Europcar issues apology after Shetland family blocked from hiring car without passport
Europcar has apologised following an incident where a family from Shetland was unable to hire a vehicle in Glasgow due to lacking passport identification.
Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, contacted Europcar after a father travelling with his young child was prevented from collecting a pre-booked car and had to seek an alternative rental company.
Carmichael highlighted that the company’s policy appeared to treat residents of UK islands, including the Northern Isles, as overseas customers requiring a passport for identification.
Europcar has since issued an apology, acknowledging that the wording in its internal guidance caused an "unintended and inaccurate classification" of island communities.
Incident details and company response
The family had travelled from Shetland to Glasgow to attend a wedding. The father had completed Europcar's online check-in process and received confirmation that the vehicle was ready for collection.
However, when he attempted to pick up the car, the hire was refused because he did not present a passport. Consequently, he had to arrange a vehicle from another company on short notice.
Following the publicisation of the case, Europcar expressed regret for the "inconvenience and distress" caused.
"The company fully recognises that residents of Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, the Isle of Wight and other UK island communities are part of the United Kingdom," the company stated.
"The issue highlighted relates to the company's customer verification process that is designed to support identity and fraud prevention requirements where qualification checks are processed through its electronic verification system which does not recognise postcodes from a number of UK off-mainland islands.
"Unfortunately, the wording within the company's internal guidance has led to an unintended and inaccurate classification of these communities as 'overseas' for administrative purposes. The company acknowledges that this terminology is inappropriate and does not reflect their constitutional status within the UK."
Review and compensation
Europcar is reviewing both the wording of its guidance and the associated verification process as a priority.
The company has offered the affected customer a full refund along with reimbursement for any additional costs incurred for the alternative rental.
MP response
Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael described the situation as "bizarre".
"I am delighted that Europcar has apologised and that they have offered my constituents a full refund of the costs they incurred as a result of this error.
"I am also glad that the company is taking steps to improve the clarity of their processes to ensure that such a circumstance cannot happen again.
"While this should never have been allowed to occur - and it really should not take the intervention of an MP to stop this sort of behaviour - if more companies could accept their mistakes with this sort of speed and good grace then the world would be a better place."
"Islanders deserve the same basic rights as anyone else in the UK."
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Additional context
Concerns have been raised previously about motorists being overcharged for car hire, with reports indicating £30m in excess charges.
