| Address: 122003 |
| Website: zoomcar.com |
Hi,
I would like to share a very horrible experience I had with my last booking with Zoomcar.
The case is for the booking ID: JPS6299BB for a Mahindra Scorpio which would be my 10th Zoomcar booking till date. I booked the car for a 7 day trip to Himachal from 23rd June to 29th June. On the evening of 28th June we were descending down to Manali amidst heavy rain when we realized that the brakes had become majorly inefficient. We thought that it was mainly because of the rains making the brake line wet and it should get fine as it dries out during the night.
Next morning we left for Delhi and within 15 minutes of driving we realized that there was no improvement whatsoever in thefront brake's function. The handbrake of the car was already of no use for the last 3-4 days if it was used while driving, so we were mainly dependant on the front brake for stopping. One of my friend recommended to take it back to a mechanic in Manali, but that would mean we would not be able to reach back Delhi in the 14 hours remaining time we had. So we decided it's better to call the RSA service Zoomcar provides and have it repaired on the go.
Call 1 with Zoomcar Support(Some Lady Answered): Told her about the problem we were facing. She was very polite and apologetic about the bad experience. I requested her to get the RSA team to us to which she said RSA is not available in Manali and we should take the car to a local workshop in Manali. I informed her about the traffic in the manali main city near the mall road area and it would lead to delay in our arrival time. She comforted us by saying our convenience is the utmost priority and we should get the car repaired first and delivery time is a second priority. She promised to call us back in 2 hours for update which she did.
We found a local workshop in a while and after finishing his work on another car the mechanic eventually started working on our car. After spending some 40 odd minutes he said he is not able to find anything faulty and has tightened a few things up and went for a test drive. After the test drive we realized that there was hardly any improvement in the brake's condition, so he insisted that it's better to use a diagnostic scanner to spot the problem in the car. He then ran a diagnostics test but couldn't find a fault related to the braking problem. We let him have a word with a 2nd Zoomcar executive wondering it might help, they suggested a few things to him on call, but sadly it didn't work, He said there is nothing else he can do and we should take it to a garage in a better city on our way back. We paid him around Rs 400 for his labor and scanning charges.
Call 3: I called up Zoomcar support again and narrated the entire incident to a new guy who answered. He said he is sorry for the problems we have faced and he will add extra time to our delivery time for the delays we have faced here, and updated our delivery time to 3 am. He then asked is the car drivable and can we take it to a better workshop on the way back, to which we answered yes. He said we can proceed with the same and whatever delays we face due to slower driving on the hills and repair time at the next workshop shall be added back to our delivery time, once we get the car repaired. We were very happy with the zoomcar support for their understanding executives and prompt decisions.
We left Manali at around 3 pm and were on a constant lookout for a good workshop on the way. I believe it was around 6:30 pm it started raining very heavily and made the driving even worse for us as the car started slipping and sliding on turns whenever we took it above 40kmpl. So we called up zoomcar support again.
Call 4: A new guy picked up. I explained him the entire story from beginning and informed him that it was very risky for us to drive in the hills. I asked him since we were a bit downhill now, can he send the RSA team now. He said RSA can still not be arranged and gave us two options. He said if you think the car is drivable then kindly keep driving the car and bring it to the drop off point or else if it's not drivable then leave the car there and find an alternate transport and he will get the car towed. I told him finding an alternate transport in such a weather in a remote location is difficult and apart from the brakes the rest of the car is fine, we can drive the car but we cant drive this fast. So towing this will make this an costly affair for both o[censored]s. We can bring the car back but by what time we will reach, we can't say. To which he said, no problem just drive the car safely and get it here as soon as possible and take it to the first workshop you see on your way back.
So we kept driving and asking people on the way about a nearby workshop. Some one told us we can find one in a town called Baner on our way forward, which we shall reach in some 30-40 mins. So we thought we should call up Zoomcar support and inform them that we are going to stop for the repair in a while.
Call 5: It took me over 10 minutes to explain the entire scenario to another support executive. I was surprised that there is a problematic car on the road being driver by a customer and none of the earlier executives has kept a single record in the system about it. Anyways, it was 9:30 pm I told him that we have finally found a car workshop and we will be reaching there in around 30 minutes and I will tell you how it goes there and you can then input my delivery time according to that. He said, no worries get the car properly checked and repaired and then tell us how much time was wasted in this and we shall add it to the drop off time, however my shift ends at 10 am and you can tell it to the executive who will be available then.
