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Zipcar Reviews
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Reviewed May 11, 2022
When I first started using Zipcar, it was easy to overlook the occasional dirty car that smelled like weed or didn't drive properly. Beware – the more you use this service, the more you learn that cleanliness and professionalism are not the standard, but the exception. My last few rentals have been completely filthy, and customer service is not useful because you can expect to wait 30 minutes to an hour even if you are currently on a rental. If you have places to be and value your time, this way of doing business is unacceptable.
One of my rentals broke down completely on a trip out of the city, and customer support mentioned that I would have to wait next to the car for hours on end before they would even consider dispatching someone to help me. I was forced to make another car rental, and notified the company. They tried to strong-arm me to go through a set corporate process to check the car and its multiple components when it was clearly undrivable and unsafe to operate. I asked for roadside assistance and they were unwilling to provide it unless I returned to the vehicle to go through the process they outlined – on VACATION.
This is the worst customer experience I have had with any service company, and this is after making more than 15 rentals, some long-term, through their platform. I wish I had never started my membership with Zipcar in the first place. A yearly fee pays for nothing but access to a dirty fleet and customer support that makes you wish you were talking to a robot instead. I would give negative stars if I could, and I will happily be using any and all of their competitors in the future. NEVER AGAIN!
Reviewed May 10, 2022
ZipCar is unreasonable and awful. Be warned. I applied to the cost of £10 (about $12.50). Checked all the requirements. No tickets, no fines, safe driver, UK license since 2004. I was confident I'd get approved. After a few days I was told my application was turned down, they keep the money and - no - they do not have to tell me why my application was turned down. I asked them to reconsider, re-look at my application and I was confident a human would see I should be approved. A week later I was told via email my application would not be approved by the appropriate department and they were keeping the non-refundable application fee. They take the money, and give no reason. Because they say they can. Totally not right.
I complained on Twitter and they say the same thing: the appropriate department has already contacted me via email. If there was a problem with my application, the LEAST they could do would be to say what it is. Because I'm at a loss. But they don't, keep the money and think that's ok. It's not ok. And I can't think of any other term for it than 'thieving.' So it's only right to let you know about it. Beware of ZipCar. Untrustworthy from the start.
Reviewed May 5, 2022
I am so frustrated and dissatisfied with Zipcar’s service and reliability. Since March 2022, I have used their service to get to school from Seattle to Bellevue once a week. Of the 6 times I needed mobility, only two worked without problems. Here is my experience: The cars were not in the assigned parking lot two times, even though I booked them one week in advance. Once, I was assigned to a different vehicle than the one I had booked previously without further information on the reasons. Additionally, it was almost out of gas.
Zipcar’s credit card did not work to buy gas another time. It took them almost 2 weeks to reimburse me. Furthermore, I needed to contact customer service on Facebook to have someone look at my claim. On another occasion, I could not end the ride because the vehicle wanted to be returned to its assigned location. I parked it in its designated parking lot. I tried numerous times to reach out to customer service via phone in all these weeks. Unfortunately, I never reached someone even after staying 30+ minutes on the line.
Via Facebook’s live chat, I was lucky to connect to one of Zipcar’s representatives. They tried to solve my requests quickly. However, I never had the feeling that they understood the challenges I faced with their mobile app and service. I wished they would have been more empathic and holistic in understanding the issues. To me, Zipcar’s service appears to be chaotic and unreliable currently.
Reviewed April 13, 2022
Be careful with ZIP CAR that they take your $28.25 every time you apply. And it is NOT REFUNDABLE. AND THE FEE IS JUST FOR REVIEWING THE APPLICATION. (1) They only advertise their service when you become a member; there is not enough information or notices about reviewing your status if you will be qualified or not. (2) It is sole their decision whether you will be qualified to use the service or not. When you call and ask them about disqualification, they will keep saying your application review is just "rejected." (3) And it is NOT REFUNDABLE funds. Moreover, you will have to pay another $28.25 if you want to submit another application later.
*Problem is that there is not enough notice to the customer that there will be a risk with such a fee regarding disqualification. I wonder how many people had lost their money and contributed to this cheap company to survive. They shall not last long. Even Equifax does not charge for checking your credits. The way they collect money from people is a bit off from the proper approach. (If anyone is willing to get your money back, I will join you. Contact me.)
Reviewed March 25, 2022
ZIPCAR IS THE WORST. I remember when it was a great company... But now, service is HORRIFIC, the software DOESN'T WORK, tech support is by email only (no more help by phone), and if you have a technical support issue, nobody gets back to you for WEEKS. The latest example: We had an incident in a car (scraped some paint). Zipcar SUSPENDED our membership and said we had to file an incident report. But the incident report system is BROKEN. After a week, a tech replied to my call for help by saying 'we're aware of the issue'. Meanwhile, I'm told the incident can take 2 months to resolve -- but only after I submit the report, which I can't submit because the website is broken. Meanwhile, all my family members have been removed from my account. We're kind of desperate now, and there's no help in sight...
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2022
Zipcar is the worst company ever. It’s always an issue and they never take responsibility and the customer service people is just as worst. It’s always the same people with the same attitude. Horrible!!
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2022
I have been a Zipcar member in Toronto since 2014. This company has been going down the drain for the last three to four years. Customer Service waits are horrible - waiting for 45 minutes to speak to a person about a problem with a one hour rental - on a recent occasion. Rates increasing without notice; problems with the app.; cars that are booked that do not start when you arrive to pick them up. This last problem happens at least one out of every four rentals now. I can no longer rely on the cars to be in good working condition. When I report it, nothing changes. I am on hold right now to cancel my membership and am now 52:34 minutes in on hold. They have bilked me for long enough. Enterprise Carshare here I come.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2022
I arrived at the garage to pick up the ZipCar, the staff at the garage kept saying the car was't working and insisted that I called ZipCar to change the car. I asked him what's wrong with the car but he refused to tell me, just kept saying that the car didn't work. He started helping other customers and ignored me. I called ZipCar and put on hold for 10min before I could talk to a representative. While I was waiting, I asked the staff if he could just switch the location instead of having me called because I had an appointment to go to. He said no and I had to talk to ZipCar. After he finished helping all other customers, he said he's going to check on the car. When I finally got on the line with a ZipCar representative, he brought the car out and said the car was actually working. Because I was in a hurry, I just hung up the phone. It was 20min late from my original pickup time.
I ended up extended my trip for 30min on the App to 4:30 pm. I returned to the garage, there's a line. I waited in line until a lady came over. She kept yelling and asked me to open the trunk. I didn't know how to. She walked around the car a few times then left. I waited in the car until a guy gestured that I could leave the car. I left the car and forgot the end the trip on the ZipCar app until 5 min later.
ZipCar charged me for the extra time and a $50 late fee. I called to explain the situation, the lady said I should've called ZipCar right away when situations happened, so they would refund me the time I lost while waiting to pick up the car. Well, it's my first time using the service. They refused to refund the $50 late fee. I didn't even bother to ask for the refund of the wasted time at pickup! Terrible customer service, unreliable pickup, a lot of fees and surcharges. Cars are super dirty!
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2022
What a pathetic company. The customer service is horrible, they'll suspend your account without warning and they don't seem to care about quick resolutions. The cars are normally dirty and smell like weed. The cars are usually returned without gas so you'll have to spend time filling the tank. Other drivers are always late returning cars so you'll be waiting forever for your reservation.
