[Resolved]  Zoom Car — excess charge / immobilisation of car and harassment

Our booking reference number jps64q73k made on 25th july 2018 through zoom car app with a payment of rs 28630/- (Including refundable deposit of rs 5000/-) from our card.

The booking was made with your famous car rental service for our supposed leisure holiday with my wife and two small children for the period between 0300hrs on 30th july 2018 till 1600hrs 11th august 2018 that instead turned out to be a nightmare and harrowing experience due to the unprofessional, arrogant, threatening, non cooperative, imposing, harsh, adamant and rude attitude, behaviour, tone and words of your customer care executives that seriously impacted and stressed our physical and mental health to the effect of even endangering our lives and caused serious consequences and strains on our financial and time resources.

Despite having been last assured at 1017hrs on 13th august 2018 by a customer service executive ms. Afreen on zoom car direct mobile number [protected] and earlier call on customer care number to different executive, our grievances have not been addressed and no customer service executive or supervisor has even bothered to call back or respond.

Please be re-informed of the following course of events and initiate the necessary action:
1. On arriving at bagdogra airport at 1430hrs on indigo flight number 6e 2367 and on taking a taxi to original pick-up point at 9 sevoke road, siliguri and than to relocated pick-up point at dagapur bandri jote, near viramma resort silliguri, we called customer support helpline of zoom car to help us navigate and sign the tata tiago car no. Wb 04 h 5270. But we were adamantly and wrongly told by your executive that we had filled in a checklist and were in the possession of the car since 0742hrs (While at that time we were still in delhi). After many calls and requests a supervisor by the name of aditya spoke to us and admitted that it was not so. On reaching the locked car parked on a roadside adjacent to a tee stall the same aditya pacified our apprehensions on the trip with zoom car, assuring and promising that no such incident will be repeated again.
2. We reluctantly continued with the trip and the car ran normally. On 11th august 2018 as we were driving towards the designated drop off point in the car, we got repeated calls from your executives asking us to drop off the car in time or they would immobilize the car. Though we were driving well in time to drop off the car but it was in bad weather and in hilly and isolated forest conditions. We tried to tell the calling executives of the same, but they kept calling again and again and continued to threaten of immobilizing the car. Finally being aware of the grave consequences if they immobilize the vehicle at speed on a sharp hilly curve/bend with a ravine below or while overtaking another vehicle or at an isolated spot with my wife and two small children, i felt threatened and in danger and during my live conversation with them informed them and took a u-turn back, which they could see on their gps system used to track the car.
3. I did not hear from them again till at 1241hrs on 12th august 2018, when i paid rs 95591/- as advised by the executive to mobilize the immobilized vehicle and continue my 3 hour drive to the drop off point of the car and then take our return flight no 6e 2894 to delhi for which the boarding time ended at 1740hrs on 12th august 2018.
4. Even on having received the payment the customer care executive were initially not acknowledging the payment and were asking for extended period of time to mobilize the same vehicle on repeated urgent telephonic conversations they then started sighting glitches in their computer systems as excuses as i was trying to make them aware of the grave situation.
5. The complete log of calls that i made to and fro in this situation only got standard trade mark replies that were harsh, rude, incompetent, uncoordinated and non sympathetic. Then we were asked to try and push start the car (By customer care executives) but doing so in heavy rain with help from my wife and kids, the car never got mobilized again.
6. Finally we got a call from an executive named sujata who advised us to offload our luggage and leave the car and keys in the dashboard and told us that she will lock the car through the system and that they would take care of the rest, as we were on the verge of missing out flight considering the three hour drive to the airport. The same sujata also sent a sms at 1506hrs giving the direct number [protected] where we were to call when we wanted her to lock the car and thus hand it over to them.
The same was done by us on a live telephonic call with sujata. Than with great difficulty we found a taxi in that isolated place that drove at high speed and in bad turbulent rainy weather and almost miss our flight but the crew of airline were helpful despite us being late, understanding the gravity of our situation let us board.
7. The same sujata was helpful and assuring in our fears that we had been duped off rs 9591/- on pretext of mobilizing the car that never got mobilized. She assured that her team would get back to us after working on the care and they will try to help us with the refund. We requested for a call back from a supervisor but to no avail.
8. On 13th august 2018 at 1017hrs, i last spoke to a zoom car executive called afreen who told us that her team and sujata had discussed with her in great detail the happening with us and that she, her team and supervisor were working on it and they would get back to us soon. She assured that a refund of rs 9591/- would be looked into but surely rs 5000/- advance would be refunded.
To my utter dismay till date no action has been taken to process the refund nor have i heard from any of your people. I am hoping that my letter/email to you will help me resolve the issue at the earliest without further delay so that we are not forced to contemplate any further social and legal action