Zipcar UK Avis 3 296

Awful company. Wish I’d read these before using. Over charge you by 50% of the whole days fee if 5mins late.zero customer service as I wrote to them and they can’t even be bothered to reply.

About a month ago now I had my phone snatched in North London While I was making a call so my phone was unlocked and the thief changed my phone password, accessed my wallet and stole several of my accounts resulting in me not being able to gain access to them. A Zipcar was fraudulently hired and was subsequently crashed. All the information was supplied to the Police and Banks and was verified and the Police are dealing with this. Zipcar have continued to ignore the fact that it has been proven that I was not the Hirer or the Driver of the car continuing to state the incident "you were involved in". They have advised that they are holding me responsible for the damage and charges of approximately £3,500 for the car and are still adding further random charges (impounding, smoking in vehicle) to the bill. They are even trying to re bill me for the initial recurring charge that the thief set up, which my bank has already confirmed as unauthorised activity and refunded! They have sent me threatening emails stating they will contact Debt Collectors which could affect my credit rating if I do not pay up. I have also just received prosecution papers from the police with alleged offences of careless driving and fleeing the scene without sharing insurance details etc, despite the mountain of evidence I did not book or drive the car. All this despite me advising them that I have referred the matter to BVRLA Ombudsman, who are investigating my case. I have also sent several emails to Zipcar Insurers, Sedgwick International UK Ltd - no replies. I will now be sending all the information to Executive level managers, maybe they will confirm if it is official company policy to pursue victims of crime and fraud for bookings/damages it has been proven they had nothing to do with. As is abundantly clear from other recent reviews, Zipcar has a reputation for this behaviour, so take this as a warning not to use this company, as one day you will inevitably be blamed for things that you had nothing to do with. Do they really wish this case go through the courts, where their intimidation/victim blaming tactics will be fully scrutinised?

Honestly, please do not use zipcar. They want to charge me for a dent in the vehicle and accused me on causing the damage when in fact, I left the car facing the opposite direction and when they sent the photo of the damage on the vehicle, it had clearly been moved and used because someone else left it in a different direction that I left it as. Forgot to mention, they sent me a email 2 months AFTER my reservation date. Their evidence of me causing damage to the vehicle is sending me an invoice? No time stamps, no images or proof that those were the pictures taken from me at the time I hired the car. Honestly, save yourself the hassle and stress. They are wrong and a scam! Watch these reviews before you use this company.

I rented a car recently that showed that it had 5% fuel remaining when I checked on the app. Assuming that the app is reliable and also that Zipcar would not rent me a car that is unsafe to drive I tried to drive to the nearest petrol station (less than 0.5 miles away) to refuel. 5% fuel in the tank should have allowed me to drive 10-11 miles and so gotten me there easily. However, petrol ran out on the way and the car had to be recovered. To make matters worse, the replacement car they provided was low on cooling fuel.

Instead of accepting responsibility for THEIR mistake, Zipcar has charged me £135 for the recovery of the vehicle; a recovery which was necessary because of their error albeit. Apparently, I should have known that 5% remaining actually means that the tank is empty. Any attempts to resolve this with them have fallen on deaf ears.

I have used Zipcar for a few years and can overlook the fact that the cars are generally a bit dirty. However, I cannot overlook that I was given two cars that were unsafe to drive. I am also frustrated by the complete lack of ownership over their mistakes.

I am absolutely disgusted by the way Zipcar has handled my recent experience. I was charged the full cost for a flat tyre that occurred during my booking

My experience has left me deeply disappointed and disheartened. I would strongly caution anyone thinking of joining Zipcar to read the fine print carefully. Once something goes wrong, you’re on your own — no empathy, no fairness, and absolutely no customer support. Explained how this would be a financial burden on myself, still no response and no empathy.

Their terms and conditions are shocking — as a customer, you are fully liable for anything that happens to the car, even issues that could have been pre-existing or completely beyond your control. There seems to be no real investigation into the customer’s side of things, just a default assumption that you’re at fault.

