[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by black_rider

Thanks, Lepakshi is where I intend to go.

In that case you may escape without paying the tax since the collection booth is still further ahead towards Hyderabad.

Also, I guess you are aware that Zoom reimburses AP / TS road tax.

[black_rider]

Yes I'm aware of the reimbursement policy. Hope that vehicle assigned to me has its taxes paid, and I need not visit the checkpost. If that's not the case, I'll have to make a longer trip. I would not want to take any risks.

[black_rider]

I'm back from my Lepakshi trip; had taken a Zoom XUV. The RTO tax part for 7 seater vehicle is 2650 and 500 extra is collected as penalty for offence U/S 200(1) of MV Act. Only God knows what offence I committed by walking into RTO checkpost and paying up voluntarily. Although you get a receipt for the complete amount, I learnt the hard way that Zoom reimburses only 2650, and the rest is to be borne by the driver. Their website does not mention this

So, its kind of unfair for the driver who takes a particular car for the first time to Andhra.

They've also made their car pick-up and drop formalities, what they call, keyless. You just walk up to your designated car, use your Zoomcar mobile app or send sms to a given number to unlock car. Get in and fill out a checklist on tablet present in the car and zoom off. When returning also you have to fill a checklist on the tablet, keep tablet and key in glove box, shut the car and it'll lock by itself after some time. You do have to stand near it till it locks. No intervention needed from any attendant.

Although a nice concept, it did not work out seemlessly for me. I was unable to log in to fill checklist because of some technical issues. Had the customer support fill out checklist for me at their end.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by black_rider

They've also made their car pick-up and drop formalities, what they call, keyless. You just walk up to your designated car, use your Zoomcar mobile app or send sms to a given number to unlock car. Get in and fill out a checklist on tablet present in the car and zoom off. When returning also you have to fill a checklist on the tablet, keep tablet and key in glove box, shut the car and it'll lock by itself after some time. You do have to stand near it till it locks. No intervention needed from any attendant.

Although a nice concept, it did not work out seemlessly for me. I was unable to log in to fill checklist because of some technical issues. Had the customer support fill out checklist for me at their end.

How do they verify whether the vehicle is returned in the same condition without extra scratches and dents?

If after returning the car, after a couple of days they raise a claim on me saying that there were scratches on the car, how do I dispute their claim? Upto now their executive would do a quick check in front of us and certify that the car was returned in proper condition.

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

How do they verify whether the vehicle is returned in the same condition without extra scratches and dents?

If after returning the car, after a couple of days they raise a claim on me saying that there were scratches on the car, how do I dispute their claim? Upto now their executive would do a quick check in front of us and certify that the car was returned in proper condition.

I too had some questions. And the guy over there confirmed that no one will personally receive the car while returning. But I did not ask him the "what ifs". I just made a video of the complete car, documenting existing dents/scratches when taking delivery, like I do always.

Yes, I did go inside their office, because I wasn't really sure if this is exactly how its gonna work. And I needed to pick up a child seat for my kid.

[girimajiananth]

Recently I had rented a scorpio from JP Nagar location , a few pointers.

1. The SMS to unlock did not work , I had to call the customer care to get it unlocked , the pickup location is in a basement and probably mobile signals were weak.

2.The car had a broken front bumper , plenty of scratches on the hood and rear panels. The pickup site was poorly illuminated and hence I did not notice this in the beginning. The images on the tablet were quite misleading . Fortunately , the fleet executive acknowledged this and agreed that the car was damaged earlier. He later promised to update the images.

3. The dash board light was kaput. I had no idea how fast I was driving while returning from work at 7PM.

[ILTDrive]

Originally Posted by black_rider

500 extra is collected as penalty for offence U/S 200(1) of MV Act. Only God knows what offence I committed by walking into RTO checkpost and paying up voluntarily. Although you get a receipt for the complete amount, I learnt the hard way that Zoom reimburses only 2650, and the rest is to be borne by the driver. Their website does not mention this

What is that penalty for? Does the receipt mention anything? Meaning, is it a printed receipt or just a handwritten one? What did Zoom say while denying payment of that amount? This is the first time I am reading about this issue, unless some others have already reported it and I missed reading it.

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by ILTDrive

What is that penalty for? Does the receipt mention anything? Meaning, is it a printed receipt or just a handwritten one? What did Zoom say while denying payment of that amount? This is the first time I am reading about this issue, unless some others have already reported it and I missed reading it.

Zoom support just said they reimburse only 2650 and I did not push further. Attaching receipt for your reference.

[jagzrk]

^Sorry to say, but you were fleeced big time by those guys.

U/S 181 with a simple google search reveals driving without a license or minor driving the vehicle. And U/S 200 (1) is basically compounding that offence. Of course, zoom won't re-imburse for driving without a license. But, I can understand your pain of driving with family and avoiding any arguments especially with cops.

We are still living in an age where if you don't know some one up, any traffic police or even policeman for that matter can stop you, impose any fines on you regardless of how law-abiding you were.

[ILTDrive]

Based on the above explanation, were you actually driving without a license? Or, was someone else driving the vehicle at that time or the cops just made you pay the fine for something else and put this section there.

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by jagzrk

^Sorry to say, but you were fleeced big time by those guys.

U/S 181 with a simple google search reveals driving without a license or minor driving the vehicle. And U/S 200 (1) is basically compounding that offence. Of course, zoom won't re-imburse for driving without a license. But, I can understand your pain of driving with family and avoiding any arguments especially with cops.

We are still living in an age where if you don't know some one up, any traffic police or even policeman for that matter can stop you, impose any fines on you regardless of how law-abiding you were.

I did produce my license in original, to pay the taxes. So, they cannot have that reason against me. I was driving myself, they did see that, and asked me to park in their parking lot. They did not catch me for anything, I voluntarily drove up to them.

Zoom does mention 300 under heading "handling charges" (Their website says 2840 + 300 =~3140, which is pretty close to what I had to pay). I thought these are the charges covered under "handling charges". And since RTO provided me a receipt of the full amount, and I thought Zoom would be reimbursing me the whole thing, I did not argue.

I think, this is standard procedure for RTO. And standard procedure for Zoom as well. Its the driver who has to bear the brunt of RTO acting smart. The least Zoom can do is be clear about it on their website. They do mention "handling charges" on their website, don't they?
Just have to add a star over there and mention that "handling charges" won't be reimbursed.

[ILTDrive]

What is intriguing is that the receipt mentions "driver admitted the offense". I for sure, would not have liked it or agreed to pay a fine for an offense that I did not commit. But then that is just me, sitting in an AC room and saying what I would have done. How I would have behaved if my family was with me, I do not know.

Can the experts throw light on this, is this common only for AP or for other states as well?

I agree with you on ZOOM being clear on what those handling charges are up front and IF they would be reimbursed or not.

[ozzyrules]

Quick question on the Kerala taxes:
I will be entering Kerala from Kutta (Coorg) to go to the Tholpetty safari. I'm assuming there would be a forest check post at the border. Do I pay the taxes there? Anyone Zoom'ed to this location before?

[noopster]

Just got an email from Zoom guys that they have expanded to Gurgaon as well.

On the flip side, a family friend booked an XUV 500 at my suggestion for a Goa trip. Couple of days before he went and inspected the vehicle and was shocked at how badly maintained it was (dirty and decrepit looking, in his words). Cancelled the booking and hired an Innova with driver from his regular taxi service instead.

Zoom needs to realise that people are going to value things like cleanliness and look & feel much more in a self drive than a conventional taxi.

[Aditya]

ZoomCar has started operations in Gurgaon.

Link to Team-BHP News Article