Practical Car and Van Rental Ltd Anmeldelser 

Northampton branch. Shocking! Pre - booked online. Received email to call and confirm/pay. Made the call was asked to wait 5 minutes and he'd call me back? 20 minutes later I had to call him back. Told me I had to leave a 300 pound deposit that would be held for 15 - 20 days plus the obligatory 3 to 5 working days by the bank? Four hours later I received another email telling me that the online price was wrong and that it was in fact roughly another 30% on top for cover towards vat, roadside assistance?, etc? A roadside recovery policy isnt expensive and is paid annually,not every time someone uses the vehicle!!.I have hired many vehicles from lots of rental companies. I have never known
anyone as unprofessional as practical Northampton.

(Review for Manchester Central location)

Absolutely disgraceful experience from start to finish. The service was appallingly poor, and the staff displayed a staggering level of unprofessionalism and incompetence throughout.

We booked a large van a full week in advance, even paying a deposit to secure the vehicle. You’d think that would ensure a smooth process—far from it. When we arrived on the day of our move, they casually informed us they didn’t have the van we booked!

To make matters worse, we were forced to wait an infuriating hour and a half in a queue behind just two people. The staff seemed utterly disinterested, moving at a snail’s pace while we waited there with a crying baby at home and movers waiting for the van.

Their idea of a solution? Offering us a tiny van—far too small for our needs—which forced us to make three separate trips to complete what should have been a single journey. The entire process was made exponentially more stressful and exhausting because of their sheer inability to deliver what was promised.

And just when you think it couldn’t get worse, they slapped on an extra £10 fee for using a trolley—yes, a moving trolley, something you’d expect to be included with a van hire service, which they apparently discounted from £30! The audacity was unbelievable.

Finally, getting our deposit back turned into yet another ordeal. We had to chase them multiple times because they apparently lost our receipt—a ridiculous excuse that only underlined the total chaos and lack of accountability within the company.

Save yourself the frustration, time, and money. This business is a complete mess, and I would strongly urge anyone considering them to look elsewhere.

The people at practical van hire run the company as if it’s a hobby. Very unprofessional, fob you off and are untrustworthy. Do not use this company. They have still not returned the deposit 2 weeks later and keep saying they have issued it. They keep fobbing us off saying the person dealing with it is on holiday. Refuse to issue a complaint number and have 0 customer service skills. Use them at your own risk

DO NOT USE! Do not trust this company!

Still chasing my deposit 3 weeks later.

Calls & emails ignored. When i do get through they hang up or email to say they have previously emailed (ehich is a lie)

Documents i signed have been edited AFTER the van was handed back & signed back in with non agreed cleaning fees which they took from my bank with no authorisation.

Refusing to provide me with information requested by my bank to track the said refund they claim to have refunded.

Reported to trading standards!

Hired a van from tc commercials first class service would highly recommend.Will definitely be back.

I needed a van in an emergency and their branch in Chippenham were able to help me out when other hire companies in the area were unable to. Fantastic service from start to finish. Great communication throughout, Friendly & helpful service. Would highly recommend.

Great communication throughout, Friendly & helpful service, Nothing was too much trouble - we will be using again and would highly recommend these guys.
We experienced great service, particularly from Matt @ Practical Sittingbourne

Excellent from start to finish. Nice clean luton van. Nothing too much trouble. Rachel was so helpful and very professional. Best price around. Would highly recommend.
Stockton on tees

Van was clean, no issues, deposit was back in the bank with in two days .
Just what we needed to move house.

Always a fantastic service, very easy to book and organise, great prices, very accommodating and genuinely lovely people. Will always come back for my car/van hire needs thank you :)

Thetford branch .
Most things in life are just hassle , well not at practical car and van rental ,made a phone call, popped into branch the next day to pay and leave my id details so I could get a move on early the following day.
The price was reasonable and the van the same.the service was outstanding, no hassles, no complaints from me. Will use again in future if need to. Perfect 🤩

We have used Practical a number of times now and they've always been amazing. They've never let us down and are so responsive! Great cars and vans, amazing service and care taken. They're our go-to

Rented a large van with tail-lift from lovely Nadjib in Bishops Stortford. Nice new van, with rear view camera at all times. Drove well and Nadjib was a pleasure to do business with. Will be using him again.

Hired a Luton from Thetford branch. Really friendly and supportive staff who got me on my way with no hassle. Would definitely reccomend as the vehicles are reasonably priced and the service was excellent.

Exceptional Service – Highly Recommended!

I had an urgent need for a van, and Practical Van Hire went above and beyond to help me out. Their customer service is outstanding—every employee I interacted with was professional, friendly, and a delight to do business with. The whole process was smooth, the pricing was fair, and the service exceeded my expectations. I’m really pleased with my experience and will definitely be using them again. 10/10!

Sheffield branch is located in a dilapidated portacabin in the corner of a very disorganised car wash / scrap yard, and the van I got was pretty much the worst vehicle I have ever driven.
It looked like it had driven every one of its 250k miles whilst being hit with rocks and scraped along every wall on the way.
Numerous fault messages including engine light, indicators and side lights came on during my rental period and it needed a good kick in just the right place to close the side door properly.
The one saving grace was that they at least had a sense of humour about the condition of the van, warning me I'd better not have scratched their best van when I returned it!

Reasonably priced van; friendly staff; no unnecessary fuss. Recommended. I will use them again. (Reading)

We rented a van from Practical Car & Van Rental Milton Keynes on two occasions, and unfortunately, our experiences were quite mixed.

First Rental:
For the first rental, we were given a long-wheelbase Ford Transit. The van wasn’t in perfect condition—there were a few scuffs, scratches, and dents—but that was fine with us. The rental process was smooth; we picked up the van, returned it without any issues, and everything went as expected.

Second Rental:
The second time, we received a long-wheelbase Vauxhall Movano, which appeared to be nearly new and in excellent condition with no visible damage. However, this experience was far from smooth. When we returned the van the next morning, the staff inspected it and noticed a tiny ding on the door. It must have happened while the van was parked overnight, possibly from someone opening their car door nearby.

The damage was absolutely minor—smaller than my fingernail—and something that most rental companies would likely overlook. Unfortunately, they decided to take our full £200 deposit and charge an additional £100 to our card for the damage. We tried to negotiate, pointing out that the deposit should have been sufficient, especially since their own fleet doesn’t seem to be maintained in pristine condition (judging by the state of the first van we rented). Despite this, they insisted on the additional charge.

Conclusion:
It’s truly disappointing that they would take such a rigid and arguably unethical stance over something so insignificant. This kind of issue could happen to anyone, yet instead of showing understanding or goodwill, they chose to prioritise short-term profit over customer satisfaction.

If you’re considering renting from them, I would recommend going with a more established and reputable company like Enterprise, Sixt, or Arnold Clark. We wanted to support a local business, but this experience has left us feeling that the larger companies are more professional and fair in their practices.

To the team at Practical Car & Van Rental Milton Keynes: there is still an opportunity for you to make things right. However, as it stands, we cannot recommend your services.

I have had a flexi hire vehicle since last August and I have always received excellent and efficient customer service form Dirren at Cambridge Branch

Great service