Zoomcar India Pvt. Ltd. — booking id jps6xm1ua

Address:	Unit Nos. 701 to 717, 7th Floor, Tower-B, Diamond District, No. 150, Airport Road, Kodihalli, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560008
Website:	www.zoomcar.com

We have booked a Zoomcar (Tata Hexa) from Aug 9 2000hrs to Aug 12 0800hrs. On Aug 9 when we went to collect the car at 2130hrs based on the location given in their app we were surprised to see it parked by the side of the road. I can understand that ZAP cars are not located in Zoomcar parking/any other public parking locations but that doesn't mean that they can lie on the roads for members to pick up and drive ( I mean I can understand if its parked in someone's house or in an apartment cellar but on the road??. However since we booked it, we decided to check its condition before we unlock it through the app. Now the vehicle was parked in such a way that only 3 sides of the vehicle was visible and the 4th side (passenger side) was inaccessible due to the garbage dumped on that side. We called up customer care (can't remember the name of the person who answered) and told him that how can we unlock the car as the 4th side is not accessible and we cannot upload the pics of that side of the car. The Zoomcar executive replied saying its ok to unlock the car without the pics from that side of the car and you can take a video of it once you drive out from that place. But the moment we unlocked and opened the car it was so filthy inside (not that it was looking good from the outside but we didn't want to judge the book by its cover) that we couldn't stand it any further and called up customer care (don't remember the name again). By this time it was already 2230hrs. The low fuel warning light was also on. When we told the customer care that its very filthy inside they said we'll send an executive to clean the car in an hour. But then even if he comes and cleans (which I really doubt) its going to be around 2330 hrs and with the level of fuel in it we don't know if it would last till the nearest fuel station which would be running at that point of time. And we had to start next day in the morning for our trip to Gandikota (from Hyderabad). So we told him to kindly allocate another car and we're too tired negotiating with you. After offering lot on impractical alternatives he finally said that there's one Hexa available at the airport. We agreed to it since it is towards our destination. When I asked him that can I drive my car to the airport, park it there and collect the Hexa, he did not reply in an affirmative. So when I asked him how do I get to that place since it is around 35kms from my place he said that I can book a cab and the fare will be reimbursed to me after I upload the bill. All this on some unknown road over phone at 2330hrs. Since we are collecting the vehicle next day morning at 0800hrs (Aug 10) we requested to push the booking accordingly (i.e. by 12 hours). Which would mean our dropping time would be 2000hrs 12Aug. The executive agreed to this but somehow it didn't reflect in the app against the new/fresh booking which the executive did on my behalf. (I'm guessing communication gap) Surprised because he was on call for close to an hour. Appreciate his effort but sorry to say that it was all in vain. By the way he promised to reimburse the return cab fare from airport to my place. While I have not yet reached to the point of my issue here I had to explain about the booking from the beginning to underscore the professionalism of Zoomcar.

