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Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: HyderabadDeccan
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| Re: Zoom Car Reviews - Self Drive Rentals in India QUICK 5 MINUTE READ
On a recent holiday, my plan to rent a pre-booked ZoomCar (RENAULT KWID with WHITE Background Registration Plates) for a 3-day tenure, flopped miserably, as local cab and auto guys, in coordination with the local traffic police at Mysuru City Railway station objected to a White No: plate car being used by ZoomCar as a self- drive vehicle, and prevented me from continuing my journey.
The subsequent interactions with ZoomCar Customer care in order to get the trip completed, and get my money back have been frustrating at best and outright ridiculous at its worst. As I type, I am yet to get my money back from ZoomCar. QUICK TAKE-AWAYS- AVOID ZoomCar UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! Hire a cab OR go for other self-drive companies
- If hiring a ZOOM CAR from Mysuru, avoid picking up the car from Mysuru Railway station entrance
- BACK OFF from a WHITE REGISTRATION NUMBER PLATE ZoomCar
THE LOWDOWN It has been a year plus since the family had stepped out for a vacation. With my elder child entering the crucial 10th standard in her schooling, we chose to reduce outstation trips, cut down on local trips and social engagements and made sure that the child was not disturbed, as she went about revising her subjects for the crucial board examinations. Once the CBSE 10th standard board examination timetable was released, the wife, who herself was tired and bored of staying at home, suggested to take a quick week-long break once the board exams got over on the 24th Of May 2022. Schools were set to re-open on the 6th of JUNE, so that gave us a window period of around 13 days to plan a quick getaway. I started looking for options for this getaway and after narrowing down on Panchmarhi and the Nilgiris as the two possible destinations, I finally closed in on the Nilgiris as the destination for a 3-day holiday. I booked a home stay at Kotagiri for 2 days, and had a quick chat with the owner of the home stay and paid up the requisite advance for the stay. For travel, I booked 4 berths in A/C 2 Tier class accommodation on board the direct train to Mysuru from Hyderabad – Train Number: 12785. My plan was to hire a self-drive from Mysuru City and roam around the Nilgiris, and come back to Mysuru and then take the return train 12786 back to Hyderabad from Mysuru. Having checked out two self-rental companies in Mysuru, ZoomCar and Revv, I narrowed down on a Renault KWID, for a duration of 3 days – 31st May 10:00 AM to 3rd JUNE Friday 01:30 PM. The total cost including Unlimited Kms and damage protection and excluding fuel came out to Rs 4792. I made the payment on 20th APRIL and got a confirmation from ZOOM CAR. I had opted for a pick-up from Mysuru City Railway Station. The actual location of parking is GARUDA Mall. - The FIASCO and the NIGHTMARE
On the 31st May, we reached Mysuru JN station right on time at 09:30 AM. Along the way, I was getting regular WA updates from ZoomCar on various aspects to keep note of prior to starting the trip. I was assigned a PETROL KWID – KA-18**** at around 0933 AM, and a location partner (henceforth referred to as Mr KM) was assigned to hand over the car to me.
