Now when I think about it I still feel pretty happy about my car rental in Pisa and it was mainly because of the Worry-Free Service from QEEQ or my whole solo trip mood would be ruined.
The story actually starts from a strange charge. A few days before I returned the car in Pisa I checked my bill and saw an extra upgrade fee of more than seventy pounds. I was really confused. I was just traveling alone and I booked a Fiat 500X manual from Target Rent Italy a normal CFMR car with four doors and five seats. My budget was very clear. The bill said I was late so they charged me an upgrade fee. The more I looked at it the more upset I felt. It looked like a kind of fine to me.
If I think back a bit more I was supposed to pick up the car around noon on April 30. On the way I got delayed and when I reached the counter it was already after one. The counter staff told me they only keep the car for one hour and now I needed to pay an extra fee. I was in a hurry and I was afraid I would not get a car that day so I agreed. Inside I was not happy at all.
When I calmed down and did the math I saw that this money was not a small amount. For a student it really hurts. So I contacted their customer service and told them the whole story. I also sent photos of the contract. During that time I felt nervous. I knew it was my fault that I was late so I was not sure if they would help me. I was traveling alone and had to solve everything by myself so I cared about this money even more.
They later told me they checked with the rental company. The contract said they only keep the car for one hour so the company charged an upgrade fee because I was late. But they also said they understood my situation and could help me apply for a refund through the Worry-Free Service. I already thought I might never get this money back so when I heard this I was quite surprised.
Some time later customer service told me they could refund 77.75 GBP to me and asked if I accept it. I checked the number and it almost covered the upgrade fee for those days. I felt much lighter like I just got my money back from nowhere. I replied that I accepted it right away.
After that the money went back to my GBP account. When I saw it arrive I felt that the whole problem was finally closed. For someone traveling alone being overcharged really hurts the mood. This time the Worry-Free Service helped me turn things around so when I look back at this trip to Pisa it feels a lot better.
Who would not feel annoyed when you get to the counter and are told you must pay an extra upgrade fee out of nowhere? That is what happened to me in Larnaca. I had booked a Small SUV Volkswagen T ROC or similar through QEEQ and I was pretty happy, thinking that around the afternoon of April 2 I would be driving that car around the island. When I reached the Sixt counter at the airport the staff checked the system and told me that my booking in their system was for a lower car group and that I had to pay an upgrade if I wanted the T ROC. I felt confused. On my side the booking clearly showed T ROC or similar so I did not understand why I suddenly had to pay more.
The woman at the counter sounded very sure. She even said this was not the first time this happened with this company. I stood there with my luggage next to me, checking my confirmation email again and again. It clearly said Small SUV and used the T ROC as an example. Inside I felt a bit stuck. My family and I had already planned our days. If I accepted a smaller car we might not fit well with all the bags. If I paid the upgrade I felt like I was paying for something I had already booked.
In the end I decided to pay the upgrade so I could still get the T ROC. I told myself that at least the car would be comfortable and the space would be enough. The car itself was fine. It was in good condition and easy to drive and that part of the trip went well. Still during the next days every time I looked at the car I had this small thought in my head asking if that upgrade fee was really fair or if I had just wasted money because of some system issue.
A few days later I returned the car around midday on April 9. The overall trip was nice but that upgrade charge was still like a small stone in my shoe. I did not forget it. I was glad that when I made the booking I had added the Worry-Free Service. After I got back to where I was staying I sat down and put together the rental agreement and the receipt that showed the upgrade. I uploaded the documents and hoped that maybe I could get some help.
My feelings were mixed. I was a bit worried that in the end they would just say it was my own problem at the desk. At the same time I felt that since I had paid for this service I should at least try. The contact from their side came pretty fast. The way they spoke to me was calm and polite and I did not feel like they were trying to run away from the problem. That made me feel a bit better already.
They checked the information I sent. When something was not clear they asked me simple questions so they could understand it better. It did not feel like some long and hard process. I could feel that they were really trying to figure out if the upgrade fee should be mine or not. I did not hear any empty lines. Instead I got the feeling that someone was actually looking at my case.
