A New OK Mobility Experience and What You Can Learn From It
In a previous post, I wrote about the large number of complaints and low ratings OK Mobility has received on Trustpilot. At the time, I wondered: Can that many people really be dissatisfied?
Unfortunately, I later got my own answer.
Let’s start from the beginning.
With an uncertain departure date, we booked a rental car just three days before arriving in Palma. Based on a positive experience in the past and a slightly lower price than competitors (€597 for 21 days), we chose OK Mobility.
For almost three weeks, everything went smoothly. No issues, no need to contact customer service. Apart from the usual stress of inspecting the car at pickup — anyone who has collected a car in the airport parking garage at Palma in the evening knows how challenging that can be — the rental was uneventful.
The car, a black Peugeot 208, already had five registered damages, some clearly visible.
The problems began at return.
The parking area and office were chaotic. Long lines of customers, cars constantly moving in and out, scooters blocking spaces, people with luggage everywhere — and only a few employees rushing around. From long experience in the airline industry, one thing was obvious: serious understaffing.
In typical Swedish fashion, you discreetly step aside and wait — at least for a while. Compared to my last car return, this felt like another world… After waiting without getting assistance, I asked the staff member behind the counter what to do. The answer was brief and clear:
“You don’t have to wait. Just drop the keys in the white box.”
So I did. I took a quick photo of the car as proof of return, dropped the keys, grabbed the bags, and headed to the terminal.
About 15 hours later, I received an email asking for feedback about my rental experience. The next day, another email followed, offering a discount on a future booking.
But there was still no confirmation that the car had been returned or that everything was in order.
Two days later, a €560 charge appeared on my credit card — without explanation.
After several attempts, I finally reached customer service. I was told that I had allegedly caused minor damage to the lower front bumper and the right rear tire. To that, a handling fee has been added. The amount, I was informed, was not final and could be reviewed if I provided photos.
I immediately sent the two photos taken at return.
Nothing happened.
29 days later I got an answer: “All our vehicles are thoroughly inspected and refueled before and after every rental. If this was not your case, we will kindly ask you to provide any evidence or picture during the the check out, in order to evaluate the case accordingly.In order to proceed, we kindly ask you to send us the pictures in riginal format without any modification (rotation, enlargement, cropping, etc.).“
Looking back, I realized the photos didn’t prove much beyond the fact that the car was returned on time. That was a mistake on my part. I should have walked around the car and documented every detail that could later be considered damage — not an easy task with a dirty vehicle.
It feels frustrating. I’ve traveled extensively and rented cars many times before, so why wasn’t I more alert in this situation? At that moment, however, there was little time to think. All I could focus on was returning the car and catching the flight.
This leaves some important questions.
Is it reasonable to return a car without a staff inspection? Where does the customer’s responsibility end when keys are dropped as instructed? And what happens to the car between return and inspection?
What’s most frustrating isn’t only the unexpected charge, but the uncertainty. Could this situation have been avoided by documenting the car more thoroughly at return? Probably. Should the process be clearer and more transparent? Definitely.