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2022
My credit card information was stolen using ZipCar's platform and Zipcar tried to process a $500+ charge on my card. I was able to work with my credit card company to block this charge and immediately deleted my zipcar account. A year later, Zipcar sends me a 'final notice' email that I would be reported to a credit agency for a $21 charge that was made to my account about a month ago. I feel like trying to rent from Zipcar was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Currently on the phone with their 1866 number so someone can put a stop to this nonsense. I'd advise folks to use any of the other car rental apps. This one has been a disaster for me - a one-time user.
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2022
I booked a car. I got to the spot and the car wasn't there. Couldn't speak to anyone at Zipcar so emailed. No response. Got a Gig (rival company). Three days later, no response. Saw on website I'd been fined for returning the car, which I'd never even seen, late. Emailed. Was told no refund as I returned the car late. Explained I didn't get the car. No refund... Finally an automated refund and no acknowledgment of their multiple errors and pathetic customer service.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2022
They have not responded with proper resolution for the past 90 days and as a result my driver's license was suspended. Totally ridiculous and pathetic customer support. I am even surprised they are still in business. These kind of businesses should be shut down by Federal Government for well being of its citizens.
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2021
I signed up for Zip Car, paid their application fee, and was denied without reason. I'm 58 and have been driving since 16 yrs old. I have excellent credit and no driving infractions, yet I was denied.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2021
I live in Philadelphia and joined Zipcar in early November 2021. I was approved November 11 by email and my credit card was charged $25. Throughout the ensuing 6 weeks, I called Zipcar (a call center in another country) 3 times asking about my membership card. Each time, I was put on hold for 5-10 minutes while someone investigated the matter. One time I was assured that it would be sent via UPS and I would receive an email with tracking information. It never happened. No one could ever explain why I never received my card or what their process was. I was told that my account had indeed been approved.
I finally cancelled my “membership,” today, December 23. At the end of the exchange I asked how I could contact their customer relations department to express my thoughts and was told me there was no such thing. I could only express my thoughts to the person to whom I was speaking who was actually a roadside assistance person who answered the phone because everyone else was extremely busy. This entire process indicated to me that Zipcar continued to be in a state of disarray as it clearly had been a year ago. I thought they had climbed out of it but I was obviously wrong.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2021
Zipcar really lie about everything in they review. They blocked my account after I booked a whole day trip with them. They don’t explain to me why my account was blocked they telling me to check the app. I find this very disrespectful and I feel like this is their way of scamming people's account after charging a $25 application fee. Then they say due to multiple logins on the account it’s being disabled which that’s a lie.I hate their service and I think this should stop being a business nobody can’t count on Zipcar for nothing. I’m upset!!!
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2021
Signed up for Zipcar because of their advertisement saying I could use a car right away (link: https://support.zipcar.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025161813-What-To-Know-Before-Your-First-Trip). Was told I can't do so as I had a previous account (closed in 2016). To be clear: I paid for a new activation and the monthly fee (same as everyone else) but was told I couldn't have the same terms as everyone else. The Zipcar web site does not mention that the terms don't apply for everyone. I am really disappointed as a) I can't use a car I needed to, b) I spent hours on the phone just asking for fair terms-same as everyone-and they refused to help, and c) they refused to refund me the activation fee even though they didn't provide the service I signed up for.
Reviewed Nov. 26, 2021
Advertised $75-90/day vehicles. After paying for an annual membership, which came to $77.18, I found the only available vehicles in my area were $140/day and up. This is vastly more than I could pay at a regular car rental agency, such as Enterprise, which is saying something since rental prices have gotten sky high lately. I’ve canceled my membership, with no apparent recourse for getting my money back. To top it off, I now see an additional charge to my credit card from Zipcar for $27.57! There aren’t enough expletives in all the languages of this Earth to describe what a shameless scam this is.
Reviewed Nov. 21, 2021
I would leave 0 stars if I could. I got a parking violation, which was a mixup from the parking lot and got it cancelled right away. I sent all the documentation proof to Zipcar immediately and for a month and a half - and counting I called 10 times maybe and got 0 response, except that they have a queue. The supervisor of their customer support dept refused to take my call and I have filed a chargeback via my bank now. The worst customer experience of my life.
Reviewed Nov. 21, 2021
Never do business with them. Worst company ever. Looters, falsifiers. They looted the money on the name of non-refundable application fees. All the documents requested were submitted as they says application approved in minutes. After 30 minutes they replied, "Sorry your application is rejected because you did not meet the eligibility criteria." Upon asking what documents do they need. I provided all. They are big liars. Never do business with them. They are just to loot your money.
Reviewed Nov. 19, 2021
It was a nightmare from the start. Their cars are more expensive per hour than they advertise and there is a 25 dollar (hidden) activation fee so it is not just $7 a month. I ignored it and opened an account to rent a car to get me to a half marathon I was running and had been training for months. Looking back, I should have just had a friend drive me to an actual dealer. It would have been less "convenient" but would have saved me money and been much safer. The car was awful when I got in it. The driver-side floor was all torn up, there were smashed pretzels on the passenger side and the outside of the vehicle was all scratched up. I rationalized this in my head because it was a rideshare and still got in the vehicle.
I started driving on the freeway and noticed the window was difficult to see through so I tried to use the wipers to clean it but they had no fluid in them. It quickly became clear to me the car had not been brought into maintenance in a while. A few minutes out from where the race was going to start the check engine light, car maintenance light, and low tire pressure light had all come on. I called the company at 7:40 (20 minutes before the race was going to start) to let them know about the issues and that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. They told me I needed to drive it back to the location I picked it up from and get a new car for the rest of the trip... obviously, that wasn't going to work and I wouldn't have had time to make the race so I told them I would call them after.
Finished the race, got water, and called them back when I got back to the parking lot with the vehicle at 11:23 am. Retold them all the things that were wrong with the vehicle and they told me I needed to get in it and drive it back to the place I got it from - putting my safety at risk. Basically, they have said that because I didn't return the vehicle the first time I called it is all on me and they take no responsibility for not maintaining their vehicles.
This is a company that puts profit over people - and not just in small ways. Their cars are unsafe and they don't care if you end up in an accident or dead due to their lack of responsibility as a company. I would never want anyone to end up harmed because of this company's lack of regard for human safety and life. Do not use them - actual rental cars might be more difficult to get initially but at least they will offer roadside assistance and maintenance their cars often so you know you will be safe.
Reviewed Nov. 19, 2021
Absolutely horrible. Took a pit stop about ten minutes into the two hour trip and the car wouldn’t open after we tried to get back in. Customer service left us on hold for ages, couldn’t help, told us to stay with the car for 45 minutes to wait for a mechanic, and said that if we left they’d charge us an abandonment fee. I’m livid, this is a horrible business. Never using again.
Reviewed Nov. 15, 2021
While that was the worst instance, I've had only one successful trip with zipcar. Several times they cancelled the car at the very last minute without giving a reason why. Another time the gas card didn't work and I had to refuel the car out of pocket to avoid getting charged massive fees. There are so many other cheap car rental companies out there. Don't use zipcar if you don't have to.
Reviewed Oct. 14, 2021
Zipcar has given me the worst service I have ever seen. I was given cars that did not work, cars that were not there, cars that had no gas card or an ezpass. I spoke with representatives that were rude. And very very unprofessional. Now for all this inconvenience that zip car has given me. (Mind you. This has been going on all week.) I was given driving credits and switched to another car due to the previous cars not working or malfunctioning equipment. (i.e. gas cards and ezpasses.). Me as a customer I should not have to pay for the irresponsibilities of others.
