Centauro, Record Go and OK Mobility damage charges

Updated 16 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Centauro, Record Go and OK Mobility are low-cost rental companies with big desks at Spanish holiday airports. If one of them has kept your deposit or charged your card for damage you dispute, the plan is different from the big international brands: the free industry dispute service does not cover them, so your routes are Spanish consumer law, the official complaint form and your card issuer. This guide is not linked to any of these companies.

Why ECRCS is not an option

The European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) is free and binds its members, but only 12 brands take part. Centauro, Record Go and OK Mobility are not among them. Do not plan around ECRCS for these rentals.

There is some history, though. In 2019 the UK competition authority said it had obtained undertakings from Centauro and Record Go as part of a Europe-wide action on car hire practices. And the industry guidelines on damage charges set a fair standard you can point to: evidence of the damage and how the cost was worked out, a reasonable time to challenge it, and the charge put on hold while you do.

Step 1: write to the company

Write to the company, by email or through its customer service form, and keep a copy. Say that you dispute the charge and ask for it to be put on hold. Ask for:

• the check-out report from pick-up and the check-in report from return;
• the photos of the damage, with dates and times;
• when the car was inspected, and by whom;
• the repair estimate or invoice, or the price table and the line used;
• if part of a deposit was kept, a breakdown of what was kept and why.

The company has to show the damage exists, that it was not there at pick-up, that it happened during your rental and is more than wear, and what it costs. In Spanish law, a clause that puts on you a burden of proof that should be on the company is always unfair (article 88 of the Spanish consumer code).

One point cuts the other way. Under the Spanish Civil Code, if there was no description of the car's condition at pick-up, you are presumed to have received it in good condition. And once damage during the rental is shown, the renter is presumed liable unless they show it was not their fault. So your own timestamped pick-up photos matter a lot.

Step 2: use the Spanish deadlines

A Spanish law from December 2025 on customer service sets deadlines for answering complaints: 15 working days at most for large companies, and 5 days for complaints about billing or undue charges. It also says all businesses must answer consumer complaints within 15 days. Companies have until 28 December 2026 to adapt their systems, but you can mention the deadlines now. Give the company a clear date in your letter.

Step 3: the official complaint form

Every desk in Spain must have the official complaint form, the hoja de reclamaciones. If you are still at the desk, ask for it, fill it in and keep your copy. If you are already home, you can complain to the consumer authority of the region where you rented. It can take complaints and sanction companies, but it cannot order a refund for you.

Consumer arbitration in Spain (the Sistema Arbitral de Consumo) is free and binding, but only if the company has joined it or agrees to your case. In a case reported by the Spanish consumer group OCU, Centauro refused mediation and arbitration. Ask, but do not count on it.

Step 4: the European Consumer Centre

If you live in the EU, Norway or Iceland, the European Consumer Centre in your country can take up a cross-border case with a Spanish company for free. UK residents can no longer use it.

Step 5: your card issuer

Since ECRCS is closed anyway, a card dispute does not cost you a free route. It can work well when the company did not send repair quotes, did not give notice before charging, or took a damage charge from the deposit it blocked at the desk. Contact your bank within about a month of the charge, and do not call it fraud. See our card dispute guide.

Honest limits

Without photos from pick-up and return, these cases are hard. If the amount is small, under about €150, a short email and a card dispute may be all it is worth. If the company sues, a court decides, so do not ignore letters.

In short

1. Write within days: dispute, ask for the evidence and the hold.
2. Give a date, using the Spanish 15-day and 5-day rules.
3. Hoja de reclamaciones or the regional consumer authority.
4. The ECC if you live in the EU, and your card issuer.

If you want the letters written for your rental, our pack does that for a flat fee after a free check.