This company makes easy money by unfairly instead of maintaining their broken cars

If you don’t take photos of every single corner of the car, even under every single seats, you risk being blamed for something left by someone else. They don’t inspect their cars, they simply charge everyone who used that vehicle within the whole week. Is that how your company earn the money? By charging multiple times cleaning fee to everyone for a single tissue?

The customer service only repeat that “you should have reported it before” instead of actually investigating. Other than charging customers, does Zipcar take any responsibility at all? they’re quick to take your money.

The Nissan leaf was not fit for purpose

Rented a Nissa Leaf and it ran down to empty twice in 70 miles of driving, despite charging it to 80% both time. Ridiculous that this car is on the road. LP72ORS is the reg. AVOID

Would have given zero stars if it was an option. An absolute rip-off. In this world of thousand options, here is a company that charged me up-front for trying to register on their platform. Weird as it seemed I still went ahead as I was in urgent need of a rental vehicle, and was hoping I will be able to lay my hands on one at the end. However, was put into their possible backlog of offline application reviews and got a response after 3 days asking to send more documentation/photos etc. However, since I already exited UK by then and didn't need the service anymore (originally needed as a tourist) I politely refused and asked for a refund of the so called "registration fee" but they refused saying they need this fees for processing applications. What?? Which planet are you guys from?? I hope to see your company going down soon and never to be seen again.

I signed up for Zipcar, paid the membership fee, and my account was never even approved. Despite that, I was still charged. I can’t access the app because the verification messages never arrive (neither by phone nor email), and I can’t cancel my account through the website because it shows an error.

I tried contacting customer support multiple times, but no one resolved my issue or even responded properly. It’s unacceptable to charge customers for a service they can’t use, and can't even cancel. I’ll be disputing the charge with my bank and reporting this situation to the appropriate authorities.

Avoid this company at all costs, it’s unreliable and offers zero support.

The car I drove was not ready, unfortunately I only realised after I started off the trip. I was under the heavy rain, the tyre was flat, found a spot to park safely and ended the trip was already 15-20 mins later. Wasted my time and effort to find another zip car that works. They wouldn't refund me directly anyway, very disappointed.

Poor communication. They closed the enquiry without even fixing the issue, and you can’t respond to their emails since they come from a no-reply inbox. Very poor service! I do not recommend

Edit: thanks for replying zipcar and literelly proving my point. These are the exact responses you get via email. Cancelling my account wont be using again and I highly reccomend no one else wastes their time or money
Ps. also the car was an automatic so extra tension on the clutch is nonsensical, as is me reporting a fault that results in me gaining nothing.

Ive been using zipcars on and off for years. I have had so many issues with the charges they take for whatever reason they see fit. Recently I was spending £250 per week on them for work. I recieved a random £35 charge and was told the smoke detectors in the car reported i was smoking in the vehicle. I emailed back and forth waiting weeks for a reply stating I do not smoke and it isnt possible as I was the only person in the car the whole time. I recieved a final email to say that the report definitely detected smoking I the car and that was their final position. They seem to be able to take money from your card whenever they see fit and there is no arguing with them regardless of what you say. I do not smoke and did not smoke in that car but there is nothing I can do. On another occasion I reported that the the check engine light came on whilst I was driving one of their cars and the car wouldnt drive above 15miles per hour, it was making strange noises and was extremely unsettling. They charged me a £40 fee a few weeks later stating they had a mechanic check the car and nothing was wrong with it. What benefit would I gain from making a false report? After several emails and a lot of frustration they refunded me but it took weeks.
Their customer service is appalling, and im so done using their service.

First trip and car not there. They had no idea where it was. Gave me another car and assured me I could have an extension to cover the wasted time but appeared someone else had booked after me so as I don't want to race against the clock, I had to cancel before I started and begin the fight for a refund.

