Zoomcar — Fraud/scam

Address:

BENGALURU

My booking number is JPSNI8YC9. The name of the host is Mr. Takhat Singh. The car was a white wagon r 2022 model with number MH 47 BB 4758. The booking was scheduled to start from Friday 17/11/2023 6.00 a.m to Sunday 19/11/2023 11.00 p.m.
At the early morning of 17/11/2023, I reached the parking point which was away from the host’s address but I was not able to find the car. After a lot of searching and asking people around, I finally found the car parked quite away from the parking point. The car had a private white number plate which was quite strange. I tried to unlock the car but I was not able to do so. Even after uploading all the pictures and filling in the details required by the zoomcar app, I was still not able to unlock the car. I tried calling the host several times for the same but he was not answering any of my calls. I tried calling the zoomcar customer support center as well but no executive was on line and I was only being asked to keep holding the line. The car remained locked all this time. After some time, a young boy came near the car and asked me to get aside because he wanted to wash the car. I asked for the personal number of the host from the boy. He gave it to me and we started calling on it but no one answered. The car was sill locked. After several attempts of calling the host, I headed towards his flat. But I couldn’t find his flat because he had not mentioned his flat number in the address. I searched a lot and asked many people around but I was not able to find his flat. I came back to the car. It was still locked. I tried calling the host again. He finally answered and said that he had stopped hosting for zoomcar for the last 2 months then. I asked him about my payment of rupees 6848 which was debited towards zoomcar the day before on the 16/11/2023. He said that he had no idea about it as he was 1100 kilometers away from the car and was not responsible for the booking. In a few minutes, suddenly the car status changed to ‘unlocked and on trip’ on my zoomcar app. But the doors of the car still remained locked. I was confused and very angry at the same time. I called up the host again and told him that I’m calling up the police to report the incident. He did not answer and hung up the call. I dialed 100 and reported the incident to the police. In a few minutes, a man named Mr. Sandeep Tinge arrived near the car and claimed to be the brother of the host. He said that the host was in Rajasthan and had stopped hosting for zoomcar because of some loss. In a few minutes, the police arrived near the car and I reported the whole incident to them. The police asked his brother about the same so he said that he was not his brother and just a friend. He called up the host and asked him to speak with the police. The host started fumbling and giving unsatisfactory answers to the police on the call. The police asked me to report the incident at the nearest police station – Charkop police station, Kandivali, Mumbai. I reached the police station and filed a complaint of the incident. I submitted a written application as well mentioning that I had made a payment of rupees 6848 towards zoomcar but neither did I unlock the car and nor did I go anywhere. The car remained parked down and I was not responsible for any kind of mishap involving the car during the trip period and any time after. The police asked me to call up the cyber crime cell and report the incident. I did the same and provided them with all my transaction and bank details of the payment of rupees 6848 made towards zoomcar. The police noted down the statement of the host’s friend who also claimed not be held responsible for the car. He also informed the police that the host does not stay at the mentioned address. The police and the host’s friend tried calling the host from the police station but he stopped answering any of the calls. The police and I tried calling the zoomcar customer support center but no executive was on line. The police asked the car to be towed down to the police station. I got my complaint application signed and stamped from the police station and left the police station. I had the worst experience ever with zoomcar.
I WANT A WHOLE REFUND OF MY AMOUNT OF RUPEES 6848 INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT AND NOT IN THE FORM OF ZOOM CREDITS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I DID NOT UNLOCK THE CAR AND I DID NOT GO ANYWHERE! THE POLICE COMPLAINT APPLICATION IS ATTACHED AS WELL.