Europcar Charged Me for Crossing Border Despite Verbal Approval from Staff

On December 28, 2024, I rented a car from Europcar at the Cologne train station in Germany. During the rental process, I clearly informed the Europcar agent that I would be driving to Strasbourg and explicitly asked if there would be any additional charges for crossing the border. The agent confidently told me there was no extra fee because the car had a green card (international insurance). I even asked more than once to be sure, and he confirmed again that no payment was necessary.

I returned the vehicle without any issues the next day, December 29. Then, nearly two months later, on February 21, I received an email from Europcar claiming I had taken the vehicle abroad without notifying them. They issued an invoice for €45 and claimed it was due to the unauthorized border crossing. I immediately replied, reminding them I had disclosed this in advance and received verbal confirmation from their staff that everything was in order.

My email was ignored. Instead, I received another message warning that if I didn’t pay within seven days, it could lead to a problem with my driver’s license—an unnecessary and intimidating threat. Eventually, on April 11, they withdrew €45 (roughly ₺1,600) from my credit card without consent.

I absolutely reject this charge. I did everything transparently, asked multiple times for clarity, and received false reassurance from Europcar staff. This kind of post-rental charge—especially after giving misleading information at the time of rental—is completely unacceptable. I demand a full refund of the unauthorized payment and a formal apology.