My experience with Driven (Gachibowli Store) Hyderabad:
19th June 2018: I walk in to the Gachbowli store and request for a PoloGT for 1 day rental. Store employee, walks me to the cellar and shows me the car, which has a huge dent. He said, if I am ok to drive a car with such a huge dent. I said, no and rather opted for a Jeep Compass. [I was still skeptical, why the Polo GT, which had such a huge dent, was still available on rent rather being in a garage getting repaired. Anyways, that was my 1st impression]. And I drove away with the Jeep Compass, thinking let me test-drive this for a day and then decide, which another bike or car, will be my next companion.
20th June 2018: Promptly following all the instructions, I return the car back in as-is condition as taken (FYI, one of the main instruction: You cannot drive above the specified speed limit, irrespective of which car or bike you hire):
Cars:
120kmph to 140kmph = Rs 1000 Fine
>140kmph = Security Deposit will be forfeited
Two-wheelers:
100kmph to 120kmph = Rs 1000 Fine
>120kmph = Security Deposit will be forfeited
I wait for an hour, thinking the employee will come and confirm that the car is fine and I would get some acknowledgment stating the same. And a confirmation stating, when will the security deposit will be credited back to my account. To my surprise, after 40-min of waiting, I had to walk up-to the employee and ask him the same, and he says: there will be no acknowledgment and security amount will be credited back in 3-days (I was surprised, the terms and conditions said 7-days and rather this guy said 3-days. Anyways, I was glad that the time was reduced and moved on.)
23rd June 2018: And obviously, I didn’t get the amount credited back and I called up this employee for a check and he said, it will ideally take 6-days. I believed him yet again and moved on.
27th June 2018: Considering it was already 6-days, I again call back and ask for a confirmation. Now he says, it'll take one or two days more. I understand and move on.
2nd July 2018: Considering it’s more than 10-days now

this time I visit the store in-person and request for an update. Now the employee says "
I don't know sir, the amount was confirmed to be credited back on 23rd June itself. Not sure what exactly is wrong. You please check with your bank". And I am like, ok - can you least give me some reference number or anything, which says the amount was confirmed to be credited back. And he says, he will sms me, which he never does.
5th July 2018: Considering there was no response from either the store or the Bank, I was left wondering, what documentation do I have which confirms that the amount was initiated for a credit back by Driven? None. Hence, when I wanted to send an email about this to Driven, I didn't find a single email-id on their portal. That's when, I researched on the internet, to get the actual details on who owns this outlet and their emails. And sent an email to all of them. And yes, I did get a response immediately from their management or owner not sure whom, stating we won’t commit any fraud for such small amounts, as we are such a big organization with a garage full of cars/bikes worth millions, which no other store in India offers. And yes they did attach the PreAuth copy of the amount for reference.
My point, was very simple, if there is any deficiency in service (may be, by the store employee, management or the proprietor - customers will do raise concerns). Was this, too much to ask for? As an organization, they still have all the proofs and PreAuth done from the customer, making them sign all documents along with”Credit Card Authorization Letter”, which states the company can charge my credit card, over and above the security deposit, if there is any damage to the car. While, the customer just has one bill and no acknowledgment, if the car was returned in as-is condition or not. And considering, I wasn’t getting any documented reference from the store until that date, I started getting suspicious.
Finally, I got the security amount credited back to my credit limit as on
6th July 2018. Attached are the terms and condition documents from the outlet, if you are planning to rent a bike or a car from them. Hope, my review will help you to read and understand the terms and conditions, and see if you can comply to the rules before taking any vehicle on rent. Until then, please drive/ride carefully and follow the rules.