Half of my friends were already getting furious due to the faulty vehicle and our helplessness to do anything about it. Me and the co-driver were still keeping the other's calm. We reached Baner at around 10:10 and sadly to our dismay the workshop was closed at that time. There were a few shops nearby and on asking them they told us the garage closes at 8 pm. We narrated our entire incident to them and how desperately we needed help and one of them agreed to help us. He said the mechanic lives nearby and he can take us to his house. We went to his place and luckily were able to convince the mechanic to have a look at our car. He came back with us and then started working on the car. We then called up Zoomcar support to inform them that we finally have a mechanic checking out our car. We made some 8-10 calls on support from two different numbers, but every time it would say all our executives are busy. After spending roughly 30 minutes the mechanic said your problem should be fixed now, go and take a test drive.
Luckily to our surprise he had repaired the brakes. We immediately called up Zoomcar support to give them the update and tell them our expected time of arrival, but after three unanswered calls we left it and were back on our way at 11 pm. By this time everyone in the car was believing there is actually no zoomcar support available after 10pm. So we drove as fast as we could thinking it's better to go and explain to the Drop off center executive about our incident and let him connect us to a Zoomcar executive.
After driving for around 4 hours when we were about to reach Panipat, we thought we might just give another try on the customer care number. On couple of tries it said there is no booking from your registered number, maybe because it was past 3 am. So we then tried on the option for breakdown assistance and someone answered.
Call 6: Another new executive answered, I inquired if he has any record of our incident in his system. He didn't have any. Took me over 10 minutes again to explain him everything that has happened so far.(I was genuinely tired of explaining the same thing to so many people). I told him we got our car repaired at Baner and have been able to drive fast since, so we may reach Delhi in another 2.5 hours. To which he said no issues drive safely and try to reach Delhi as soon as you can.
We drove continuously after that as well and around 5:30 am. When we were 10 minutes away from the drop off point we gave a call to customer care to tell them we are about to drop off the car and you can explain the yard guy about our incident.
Call 7: Another person answered, I asked him to connect me to the guy I talked a few hours ago( Don't remember his name now, but remembered it then). He said it is not possible to do that and he might be busy on another call. Exhausted, I spent another 10 minutes explaining the entire turnout of events. After listening to my entire incident, he said your delivery time was 3 am and you are more that 2 hours late, to which I said do you understand what I just told you, I am late because your car had problems. He said we will check for ourselves what problems the car has. I said the brakes are fine now as I got them repaired. To this he said do you have any proof that there was actually a problem in the car, did you take any photos in the car workshop.
This is when everyone in our car lost their cool. Instead of being apologetic and remorseful about the fact that your customers were stuck with a faulty vehicle for over 24 hours and appreciating the fact that we did not leave the vehicle in that remote zone we actually brought it back to your center, we were being asked to somehow prove that the incident we have been narrating for the last 20 hours was real. If you guys wanted us to get bills and take photographs then why didn't you mention it while we were on the call with you when we were at the workshop itself. Luckily one of my friend was not buying the so good to be true Zoomcar support story from the beginning and he actually clicked a few photos of the first workshop encounter.
So we told him, yes we do have a few photos from the workshop. To this he said, alright but do you have bills from the workshops where you got the car repaired. Now this we didn't have because the first workshop couldn't repair the car and we had already let him talk to your executive directly, so we didn't bother asking for the bill, and at the second workshop we literally picked the mechanic from his house to get our car repaired, there wasn't any scope of getting a bill there. With a tone of disinterest he said take the car to the center, our guy will inspect the vehicle to verify your story. To this I said what do you plan to verify, the brakes are already repaired now, you should either connect me to the executives whom I have talked to earlier or check with them yourself the previous conversations I had with them. He said neither of these is possible. I said fine just stay on the line for another minute I am reaching the center and coordinate with the yard guy about what needs to be done because I don't have the energy to narrate the incident one more time. To this he said this can't be done and he cannot wait on the call; and we should reach the yard and give a call back to the customer care number.
Literally infuriated and exhausted by the turn out of events we thought explaining to the yard guy might help as he may connect us to an higher authority in zoom car. But he said he doesn't concern himself with all this and his job is to collect the vehicle and give the vehicle. Being short of any other option we callled up zoomcar support again.Made around 3-4 attempts but no one answered, we thought maybe it was because of too many calls from the same number. So we borrowed phone from a guy nearby and called, and surprisingly the call went through.
Call 8: Explained him everything from scratch. He looked equally disinterested as the last guy. Listening to the entire story without any remorse or apology in his voice, he just said give the phone to the yard guy. He talked to the guy for a minute and then gave the phone back to me. He told me their guy will check the vehicle and once that is done I should give a call back.
