EconomyBookings’ Customer Service vs. VIPCars and DiscoverCars
Customer support is essential throughout the car rental process, even when most booking work is handled through online tools and aggregators. While many people are comfortable making large purchases online, knowing that the car rental aggregator you choose has strong customer support is helpful.
Here’s how top aggregators like EconomyBookings, VIPCars and DiscoverCars meet common customer service preferences, including:
- An easy booking process
- Real-time support when you need it
- Support in your language
- Multiple options for accessing support
- Help at the rental counter
- Customer support options outside of normal business hours
- Post-rental dispute resolution
An Easy Booking Process
Easy-to-use aggregators let you filter options to see car rental opportunities that meet your preferences and needs. For example, EconomyBookings lets you filter by options such as:
- Car type
- Price
- Geographical location
- Whether you pick up a car at an airport or have to take a shuttle
Most sites also let you filter to include only automatic transmissions, select seat counts and set price-range preferences. All major aggregators let you search by travel details such as pick-up and drop-off dates and times.
EconomyBookings, DiscoverCars and VIPCars all sent confirmation emails with vouchers after booking, so you have what you need when you arrive at a rental counter during your pick-up window.
Support in Your Language
Getting support in your language can reduce the burden of travel. DiscoverCars reports offering support in 35 languages, and VIPCars also offers multilingual support. EconomyBookings also has extensive international support options including dedicated phone numbers for:
- U.S.
- U.K.
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- France
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- New Zealand
- Poland
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Russia
Multiple Options for Accessing Support
Once you book a rental car through an aggregator, much of the customer service you get comes from the actual rental company, known as the supplier.
However, it’s nice to be able to reach the entity you booked through if needed, and in some cases, it’s advised. EconomyBookings recommends contacting it and the rental company if your flight is delayed, for instance.
During an at-need situation, such as in the terminal facing a delayed flight, phone or live chat are often the best customer support options. They help you connect immediately with someone who can assist you. However, multiple options for accessing support ensure flexibility and help you get connected even when normal modes of communication are harder to use.
Here’s how you can connect with some of the top car rental aggregators:
| EconomyBookings | DiscoverCars | VIPCars |
| Phone (US and UK only)Email Chat Social mediaSelf-service “My Bookings” portal | Phone (UK only)Email ChatHelp center ticket submissions | PhoneEmail Chat WhatsAppAn online contact form |
Speak to a Live Person
In certain situations, and especially in time-sensitive ones, you may prefer to speak to a customer service representative instead of an automated chatbot or sending an email. EconomyBookings offers extensive phone support options, DiscoverCars may only offer phone support in the UK and require all others to first submit an online request to later receive a call back. Similarly, VIPCars may only have phone support options available in the US and UK.
In this category, EconomyBookings leads the pack. The popular aggregator offers 24/5 live phone support via weekdays, making it one of the most accessible and reliable customer service operations in the car rental industry. Key features include:
- Real-time response: Calls are answered live by human agents, with no automated phone trees or long hold times.
- Fast resolution: Most customer issues are resolved within minutes, from booking modifications to cancellations and account questions.
- Pre-booking consultation: Before you book, our agents help you compare options, find the cheapest available rates, and transparently explain all fees, charges, and insurance costs. This helps ensure you know exactly what you’re paying for upfront.
- Full policy and extras clarity: Customers can call anytime to have every condition, requirement, and term of their reservation explained in detail. Our agents break down what each extra actually includes and whether it’s worth adding, so you only pay for what genuinely benefits your trip.
- On-the-spot supplier mediation: If an issue arises with the rental supplier at the pickup desk, calling EconomyBookings is the fastest way to resolve it. Our agents join the conversation directly, advocate on your behalf, and help settle disputes in real time.
This combination of 24/7 weekday availability, live human agents, pre-booking guidance, and active supplier mediation helps EconomyBookings provide reliable customer support and impressive customer service compared to other options.
Help at the Rental Counter
You’ll get varying levels of support at the actual car rental counter from aggregators, depending on which service you use.
EconomyBookings starts you off right away with the information you need to connect with customer service: you get the rental company phone number on your confirmation voucher, so you know how to reach out if there’s an on-the-ground problem. EconomyBookings says to contact them too if you have a flight delay or other issue, as early notification is the best way to protect your refund options.
VIPCars offers 24/7 customer support, so you can reach out to the aggregator’s customer service from the rental counter. It doesn’t detail what type of support it provides, though. DiscoverCars specifically says it offers support, including assistance at the rental desk.
Customer Support Options Outside of Normal Business Hours
Whether you’re taking the red-eye across the country to make a business meeting or hitting the airport at 4 a.m. to get an early start on travel, your customer support needs can’t always wait until the 9-to-5.
Car rental aggregators are aware of this need and offer extended customer support hours via phone and chat.
- EconomyBookings customer support is open 24 hours a day on weekdays and from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm UTC on weekends.
- DiscoverCars says it offers 24/7 support.
- VIPCars reports 24/7 support via phone, chat and WhatsApp.
UTC stands for Universal Time Coordinated, which is a standard time format used in aviation. Here are EconomyBookings weekend hours converted to common U.S. time zones for 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays:
- Eastern: 1:00 a.m. Saturday to 5:00 p.m. Saturday
- Central: Midnight Friday to 4:00 p.m. Saturday
- Mountain: 11:00 p.m. Friday to 3:00 p.m. Saturday
- Pacific: 10:00 p.m. Friday to 2:00 p.m. Saturday
Those conversions can change by one hour in regions that follow daylight saving time.
Post-Rental Dispute Resolution
Customer support doesn’t end once you pick up your rental car; it doesn’t even end when you return it. Top car rental aggregators provide options for customer comments, complaints or dispute resolution.
EconomyBookings has an online complaint form. You have 30 days from your drop-off date to submit the form, and the company will open a claim in a few days. While timelines for claim investigations vary, EconomyBookings attempts to resolve most cases within 28 days.
DiscoverCars encourages customers to email feedback, and VIPCars offers a standard dispute process. If you purchase optional add-on insurance with any aggregator, you’ll receive information on how to file a claim if necessary. Typically, those claims are processed through separate customer support channels from general queries, comments or complaints.