Practical Car & Van Rental

Advantages: Good car, reasonable rates
Disadvantages: Bad customer service and customer contact

...firms, I plumped to use Practical Car Rental, who were established locally and were part of a national firm. The name was also one that I recognised, which eased my mind somewhat, especially as I had never used a vehicle hire company before, nor did I know anyone who had so I couldn’t get a personal recommendation. In fact, the only thing I knew about vehicle hire companies was an old Watchdog program which I saw years ago that showed a vehicle hire ...
...the hire, I called back Practical who had been the most responsive in my initial enquiries. I told them that I’d called earlier and was looking for a vehicle to hire for the coming Saturday. I explained that I had to take three under-4s in the car so it needed to be big enough to take at least two if not three car seats and they said that they had either a Mondeo Estate or a Nissan Almira which would be suitable. The Almira was a newer model and ... Read review

Advantages: Lot of branches. Competitive. Good vehicles
Disadvantages: Not many

...have rented hire cars from Practical on three seperate occasions. All rentals have been from their Sea Street,Herne Bay, Kent branch and I have been thoroughly satisfied with the service I received. Practical have numerous branches in England and usually have a range of cars available for hire. I have rented a Skoda, a Nissan Micra and a Fiat Punto and found that all the cars were virtually new models,had a radio,AA membership and were extremely ...
...is a good car hire company. I should add they also rent out vans and minibuses,including 15 seater minibuses,which I guess are good for a local soccer side travelling on an away game or perhaps Boy scouts going on a camping holiday. Practical get the thumbs up from me. 1 ... Read review

Advantages: car was new and nice
Disadvantages: extra charges, no real location, poor customer service.

...return a Saturday, no-one from Practical was there to check the car in, and verify the petrol (at 3/4 full as it was on check out) and the fact that there was no damage, not to verify the return time etc. I was told by the car park staff to give them the keys and the contract copy, which they tossed in a box on the shelf, along with some others. I did not get a receipt. I only thought afterwards that I should have made a copy of the contract, but ...
...odd, going through three different companies to get the car. When I called Ace to complain, the CSO said they have no control over what Practical does, not what carrentals.com do. They are just the middle men. My advice is to NOT rent a car this way. ... Read review

Advantages: none
Disadvantages: Hidden costs, far from airport, costly insurance

We rented a car through Practical Car Rental last June through Travelocity. We were going to a wedding and had five people and a a few bags, and, according to the website, an "intermediate" would be enough. When we got to Dublin, there was no one at the counter - only a telephone, which I should have been suspicious about. I picked up the phone and explained who we were, our confirmation number, how many bags, and - oh wait! the intermediate is not ...
...We needed a car, and didn't argue, but it turn out to be twice the price. They picked us up in their shuttle, which runs only every 1/2 hour, and drove us out to a hotel parking lot. Following our assigned helper inside, we were given lengthy papers to review, were severely threatened not to use our own insurance, and use there's instead (with 1600 EUR deductible). We went out to see the car, in the rain, and did not see any real damage. Signed ... Read review

I rented a van from Practical Van Hire over a weekend. The phone service was great, and unfortunately for us this turned out to be a too good to be true situation. The inside of the van was fallen to bits, and at night, only one of the front lights were working. Its been about three weeks and we still haven't been paid back our deposit of £250 and calling them has become a nightmare. All they say is they will call back after checking the paperwork. I wouldn't recommend them at all unless if you want to be disappointed.