Zipcar UK Avis 3 294

I’m shocked to see that Zipcar has only 1.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot — but after my experience, I’m not surprised.

I used their Zipcar Flex service and parked in a location their app clearly marked as allowed. Months later, I was hit with three separate parking fines totalling £270, plus £90 in administration fees (£30 for each fine). This was for a single parking incident where the car didn’t move.

Zipcar only notified me after the fines had risen to the maximum amount, so I lost the chance to pay at the reduced rate. When I raised the issue, they simply pointed to their terms and conditions and refused to help.

Reading other reviews, I see many customers have faced the exact same problem — this is clearly a pattern, not a one-off mistake.

Warning: If you use Zipcar Flex, you risk hundreds of pounds in unexpected charges, even when following the app’s parking guidance.

I have used Zipcar in central London (SE1) for 7 years and have almost uniformly positive experiences. On the rare occasions I have experienced issues, the customer service has been prompt, polite, and effective.

Booked a Zipcar van at 5 a.m. to collect a wardrobe from East London. We drove from West London almost the whole way when the tire suddenly blew out — no puncture, no debris, no load in the van, and we hadn’t hit anything. Waited 2–3 hours for a tow truck, then had to take a 2-hour Uber back to get another van. By the time we made the trip again, the whole day was gone. Weeks later, Zipcar charged me £200+ despite no warning lights except the generic service light that appeared after the tire had burst and no proof it was my fault. The tire damage looked like wear and tear, but Zipcar’s stance was simple: if it happens while you have the van, you pay, even when you have done all the neccessary checks. Poor maintenance, poor accountability — be careful.

I asked them to provide photos from before we took the van, but they didn’t send any. The tire damage looked more like wear and tear than misuse, yet their stance was that anything that happens while the vehicle is in your possession is your responsibility.

In my view, Zipcar failed to provide evidence, failed to account for the possibility of pre-existing damage, and ultimately left me paying for something that wasn’t my fault. Customer support was not helpful; every time I would email/reply, the only thing they would respond with is the point in the contract that it was my responsibility, they did not take into consideration the circumstances.

If you’re considering using Zipcar, be aware: if something goes wrong — even if it’s due to poor maintenance — you could be held fully responsible.

Take your money plus extra at every turn. Ended up paying over £200 for 3 hour trip, avoid

Frustrating experience – poor systems, no accountability

I received multiple parking tickets due to Zipcar’s unclear bay guidance and slow notifications. Their system doesn’t distinguish properly between resident and permit bays, and I wasn’t alerted that the car was illegally parked until after a second fine — missing the chance for early payment discount.

Shockingly, the same car received around 35tickets on the same street in a month, yet Zipcar continues to charge £30 admin fees per ticket with no responsibility for their broken system. I raised a complaint and got a generic AI-style response that ignored every point. Very disappointing service.

Poor customer service. The customer service staff are great but have little authority to override charges and fees that might be unfair given certain circumstances. There’s no real avenue to dispute such charges, and “escalations” just result in emails that you cannot actually engage with someone about, just flat refusals to consider your circumstances by a faceless corporation hiding behind impersonal communications that are likely automated, or at least template emails. No one ever calls and you cannot speak to anyone about your issue who can actually do something. Your account just gets blocked until you pay up so everyone loses INCLUDING ZIPCAR. It’s idiotic. Unfortunately they have a monopoly so there’s little alternative. I now keep my bike in great shape and stay on top of car maintenance so I don’t need to use zipcar. Europcar are very cheap if you need a van and book in advance.

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE

I think the company is going under!

Be warned, their cars are very unreliable and when they do break down their customer service rep takes 20 minutes to get to the phone and when she does, she’s overworked and very stressed, making you out to be the problem for having chosen a reliable car. She makes it clear to you that she’s not supported and that every effort she is making to support you is being resisted internally and then she gets stressed and projects onto you - making you the problem. Not fun when the car is at fault and you’re just trying to get to safety. What makes it worse was she didn’t have a senior manager to approve her decisions even at peak time. I think this company must be struggling. Be wary! If you have other options - take it

AVOID. Absolute Scammers!

Was unjustly charged £400+ for damage and towing costs. No specific evidence sent to me when requested, charged for x2 tyres and towing costs when I was told to leave the vehicle. Ridiculous customer service, kept going around in circles. Avoid at all costs.

