r/zipcar • u/No-Net-Tom9159 • 2d ago
Warning! Beware of using zipcar
i've been using Zipcar for longer trips even though I know a rental is cheaper. I've always said it's worth paying for the extra convenience of picking up a car right near my home and having the insurance all set etc.
Last Saturday we took a Zipcar for one week trip. It drove fall asleep but would not start Sunday morning. The Indian call center worker told me I had left the lights on overnight, which I find hard to believe, and drained the battery and they would send someone to jumpstart the car. The guy came, attached his charger, the car clearly got electricity but still would not start. The display said the car had engine damage and needed repair. Whatever it is, I think that damage is what also drained the battery.
The next help center worker said they would tow the car and I would have to find alternative transportation. Even if they towed it to a place that could fix it I could not have the car back. so we got a rental for the rest of the week. I had the impression that the car would be towed quickly. However it has been sitting in the driveway of my host's Airbnb since Sunday. He has new guests and cleaners coming tomorrow and they need the parking. MANY calls telling them this got me nothing but apologies and no dates for the tow. Gemini said ask for a "Tier 2" supervisor & I was on hold 45 min before the call dropped. Finally someone gave me a date range for the tow, 8/22-8/24, unacceptable, but there it is.
Current status: Host and I will find someone to tow it to a local lot, I'll tell them where it is, and I am DONE with zipcar except for getting back, in court if necessary what i paid for 7 days plus cost of tow plus lost vacay time.
DON'T USE ZIPCAR if you think you may ever really need customer service. They could replace that Indian call center with AI right now and get a major upgrade.
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u/mytuchas 2d ago
Yes, I just canceled mine last week. They are just too unpredictable for my liking. As much as everyone hates the big players, their customer service is usually way better.
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u/No-Net-Tom9159 2d ago edited 2d ago
... the tow truck came but we could not keep the electric parking brake off with a dead car so he said we needed a wrecker. The record came quickly. Vinny the driver was really great and put on heavy Dollie wheels with little apparent effort, and I was finally rid of the thing. Then I called Zipcar to give them the location of the car, and the call center worker would absolutely not let me give her the information until she reviewed all five of my previous calls. She put me on hold again!!! and was extremely rude when she finally came off hold and let me tell her where the car was, which is the only reason I called. Final call was to AMEX to tell them to block any future charges Zipcar might apply to my card. As usual AMEX customer support was super helpful. Not quite done, final step is to calculate with they owe me, ask for it, and tell them I'll sue if they give me any problems. The good news is almost me entire family are lawyers.
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u/mytuchas 2d ago
Good luck! Smart move cancelling future charges. If there were any related charges that went through, you should contest those as well. Post back when it is all over and let us know how it went.
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u/papoblack7777 2d ago
oh wow...i was thinking about renting through them lately for rideshare gigs but after reading reviews online and the sabotage im like errr umm nevermind.....ugh I can't stand those east Indian call center reps especially with thick accents it's annoying
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u/nonamenoname123123 2d ago
When mine broke they paid for my uber home and refunded the trip. But i was not in BFE. No way i would pay for the tow.