The ward guy then went with me on a test drive, he checked the front brake it was working fine, he checked the hand brake as well, it wasn't working at all. Then he came back and made the vehicle entry in your system and told me I have done my part and then left for home or someplace else.
We were left there standing like idiots, with no representative to talk to and no call executive to support us. We got a notification on our app soon that we have been charged Rs 4, 000 for bringing the vehicle back late and without intimidation. Shocked, exasperated and exhausted from the entire thing we thought lets make 1 last call and try to explain that this is outrageous, we were told by your executives to bring back the car at our own pace and safety was the first priority. If 10+ calls with different executives is not intimidation then I don't know what is.
Adding to our agony was another penalty of Rs 4, 000. During our journey in Himachal, our front left tyre went in a pot hole filled with water due to the rains. Due to this our bumper slightly collided with a rock and a small piece of it tore apart( just around an inch in radius). The thing is there were already multiple cracks and multiple broken pieces in the bumper when we first collected the vehicle. We discussed this with the yard guy back then, he said since it doesn't affect the drivability of the vehicle in any way, you should be fine and take the vehicle. So now the condition of the bumper is completely the same, how does an added small crack on the left bottom justify charging the cost of an entirely new bumper from us. If you guys have a policy of keep the vehicle at zero depreciation condition, then why wasn't the vehicle provided to us in a zero damage condition. If there is no such policy, then why are we being charged the entire cost of a bumper which was already broken from multiple locations. Also before we booked the ride I saw multiple advertisement from you guys mentioning our cost includes rental, fuel and insurance. Now if insurance is also included then why are we being charged. In any scenario Rs 4, 000 was unjustified.
I remember when we were at Manali and the first workshop was not able to repair the car, one of my friend had suggested to leave the car over there, arrange our own commute and let Zoomcar take care of this. Sadly some o[censored]s thought since we had the car for last 6 days it was our responsibility to get it back plus towing it will cost you guys and looked unprofessional from our end. Now when we think about it, taking the responsibility of the car was our biggest mistake.
Call 8: Another guy answered, completely oblivious of our condition. Spent over 15 minutes walking him through what has happened. He said give us 3-5 days to get your issue sorted. I said alright give me a complaint number for this for future reference, he said he can't do that. Asked for a couple of other things to ensure that atleast this is being considered as a complaint, to everything he said I cant do anything, you have no other option than waiting for a reply from us in 3-5 days.
I knew I have been looted and I am not going to get anything out of it. We spent over 1 lac rupees for our total week long trip to Himachal with an aim to have a good time away from all the [censored]. But the last 1 day destroyed everything good that happened in the last 6 days. After driving continuously for over 20 hours without any stops for resting or eating properly and risking our lives by driving a vehicle in heavy rain with none of its brakes working, this is what we got in return. Instead of getting us compensation of our wasted time and the inconvenience or some appreciation for our effort to bring the car back, we were slapped with a Rs 8, 000 penalty. I strongly believe if there was some customer who was rude, disrespectful and abusive throughout towards your executives for the inconvenience, he would have not been charged a single penny. I think it was our mistake that we were too polite to be taken seriously.
It has been 20 days since the incident and I haven't received any call/email or reimbursement. Honestly speaking I am completely tired of trying and have no hope of getting our money back, it's just something I wanted to bring to the notice of someone responsible at Zoomcar. I don't have the time or energy to go around posting this on forums and social media or waste any more of my time for those 8, 000 bucks. I will just ensure that I inform people around me to stay away from your dubious service.
Hope it reaches someone high enough to give a notice.
Sep 4, 2018
Complaint marked as Resolved
Zoomcar customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
Verified Support
Jul 25, 2018
Zoomcar Customer Care's response Hello Vikrant,
Greetings!
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. In regard to the car condition, we do follow a strict protocol in ensuring that the vehicles are well maintained. Reviewing your comments regarding the vehicle condition. We understand that we have failed to provide the vehicle in a good condition. We definitely understand your disappointment with the service. Please rest assured, we have escalated the issue to our concerned team to take corrective measures and ensure these issues are minimized in the future. Appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this regard.
Regards,
Rohit
I want to end my pedal trip which is starting from yesterday...
Please help me...😢
Greetings!
We are sorry to know that you are unable to end your trip.
We request you to kindly send an email with your trip details through our contact us page. We shall resolve the issue on priority. Here's the link for your reference - https://www.zoomcar.com/bangalore/contactus
Regards,
Sowmya