three marks. I handed him my documentation . He then proceeded to examine the car thoroughly. He never spoke to me at any stage. Eventually he handed me the documents and told me to go to the office. I went to the office and handed my paperwork to an attendant . She again did not converse with me. Eventually after a lot of talking to various other co workers, the person I dealt with handed me a bill for €420 . I argued with her that I had not caused any damage to the car and therefore would not be paying . She told me it would be taken from the deposit. Again I insisted that I had not caused any damage to the car. She told me to speak with those upstairs. I went back upstairs and called the attendant to show me the damage to the car. He showed me the alleged damage which I could not see. My wife photographed the alleged damage. There is nothing visible in the photographs.

My wife attempted to photograph the attendant, for verification purposes. He got quite irate and threatened to call the police. I went back downstairs to remonstrate with the other attendant.

I told her that this wasn't right and all originated from nor taking out their collision waiver insurance. She told me to claim against my own insurance. I told her that if I had had an accident I would be making a claim but that this was just not right.

I did not have time to argue further as it was now 2.10. Our flight was at 3.40. We had arrived at Marbesol to return the car at 1.30 leaving us ample time. We did not expect to have had any delays or problems. It is impossible not to be cynical or suspicious about the whole series of events.

My wife had noticed that the next car returned after ours was dealt with completely differently; swiftly with a cursory examination.

I intend to complain to Marbesol, to the car rental regulator and to advise anyone I know never to rent a car from Marbesol.

I am a Principal of a primary school and am a member of the INTO which has a membership of 20,000 teachers. On our network I will inform fellow members of my experience and advise not to rent from Marbesol.

I have asked that Marbesol issue me a receipt for the work done to repair the alleged damage with contact details for the company carrying out the repairs. I am seeking verification that the €140 I am being charged for each "mark" can be shown to be paid to a recognised car repair company.

I also intend to seek compensation from Marbesol for the undue stress that this whole episode caused at the end of an enjoyable holiday.

The very least I expect is a written acknowledgement of the plan to extricate money from me unlawfully.

If this is not forthcoming I intend to pursue the matter with legal advice.

Finally in my role as a school principal I advocate good manners ,courtesy and positive communication at all times. None of this was apparent with any of the Marbesol employees with whom I dealt.

If I had been hit over the head with a baseball bat and robbed of 420 euro I would not feel as cheated as I do now. With the hundreds of similar stories out there about Marbesol I would question whether employees are following a company policy and if this is the case then this should be investigated criminally.

Rented a car for 27 days, no problems. Met at Malaga airport, a bit messy there looking for mini-bus, driven to offices and got clean car full of petrol.

Had taken out full insurance and sat-nav on line, (granted deal was on special offer),so was looked after before a lot, as stated on their web site.

No issues with car at all. Returned car and promptly taken back to departures.

No issues with staff at all.

Maybe I was lucky, but when going back I would have no problem using them again.

I will never rent with this company again! I have rented cars all over the world from different car rental companies but I have never experienced this kind of service and situation.

Upon the arrival at their service desk it was a chaos, no system whatsoever. When it was our turn, the worker who helped us quickly wrote down, by hand on a broken piece of paper, two options that we had to choose from. Even though that I had paid everything prior the arrival, including the insurance, she made us choose option A or option B, you can also say option 'Pay' or option 'Pay More'.

No rules, regulations or policy were given to us to read, even when asking for it. There was a huge line forming so I guess she just wanted to get rid of us and make as much money as possible for the company.

When I asked why do I need to pay for extra insurance, when I had already booked one, she replied that the insurance is not from them so it is not good enough (then throwing the insurance paper back on the counter). The person I dealt with said that if I don't take insurance from them, and come back with one scratch on the car, I will pay. The way she said it literally made us feel like we have to buy the insurance, and even though we would bring the car back as it was received, they would 'find' scratches on it.

One of the options offered requested a 1000€ deposit + 110€ for one full tank of gas (I actually have the same car and for hat money I can refill it three times), + 40€ to enter Gibraltar + 40€ extra driver + 40€ GPS. Most of these options is a joke! No one checks if you can enter Gibraltar or not, and this is the most expensive tank of gas I have ever heard of!

Second option requested a direct payment of 170€, that would not be refunded. This option would cover all the options mentioned previously and cover the extra insurance that was mentioned earlier.

I think it is clear now what was she trying to sell. She advised to go for option B (of course), when I said I am not sure, she brought up again the 'scratch problem' and that I will spend more money then anyways (as if she knew that there would be scratches on the car when returning it).

When going for option B, me and my partner both asked the person I dealt with if it covers the fuel. Her answer was 'yes, it covers everything mentioned in option A'. So thinking that we lose 110€ in any case, it is cheaper to add 60€ extra and at least be sure that we would not be 'screwed' over even more.

But for our surprise (NOT), when returning the car we were asked to pay or refill the tank! And the woman receiving the car would not eve listen to what we had to say, regarding to what she had told us. So we went to refill the tank..

When I booked the car online I paid 25€ + insurance for the days we were using it, at the end we needed up paying almost 300€. I would never advise anyone this car rental company, the staff is rude and incompetent.

On top of everything I would like to mention that meanwhile we were waiting for the airport shuttle bus, there was a family who arrived to return their car. They did not make our shuttle bus because they were 'screwed over' by the 'scratch policy' this company is using to get more money.

Their insurance is extremely expensive and both cars we had were old and very badly scratched. They tried to get us to sign for one with scratches on every panel but the paperwork showed none. No idea how much they would have tried top rip me off had I signed! Be careful to note every scratch as when I returned the car they claimed that there was another one and when I showed it them on a timed photo taken when I collected the car they said that they didn't rely on photos!! Had a major job convincing them that they were wrong. I suggest getting CDW insurance before you travel at around £15 pw. Far cheaper than theirs but if you do and have a bump please note that their admin is atrocious. They seem to try to make as much on underhand methods to make up for their relatively low prices. I would not use them again under any circumstances.