After some time they told me that a Volkswagen T ROC or similar was in the same group as what I had booked in the first place. That meant that the upgrade charge I paid at the counter should not have been my cost. When I heard that I finally relaxed. That small feeling of unfairness I had during the trip started to fade. It felt good to know that my first understanding of the booking was correct.
Then the most important part came. Thanks to the Worry-Free Service they refunded the full upgrade amount to me including the tax. The sum was not huge in absolute numbers but for a normal traveler it is still a clear cost. More important is that this was money I should not have had to pay. Getting it back made me feel that the situation was fixed in a fair way. I also liked that I was not sent from one side to another. The communication stayed clear and I always knew that someone was following my case.
When I think about it now if I had not bought this service I probably would have just accepted the loss and complained a bit to my friends. With the Worry-Free Service I had someone on my side in this kind of problem where you get charged extra at the counter and you do not really know the local rules. For an overseas visitor that means a lot. You already have to trust both the platform and the rental company. Having that unfair upgrade fee come back to me made my whole online booking experience feel much better even if the moment at the counter was pretty frustrating at first.
Can you still get some money back when the car is downgraded in the end? At first I did not know. This time I booked with QEEQ and I added Worry-Free Service. That made me feel there was at least some support behind me.
I will say the result first. We finally drove a Kia K4 and not the Ford Mustang convertible I booked. Was I upset? Yes I was. I asked them for some refund after we got the car. The support team talked with me and said they could return part of the price. I agreed with the plan and later I really received the refund. It felt like I at least stopped some loss from this bad pick up experience.
So how did it start? I came from the UK with my family. My plan was to pick up the car near Los Angeles on the afternoon of February 13. In my mind I could drive a Mustang convertible around Valentine’s Day and give my pregnant wife and family a small surprise. We arrived at the counter on time. It was around four thirty in the afternoon. The first thing they told us was that the car was not ready and we needed to wait thirty to forty five minutes. I thought it was still ok so I asked my wife to sit and rest. She is pregnant so I did not want her to walk around too much.
After about forty five minutes I went back to the desk and asked. The answer was still that the car would be ready soon. So we kept waiting. Time passed and it started to feel wrong. I went again and this time they suddenly said there was no convertible at all. I was confused. In my head there was only one question. What did we wait for earlier then?
Then they said they only had a Ford Bronco. They told me it was a similar size to the Mustang. I was not sure in my mind but I did not want more delay so I went to see the car. The car was very tall and big. When my wife tried to get in she had a hard time. The step was high and it was not friendly for a pregnant woman. I knew this car was not safe for us so I went back to the desk again and said we really could not use this car.
What did they offer after that? They said the only car left was a Kia K4. In my mind there was a big question. From a Mustang convertible to a normal Kia sedan. Is this not a downgrade? I asked if we could get some refund or some kind of compensation. The counter staff just said there was nothing they could do on their side. I felt worried and also tired. I needed to look after my pregnant wife and also think about our plan because we had a Valentine’s dinner booked and all this waiting and changing had already made us miss it.
What choice did I have? I did not have time to change to another rental company. I also did not want to stress my family more. So we took the Kia K4 and left first. On the way I felt more and more unhappy. I paid for a higher level car but the car I got was clearly lower. Then I remembered that when I booked I added Worry-Free Service because I was afraid of problems like no car or wrong car.
So I contacted their support. I explained the whole story. We arrived on time. We were asked to wait again and again. Then there was no convertible. Then they tried the big Bronco that my pregnant wife could not even get into safely. At the end we had to take the Kia K4. I said I did not want to change the car anymore because our schedule was full. I just wanted a fair partial refund so the money I paid could match the car level better.
Did they respond? Yes they did. The support team told me they would check the case and then give me a refund plan. I did not see what they did in the background. What I could feel was that after some time they came back with an offer to refund the price difference. I looked at the amount and felt it was fair enough so I agreed. After that I received an email that the payout was confirmed and the money was sent back. The whole story was not perfect but at least this downgrade had a result I could accept.