Now the driving credits that were given to me as compensation for the very very difficult time I was given were taken and now zip car does not want to give them back and I have not used them. Zipcar expects people to pay out of pocket when gas cards or ezpasses go missing. But expect for people to pay full price and expect no issues when service like this is provided. This is unbelievable. They should be ashamed at how they treat they’re customers. I will be canceling my membership.
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2021
I have been a Zipcar business member for over 3 years, renting at least one a week for my work. The quality of the car got worst with time, they don't seem reliable anymore, not to mention that most of the time cars are not available at the scheduled time, asking to move to other locations and losing sometimes one or two hours. Overall I can not take this anymore and decided to not use this company anymore. We tried to talk over the phone and explain the problem but they seem just they don't care.
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2021
I would give NO STARS if that was an option. Joined Zipcar for all of 13 days. The number of non-refundable fees charged without notice or advisement on their website is unacceptable, especially for family accounts. Not a company I want to have access to my credit card info so they can freely charge whatever they want, whenever they want. DO NOT RECOMMEND joining this service. Save your money and go elsewhere.
Reviewed Sept. 5, 2021
I was very polite and asked to speak with a manager regarding a concern. He told me "the manager said the same thing I told you." I asked again to speak with the manager and he hung up on me. His name is something like Alzoni. I only called them because it was last minute and I couldn't get a traditional rental but I'll have one on standby next time. No wonder I haven't used them since 2014.
Reviewed Aug. 23, 2021
This company first of all, do not offer the services that they claim to offer. I signed up, they charged me for membership and all this other stuff, then I couldn't find a car in the area that they said they had available cars. THEN, after cancelling my membership and asking for my account to be deactivated, 2 months and many emails later they continue to charge my credit card every month for a membership that they confirmed was cancelled. Terrible customer service and they are thieves on top of it!
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2021
Deducted membership plan charges and was unable to use the service. Information on website and from customer service representative are 100% different. Please call and ask before jumping into Zipcar (in Kitchener, ON, Canada)
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2021
I used Zipcar many years ago and they were always clean and well maintained. Not this time. I picked up my car, and it smelled really strongly of smoke. Additionally, the car was really dirty inside and outside. The AC did not work, and there was a notification on the dashboard: "Maintenance due now." This made me nervous, as I did not know what required maintenance. During my drive, it started raining and there was no washer fluid, so the windshield got very dirty, which was scary while I was driving. Throughout my two days driving the car kept stalling out at slow speeds.
When I called customer service, I was only offered a discount on my next rental, but not even a partial refund. Why would I want to rent another car in this condition?? There was no acknowledgment or apology offered. I paid so much for two days with a dirty and unsafe car. This is no way to run a company. I cancelled my membership. In all my years renting a car, I never received such poor service, or paid money for an inadequate car.
Reviewed Aug. 18, 2021
I called before applying to make sure I would be able to start driving when approved as a driver. Online there was conflicting info about this, so I called and was reassured over and over again that I would be able to start driving right when I was approved. I was told the Zipcar number would generate on my account right away. So I signed up, and paid the fee to find out that the reassurance I was given was wrong. I was able to cancel right away but they will not refund my $25 application fee for a product that I will never ever use. I am appalled and disgusted at the way this has been handled. Do not recommend Zipcar; try Turo instead!
Reviewed Aug. 14, 2021
I rented a car, which I confirmed could be unlocked by phone. I got to the pickup and was unable to unlock the car and Zipcar was unable to send it a signal. Two customers also left - one for the car not being available and another for similar unlocking issues. I spent 90 minutes on the phone with zip car finding me another car, which I told them my phone was international. I was constantly put on long holds on purpose, as no supervisor wants the liability of making an actual decision. Finally after being trekked to another location, and another 35 min on the call to unlock the car; I received an older car, with stains and cigarette smell. I decided to not take the car and now zip car after 60 minutes on hold tells me I should wait to see if a refund is approved. This is a joke. I would be embarrassed to be part of the leadership of this company.
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2021
I was a Zipcar member for over 7 years when zipcar "migrated to a new platform" for NYC customers. Previously I was generally satisfied with the service and used it regularly. Then all hell broke loose and I was never able to rent a car again. The customer service has been horrendous. No one at ZipCar was able to explain what happened to my account or to fix it so that I could rent. I finally gave up and cancelled my membership. Fast forward 18 months. My circumstances changed and I tried to renew my membership. I was "approved" for membership but was still not able to rent a car. All the problems that existed before remain and the lack of customer service remained as well. For the last month I have been trying to get the money refunded that I paid for this non-service and even that is impossible. If you have not used ZipCar - spare yourself the annoyance and go elsewhere.
Reviewed July 28, 2021
This is a complaint about Zipcar's horrible application process. I applied for a Zipcar membership around June 30th 2021. I provided them with all the information and documentation they requested. After not having heard from them for several days, I contacted them.. 3 different times they asked for the exact same information (that I had already provided). They even asked me to provide a picture of me holding my driver's license.. which I did several times. Their telephone support is deeply useless.. a bunch of reps who have absolutely no power to do anything other than make excuses and repeatedly say "I'm sorry."
In frustration, I cancelled my membership application. Today I got an email from them saying my application had been rejected because "failure to meet eligibility requirements." This is a complete falsehood. I am an excellent driver.. never got a traffic violation.. never had an accident.. no criminal record. I have the means to pay for their services. In conclusion.. for me.. this rates as one of the the top three worst customer service experiences ever. I hope that Zipcar has competitors. Since I did not get the service for which I paid, I requested that Zipcar refund my application fee.. they refused.
Reviewed July 28, 2021
I hold a Driver License from both New York State and my home country in France. Accordingly I meet the requirements for membership with Zipcar. (I've rented car with regular car rental company and never encountered an issue). Yet, Zipcar denied my application for membership and told me I could not reapply - even though they said I meet the requirement with my non-us driver license. I asked to cure the problem by resubmitting my non-us driver license and they refuse. More, they refused to issue a refund for the membership fees. This is nothing else than a consumer fraud and their customer service just awful. Stay away from this company, very dishonest company.
Reviewed July 27, 2021
I registered for the annual plan and called up customer service to change it to monthly. They didn't. I asked them to delete my account so I can recreate another, they didn't and instead put my first account under "pending review" status. I called them multiple times over 2 months and often complained about how poor their turnaround time was. The "customer service" has zero autonomy. They keep deferring my case to the escalation team and the escalation team does nothing.
After I complained one too many times, I got a response, quoted "It is not possible to have two accounts with the same information for security purposes. Since your other account under the e-mail of --- is under review, we are unable to offer you a membership. We know you may disagree, but please understand this decision is final and cannot be reversed. We hope you continue to seek out other means of alternate transportation in the future."
This makes me think that: 1. The agents don't know what's really going on and are too lazy to look. 2. The agents don't really care if their customer is having a harrowing experience. 3. Zipcar has too many customer and is earning large revenues to care about one customer. I mean, who is this customer agent making decisions on Zipcar's behalf? So go ahead and rent Zipcar but if you run into trouble with the car, please don't expect them to sort you out without a lot of haggle.