Now coming to the main issue. As suggested by the Zoomcar executive we booked a cab to the airport the following morning to collect the Hexa which was booked/re-booked. After taking a video and filling the checklist, we commenced our journey to Gandikota via Kurnool to pick up two more guys at Kurnool. After having lunch in Kurnool and picking our friends we started to Gandikota. At one of the major signals in Kurnool we were slowing down to halt as the signal is red. We noticed something going wrong while slowing down. Once the signal turned green when I tried to accelerate the vehicle was not moving. We thought it must be a flat tyre. But when one us got down to check he noticed that the front wheel on the driver's side was not rotating. I immediately called the customer care and informed them. She replied by asking me to check with a 'LOCAL' mechanic first and get back to them if its still not resolved and the repair bills may be uploaded for reimbursement later. This was around 1400hrs. Meanwhile the traffic police and local police were pressurising us to remove the car from there asap as it was causing lot of traffic jam and the Home Minister's convoy is expected soon in that route. We somehow found a mechanic nearby who removed the wheel and identified the problem in the wheel hub in 10 minutes. Since the vehicle was not in a position to be towed we asked him to fix the wheel back and we drove with that fixed wheel for about 10 meters (took a U Turn near the signal basically) so that it is out of traffic. Then we asked the mechanic if he can fix it. He said he'll try. He removed the wheel again and the part with the disc and went to a lathe machine shop to fix it. The lathe guy said that whatever he's doing, there might be 10% chance of damaging the disc. Then I immediately called customer care again and informed them about the local mechanic's issue while trying to solve the problem. The executive even spoke to the mechanic. Then the executive spoke to me and said that based on mechanic's feedback its better to tow the vehicle and asked us not to do anything. So the mechanic fixed the wheel back. By then the time was 1730hrs. So when we asked the mechanic what about us and our trip if the vehicle is going to be towed he said that he will try book a cab and the fare for the first 50kms of the cab is free and beyond that we have to pay (We didn't hear from him after that) By the way we were not involved in any accident with the vehicle. We have a video to prove that which was taken just before the vehicle was being towed. By the time the towing vehicle arrived and finished loading the hexa on their truck (which I did it myself through the ramp as the towing guys could not do it and surprisingly the front wheel was rotating then) it was 1930 and we realised that our trip has come to an end as the cab was not booked as mentioned in their call and we didn't find any other alternative ourselves. So we booked a hotel in Kurnool for the night and checked out the following day and returned to Hyderabad by bus. By the way we were even promised a refund of our booking plus the mechanic charges of 1000/- (Bill uploaded)

On Sunday morning (Aug 11) I got a message from Zoomcar that I have to pay Rs.10000/- as damage charges. Surprised, I called up customer care to find out what it was about. She said that it it auto generated and that once the evaluation is done it will be reverted. On Aug 15 I get a call from Mr. Nazim, Zoomcar executive that I have outstanding charges due of Rs. 10000/-. When I asked him on what basis he's charging Rs.10000/- he said it was due to my negligence. I didn't really understand that because right from the point of collecting the vehicle till it was towed I have complied with every instruction suggested by the Zoomcar executives from time to time. When I asked him what is the damage that you are referring to he said that its the wheel hub that is damaged. I said that if was genuinely my negligence that has damaged it I don't mind paying but if you just want to exploit me then I'm not going to let that happen. I received another call from Mr Pratham (Zoomcar Executive) on Aug17 informing me about my dues. I told him that I'll talk to you if you understand the issue otherwise I'll submit a complaint and we can start resolving the issue from that point. He said he understands the issue and after giving a patient hearing to my story he said that he'll get the matter reinvestigated and get back to me on that. Meanwhile when I asked him what was the damaged he said it was the wheel rim that was damaged and for that he was charging Rs.10000/-. When I asked him how can it get damaged he said by riding on potholes it gets damaged. (Not sure how is it due to my negligence as it was 200kms of Hyderabad-Kurnool highway and can't think of any potholes en route). If any part of the vehicle gets damaged due to its regular wear and tear (the vehicle odometer reading was 70000kms) how is the last driven customer responsible for it? Also where is it mentioned in their site that for wheel hub/rim damage the charges are 10000/-? https://www.zoomcar.com/damage_charges

The main issue here is while I was trying to understand and resolve the issue over phone (Mr. Pratham still didn't get back to me) I'm sent a notice. Honestly I was a huge fan of Zoomcar and this was my 11th booking. But not anymore. The kind of professionalism they have shown in this entire episode is appalling.

I would like to reiterate once again that paying damage charges is not a problem at all but trying to frame a customer and making him pay for acts which he is not responsible for is just not acceptable.

I can understand what it takes for you run a business of your kind and of that scale here but that doesn't mean that you fleece innocent/genuine customers. This is only my first step of escalation of this matter since a notice is sent to me even as the matter was under consideration (at least according to Mr Pratham). I would like to escalate it further by posting it in more forums so that people will be aware of your practices. I did not want to create an issue here and rather wanted to solve it amicably.

If you can investigate the matter thoroughly ( by going through all the call logs which concern this booking) I'm sure you will understand what has happened. However if you would like to ignore that and think simply pressing charges and send notices is easier, I would also like to explore my legal options and let the matter be settled legally.

After enduring so much through this entire booking, putting some more effort and getting the issue resolved legally should not be a problem.

Regards
R V Vaibhav