A Bengaluru man shared his unpleasant experience with car rental company, Zoomcar, in a social media post that has since gone viral and prompted a response from the company.
In the post on X titled 'The Zoomcar Scam', Adithya Venkatesan described his experience.
He said once the user pays up, the company adds the caveat of verification. Venkatesan said this happens not before, but after the user pays. If the verification fails, then the user cannot get in touch with anyone or resolve it. This happens regardless of whether the user has a driving license, an Aadhaar card, and all relevant documents.
"It's a solid dark pattern that makes Zoomcar ‘collect' money, and not be accountable for what ensues. Then, they just disappear. And you can't get this money refunded either," the post said.
Venkatesan further stated he was surprised Zoomcar did not have a hassle-free way to provide customer support. "Given the friction between car owners and customers, this is the very least they can do. More so when their tech is so inferior, and it's near impossible to navigate the Rube Goldberg that's their app."
He alleged this was typical of someone who did not care for the customer, or their anxiety while planning a trip that involves their car. “It's irresponsible, and one of the worst user flows I've seen,” he added in his post.
He concluded his post with the statement, "Don't ever choose Zoomcar."
The scam that's @Zoomcar_India 🤬 pic.twitter.com/TkcFS1eFGR
April 10, 2024About six hours after the post, the company reverted to him stating his profile was rejected because the photograph on the driver's license did not match with the selfie he had uploaded.
"Hello, Adithya, as previously communicated over DM, we've reviewed your profile status and observed a discrepancy between the face on your driver's license and the uploaded selfie. Hence, the profile was rejected," read the post.
They further added that since he had cancelled the booking, the complete amount would be refunded automatically and would be reflected in his source account in the next 5-7 business days.
Advertisement"As a Nasdaq-listed company, we uphold rigorous standards of safety and integrity in all aspects of our operations and it is non negotiable. Customer verification plays a pivotal role in the well-being of both our guests and hosts community ensuring a secure environment for everyone involved. Failure to do so leads to a booking cancellation with automatic refund which takes 7-10 days," the company said in a statement.
"We are fully committed to maintaining the trust and confidence of our customers, and we will continue to prioritise their safety and security above all else," Zoomcar Co-founder and CEO Greg Moran said.
Hello Adithya, as previously communicated over DM, we've reviewed your profile status and observed a discrepancy between the face on your driver's license and the uploaded selfie. Hence, the profile was rejected. (1/2)
April 11, 2024Here's how social media reacted to Venkatesan's post on the platform:
I've had a pathetic experience once. The car was just not there and there was no one to contact. Customer care didn't help at all.
April 10, 2024 I have had terrible experience twice. Never using zoom car again.
April 10, 2024Been through that, had to file a consumer complaint, used chatgpt also to write those long emails.. took 4 months to get my money back, no compensation for jeopardizing the trip though
April 10, 2024That happens when you copy business models from USA and do Zero innovation.
Zipcar is doing great in US.
On the other hand zoom car has lost ground in India and is now resorting to scams like these.April 10, 2024AdvertisementIt used to be the best at one point of time. Used zoom cars across India and they were good. But now it's the worst service.
April 10, 2024I had a tyre burst on the Yamuna expressway because the tyre of the car was absolutely worn out and the stepney was useless too. And it took an average of 30 minutes each time to get in touch with zoomcar and they'd disconnect in 20 secs and repeat. Never again
April 11, 2024Absolutely scam #boycottzoomcar @Zoomcar_India. 2 very bad experiences, refund frauds, app shows as 559 refunded but never got it, tried to connect with customer care in vain. next time, was told to come 10kms to pick the car, after reaching I was told that booking is canceled.
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