Woodford Car Hire Anmeldelser 

Utterly incompetent. They lost my booking and I had to wait hours for it to be found. (Had paid in advance via Booking but this was to become a negative.). I explained I might need to return car early so could I expect refund? Their answer was yes so I took the car. In the event I did have to curtail my trip and returned car four days early. But was refused refund because I had not booked direct with Woodford! Complained in writing only to get a reply claiming I had kept car for full duration. Their own contract closure document proves them wrong!
Too frustrating for words. Their admin is beyond hopeless.

Woodfords took a R5000.00 deposit from me. I Returned the vehicle with 3/4 of a full tank of petrol and no damages. They only refunded me R178.87 with no information on what the cost were.

I'M WAITING MY DEPOSIT MONEY BACK!!! 5 MONTHS!!!! DARIO VIRGIS

They debited my credit card 4 times for my rental payment. When I enquired, they made out as if I was trying to scam them. Only after I contacted my bank to confirm that the funds had been taken and not reversed did they look into it.

Once they did it, it took them 5 days to process the refund after numerous follow-ups. The person I dealt with even sent me the wrong customer feedback, which seemed to have the same issue.

This payment deduction occurred on their website without my bank authorization. So I am not sure how they did it, but it seems very dodgy that they just skimmed my card for almost R30k extra.

Don't trust them and won't use them again.

On the day of collection, the 12th December, I was told the car booked was on its way from the depot.
After waiting around for over an hour (collection time was 2pm), the decision was reached and agreed upon, to cancel the booking.
I have not heard back, nor have I received confirmation of the cancellation or refund.

Woodford was doing fine but now they shot themselves in the foot.

I have rented cars from them on several occasions without any issues (as well as Enterprise for several years prior). The past month I rented a vehicle for a period of 30 days. I wanted to extend the rental so I sent an email the day before stating my request. I received a delivery report and a read receipt for the email which I always do for this kind of correspondence. By the 10th hour (next day, 7 hours before expiry of the contract), I had not received a reply, prompting me to call. The clerk who answered gave me information, which I accepted and for the payment , and she agreed to call me back at 1pm. By 4pm, 1 hour before the contract expiry time, no call came from Woodford so I was obliged to call back to finalize the extension. This is not very efficient customer service. BTW are they too stingy to have a toll free number as these 087 numbers eat up your airtime?

The second issue is one of "policy", I requested a further 24 days but they told me I can only extend it for 3 days, which I did but not really happy about it. This is mind boggling considering that when you call, the automated voice harps on long term rental???? They said I have to present myself at their depot to take out a new rental which would consume almost an entire day of my time as I live very far away. I'm not aware of any law that restricts vehicle hire to 33 days***, but if there is, please let me know, as it will be good for any tourists who want to come to SA to know. The policy of KISS will always attract customers - Woodford website states "Simple and affordable vehicle rentals ...." but this experience IMHO does not reflect this.

***From Enterprise website "With an Enterprise long-term rental, you can rent a vehicle for as long as needed, whether it's several weeks, a month, or longer. Additionally, there is no mileage limit for most vehicle classes. See our unlimited mileage FAQs page for additional information and exclusions. "

So now I was obliged to go all the way to Sandton, about 100km distance to take out a new lease. While trying to locate the premises, tried to call their office to get the exact location of the branch as neither the branch nor the hotel show up on offline maps. I called so many times times only to get the automated voice, that my airtime ran out. I was now obliged to drive around until I found the premises, and arrived at around 5.25pm -the return time stated on the form was 5pm and they supposedly give you a 39 minute grace period. When the agent showed up I asked him if I would be charged for an extra day, he went away and came back and said no, there would not be an extra day's fee and there was still 9 minutes of the grace period remaining. Had he said that there would be a fee for an extra day, I would have then kept the vehicle for an extra day.

I also asked the receptionist upstairs why weren't my calls and emails answered and she apologized and replied that they had a high workload and not enough staff to cope. I then left and dropped the plans to rent the vehicle for a further 24 days.

When I received the final invoice by email, I noticed that they had indeed charged me for an extra day and it showed up in my credit card statement. I queried this again by email, stating the above, and received a read-receipt indicating that someone at Woodford had read the email, but today 3 weeks later, they haven't had he courtesy to reply.

Needless to say I won't be renting from them again, so they really shot themselves in the foot.

Rubbish company - go with another car rental company - scammers - blaming us for putting a plug in the spare tyre. Why would I do that? They want to claim R5000 for this.. absolute sharks.

Woodford customer service in Springfield park is the worst I have experienced, I have been a customer on both commercial and private. I was debited amounts from my credit card unauthorised. Thereafter I had vehicles with mechanical issues and not compensated. Springfield is a total waste I will move all of my business to new provider you guys lost an ongoing customer due to poor service refunds unexplained debits on credit card,

Terrible dishonest and horrible customer service do not book with these guys

We booked a vehicle through Booking.com and were told at collection that the booking was confirmed. We paid for additional insurance with unlimited mileage and completed payment. At the Lanseria branch, we were asked where the vehicle would be parked and provided proof of our rental property. We were then informed of a refundable R15,000 deposit, which we paid via their EFT machine.

When signing for the vehicle, we noticed the mileage was limited to 1,400 km, which was not what we paid for. The entire process took about two hours.

A few days later, we received a message claiming we were near the border and not authorised to take the vehicle out of the country. We explained that the car would be parked near the border but that we were only travelling to Kruger National Park.