When I initially got into the car a red light flashed up to say that the tyre pressure needed to be seen to. I then tried to drive the car only to find that the clutch must have been so worn that I couldn't engage the gears properly. I drove the car for about 5 minutes before deciding that the car was practically undriveable and as I needed to go onto a motorway was potentially extremely dangerous. As a result I had to get 2 Ubers and a train and I was late for work. I have reported the issue, but after reading all the reviews on here don't hold out much hope that I'll get a refund or that the car, more importantly, will be taken off the road.

I was charged £190 by Zipcar for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) that should never have been paid.

The PCN was issued after my booking had ended, and the vehicle was parked correctly in a designated Car Club bay in Hackney, exactly where Zipcar requires vehicles to be returned for roundtrip bookings. Despite this, Zipcar paid the fine without contesting it and charged me £160 for the PCN plus a £30 processing fee.

I raised a query via their system on 3 July, but weeks later I have received no response at all. No investigation, no explanation, no accountability. I’ve now had to file a request with Hackney Council myself just to get basic answers, something Zipcar should have done in the first place.

This level of service is completely unacceptable, especially when big amounts of money are involved. If I don't get a refund and formal response, I will be escalating this to the BVRLA, Trading Standards, and any other appropriate consumer protection body.

If you're thinking of using Zipcar, be warned: they will charge you for fines and damage you didn’t cause, then disappear when you ask questions (as evident by all these negative reviews).

Very disappointed — charged for an offence I did not commit
We used a Zipcar from 11th to 13th July. Everything during the rental itself was fairly normal, and we returned the car on time.

However, nearly a month later, I was shocked to receive notice of a traffic violation — along with a charge to my account. I was extremely upset, as I was certain we had committed no offence.

Upon reviewing the details, I found that the alleged violation occurred on 14th July, almost 24 hours after our booking had ended, and in a completely different area — one we never even passed through.

Despite clearly not being responsible, the money was still taken, and customer support simply redirected me to the violations department. It’s been several days, and I’ve yet to receive any reply or resolution.

This feels like a serious oversight and a very careless mistake. I'm incredibly disappointed with how this has been handled so far.

UPD: they sent money back after a month... Didn't even offer anything. Disgusting company.

On 31 December 2024, my unlocked phone was physically stolen while I was using it. The thieves gained full access, changed my Google account password, and used apps on the phone — including Zipcar — before I could recover control.

Despite acting swiftly the same day to secure my accounts (buying a new phone/SIM, contacting banks, reporting the theft to police, and regaining access to my Google account), I was shocked to learn that a Zipcar vehicle had been booked fraudulently in my name.

When I spoke to Zipcar, I expected them to treat this as identity theft. Instead, they told me I was fully liable for the charges — which quickly escalated to £565.80, including:

* The fraudulent booking
* A towing fee
* A low fuel charge
* Two fines from Brent Council + Zipcar’s “admin” fees

Worse, they paid the fines without giving me a chance to contest them, then charged me extra on top.

Their reasoning?

1. That I didn’t notify them “quickly enough” (even though the booking happened while I was still locked out of my Google account)

2. That I had “stored credentials” on the phone (the app stays logged in by default, as most apps do — and Zipcar offers no fingerprint or face ID login for added protection)

I repeatedly asked Zipcar:

* What practical steps do they expect users to take to prevent this?

* Why their app lacks basic security features?

* How they justify shifting the risk entirely to customers?

No clear answers. Just more invoices. And now they’ve referred me to a debt collection agency — despite full knowledge that this arose from a criminal incident.

This has been a genuinely distressing experience. I’ve never had such an uncompassionate, inflexible response from a tech-based service — especially one that involves physical vehicle access via app.

If you use Zipcar, be warned:

* Their app is not secure
* Their policies are unrealistic
* And if anything goes wrong, you’ll be left footing the bill

I wouldn’t recommend Zipcar to anyone after this despite having been a long term happy customer beforehand.

Zipcar rip-off people, they lie into your face, absolutely unethical, greedy company.
My rented car Fiat 500 BROKE DOWN because of a result of poor maintenance.
Zipcar wants to charge me for the tow charge instead of giving me a refund and not to mention my inconvenience and ruined schedule.
They were lied, that the car had no problem.
I was working in a Ford garage for 4 years and restored 2 classics, and if I say the Car broke down, it's a fact! They think the customers are stupid and try to overcharge them for anything.
Google search is there for everyone!
Not to mention the Dept collector situation
as Zipcar wants your money so badly, they do anything to steal yours.
No communication, just BS.