Reviewed July 21, 2021
The entire experience was a nightmare from start to finish. Booked my car back in March. They changed the reservation twice before my trip on July 15th. I left from NJ to ATL and went to pick up my rental in College Park, we get there and the car won't open with the key card. I tried to go through the app and there was no reservation! But I had an email. It was after 11 pm so customer service was closed which is ridiculous. Customer service should be 24 hrs. We had to select the option for a police officer reporting an accident with one of their vehicles in order to speak to someone. Finally get through and they offer me a refund. What is a refund going to do for me for the next 5 days of me being stuck in a strange city with no transportation?!
They finally found me a car close to my Airbnb but at that point I wasn't going to be able to pick it up till the next day, the 16th. The idiot agent booked me all the way till the 21st even though I told him I didn't need the car that long. Smh. They did offer compensation for the Uber rides that I had to take because of the lack of transportation however.
They booked me with the exact same make and model of the car that wouldn't open. This car had physical damage that I did not immediately notice and did not have time to report and when I did the supervisor that we spoke with was highly unprofessional and tried to say that I would be liable for the damage for not reporting it as soon as I saw it. Had I not had to waste time getting another car in the first place I would have. Then he yelled at us, put us on hold for 20 min and then disconnected the line. I may have to go back to renting cars through my job. Smh.
Reviewed July 17, 2021
#1: Awful customer service. #2: Impossible to find the prices as they are advertised, always more expensive. #3: Car was dirty and smelly. Experience: Rented a car for the first time--signed up for annual fee, which I was told could be refunded within 30 days. Car rental location changed the day before, super inconvenient. After the location switch-up, and a disgusting car, when I called within 30 days to cancel annual fee, I could only get partial refund because I used the service. Okay, but that never happened. Called again: "Once you use the service, we can't refund the annual fee." Nothing is as they say it is. Absolutely awful.
Reviewed July 16, 2021
I wanted to try Zipcar to see how much I used a vehicle before purchasing. At first, the service is great and easy to use for quick trips. You don't have to worry about parking, gas, etc. However, the fees are OUTRAGEOUS for a weekend trip. I always ended up renting a car instead, which kind of defeated the purpose of Zipcar. Also, any time I would book for a full day, something went wrong. They'd cancel the vehicle on me with short notice and I'd have to go to a totally different spot to get a new car. They clearly don't like day trip usage.
Also if you get in an 'accident', just forget about it. I backed into a pole once, minor damage, did the responsible thing and reported it through the process. That was on May 25. I STILL do not have access to use Zipcar. They are STILL "investigating" and absolutely nobody could give me updates on anything. Ultimately I decided to lease my own car rather than deal with the hassle of Zipcar anymore. I'm sure I'll get a bill for some outrageous amount of money, for a cracked rear brake light. Do yourself a favor and if you are going to use it, do the most expensive insurance you can buy for every trip.
Reviewed July 16, 2021
Do not take their service. They are not what they used to be before. Their customer service is useless and ineffective. They cancel your trips at random and do not give money back. I gave up after politely asking them for various customer problems for more than 2 months by phone and email. I can show you as proof. They just apologize but don't act on anything. Their business is sham and they just want your money but don't bother about giving service. Avoid them and be safe.
Reviewed June 30, 2021
I love the concept of car sharing and the ease of which you can reserve and check out a Zipcar. Zipcar also has nice vehicles that are easy to drive. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10 the cars are often dirty. If you call Zipcar, the support staff is friendly and helpful. But overall, they need to increase cleaning and maintenance of their vehicles. Additionally, the cars frequently do not have gas cards so if you're refilling the tank for the next customer be sure to use your debit card (I paid cash and they would not refund me, though I did scan my receipt and it showed the time of the filling which was during my rental period). Additionally, you often feel like you're racing the clock when you check out a Zipcar for a short errand. It's a useful service if you don't have a car, but there's lot of room for improvement.
Reviewed June 21, 2021
I truly believe in the idea and mission of the shared economy. I wish that this concept of sharing items succeeds as it uses resources in many senses more wisely. The problem is us, the human being! Some of us just don’t seem to care about common goods. They treat shared cars/scooters/apartments not with the necessary respect (leaving trash, smoking, speeding, driving against traffic,… ). If we don’t improve our behavior the concept of the shared economy will eventually fail.
For the time being I think that companies like Zipcar need to pay more attention to things like cleanliness, safety-issues, and the general maintenance of their cars. Renting through Zipcar is not cheap, and if the rented item is not up to the promised I will reconsider my choice in the future and go back to old-fashioned car rentals from Hertz and the like.
Reviewed June 17, 2021
I was deeply disappointed after I reinstated my membership following 2 years of a hiatus. After renting a car that was filthy (cigarette ash everywhere inside the car) and smelled like **, I reported the incident. The customer service rep on the phone was very sympathetic and given there was not another car available he offered to credit me the vehicle. Also worth noting the car was only filled half way with fuel and there was no gas card in the vehicle. After spending 25 minutes detailing the car myself I had to drive my family 2 hours in this vehicle.
The following days afterwards I found out I was charged for the vehicle 3 times. There clearly was a mistake. When I inquired I was told that I was given credit and had to pay one of the charges, over two hundred dollars. Despite explaining the promise I received that the car would be credited and pointing out the mistake the company made in over charging me they would not budge. They happily charged me and also did hesitate to cancel my membership when I shared my disappointment and intention to cancel my membership. It was so very unprofessional and saddened me to think that this company would not do the right thing but instead seemed okay losing a customer, and worse, over a mistake they made.
Reviewed May 29, 2021
Terribly run business - always have issues. The cars often break down, and the company does not call you or email you ahead of your reservation time if there is an issue with your car. There have been 3-4 different instances when we have had issues. Most recently, we had a reservation for 11am and the car was still not returned by the prior user by 11:45am. Zipcar never contacted me. When I called, they rebooked us and the only option was over 20 minutes away. I asked the customer service representative to confirm that the car was there and ready to use and he confirmed. By the time we got there, the car would not unlock. We had to call back again.
The whole ordeal took us more than 2 hours and they could not offer us another car. So we were stranded and it ruined our weekend plans. What did Zipcar offer? A $20 credit toward a future trip. We will not be using them anymore and would strongly discourage anyone considering it. This is not the first time this has happened to us.
Reviewed May 15, 2021
I love using Zipcar. It is so convenient to be able to just book the car on my phone when I need it and I can almost always find something available within a 10 minute walk for me (I live in a big city). One thing I don't love is that a lot of the cars I get into have "low tire pressure" warning and it's never clear to me if I should be messaging the app or if someone else has done that. It makes me wonder how often they check on their cars...
Reviewed May 6, 2021
I’ve used the app multiple times and Zipcar has worked well until recently. The app has given me issues and cost me money because of it. The last 2 times I have not been able to extend a trip when I knew I needed the car longer. When entering the app I either did not have the button available to extend a trip or it said my trip was no longer in progress even though I had time left. The app lets you know when time slots are reserved. Both times, no reservations were booked after me. Paying an extra 30 minutes of time is fine and I have done it before. Because of the issues, I have been charged two $50 late fees. I have sent issues to Zipcar with no response. The lack of response is concerning. The $100 is ridiculous. I will probably use Getaround exclusively because of this.
Reviewed May 3, 2021
We recently decided to sell our car as we live in a very urban area and thought we would join Zipcar to use a car when we needed to. We called their customer line and was told we have 22 cars in our area. So my husband joins = uploads his license and selfie as requested. Pay the $25 fee and decided to do the month to month membership. Zipcar website clearly states most people are approved in seconds and can go ahead and book a car. No, we ended up having to walk 3 miles to the airport to hire a car from a rental car place.
