Goldcar: 2 hour wait, rude staff, awful child seats & car

We booked our flights through Jet2 and after booking online an ad came up from them promising unbeatable car hire rates; as we discovered, the car hire company is Goldcar (though you aren't made aware of it at the time).

We arrived at Malaga with our two small children to join a 100 metre queue, snaking right back up the ramp to the airport arrivals area, and we all stood in stifling heat waiting to reach the Goldcar desk. All the other car rental companies' desks were empty! We waited for two hours before we got the keys; when I asked about the queues and the slow pace of the staff, the staff member just shrugged and walked away.

We had paid for two child seats; a rude man at the collection point in the airport car park just nodded at a dirty cupboard where a pile of dirty, ragged and torn seats were piled up. We were left to try to find usable, safe-looking seats, then carry them to find our car, which was on another floor of the multi-storey.

The car itself was scratched, scraped and I spent ten minutes reattaching the driver's side wing mirror.

Of course, we were also charged upfront for a tank full of fuel which we didn't use up: a familiar scheme with Spanish car hire firms.

This year, we will pay more and book directly with a car rental firm we know. How Jet2 allows themselves to be associated with a company like Goldcar, I don't know. Avoid them at all costs!