I used to use Zipcar about 5 years ago when I lived in London and it was fine. I recently moved back into London and thought I would use them again. What a mistake! After issues with the car I was meant to pick up, and then the car I picked up not being safe, the customer service team and I agreed to leave the car somewhere safe. Then not only did I not receive a refund of the original booking which couldn’t go ahead, they charged me a further £135. This is all after their own customer service teams advise and reassurance that I wouldn’t be charged a penny more and that I would get a refund.
Absolutely scam of a company and I am so disappointed how far they have gone down since 5 years ago. I am opening a complaints and a dispute with them now as this is day light robbery.

This is disgraceful company, the workers are extremely rude, we have been charged for low fuel even though there was no fuel card in the car, they charged us £35 for absolutely nothing, I will take them to court, this company needs to shut down because they are thief’s,

No cars available in my area and had to pay £15 to join that is non refundable. Don’t be tricked out by this won’t be using them.

If I could leave less than half a star I would.
I have been with zip car for a while and noticed their behaviour but now im done. I received an email on the 21st July 2025 stating that I have received 2 parking Violations for a MG vehicle on on the 12/06/2025 and 13th/06/2025
Now firstly, yes I originally booked the car from 9:00am to 10:30am. I met the car in the loading bay and upon entering I was unable to move it and called for support through the app. The gentleman I spoke to on the day realised I was having an issue and offered to let me use the VW on the next street which he booked and told me to leave the car and he remotely locked it. I went on my day paying for the VW from 9am to 4:30pm. I feasible cannot book and drive 2 vehicles at the same time. Also I did not park there in the first place as I said the car was already there. On the 23rd of July 24hrs after being told I had acquired these so call fines the money was taken from my account £380. You have removed this money within 24hrs of making me aware there is an issue after 6weeks of you recieving the original ticket. This is unethical. I have contact zipcar everyday this week only to be told to send email, then in 48hrs I will be contacted. It is now 4/5 days. My children are on holiday and I had already planned for that money for my children. This company track everything, they record all conversations, they track all vehicles so they have no excuses, they prove that they really don't care about their customers. Every one I have spoken to in customer service says 'Im so sorry, Im going to raise this as urgent after looking at my account'. What do they think we are stupid, you all are not raising any thing as urgent, its just to get me of the phone, after the 3rd person repeating its a joke. Do not use this company! Avoid! I encouraged about 12 family and friends to join I will be encouraging them to boycott. They break most of their own rules but penalise the people that give them work.

Extremely unhappy with my recent zipcar experience. After returning the vehicle, the first thing I knew of having incurred a parking fine was when it was debited from my account including a £30 'handling fee'.

It's extremely substandard that customers are not presented with any chance to appeal any penalties incurred especially given the high 'handling fee'.

Customer service (I assume AI) were entirely unhelpful, just regurgitating boilerplate about the members contract that I already read on the website. My point was never a legal one, it was that the customer experience of charging a handling fee and not even presenting a chance to appeal is extremely poor.

Have no intention of returning to the service.

Im a member of zipcar for a many years.
Really impressive rental car company but few years ago.
Now almost every car you rent (flexi car) is in appealing condition. Smells badly, sticky steering wheel, fingerprints on the touch screens, stains on the seats and the list could go on.
Same customer experience as always: apologetic, patronising, assuring they will report to management but nothing happens.
The main pathetic excuse you can hear is answer:” Its a car sharing company” that’s why car could be in a bad condition. Wow!
If you have penalty to pay for a wrong parking, good luck.
Pathetic customer service.
Avoid!!!

TL;DR: I was fined £190 after following Zipcar’s customer service instructions. It’s been over 30 days since I submitted a complaint — no reply, no resolution. Feels like a scam.

I’ve used Zipcar vans many times in London to help with house moves and my business. On the 28th of April, I rented a van for a quick job in central London. When I returned, the designated bay was occupied by another vehicle, so I couldn’t park the van back in its spot.

To avoid a late return, I immediately called Zipcar’s support line. The agent answered quickly and instructed me to park across the street. I even read out the parking sign to them, and they clearly confirmed multiple times that it was fine to leave the van there.

A month later, I was charged a £190 parking fine.

I submitted a complaint via Zipcar’s website, but 30 days later — still no response. Not even an acknowledgment.

After three weeks of waiting, I started calling customer support, but they’ve been completely unhelpful. Nobody can escalate my case, and all they say is, “The violations team is handling it — they’ll get back to you.” Spoiler: they haven’t.

Just like many others are saying — they’re lightning-fast when it comes to charging your card, but go radio silent when it’s their turn to take responsibility. Totally unacceptable.