We have called Zipcar about 6 times in 2 days and each time we are told, "We will escalate your application up the line." Still waiting. We both have impeccable licenses with no restrictions ever. Now I am worried who actually has this information - we try and log on to the website and all it says is verify your zipcard. We don't have a zipcard. I spoke to a manager, Fred, this morning who was just unhelpful and said he was happy to refund the monthly fee - said no you can refund the $25 but he says this is a different company so I asked him to send me an email with this different company's email address so I can contact them direct - he says yes; but another lie from this company.
Their website is very misleading. Based on the reviews I have been reading this company should be put out of business and probably charged with fraud. If you have a driving license you can walk into a car rental and hire a car. If you have a driving license you should not have to be scrutinized. I am going to contact my credit card company and have this $25 cancelled. I do not like to be mislead. The last time I called this company another person there said it can take 5 to 6 days to be approved. Seriously do not join this company.
Reviewed May 2, 2021
Fraudulent activity was noted on my account in January 2021 and my account was frozen. I have been trying to "unfreeze" my account since then (today is 5/2/21) with no success. I called Customer Service today and was told that it was still under review and that I would receive an email when the issue is resolved. I paid for a full year of Zipcar service in advance and now can't use it. I have NEVER had a more horrible experience than I have had with ZipCar. If I could give them a negative 500 stars, I would. Stay away from this company.
Reviewed May 2, 2021
I put a cosmetic scratch on a Zipcar and reported it to them. They’ve frozen my account indefinitely as a result. I spoke with their insurance company, Sedgwick, and they confirm they’ve paid the claim. Yet, each time I call Zipcar, they simply say they’re still collecting paperwork about my case. I’ve written several emails and the reply is clearly a bot answer because it’s the exact same reply every time and doesn’t answer questions about my specific case. The lack of transparency is appalling. This is going on 3 months now and I’m now shopping to buy a car—quite the opposite of the company’s stated purpose. Two of my friends also ended their Zipcar memberships and bought cars due to lack of flexibility and availability of Zipcars. Zipcar is a great concept if all the stars align perfectly to enable you to use one.
Reviewed April 29, 2021
I signed up for this service not fully understanding that you aren't immediately approved for a rental car. I was intending to use it on my vacation. Less than 24 hours later, I canceled and they still took my application fee. So I paid for nothing. Very disappointing.
Reviewed April 21, 2021
1. I have to pay a $10 convention fee EACH TIME in the Boston area. If I rent a car for an hour, the total fee will go up to $24+! CRAZY!!
2. I called customer service within 30 minutes after I signed up for Zipcar. They can only refund the $7 membership fee but NO $25 APPLICATION FEE even though I only open my new account for 30 min!!
3. Customer service is unprofessional and sounds like she needs to sleep after hanging up my phone call!! :(
Reviewed April 15, 2021
Everything was a hard to deal with and I ended up with extra charges because of it. I immediately closed my account but I just found out that they are still charging me membership even though I closed my account in disgust 6 months ago. Stay away from Zipcar.
Reviewed April 9, 2021
I was repeatedly charged with fraudulent fees in excess of hundreds of dollars. The customer support DOES NOT respond to the open tickets. The customer service phone calls are repeatedly ignored. The business is simply abusive and fraudulent.
Reviewed March 15, 2021
I try this company when they were new, they weren't ready yet, I decide to give them another try, it's even worse now, they charge me an application fee, did not even bother to send me a zip key/card, customer service is just non existent, I cancel as this just another headache waiting to happen, forget this company.

Reviewed March 3, 2021
I have been an avid user of Zipcar, and I have to say they are SO convenient living in New York City - which is why despite the major inconveniences been thrown my way, I have still used them in a time crunch. (Even though quite honestly, you can get a rental car from Avis, etc for the same price and just have the car for 24 hours!!!!)
I have a separate experience that is still awaiting fixing that just happened 2 days ago, but the one that really sticks out before is: I had a doctor appointment in New Jersey that I had to be at by 8:00am that was scheduled 3 months in advance. I rented a Zipcar for this trip. When I got to the area the car was SUPPOSED to be in at 5:30am, it wasn't there. I called Zipcar, and they said it was in a different location. I then was taken to another Zipcar almost a mile away. Running to get to this next zipcar location (to ensure I could still leave before NYC traffic set in), THE NEXT CAR WAS NOT THERE EITHER!
Freaking out because I really needed to leave soon, they said there was a car around the block. I confirmed it did NOT need the actual zipcard car because I unlock with my phone, they said yes it doesn't need the card: just open via phone app. When I get there, it says that the car needs the card. I was livid at this point. The next Zipcar rep told me they could find me another car, another mile away.
I demanded to be refunded for this because I was running around the city, now almost 30 minutes later around Brooklyn trying to get to a car that could take me to New Jersey for this appointment I absolutely could not miss. This particular rep was so rude to me, kept telling me it's all they had, and they would not refund since they found me a car. When I said I am now running to these different cars and have a condition where I shouldn't be doing this right now (literally had a doc appt for this), he hung up on me. At this point, I remember screaming profanities loudly in the street and like classic New Yorkers do, they looked, observed, and went on their merry way.
I called now I believe was the 4th or 5th time. I was crying, terrified I would be late for this doctor appointment that I reserved 3 months ahead of time. This rep was much nicer. They got me a car and I ended up being 25 minutes late to the appointment and they still took me after I told them what happened. I say this story because, I have never, EVER EVER had customer service so terrible as Zipcar. If it weren't for that last rep who was a glimmer of hope for this company, I would have never rented from them again (and I just did 2 days ago and was involved in another horrible horrible incident which I won't go into detail now because I'm still processing it). Please rent from a different company. They really, really don't do what is best for you. I wish I knew who the higher ups were in this company so I could egg their own car or something. Convenience is great for locations, but if you can, rent elsewhere. ELSEWHERE.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2021
It had been several weeks since I reserved a Zipcar when none of my reservation attempts would go through. I called and they said my account was “under review” for “suspicious activity”. I can only guess that someone had broken into my account but I haven’t gotten any more detail than “suspicious activity” and keep in mind - Zipcar never contacted me about this before I called them. I was told it would be 3-5 days to review the accounts, but here we are six weeks later and they have done nothing to contact me or resolve the situation. And they keep charging me the monthly membership fee while I wait!
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2021
Poorly Maintained. No reimbursement of out of pocket expenses. Hidden fees. Never use this service. There are better car share options, such as Gigcar. If not, a commercial car rental is a better deal, and less hassle. I used this service once, but never again. On top of a monthly "membership fee" Zip car charges about $.50/minute, so overall a two hour trip cost me almost $100. It was difficult to find the car. Once I found the car, it was difficult to find the keys within the car (Finally I found them buried in a pocket of the middle console). Zipcar cuts corners by having the "members" do all of the maintenance on the cars, while they are paying for rental time, and will charge you a fee if the gas tank is under a certain amount.. So, I had to fill the tank while I was paying a by-the-minute rental fee. There is supposed to be a gas card in the visor. It was missing, so I paid out of pocket. Zipcar never reimbursed me for the gas I filled the tank with before returning the car.
The inside of the car was gross. Someone left combs in the glovebox and garbage in the middle console. I called customer service to complain and close my account, and was told I would be reimbursed for gas and extra time used to fill the tank, clean the car, and find the keys. However I was never reimbursed. Even worse, my account was never closed, and I have been billed $16 monthly ever since. This is a horrible service. Do not be fooled.
