7/24 Rent A Car Charged a €500 Deposit and Refused My Rental
I rented a Renault Clio or similar vehicle through Economy Bookings for the period from September 1, 2026, to September 10, 2026, and made a reservation to pick up the vehicle from the Kurtköy branch of 7/24 Rent A Car near Sabiha Gökçen Airport. At the time of booking, I was charged a €14.49 prepayment on my credit card.
When I went to pick up the vehicle on September 1, 2026, at around 5:00–6:00 p.m., I was asked to pay an extremely high security deposit of €500, which was nearly three times the rental price. Since the rental itself cost €179, I found the €500 deposit completely unreasonable and told them that I did not agree to these terms. Despite this, the staff were indifferent and dismissive, responding with an attitude along the lines of “it's up to you,” which made the situation even more frustrating.
The company had previously picked me up from the airport and taken me to the Kurtköy branch, but when I had to cancel the reservation, they did not even offer to take me back to the airport. Despite asking for assistance, I received no help whatsoever. As a customer who was left alone in another city in the evening after paying with a foreign card, I felt completely abandoned. I later rented a vehicle from another company, where the standard deposit requested was approximately €90. This made the €500 deposit demanded by 7/24 Rent A Car appear far above what I encountered elsewhere and, in my view, unreasonable.
When I asked the branch representative about the prepayment, I was told that the €14.49 was being charged as a “processing fee” and would not be refunded. Even though I never actually received the rental vehicle, being charged this prepayment without receiving the service and then being denied a refund has also caused me financial loss and frustration.
I request a refund of the €14.49 prepayment I made and a proper investigation into the company's excessively high deposit requirement and its handling of customers who are brought from the airport to the branch but then left without assistance when an agreement cannot be reached. I also ask the company to review its procedures to prevent other customers from exper