The next day, we were told the company had made a mistake and had refunded the deposit. They then asked to recharge my card, which I refused to do over the phone. They emailed their banking details and demanded immediate repayment. I explained that the refund was their error and that I had met all requirements at collection.

Despite this, they charged the deposit to my card again without my permission. I still do not know if or when the refund will be processed. The entire experience was extremely poor, and I would not recommend this company. I will choose a more reputable rental company in the future.

How is Hyundai Grand i10 / Similar to the Toyota Vitz??
These cars a not stable and the vehicle in Durban and Capetown was vibrating.

Your brand manager for Durban also does not return calls????

DO NOT USE WOODFORD CAR HIRE!!
If there was an option to give less than a 0 rating I would. Been on the side of the road for over 5 hours because of an engine issue (car had over 55k KM on it) and am currently standing at petrol station (it's now 8.20pm) for an AA vehicle to drive us to our accommodation , no branch in Uppington so they are sending vehicle tomorrow morning only from Johannesburg!!!! So basically rightnow our vacation is on hold while Woodford decide to 'make a plan'. How can a National ar hire company not have backup plans or arrangements with other car hire companies for replacement vehicles in the location the customer is in. No care for our safety. Multiple BS stories.... Will never use them again!

All was ok with the car on return and suddenly a clip in the headlight had come off. I took insurance with discovery cars but they will not recognise this and have stolen £220 from me - so disappointed. If somehow I get this resolved I will remove the review but currently I am still out of pocket

This is the only place to go when hiring a car in Cape Town, the service from the staff is incredible and the selection of cars are fantastic, all the staff were brilliant but Armien Kamaldien went above and beyond to help us after we got into trouble with our credit cards.

I cannot recommend Woodford Cape Town and all Woodford Car Hire highly enough! Thanks Guys.

I rented two Mercedes Vitos from Woodford Car Hire Johannesburg Airport and had one of the most frustrating car rental experiences I’ve ever had.

Despite booking well in advance for ten people, I received several conflicting emails before my trip saying the vehicles were unavailable. After multiple stressful international calls, we eventually got the original Vitos we had booked, but the process was chaotic even the keys were mixed up between my booking and my friend’s. Bad service.

During the trip, one vehicle broke down on a gravel road inside a game reserve (speed limit 40 km/h). Although I had clearly mentioned to the counter staff that we were driving to a game reserve, I later learned that Woodford’s terms specifically exclude gravel roads. I accept that I should have read the terms more carefully, but being charged R33 000 for damages and R12 000 to deliver a replacement vehicle felt extremely unfair especially since I had purchased what was described as full insurance coverage and the car was most definitely not new. The steering on the car was not acceptable. When I turn the wheel, it reacts a little late. Meaning it’s an old car.

When I later inquired about their insurance process, Woodford confirmed in writing ( see picture) that they are self-insured, meaning they do not use any external insurance provider for their fleet. Instead, they handle damages internally and rely on customers to cover repair costs if you break the terms, although you might have full insurance coverage.

So be very cautious: read the fine print carefully, and do a quick risk assessment of where you plan to drive and what the potential risks are. If anything happens to the car, it may still become your full responsibility, even if you thought you had complete coverage.

It feels like Woodford’s model places most of the risk on the renter, and communication throughout the process was confusing, with slow responses and repeated errors. Based on my experience and many similar reviews, I would recommend considering other rental companies with clearer insurance terms and better customer support. Woodford required a R25 000 deposit per vehicle. Other companies charge R2500 deposit for the same car. Good luck getting your money back.

My wife and our friend were involved in a smash and grap in Cape Town.The staff of Woodford were so friendly and helpfull.Within an hour or two after the incident a new rental was delivered to their hotel and the damaged car was collected.I will never forget this exellent service of Woodford.

I am extremely disappointed with the ongoing lack of accountability and professionalism from Woodford Car Hire South Africa.

In July 2025, I rented a vehicle under Invoice No. JNBT81-137017. Woodford wrongfully deducted the full rental amount twice in addition to the refundable deposit — resulting in nearly R19,000 being charged to my account.

After weeks of correspondence, Woodford acknowledged the duplicate deduction in writing and confirmed that a refund was processed, even providing proof of payment and a revised invoice. However, months later, the situation remains unresolved. The supposed refund was reversed without explanation, and repeated requests for clarification and supporting documents have been ignored.

It is now October 2025, and despite numerous emails and formal notices, Woodford has failed to correct their mistake or communicate transparently. This level of negligence and disregard for customers is completely unacceptable.

I strongly caution other consumers to exercise extreme care when dealing with Woodford Car Hire. Keep all documentation and monitor your bank statements closely, as billing and refund issues appear to be poorly managed.

Until this matter is resolved in full, I cannot recommend this company in any capacity.

Rent the car for three weeks. Was very careful with the car and returned it perfectly cleaned and completely undamaged. Few days after they claimed a scrath damage underneath the front bumper, what never could be seen at collection. They withdrew 550 euro from my deposit! This must be a businessmodel!

Hired a car from Capetown airport.

Really good experience. They upgraded us with no extra cost.

No extra charges and very efficient collection and return.

They asking for a card and typing in all the info (card number, expiry date, cvc, name) into the system, that’s not how it should work, they don’t need all of that to take a deposit. Anyway car was okay, our deposit returned earlier that we returned the car back.