Verified: 20 March 2026 09:35 pm CET
Industry: Car Rental & Mobility Services
Jurisdiction: Germany
Primary Regulator: General Consumer Protection Law (No specific transport regulator for car rentals)
Important Safety Warning: Beware of fake customer service numbers on search engines. Only use official channels. Scammers frequently buy ads to promote fraudulent phone numbers. Sixt staff will never ask for your account password, or demand you pay a “security deposit” or “damage invoice” via prepaid gift cards or a WhatsApp payment link.
Level 1: Customer Support (Kundenservice)
- How to complain: Submit your issue via the official Sixt online contact form, email them at kundenbetreuung@sixt.com, or call their central customer service hotline at 089 / 7 44 44 - 0.
- Source Verification: Impressum - Sixt
- Availability: The central customer service hotline operates Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00 (CET), and weekends from 08:00 to 18:00. The Assistance Hotline operates 24/7.
- Source Verification: Kontakt - Sixt
- Timeline: Sixt aims to respond to standard billing or damage inquiries within a few business days.
Level 2: Formal Written Complaint & Mahnung
- Who to contact: Formally escalate your financial dispute (e.g., unjustified damage charges, ignored refund requests, or hidden insurance fees) by sending a registered letter with return receipt (Einschreiben mit Rückschein) to the legal headquarters of the rental entity. Do not send legal notices to Sixt SE. Address it to the Management Board, Sixt GmbH & Co. Autovermietung KG, Zugspitzstraße 1, 82049 Pullach, Germany. Clearly state your reservation number, claim, and set a legally binding 14-day deadline (Mahnung) for payout or invoice cancellation.
- Source Verification: Impressum - Sixt
- Timeline: The legally binding deadline of 14 days (set via your Mahnung) provides the company a strict timeframe to resolve the issue before they legally default (in Verzug geraten).
Level 3: Regulatory Authority / ADR
- Authority: Stop! Do not send your complaint to the Universalschlichtungsstelle. Sixt explicitly states in their Terms and Conditions (AGB) that they refuse to participate in any voluntary consumer arbitration boards in Germany. Sending your dispute to an ombudsman will result in an automatic rejection and waste your time. (Note: For strictly cross-border rentals within the EU, you can consult the European Consumer Centre / EVZ for free mediation help, but for domestic German rentals, there is no ombudsman).
- Source Verification: AGB - Sixt
- Timeline: N/A for domestic rentals due to Sixt’s strict refusal of out-of-court arbitration.
Level 4: Legal Action
- Pre-Litigation: Before initiating formal court proceedings, you can seek case-specific legal assistance from your local Consumer Advice Centre (Verbraucherzentrale) or a traffic/contract lawyer (Verkehrsrechtsanwalt) to evaluate the disputed damage claim or billing error.
- Source Verification: Verbraucherzentrale
- Court/Arbitration: Because Sixt blocks arbitration, your only legally binding escalation path is to initiate the judicial dunning process (gerichtliches Mahnverfahren) online to obtain an enforceable payment title, or file a civil lawsuit at the local district court (Amtsgericht).
- Source Verification: Gemeinsames Mahnportal der Länder
Community Action: Is Sixt still refusing to release your security deposit, or charging you for a scratch that was already on the car when you rented it? Reply below (do not share your passwords, full reservation numbers, or PINs), and our community will point you to the right legal templates!