Zipcar failed to notify me about a penalty ticket which was then passed to DEBT COLLECTORS. Which I found out 12 months (!!!) after the incident. I ended up paying c.£300 for the offence I was not even aware of. August 2021: I had a rental with Zipcar. Apparently, had a traffic offence which I was not notified about back then. August 2022: I'm getting a paper letter from a debt collector agency saying I have an outstanding debt of c.£300. It turned out that Zipcar failed to notify me about the penalty ticket back in 2021. Therefore, it was not paid on time and ended up with debt collectors. Which I figured out only in August 2022, 1 year after the incident. Zipcar support was absolutely horrendous. First, they general support were taking ages to connect me to the relevant team (violations), even though I had a hard deadline with the collectors (1 week left) which I emphasised to them several times. And them the violations team showed no interest in and understanding of my situation, even though it was clearly caused by a flaw in their notification procedure. Needless to say, it took us 5-6 email interactions until I finally saw the scanned copy of the actual penalty ticket I had to pay for. CONCLUSION: I have been Zipcar customer for nearly 4 years, using them very often and spreading a good word within my circle. They've now effectively robbed me for £300, and have made me through humiliating experience of having and paying the collectors' debt. The worst of all, they did not even admit any flaws from their side, and showed no respect and compassion. With regret, I'm now closing my account and will make sure my case is known to as many existing users as possible, so that they are aware of what risks they are actually exposed to. I'm happy to provide the debt collectors' enforcement notice and the penalty ticket with dates and all the details upon request.

Artem1309

London, UK

Zipcar is great... until you get a problem with your car. Our tire was flat, but still drivable over a short distance. Being 5 minutes away from a different Zipcar location, we figured that we would be able to leave the vehicle there and get into a new one... Nope! We had to wait for 2 hours for someone to come and install a spare wheel, before we were obligated to drag the car back to its original location. They would then, from this original location, eventually bring the car to a shop to get it repaired. There is obviously a much better way of doing this, but Zipcar could not care less about it's customers. Understand the following about Zipcar. If the car brakes down, it is not their problem: It is yours.

JimmyH9

Atlanta, GA

Horrible horrible horrible!!! I had they service for about 2yrs , they just cancelled my membership over a misunderstanding!! I am very upset with them ! Please proceed with precautions

Trina0220

Philadelphia

I wrote a Zipcar review a while ago on another site. I thought I should do so on some other sites as well. Think of this as advice from a friend who doesn't want you to go through what I did. So here goes: DON'T. DO. THIS! You are playing with fire. Sure, it's a great idea, and the convenience makes it SO tempting. For a couple months, it was heaven for me. And then I learned the serious flaw with the business model: A car is too expensive a thing to rent on the "honor system." Bicycles, sure. But not cars. When you park the car at the end of your rental, who checks it in? Who from Zipcar sees it? The answer is, NOBODY. Say you bring your rental back to its parking place in pristine condition, but 30 minutes later somebody throws a brick at it. Or keys it. Or even worse, the next renter trashes it and then calls it in. In all of these scenarios, the fault will be YOURS. And there's nothing you can do about it. I returned a car in perfect condition. Even took it to a carwash. When I got an email from Zipcar about how the next renter found it in such "bad shape," I was flabbergasted. I dropped them like a hot potato. Because if this scenario happens 3 times, you can actually be fined--and I wanted no part of that. With this type of car rental (and it's not just Zipcar anymore) there are too many variables completely out of your control that can affect you BADLY. It's basically car rental roulette. If you're a risk-taker, fine. But know this: Sooner or later you'll be jammed up, and there will be no way to fight it. My STRONG advice is: Stick with the old-fashioned pick-up-at-the-agency approach. That way, when you're done and the car is officially checked in, there's nothing more to worry about.

ScottieK

Milwaukee, WI

We went to Hawaii for our Anniversary starting 08-04-17. We decided to try out Zipcar, it sounded perfect for our vacation. Rent a car when you need, by the hour not by the day. This was perfect for our detail itinerary we had worked on for 8 months before our trip. I went to the website, payed the registration fee, and annual fee. It was that simple, I was now a proud Zipcar member with all of the benefits! I reserved a car for 08-09-17. My wife and I, along with another couple arrived a day early to the pick up spot, just to make sure we had no problems the next day when we would be exploring the island of Oahu! When we arrive onsite, to our horror the car that was reserved, had been in a wreck, and very dirty! The front passenger bumper was damage and part of it was in the back seat! It was a horrible site! I immediately called Zipcar, after I explain the issue to Zipcar's helpless support team, he said, "sir you can take the car as is or I can refund your rental fee." I said, "take the car as is, I am not sure if it is safe to drive!" "Well, I am sorry, but these are the only two options we have," he replied. I asked to speak to a Manager. When a manager finally picked up the transferred call, I explain the situation to her. "We are on our anniversary and all our plans that where made can not be change, because of reservations and other details. I am standing here looking at the car I am suppose to pickup tomorrow and it has been wrecked, is there anything you can do", I said? She replied, "I am sorry sir, but we do not have anymore cars available, but you are welcome to take the car as is or I can return your rental fee." I thought I was reliving ground hog day! I said, "I am not sure if this car is safe to drive, half of the bumper is in the back seat and the other half is hanging off the car!" "Will you please cancel my membership and refund my money." She said, yes sir I can do that, and I am sorry." I had one more question for her, "Will you please

