We rented a Goldcar car for ten days in November 2010 from Malaga, Spain and paid in advance. No fuss, no problems. When you pick up the car they charge your credit card for the price of a full tank, in my case 81 euro's but you can return the car (almost) empty. When you compare prices you have to correct for this fuel policy, but in our case it still was a good deal.

We rented a car through CARJET and they booked us a car with GOLDCAR. We had used CARJET for many years with full satisfaction and had no indication that CARJET could use such a company as GOLDCAR. This is what happened on 6 May 2009: GOLDCAR has no office inside the terminal building at Seville airport. We were transported by bus to a portecabin-like 'office', outside the airport, in the middle of nowhere (no housing, shops) at the back of a Shell petrol station. My husband presented his driving licence to the woman who drove her there and was completing the rental document, when he felt something thrown at the back of his legs. He was shocked. Our two friends and I rushed to clean his trousers. When he looked for his wallet and credit card to complete the car rental, he could not find it anywhere. Someone had stolen my husband's wallet from INSIDE THE GOLDCAR OFFICE. What was the reaction of the person who was dealing with our car rental and driven us to the GODLCAR office? She disappeared without further ado or comment. Her (male) colleague did nothing, continuing to deal with four French clients who also showed total indifference to our predicament. When we asked the remaining GOLDCAR representative to call the police and to report the theft, he threatened us with not renting us anything if we made a fuss with the police, and to leave us in the middle of nowhere late at night. One of our friends spoke perfect Spanish. He scrapped and he bowed to get us a car which he paid with his credit card. Without him we would have been abandonned in the back of a petrol station with money stolen and no credit cards (we have joint accounts, so we were left without credit cards to use). We had used all our mobile phones credits calling our credit cards companies to have them stopped. GOLDCAR representatives were rude, unhelpful and frankly, especially at night, their office location is a paradise for thieves: GOLDCAR's door was left open, their office next to a petrol station which was by a busy road; there was road junction nearby; and no houses or shop in sight. Luckily it was ketchup and not acid thrown at my husband. The GOLDCAR staff did not give us their names. By the way, we are pensioners.

When we told our stories to people, one of them said that they too had a bad experience with GOLDCAR. They had left a jacket inside a car they have just returned. They asked if someone from GOLDCAR could retrieve it, or if they could have the keys to do so. The jacket was in full sight, obviously it was an oversight not to have taken it away. GOLDCAR staff at first refused, then relented and it was at a price. €50 was added to the cost of the rental because the car was allegedly very dirty - when it was not.