For me the biggest difference was that I had Worry-Free Service behind me. If I only listened to the rental desk saying they could do nothing I would just take the loss with no help. As a parent traveling with a pregnant wife I am most afraid of lost time and broken plans with no support. We did not get to drive the Mustang convertible. But they did help me get a reasonable refund. That made me feel we were not fully ignored and that is why I am still open to using them again in the future.
That day in Quito still feels kind of funny and kind of crazy when I think about it. I arrived at the rental office with my backpack. I was alone and really excited to drive a small car around the city. I had booked the car before on QEEQ. I remember it was a small Chevrolet with manual gear. I checked the pickup time many times because I was afraid to make a mistake. When I walked to the counter, the staff checked the computer, looked at me and said my booking was canceled and there were no cars left. In that moment I just froze. I kept asking him to check my name and the time again and I showed him my confirmation. He just repeated that there was no car for me.
I felt nervous and also a bit angry. I was in another country by myself and my phone data was not very good. In my head I kept thinking that all my plans for the next days were broken. Then I remembered that when I made the booking I chose the Worry-Free Service. At that time I was thinking if I should save that money. In that moment I suddenly felt I made a smart choice. I first tried to call the rental office number again and I spoke with the staff to see if they could give me another car or let me pick up later, but it did not work. They said the system showed that I could not get the car.
I went to sit in a corner and tried to calm down. Then I contacted the platform customer service and explained everything step by step. I also sent the photos I took at the counter and a paper the staff gave me. I honestly did not expect a fast solution. I just wanted someone to help me find out whose fault it was. They asked me for some more details. I told them the time I arrived at the office, what exactly the counter staff told me and what was written on my confirmation.
While I was waiting nearby my mood went up and down. Sometimes I felt I should just give up. Then I felt this problem was really not my mistake. One thing that made me feel safer was that customer service kept following my case. They told me when there was some new info. They also checked with the rental company if it was really because I was late or because there was no car at the branch. These things were very hard for me to clear by myself.
Later they finally gave me a result. They used the Worry-Free Service to help me get compensation. They explained to me how much I could get and how they counted it. I did not need to fight with the rental company by myself. I just needed to give my proof and explain what happened and they did the rest. It felt like before I was standing alone in front of the counter and no one listened to me. Then suddenly there were people standing on my side speaking for me.
This trip was supposed to be a simple car rental but it became a small drama. If I did not have this service I think I would get nothing and maybe the rental company would even say it was all my fault. Now when I look back I feel that paying a bit more for Worry-Free Service was really worth it. When something went wrong I was not alone. Someone helped me turn this failed pickup into a result that felt more fair. My plan that day was messed up but I also learned that when I travel alone next time I will still book with QEEQ and I will keep this kind of service in mind.
“Why is there this charge?” I asked myself, feeling surprised when I saw an extra 214.88 CNY on my credit card bill. I returned the car on time in Kaneohe, and everything during the rental seemed fine. I quickly contacted the car rental company, but they told me to email them directly for the refund. Days passed, but I didn’t get any response to my emails.
I remembered I had chosen the Worry-Free Service when I booked. Hoping it could help, I reached out to their customer service. They responded quickly and assured me they would follow up on the issue. Over the next few days, they kept communicating with the car rental company to resolve this. Finally, they confirmed the charge was a mistake and compensated me directly through the Worry-Free Service.
Throughout the process, their support made me feel at ease. Especially as a parent traveling with kids, I really didn’t want to waste too much time and energy on such issues.
At first, I was really upset because my credit card was charged $286.16, and I had no idea why. I contacted the car rental company, but their explanation confused me. Then I remembered I had purchased QEEQ's Worry-Free Service, so I reached out to their customer service. They were very professional and quickly found the issue—it turned out the car rental company had overcharged me for insurance. In the end, the car rental company refunded $84.80, and the remaining $201.36 was successfully covered by the Worry-Free Service. I’m glad the problem was properly resolved.
