Help: Who can help me? I'm a foreigner and I don't know the laws in Britain.

[eeoo]

I rented a car from Sixt UK via Booking.com on 29 October 2025 at Victoria Station.
The vehicle had a strong burning smell and unusually high fuel consumption shortly after pickup.
I contacted Sixt several times but received no timely assistance, losing three full days of my trip.
When I later went to the Battersea branch (as arranged by Sixt), staff spoke in a rude and dismissive tone, which made me feel racially discriminated against as a Chinese customer.
Sixt denied any issue, claiming it was “a new car smell,” and refused replacement or compensation.
All this is like a scam. I booked an Audi, but when I arrived at the store, I was told that it was only Volvo or I had to pay more to change cars. I checked Google's comments, and most of them accused this store of being a shameless liar. How can I defend my rights?I think maybe I don't buy insurance at the store, so give me a broken car on purpose?

You might want to ask mumsnet to remove your booking number and licence plate of the car. From my experience with car hire, you book a particular group of cars which may include Audis etc but I don’t think you’re guaranteed a particular car type.
I would pursue this issue with Sixt as you have consumer rights.

It doesn't matter if I show the order number and license plate number, because they are the ones who committed the crime. I contacted this company without any indication. I hope to sue this company, but I don't know how to operate it.

Are you still in the UK?

If so I would google Citizens Advice and ‘your location’

Citizens Advice is free. You will see a trained volunteer. Usually they will advise you on basic consumer law.

You could take the case to court, but you would need to prove they gave you a faulty car. Which wouldnt be much of a problem from what i have heard. Car insurance is very important. I would of accepted the compensation.

I don't think that the OP was offered compensation. I took that sentence to mean that the company refused to offer either compensation or a replacement for the car.

The previous poster was just trying to protect your data.
It's highly unlikely to be a crime and is a civil matter.
Call citizens advice.

Oof, OP, they sound awful 78% of Trustpilot reviews are 1 star!

According to Google > To complain about a car rental in the UK, first contact the rental company directly in writing, and if unresolved, escalate your complaint to an approved body like the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) for UK-based members. If the car was booked through a travel agent, the Travel Association (ABTA) may be able to help. For general advice, contact Citizens Advice.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for your advice. At present, I am still in England. Will they provide consulting services to foreigners?

Thank you very much. How do I sue this company in court?

Yes, there is no replacement vehicle and no compensation. It wasted me three days waiting for processing.

What crime? Sue them for what?

Thank you, I have contacted, but unfortunately there is no reply.

It's the weekend. I hope you get a response on Monday.

Would your country's embassyin London be able to offer advice?
Or maybe the Chinese information and advice centre in London? I think they offer services mainly to Chinese immigrants but perhaps they could help you too? https://ciac.co.uk/

I guess the suggestion of the embassy is to let me contact.

Yes, thank you.

Provide faulty vehicles and do not provide replacement vehicles. It wasted three days of my time.

There isn't a crime here though? What was actually wrong with the car - a smell? What evidence do you have if the car being faulty? The different car makes is standard at car hire- you generally book within a price range.

So what crime has been committed that you can sue for? And if are foreign tourist would you be able you 'sue' anyway?

What caused the loss of three days ?

Waiting for a replacement, or was the smell being and fuel being investigated?

A complaint about fuel consumption is going to be difficult to take forward, because it does come down to driving style. And from a mechanical fault point of view, I don't see what would cause that. Unless you are connecting that to the burning smell.

In that case, you could argue the car was not safe to be driven. So did the agent test drive/ check the car to confirm if safe to drive, in their opinion of course. If the car was not safe, and they insisted it was, there is certainly a case for complaint. But the onus would likely be on you to show it was unsafe.

Also, if they offered you an alternative car, but you refused it because of make or model, while in the same price range, then I think that would come down to the small print in the rental agreement.

You may have a claim for a full/partial refund if the car was undrivable and the company was unreachable/incorrectly refused a replacement or otherwise breached their contract. You may also be able to claim for reasonable losses you suffered as a direct result of their breach. Eg, you missed a hotel reservation and had to book alternative accommodation, the cost of a replacement hire car.

You would need to speak to a UK solicitor, who will be able to advise on your legal position.

Alternatively, if you paid by credit card, you may be able to contact your card issuer to perform a chargeback on the rental fee. They will likely request proof that you have tried to resolve this with the company. They would not be able to recover additional expenses.

I'm not clear on why you waited three days to return the car though, and this could be an issue. If it was drivable (which I assume it was as you did eventually return it), you should have returned it straight away regardless of the company's response if you thought it wasn't fit to drive. Your rental agreement would have contained a roadside assistance number for breakdowns as well, did you call that?

I only mention this as unless you've left important details out (and assuming you're not a qualified mechanic), your only evidence of a fault is your claim of an unusual smell and fuel consumption, after which you kept the car for three days.

Of course she can sue as a foreign national. Why wouldn't she be able to?

Also, you don't have to be the victim of a crime in order to sue someone. Breach of contract, financial loss, consumer issues, personal injury...these are civil matters where the desired outcome is a remedy, such as financial compensation.

OP's claim is that the rental company breached their contract by providing a faulty vehicle and refusing to replace it/compensate her. If that is indeed the case, she would be entitled to compensation.

You said you booked via booking.com. In that case the usual approach is to take any issues up with them, not the rental company themselves.

This is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

As with other car renters, you book a type of car, not a specific make and model. The words "or similar" appear after every car model on their website. You won't get anywhere with a claim based on them giving you a Volvo when you wanted an Audi.

You have a claim if the car they gave you was faulty. However, your problem will be proving it was faulty. If you take them to court, you will say there was a burning smell and fuel consumption was high. They will say it just smelt like a new car and any issue with fuel consumption was down to your driving style (or possibly that your expectation of the fuel consumption of this car was unrealistic - the manufacturer claims 36.2mpg for this particular model but real life testing suggests you may only get 31mpg). You don't have to prove it was faulty beyond reasonable doubt but, unless you got some independent evidence that the car was faulty, it will be your word against theirs. In that situation, I'm afraid it is likely you would lose.

I checked Google's comments, and most of them accused this store of being a shameless liar

No they do not. There are some negative comments along these lines (as is the case with most car hire companies), but most of the reviews give them four or five stars. Making claims that are easy to check and demonstrably false will not help your case.

for 3 days worth, it’s hardly worth the time or the money. Take it as a lesson learned and do your research on the company before you book.