ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXDoes Zipcar have hidden penalties?
4 years, 2 months ago - Ioana Constantinescu
I'm thinking of taking up the Zipcar offer which sounds great.
The only thing is I've read some less than complementary reviews about them. Do any shooters have any experiences with Zipcar that they can share before I make a decision. Eg if you brought a car back late because of terrible traffic, or some other reason that were no fault of your own, do Zipcar add on high penalties to the hire charge. I've heard of this happening in other car hire companies. There is no "small print" to read on the Zipcar website that I can see, which is a mixed blessing, but as I say may disguise hidden clauses.
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4 years, 2 months ago - Alwyne Kennedy
I'm a long-standing Zipcar member. I joined around 2007, when it was called Streetcar. Streetcar became Zipcar a few years later.
On occasions when I think I will go over my initial booking, I extend the booking by text. However, if the vehicle is due to be used by another member directly after my initial booking, extension is not possible. It is then a question of getting back in time or be fined.
Only once did I receive a late return fine. On a journey of less than a mile I was stuck in traffic on the way home. I pleaded my excuses and had the fine cancelled by a sympathetic Zipcar agent. Our exchange went like this:
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ME:
re my late return charge - I was doing well until I got stuck in stationary traffic less than a mile from the car's bay.
Check the GPS tracking for the journey and see what a nightmare jam I was stuck in on the Bromley Road.
There was nothing I could do - I'd forgotten my phone so couldn't text to extend my booking.
THEM:
I completely understand the scenario you have described to me and can see that you have not had a late return before, so I've refunded the late fee in this instance. However, please note that late fines are applied automatically unless a reservation is extended, so it’s best to extend the booking to avoid the late return being applied.
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On another occasion I was parked outside a shop, and when I returned to the car, it wouldn't start: I had got confused regarding my booking end time and the car had been disabled automatically... which meant I couldn't return it. However, as there was no one else waiting to use the car I simply booked it for an extra half hour and was then able to drive it. Although I didn't get fines of that time, I was a bit annoyed that it had been disabled - it delayed the return. Obviously, they won't disable it while you're actually driving, but even so I think it was a bit silly for them to disable it even when it was parked.
I scratched one of their vans once, reversing through a narrow gap, and was charged £185. A few months later I happened to walk past the same van and saw that the scratch had not been repaired.
I think those are the only issues I've had in the 15 years or so that I have been a member, which has included dozens and dozens of bookings.
Here is their current Fees and Fines page: https://support.zipcar.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115008085367-Zipcar-Fees-Fines
Here is their specific Late Returns page: https://support.zipcar.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115008239728-Late-Returns
And here is their master Help page: https://support.zipcar.co.uk/hc/en-gb
Response from 4 years, 2 months ago - Alwyne Kennedy SHOW