I had read all the bad reviews, especially at airports, across many sites and the Guardian article but as I had vehicle excess insurance I thought what could go wrong and booked at Heathrow. I was not flying so it was out of the way, but worth the time and effort to get to their office as it was for a SUV at almost half the price of any other company, even for a smaller car. Everything went smoothly, the car was relatively new and the staff were fine, relatively efficient and firendly. I had the car cleaned prior to its return to avoid any potential cleaning issues (it was quite muddy inside and out after 2 weeks in the country) and their inspection was no more thorough than any other company. I have since booked again from the Edgware Road branch, again without any problems, and I would rate the staff as good again and very thorough in their explanations, they even waived the excess mileage as I slighty went over the limit. I have been able to call the Edgware office easily, and the Heathrow office responded to email messages almost immediately. I've had poor experiences with other companies with better reputations. Yes, their terms about cleaning the car, alloy damage seem and other damage seems to be far stricter, and the excess quite high, but I was informed of any damage on both occasions and told to take a photos and send it if I noticed anything else, which I did on one occasion without any issue afterwardds. Given the price differential and if you have car hire excess insurance I would give it a go, well at least in your own country.