Zipcar: Remove the application fee and monthly "membership" fees. Hire someone to maintain the vehicles, keeping them clean and full of gas. Provide more options for car drop off locations. Potential Customers: Do not use Zipcar. Use Gigcar instead. If that is not available in your area, take a Lyft or Uber, or just use a commercial car rental, like Hertz or Budget. You will spend much less money and receive better service.
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2021
I used Zipcar for a reservation and then finished the reservation before the end time. I went to park it in the designated spot but there was a car there. I called the customer support and an agent assured me I could park it close to the spot and just leave it and he would make a note for me. More than two months later, I received £600 in fines for parking in the wrong spot out of the blue that were just charged to my account. Even worse, I have tried to contact the company daily since this occurred with absolutely zero response. Their customer service is appalling. Do not sign up for this service. Since this happened to me I have seen many other accounts of them doing this to other people since December 2020. Beware!
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2020
I fall for the "immediate" membership since I need to rent a car on 12/20th, and have an "Zip Station" a block from my place. I paid the fees, took the driver's license front and back pics, and also the "selfie" requested, followed the instructions, and then the nightmare started. I have no immediate response (they are careful announcing that "most" is approved right away, not all).
Today is the 29th, and I have already spoken with many people in the customer service, that always say will escalate the process (right now should be getting to the top of the Himalayas). Cannot say too much about the workers, most were really educated and nice, however, the main point is to find solutions, and I believe they do not have access to almost anything (or do not care). Anyway, one of the options I received was to cancel the membership (that have not even started), for that I would lose the $25 fee. It is just a pizza pie in NYC, but it is "my pizza", and I will see the end of this (let see, $25x1, $25x10, 100, or 1000, or why not 100,000 and make $2.5M on a easy - not saying it is the case, not just because their legal dept, but just because).
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2020
The idea of Zipcar works great when it works how it’s supposed to schedule a time, pick up the car, pay the one time price for renting it and then return on time with no problem. You paid for the rental that’s it right? No. You wake up the next morning to a few of anywhere between 50-300 has been the most they tried to rob me for supposedly stating you bring back the car way past the time. Even with GPS somehow their system makes this mistake you would think they would fix it immediately and you go on you’re way. The first time maybe but shouldn’t have to keep dealing with this “glitch”. No it happens again and again and if you don’t pay attention to your card you get robbed.
Call in to explain a problem that should be resolved easily being that they have GPS to know when and where you are but no. They tell you they can’t fix the problem and have to escalate it. You have to wait 5-6 business days and if you need a rental that day too bad you gotta pay the fee. Then on top of rental costs and wait 3-5 supposedly for a refund that I have never received instead more fees going up and down. God forbid. You need a quick rental and have a limited amount of money. They rob you and tell you there's nothing they can do. Wait 3-5 for an email and refund. I never even got the email. I call again and they have attitude with me as if I’m wrong for being frustrated for being robbed. Wish they weren’t so greedy with fees and trying to rob you even if you do nothing wrong. It would be great if it wasn’t for the literal highway robberies.
Reviewed Dec. 3, 2020
Beware of trying the service, they will charge you year after year even if you never use the service, no refunds available if you cancel, and you can never get a customer service person to talk to. Also, one of the more expensive services available.
Reviewed Oct. 28, 2020
My first two experiences with Zipcar were pure bliss. The first car I rented was Honda Civic, only 5 minutes away from me and it was the best car ever. No issues getting into the garage at all. The car was in immaculate condition, almost as if it came straight from the factory. Car was perfectly clean, operated perfectly, smelled great and new. I did end up having an issue with the car disconnecting from my account, which made it malfunction. It wasn't operating properly but, thank goodness I was in a parking spot in a parking lot. I called Zipcar customer service and they were able to fix the situation expeditiously. They were able to restart the car for me remotely, and it began working in perfect condition again.
My second experience was also great. Different car different location, slightly older model. Only one problem which was that, the car did smell like cigarettes. I drove back home to get a Febreze bottle and sprayed the inside, which didn't really help. But, the car was working perfectly, was clean for the most part. I drove the car for hours and it was great overall!
I realized that Zipcar has student memberships and discounts, so one morning I called them to switch my account over from a standard account to a student account. Took less than 1 minute to get someone on the phone, took less than 10 minutes to do over the phone. I was getting discounts immediately after! The discounted rates for students is excellent!! I paid a MUCH lower price for cars with my student discount which I'm very happy about. Through all of this Zipcar never let me down. Every time I called customer service it was great and they always fixed my issue.
Zipcars in my area are plentiful and people never seem to use them back to back (I guess because demand for cars is lower here). There is always availability not too far, for all times of the day and week. I love having lots of options to choose from. Will be recommending to people I know! I seriously don't understand all of these poor reviews. Thank you Zipcar for giving me my first driving experience alone!
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2020
I used this service for 2 years since I live in NYC and don't own a vehicle. I was an account Educator and Facialist for a few skin care brands and my accounts were from Vermont to Philadelphia. I only used their cars for work purposes as it was seemingly the most convenient car rental service with no hassles...There were some issues I previously had experienced with their lack of customer service back then but, didn't really ever have the time to sit down and write as I was travel/working 60+ hours a week. The last time I used this service was right before lockdown began in NYC from the Covid-19 Pandemic. I only had my corporate card attached to my personal Zipcar account but, I was furloughed on March 23, 2020 and have yet to be hired back to work since no one in any industry is hiring educators especially skin care providers during this unprecedented global pandemic.
Fast forward to June 2020, I started noticing emails from ZipCar but, assumed it was just an advertisement since I hadn't used their service since early March. I opened the first email in September and it read that my ZipCar account was past due. When I read further, I noticed all these charges from trips I took near the end of February and early March. ZipCar hadn't charged my corporate card back then so, now they're charging my personal account for all these random work trips I took, 6+ months ago.
They even tried to charge me for a parking violation that occurred after I had already parked my vehicle. (Obviously the parking attendant had moved the car, incurred the violation yet, I was charged for it since I was the last one to use the vehicle). The last and final blow was that they had the audacity to charge me their yearly annual fee of $70 when I haven't used their service in over 6 months and sent me that bad boy while I'm in the middle of sharing thorough communication with them about these grievances. (I felt like it was like a big middle finger to me, from ZipCar).
I tried calling several times to resolve all of this and the first time I was informed by their telephone rep (with a very heavy accent, a script, vague responses and obviously no clue how parking violations and much more actually work here, in US) that "maybe the police officer didn't process the paper work until later on in the day and that's why the time on the ticket was later than when I dropped off the vehicle". After an hour of trying to carefully make her my friend and get her to help me, she agreed she would escalate my complaint to her supervisor. Later that week, I received another vague, scripted email response from her "supervisor", about only one of my grievances and no way to have a rational conversation with that person about the other issues.
This happened 2 or 3 more times before I realized that I'm not going to further try to maintain my membership with brand who has proven to me that they don't value their customers and or their own brand by not taking a more personable, carefully, thought-out approach to their business tactics, especially post-covid-19. Living off unemployment alone it is impossible to pay my bills, let alone try and pay my rent. Having to pay old invoices from ZipCar which, if the charges had been issued promptly, 4-6 months prior, would have been easily satisfied by the corporation I was working for at the time, is absurd and utterly preposterous.