viewshot

Hawaii

We live in FL and my 19 yo daughter needed to travel to CT - since she is not 21 Zipcar was the only option. Reserved car a month in advance - my daughter got there and guess what ... NO CAR! All zipcar said was ... we are sorry. SORRY? My child is there without a way to get anywhere!!!! Unacceptable - they said there were no other cars that they could get for her. She was alone stranded in a different state without means of transportation! Just awful - parents nightmare! They kept saying... sorry but there is nothing we can do. Then I called every car rental company and not s single one would rent to a 19 yo. DONT USE THIS COMPANY !!! They could care less of the situation they left my daughter in. Then to top it off... they refused to refund the application fee... the only reason she signed up was for this trip! JUST AWFUL!!!

LaureenGR

Florida

Actually zero stars! This is the worst scam company I have ever had the misfortune of attempting to patronize. They could care less about customer service, run off with your money, and the ONE and ONLY person in the company who can issue a refund does not have a direct line that is known to even the managers of the customer service department! All the red flags of a poorly run sham company. I joined Zip Car to use when I have to visit a job site that is unrealistic with public transportation or Uber. I paid my dues, patiently waited for my card to arrive in the mail, watched all of the online videos preparing me for the experience and made my first reservation. I caught a ride to the car site with plenty of time to acclimate and get to work early. Guess what? The car literally would NOT OPEN! Unbelievable. I called them on the spot and my reservation was in place. They said there was nothing they could do except refund the reservation and that I would have to go into the city to locate another working zipcar. That meant a 30+ minute ride into the city in an Uber and then an hour+ drive to the job site from wherever there was a working zipcar. I've never heard such absurdity suggested in my life. I ended up just buying a new car so as to never have to deal with this again and risk loosing my job because of a scam "car share" company. I've spoken to 4 "customer service" reps in the last month asking for a full refund and cancellation of my membership. They all say they'll pass it on but one month in my card is being charged the upgraded insurance fee once again and no one has taken any responsibility or been helpful in any way. They all just mention this mysterious person who may be able to issue refunds but who doesn't have a direct line. So I'll just have to make myself available to answer whenever they call in the next 1-2 business days. They are a complete scam!

AGL12

Alexandria, Va

I eliminated the 'damage waiver' but it kept on showing up in my monthly bill. I called customer service and the rep said he would do it, when I requested an email confirmation of the change, he told me Zipcar doesn't send confirmation emails because 'This is a self-service company' and I should just check it myself. When I told him the reason I was calling to begin with was because IT continued to appear on my bill and I wanted to make sure it was done, he refused. If Zipcar fancies itself digital native and a self-service company, then it needs to start acting like one. They lost a customer today, I closed my account and taking my business elsewhere. Zipcar is expensive but if you want my money, at least work for it; otherwise, it is not worth it.

mercedes57

New York City

I cancelled my membership with Zipcar on March 2016 now and March 2017 I realized they have been charging me a $9 fee every month since last year I called them on the 20th to find out why they have been charging me they told me that their person never cancelled out my account and then I had a balance of $97 I've been questioned how I had a balance of $97 if I cancelled my account and they were charging $9 a month from my account I was told that nobody could help me with my refund because my case had to be sent to member services and that member services would be getting in contact with me within 48 hours a week later still no contact but I want on my credit card statement and they charged me $97 so I called them back of course they said the same thing nobody here can help you your case needs to be sent to member services they'll be in touch within 48 hours. So here I am 48 hours later still no email still no call I called my credit card company since March of 2016 they have charged me $238 for services that I cancelled one year ago!!!! When I realized they charged me the 97$ on the 20 I called to find out why and how this was possible again! "Oh your case needs to be sent to member service they will be intouch with you in 48 hrs......." Are you kidding me????? Can a course of one year you charged me $238 for services that I did not use due to the fact of I got my own car and cancelled their services but you can't find somebody to get in touch with to give me a refund no I'm a single mom of two children and I cannot afford to let a company take $238 out of my children's mouth

Kdibella

Massachusetts

So I was a member of Zipcar I cancelled my membership in March of 2016. I then noticed on march 19th 2017 they were still charging me $9 for a membership fee every month even after I cancelled my membership when I called for a refund they told me I had a bill of $97 which could be impossible if they are charging me $9 a month and I cancelled my membership a year ago but when I called them to fix the problem they told me I had to wait 48 hours for somebody that email me back needless to say nobody got in touch with me and then on the 21st they charged my credit card the $97 so now here I am with them charging me $238 over the past year and nobody calling me back or giving me an explanation on why I can't get my money back I am a single mother of two children and I did not authorize them to take my money. And they should have people that are available to fix these problems!!! Not "oh your case needs to be sent to member services and they will get back to within 48 hrs." And a week later still nothing...

Kdibella

Massachusetts