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?

Fgs stop obsessing about the car and try to just enjoy the rest of your trip. Its not worth all this stress.

No cars have two Handbrakes

Your posts don’t make much sense. How did you lose 3 days? You say that there first day you didn’t really take any notice so day 1 was ‘normal’. On day 1 you called roadside assistance - what did they say? Did they identify a problem or did they say the car was fine? And then you only took the car back on day 3? What were you doing during these 3 days? Sounds like you used the car on all 3 of them? So you got what you paid for surely? Or have you got written evidence that the car was too dangerous to drive and/or broke down?

You could try the small claims court for this maybe. Otherwise I would make an x account. Follow Avis, write a post on your experience. Then send them a DM. Keep it short and factual. Likely they will offer vouchers. It’s unusual to be offered a particular car when booking, it’s usually a car in this class eg Mercedes or BMW. And then usually you get something like an Audi.
Your issue here seems to be the car was faulty.
Your issue may also be that you booked via booking.com instead of direct w Sixt.
I would write with the amount it miles you drive and the amount of fuel used - with receipts for petrol and if you have it photos.
However I don’t rate your chances really. I think you may get a voucher.

Could the burning smell/high fuel consumption have been due to a fuel injection leak? This happened with my car (a long time ago - 2001 diesel so modern cars maybe not).

sixt are awful… someone in one of their cars crashed into the back of mine in stationary traffic, the driver was nice and we exchanged details but the company repeatedly denied the accident had even happened. I had legal protection on my car insurance and went through that, it was only when it was about to go to court that they acknowledged fault and paid up for the damage to my car.

Sue it for what? Did the car work? Were you able to drive it?

Who are you calling a shameless liar?

This isn't America.

So now we have a closed road too ?

So, erm, if the road was closed, how did you spot the high fuel consumption? And the smell.

How far did you drive from the pickup before you decided the car was faulty?

Whenever I have had a hire car I always find it takes a fair few miles for me to get used to the clutch position etc. Especially given that hire cars tend to be new and sprightly compared to the old sheds I own.

I remember a budget 1.2 Corsa I got at London City once. I almost put it into the first roundabout outside, because it flew compared to my 12 year old Polo at home. From London City, it would usually take me till the M25, to get "settled into" the car.

But a hire car I had in Spain was old and tired, it fitted me like a glove from the get go.

So how far did you drive before you noticed the issues ?

Just trying to understand.

You, I think!

Steady on! #prh47bridge is Mumsnet royalty!

@prh47bridge gives legal advice, not lies.

@prh47bridge

You can submit a claim in small claims if you believe you have a claim. You'd need to have evidence you have followed their complaints procedure or attempted to resolve directly with them first. If you do go small claims, There's a website and you can do it online.
You cannot claim for day 1 where you drove without a problem. If you got the car recovered and they said it was fine and you declined the return of the vehicle, you'd need to have some evidence of the problems that you experienced. They will no doubt have a mechanics report saying the car is fine.
You will need to be clear on what u are asking for and you need to put in writing to the company and be clear what you are asking for (refund?). Go through their internal process first.

Sorry, I managed to read rescued as road closed. But my questions still stand.

We're now more than 10 days after the initial hire, so do you now have a functioning car? Are you still driving that car or one from another company?

PP have said that you're unlikely to get far unless you have a specific, provable complaint. You say "the road was rescued". Did the car actually break down? Yes, you can sue but it might cost you more than you to get back if you don't win or if you have costs to pay. Even if you win, the money might not be worth your time and trouble.

OP, @prh47bridge gives some of the most accurate and sensible advice that I've seen on MN. Take it on board!

Ah - found the review on Trust Pilot, which incidentally also has the number plate and booking reference in it. The car's an almost exactly 1 year old Volvo hybrid, so I'd be surprised if it had a "new car" smell. I guess it comes down to whether the car was actually faulty or not and whether that can be proved.

A 75 number plate was registered this September.

sorry - you're right. Very new then!

"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."

most of sixt reviews on trust pilot are 1 star

Have you spoken to your travel insurance for advice?

Trading Standards may be able to assist you. Google the phone number.

Stop calling it a crime. In your country is poor customer service a police matter? Would they arrest the CEO of Sixt?

It's a civil matter only so just keep complaining to their customer services department.

Ahem.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cars/5438180-who-can-help-me-i-was-cheated-in-renting-a-car-at-victoria-sixt-store

I'd suggest not calling people shameless liars.