While most of the rest of the world has been at home with their heads down trying as hard as possible to survive, reflecting on life and how to move forward after being financially destroyed and no job in my entire industry to return to, in the foreseeable future, ZipCar has been busy sticking their heads far up their own posteriors, trying to find ways to charge customers who are no longer in positions to utilize their services. All I have left to say is after months of being ignored, wrongfully charged for fees that should have NEVER been placed on my account and then threatened with closing my account, I'm done with ZipCar.
Reviewed Oct. 26, 2020
I tried to rent the vehicle TipToe on Friday 23 Oct. I received a notice that it was ready to be picked up so I took an rideshare to the vehicle location. It was not present. I immediately called help and was on hold for 19 minutes. During this time I walked the entire parking lot to ensure it wasn't improperly parked. When my call was finally answered, the agent left me on hold for another 7 minutes. When they returned they said the car was at another location and there was nothing they could do. I asked that this trip be refunded and they said they couldn't do that.
I informed them I had movers waiting and an elevator reservation, that this trip had already cost me and now I would have to rideshare further and I expected to be compensated for my costs since the vehicle wasn't available as agreed. I was told there was nothing that could be done. I asked to speak to a supervisor and the agent hung up on me. I called back and was on hold a further 12 minutes before being disconnected again. As a further indignity, I received an email the next day saying that I was being charged for the missed trip. Since I was unable to use the movers during the time scheduled I was charge the cancellation fee $120 and had to rebook everything. All together this cost me $25 in rideshares and $120 in mover cancellation fees, plus the $43 I was charged for the trip. The emails from support simply stated that they were sorry the situation wasn't better but there was nothing they could do. Be wary when using this service.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2020
Until this experience my previous experiences and those of my family have all been outstanding. That was until our last vehicle. Issues started that the vehicle wouldn’t open and it took over an hour to get help. Among the myriad of issues the one that stands out most is that while driving I saw something drop from the ceiling. We pulled to the side of the road and turned on the interior light to see roaches coming out the light fixture walking along the ceiling. The roaches were there for the food that one of the earlier drivers had left, that Zipcar didn’t clean out. The trunk wouldn’t open due to a prior rear ending that the vehicle had endured and the “dinging” of the open door alarm wouldn’t end.
I reported my issue and was told I “might get” a credit for my next rental. I tried to impress upon their uncaring fm CSR that there would be no next time if this was not resolved. Zipcar response, nothing. Billed and then silent. No Follow up contact at all regarding the issue and my family has used this service a lot. Perhaps other car companies might value a loyal customers but Zipcar is not one of them. Take your business elsewhere.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2020
Updated on 10/06/2020: In addition to the concerns expressed in my recent review, there is also the problem of communicating with Zipcar service reps, once one has finally responded after extensive waiting times. While I understand the need for having a bilingual staff, this is no excuse for employing persons whose frequently very heavily accented English often makes Zipcar employees very difficult to understand. This is a particularly serious problem because customers may be in situations where their safety/comfort may be at risk.
Original review: Zipcar consistently refuses to put manuals in its cars. This inexcusable failure resulted in a potentially very unsafe situation on my most recent rental. On that trip, I had to wait nearly 17 hours to have a disabled Zipcar towed. Other problems include unacceptably long waiting times when calling their service line, and frequent difficulties in getting their gas cards honored at many gas pumps.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2020
For starters, the car was not clean when I entered the vehicle. Second, over an hour before my ride was due, I attempted to extend my time as traffic and weather conditions were preventing me from getting to the dropoff location on time. When I attempted to extend, it stated that someone had the vehicle immediately after me. I never knew someone had the vehicle after me until I tried to extend it. When I called Zipcar customer service, I was on hold for a long time and the agent was very rude.
When I expressed my concerns in regards to not cleaning the vehicle prior to me transferring it to someone else (as this is in direct violation of Massachusetts COVID-19 guidelines), she was extremely dismissive and said if I don't get the car back on time, I'll be fined a late fee. When I tried getting to a gas station to fill up the gas, the gas card was not working. I tried multiple locations and found out the gas card was not working. I was told by the agent at this point to just return it "as is" which I did.
Once I returned the vehicle, I was charged for all the mileage I had to expend to find a working gas station plus a late fee (which after talking to four different agents, they finally said they would refund the late fee). I can honestly say with all the negative comments online and my personal experience, this ruined my anniversary with my partner and I will never be using Zipcar again and will be informing the Massachusetts Department of Health immediately of their lack of due diligence for sanitizing the vehicle in between each usage.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2020
I have no words how disgusted I am with this company. Absolutely disgraceful. In my whole entire 32 years of life I have never experienced customer service like this. I paid for a brand new Mercedes Benz to take my daughter to her ceremony and the morning of her event, I was told the car was unavailable and that I was to collect a different car for a completely new and FAR location
So out of desperation I go to the new location which took an additional 1-2 hours to get to and oh my god. The car they gave me was the most disgusting and unsanitary car I have ever seen. This car had not been cleaned in what seems like years and years. I honestly do not know where to start. During Covid times, I felt so unsafe riding in this vehicle but again out of desperation and no choice, I had to use it. I have been complaining and on hold for almost two hours and all I have had so far with disrespectful and completely rude service from the roadside assistance.
I have uploaded photos because words do not do it justice. Filthy!!!! The car looked as if someone had been living in it for a while. Brown stains all over the seats. Crumbs and crust all over the chairs and floors. Bird crap covered outside the car. Windows so thick with dirt I couldn't see out of the car and had to pull over in the motorway to clean my windows for 10 minutes solid. There is no regard to hygiene whatsoever particularly during covid 19. This company needs shutting down. Just read the reviews online!
PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT USE. I promise you will regret it. Rude manager who hung up on us. Rude supervisor who said the filthy and unsanitary car we rode in was our fault and that we shouldn't have accepted the car even though they cancelled the brand new car we ordered and paid for the morning of the pick up. They left us with no other choice but to use this car out of sheer desperation. The minute we got into The car to drive to our destination we wrestle already late for, we called customer service and was put on hold for 30 minutes twice then hung up on. How is this company still going????
Reviewed Sept. 18, 2020
I have been using Zipcar for over 4 years, but in recent few years, they cancel my rental in few hours, and then I can't find any car that available. It's getting more frequently. It's not acceptable. I am cancelling the membership.
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2020
Rented a car weeks in advanced. They cancelled an hour before. I know this happens but over a week later and still no refund. They also haven’t answered any of my emails and no one to answer the phone when I call. Just tried calling at 10am and it said they are too busy and won’t be able to answer my call and it hung up. No way to get ahold of customer service.
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2020
I signed up for Zipcar over exactly one year ago. They charged me $15 for the annual fee, and then said my "Zipcard" would arrive in the mail shortly. Several weeks and many hours on hold later, my Zipcard never arrived. I tried to cancel my account and forget about the experience. Yesterday, a charge shows up on my bank statement: $15 for annual Zipcard fee. I find it fairly audacious for Zipcar to charge me the annual fee for a card I never received. I tried calling customer service, but an automated voice informed me they received too many calls that day, and then hung up on me. I opened a request on their help website, which still has not been answered. If at all possible, find another company to provide you with a carshare.
Reviewed Sept. 4, 2020
Just to reiterate the feedback from many people here, Zipcar have atrocious service. My rental was cancelled by them the night before I was due to collect the car. Which is inconvenient but I figured these things happened. But the idiotic thing is that 2 weeks later they still haven't refunded me the money, for the rental THEY cancelled.