At around 09:45 AM, I get a call from KM stating that my ID proof and DL was not yet approved in the ZoomCar app, and that I need to call up customer care and get the documents verified. I was FLABBERGASTED! ZoomCar should have called me upfront in case there was any issue with my documentation. After all there were a good 10 days from the time, I had booked the car, to the actual date of commencement of the trip!! Nevertheless, I called up customer care, and asked them to resolve the matter ASAP. It was close to 10:00 AM now, so we decided to have breakfast at the adjoining Railway canteen. At around 10:15 AM, I get a call from KM stating that he is ready to deliver the vehicle at Mysuru Station, and that I should sort out the document submission process with ZoomCar Customer car offline. Fine with me, I said, as we wrapped up our breakfast and headed out to the front of the railway station (near the I LUV MYSURU) board. I could see a White KWID petrol car, with the driver standing in front of the station, and as we approached the car, the driver (Nitin) noticed us, got out from the car, and slowly slipped away from the scene, talking on his mobile. I was perplexed and didn’t quite realize why the driver behaved in the way he did. I was expecting a more professional pick-up experience from the driver. Soon enough, the local Auto Taxi folk at Mysuru station entrance got wind of this white registration KWID vehicle being used as a ZoomCar vehicle and all hell broke loose. Apparently the ZoomCar standing in a No-Parking zone for some time, was a bit too much for the local Auto and Taxi folk, and on top of that a White Registration Number plate vehicle was being used as a ZoomCar! One guy who appeared to be a senior amongst the Auto Taxi folk, started clicking picture of the KWID, and called the local police constable, even as the family and I loaded the luggage in the car and started the car. As we rounded the parking and came back to the entrance, the local cop stopped us, and asked us to get off the vehicle and call the local ZoomCar manager. He asked us to park the vehicle near the kerb, clamped the front right wheel, and asked me to call the local ZoomCar manager. He asked us to make alternative travel arrangements to get to OOTY, as the car will simply not move from where it was clamped. The wife also got into an animated argument with the cops and the local auto folks, but to no avail. The damage had been done, and the trip was over before even it got started! A quick call to KM to come in resolve the issue with the local cops drew a blank. KM flatly refused to come to our aid and asked us to contact ZoomCar support instead. I was furious with KM and ZoomCar for abandoning us in this manner. I called up ZoomCar Customer care at 10:45 AM And apprised them of the situation. The representative assured me that she will call up the location representative to come and help me. NO HELP CAME. By around 11:05 AM, I called up ZoomCar customer care again, (re)explained the situation to them, and had the representative auto lock the car remotely, after I made sure that the ignition keys were kept inside the vehicle on the driver’s seat. I could not end the trip myself from the ZoomCar APP, as the trip had already commenced, and there is no option to cancel the trip once the trip has commenced. I took an assurance from the customer care representative that she will take up this matter with the concerned team, and arrange for a refund. In the interim, on the advice of a helpful taxi bloke, I went back to the Mysuru Railway station, went to the Retiring Rooms booking section and spoke to the in-charge there, who managed to arrange a Swift DZIRE vehicle at a cost of around Rs 4800/- for a drop to Kotagiri. On a related note, this White KWID has got an impressive 4.8 rating on the APP, however what I saw was an apology for a vehicle. Shabby interiors, equally shabby exteriors, semi bald tires, and empty petrol tank, - the Works! I was hoping that ZoomCar had improved over the years, but boy was I wrong! The car was pathetic in appearance and on hindsight I am glad, I didn’t head out to the Nilgiris in that dilapidated vehicle. As we made our way to Gundlupet en route KOTAGIRI in the cab, I started following up with ZoomCar support to know the progress of the case. Here is a list of calls I made to ZoomCar Support in the time period of 31st May to 1st JUNE: We got back from our trip on the 3rd of JUNE, back to Mysuru station, and took the return train back to Hyderabad and reached home on the 4th JUNE. After waiting for a few days and hearing nothing but radio silence from Team ZoomCar I restart the process of follow up and follow through. Here is a list of follow up calls made:
Even as I type, I haven't received any communication from ZoomCar on my refund. An enquiry on their site giving my booking ID reference number just shows a status of ‘Customer Refund’ and nothing else. To Sum it up: I had a total FRUSTRATING and a HORRENDOUS experience with ZoomCar. It literally left me on the road, with minimal backup. The strain and tension that I had to undergo in the interim, when I was trying to arrange an alternative to continue my Journey to the Nilgiris, was too much. This whole experience left an insipid taste and I resolve NEVER EVER to use ZoomCar again. STAY AWAY FROM ZOOMCAR UNLESS TOTALLY UNAVOIDABLE
Last edited by PVS : 16th June 2022 at 15:38.
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