So far my experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. I’ve only been a customer for two weeks and every booking with them has been a problem. Main issue has been the car not locking and unable to end trip once I reach the destinations leaving me late for appointments! I have to wait over five minutes on the call to get through to somebody who then locks the car instantly! so why was I unable to lock the Vehicle for my own trip? Next issue was the car not starting and having to wait excessive amounts of time to get through to somebody almost missing a very important engagements and then being charged an excessive amounts of money that they refuse to refund me because nobody bothered to read the notes left by the advisor I spoke to! Now today, I got to my destination after being stalled for 15 minutes at the beginning of my trip because of lights on the dashboard in the car wouldn’t let me drive! after a reset from customer service they did refund me the 15 minutes that I was stuck, now once I got to my destination I ended the trip which for the first time happened without any issues, I was then prompted to take photos of the vehicle before leaving it. I did this and pressed submit and then got a receipt to say how much the trip was on the app!! After a few hours of me coming out of my Event and going back on the app to search to see if there was a vehicle near by, I was in shocked to see that the trip was still open and charging me the whole time! What type of scam is this? I called customer service and instead of being reimbursed immediately so I wasn’t charged, They ended the trip remotely and I was charged over £40 for a less than 15min trip this was taken out of my account right away.!! I now have to wait over 48 hours + for somebody to review the trip and possibly give me a refund which wasn’t even guaranteed to me on the phone !! at this point ZIP Car is looking like it’s cheating customers to get as much money as they can from Customers so I am now taking another mode of transport home because I do not even trust to use their cars!! Instead of me using their cars daily as intended, where they would’ve been making good money consistent money from me, I would now only use them in absolute emergency which I hope doesn’t even happen!! because I do not trust them!! it’s like it’s designed to deliberately overcharge customers for the error of their app and cars.
*UPDATE!! The response is pretty useless all of those steps were followed and was not the issue. The app was! But I did receive an email 4 days later!! with a full refund as only a ‘good will gesture’ instead of any accountability but I am grateful nevertheless.

I had booked for early Sunday morning and just happened to check app Friday afternoon to find they had cancelled booking AND FAILED TO NOTIFY ME. Called them. Their staff are well trained, helpful, solution oriented and pick up calls quickly. Another car sorted arranged but 20mins away. Sunday work 0610 and found car had again been cancelled (collecting 7am). This time they had tried to send a notification but I was sleeping. Called. Another car. Now 30mins away. Car fuel on red! Engine warning light. If they can track mileage etc why not track car fuel and dash lights. Another call. They said just drive it. Fuel car punched near chip so had to remove at petrol station to insert in to car reader. Why not attach opposite to chip?? For all the frustration was given £12 compensation. They get 3 stars and not 1 as the call centre staff are excellent but honestly what a shambles

The car wouldn't start because of flat battery. The guy on the phone just said I can't use the car, didn't offer any alternatives or discount or free next drive.
I've missed very important appointment because of that, I won't be using Zipcar again. Very unreliable and risky.

terrible honestly

I am extremely disappointed with Zipcar's service for the 3rd time! We booked a car, well in advance, planning our schedule accordingly...only to receive a call just 5 min before picking up time, saying the previous customer was running late (30min or more)!!! This completely disrupted our plans, causing significant stress and frustration! It is unacceptable to have such last minute changes! I am not sure how much is the fine if you don't return your car in time, but it should be VERY VERY high, to prevent this from happening so frequently! From now on, I will try to avoid using Zipcar.

Awful awful AWFUL!!!
I created a membership under my healthcare email, and the following day they just canceled it without any explanation!
Not only that but they still charged me for the membership?!? Unhappy with the experience

Do not trust this company!!
After multiple app issues managed to start a hire of an electric vehicle.
Car broke down due to technical issues 1 mile into journey. Called support team who accused me of lying about warnings appearing on dashboard! Provided evidence and they advised me to leave the vehicle in its current position (restaurant car park). Was then charged £135 for leaving the car where I was instructed to. This company is a scam and staff are extremely rude and unknowledgeable. Please avoid and save the headaches.