Reviewed Sept. 3, 2020
Zipcar provide useful services to the needy people. They give low rate rental for their selection brand cars. Cars are in almost good condition. This company provide charming and friendly drivers in case if we need drivers. Zipcar rent fast cars with very affordable rates. We, the customer of zipcars help us to satisfy our need of urgent cars. I often used cars from this company as they can deliver and use their cars for a pleasant and nice ride. Affordable, cheap and luxury cars of zipcars can give very satisfying wonders of the wheels. No need to compete with other car rental company if you use zipcar once as they give more advanced and fast feature that are deliver to happy customers like us.
Reviewed Aug. 23, 2020
A company that does not care one bit about its customer’s safety or experience. I genuinely have argument and am consider seeking legal counsel due to the atrocity of this company. How it remains as a business is high questionable and I strongly believe this company should be dissolved. I gave Zipcar four chances. Four more than I ever should have.
On one occasion, the car had weed laying inside. On two occasions, the keys and gas cards were missing. The car would only occasionally turn on during one of my trips. I was stranded without any help from customer service. They provided no solutions and refused to attempt to provide me with a key, even though I had the car for over a week yet. Another time, in the height of COVID in NYC, the car was absolute filth. This was after they had changed my specific reservation 2 times. The dashboard was splattered with foods, empty containers throughout, and the strongest stench of weed.
Out of my four experiences, I NEVER, not once, entered into a clean car. No excuse, especially during these times, that it couldn’t have been cleaned. The truth is, however, that zipcar NEVER cleans the cars. They are filth and trash. You pay high prices for extremely poor customer service availability and embarrassingly low standards of cleanliness. Do not waste your time and money. I assure you, no “convenience factor” or “app” will make up for this awful company.
Reviewed Aug. 18, 2020
Two weeks ago, I reserve a Mercedes GL for a day trip with my wife. The first day in working six weeks straight. To take her out of the city, somewhere nice. Shortly before my reservation time, I receive an email that my reservation was switched from the Mercedes GL to a Honda Civic. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant, ordered a NY Strip Steak, and got served a Veggie Burger instead? I called, the rep found me another Mercedes at a different location, and we were finally able to take off. Only to find out that a) there is no gas card in the car, b) no EZ Pass (consequently having me stuck in the EZ pass lane with half a dozen of cars honking behind me), c) the car is banged up beyond belief (both sides had serious dents, and the bumper had come off), and d) the car smelled like cigarette smoke. Anyway, we were focused on our trip, Zipcar refunded me $60, and I almost forgot about it, until... today:
I rented a Honda CR-V to transport heavy items from A to B. The day was planned around the trip down to the quarter hour. Car was reserved from 12:30pm until 4:30pm. I was ready to activate the car at 12:15pm at the garage, but to no avail. No reaction. A guy standing next to me said: "I've been calling them all morning. They have issues with their system. And now they just switched me to this car here." Points at 'my' car, taps his card, gets in, and drives away. In the car I had reserved, and had walked half an hour to the garage for. I checked my email, and at 12:14pm, I received an update I had been switched to a similar car IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PART OF TOWN. It would have taken me half an hour to get there, and my time-table would have been completely screwed up.
I cancelled the reservation, and can only shake my head in disbelief. Who does that? It's like booking a flight to LA, and then the airline decides to fly you to Pittsburgh. What is going on? Reading the comments here and on Instagram, it seems the issues are systemic. Ever since Avis bought Zipcar, the number of cars available has been reduced, the maintenance has been terrible, and the customer service department seems to have been culled down to the bare minimum below the minimum. I will be canceling my membership. There is no value in being treated like this.
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2020
Zipcar is a larger than life disaster of a company that epitomizes horrible, opaque customer support practices. I rented a car from them for a weekend in the Poconos. The person who had the car before me arrived 15 minutes late. I was on hold with Zipcar the whole time to ask where the car was, but hung up once it arrived (never got a real person). This was an omen for what would happen next.
The car drove okay to the AirBnB and I took it for a short drive the next day. Then on Sunday, I go to drive the car home and it shuts off as I'm pulling out of the parking lot. The alternator died. It wouldn't stay on longer than 60s before turning off again. I called Zipcar and was on hold for 30 minutes before I could even talk to someone. They had me do all this dumb stuff like unlock the doors with the phone as if that's going to fix this busted car. They put me back on hold for another 15 minutes and then another guy made me do all the dumb stuff again before I told him it wasn't going to help. He said he would call a tow truck and call back in 5-10 minutes. HE NEVER CALLED BACK!!
Oh yea and during this time, I checked the state inspection stickers and they were expired! This vehicle they rented me was literally illegal to drive in the state of Pennsylvania and breaking down because it was in need of inspection. Oops! We called again, another guy picked up, I told him to skip the dumb stuff, he said he had to call someone else and would call back in 5 minutes. HE NEVER CALLED BACK!!
In total, we spent 2 hours standing in a hot parking lot with zero confirmation that anything was being done on their end. There was a parking lot attendant who I explained the situation to and she gave me a pass to put on the car so no one else would tow it. I gave up on getting a call back and took a $173 Uber ride home which they said they would refund me for. I emailed them the next day and it's been 13 days and no response. I'm calling them again as I write this review. I've been on hold now for 45 minutes. Will I ever get my refund? Who knows. Avoid this company at all cost.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2020
We live in NYC, upper west side. Have used Zipcar in the past. On the last trip, the driver window would not move up or down so we had a windy trip, but I thought this was just a fluke. But today's experience suggests that it was not a fluke and that this company is tanking: 1) They changed the car and location, except no phone number for the garage, I had to figure out on my own how to call the garage is, and it turned that the location given by Zipcar was wrong and that this garage "does not do Zipcars", thankfully he gave me the location of the garage I actually wanted;
2) Got to the correct garage, found the car with correct plates, but my card would not open the car, I called Zipcar, they said they "could not communicate with the car" to unlock it, and to "ask the garage attendant to open it with his card", but the attendant said his card didn't work on the car either; 3) Zipcar offered me an alternative car 1.5 miles away to the south on foot, I declined; 4) Zipcar offered me an alternative car a car 1.7 miles away to the north on foot, I declined; 5) Zipcar said "Oh, there is a white Mercedes 300 Zipcar in your garage, tag # starts with E79" but the attendant said "No such car here";
6) Zipcar then said I could take the Subaru Zipcar in this garage, tag # starts with JJJ, I found the car but my Zip card would not open it; 7) Zipcar now said "Ask the attendant to open the Subaru with his card and drive it out of the garage so I can communicate with the car", however the attendant said he was not permitted to do that. At this point our timed entry to our destination museum would have expired so I cancelled our trip out of town. They did cancel the charge but in my opinion, they should have given me credit for a free trip. We will not be using them again.
Reviewed Aug. 8, 2020
This company is garbage. One of the worst experiences I've ever had with a rental company. Here's the story: I sign up for the $70 membership plan, get approved, reserve a car for 3 days, and take a $25 Lyft to get to my car. Once I get there, I discover the right low beam light is busted out. No worries though. I pull up the app and hit the unlock button. The car won't unlock. I have great cellular reception. Restart my phone, etc. It still won't unlock. After waiting over 1 hour - to no avail - on the phone to speak with someone from Zipcar (mind you, I'm just standing idly outside in an unfamiliar neighborhood), I decide to take another $25 Lyft home. I decided to cancel my subscription and cancel the trip.
Two problems though. 1. You can't find the cancel subscription anywhere on the damn site or app. 2. I can't get a full refund because the company's policy is if you book a trip longer than 8 hours, you need to provide a 24 hour notice in order to receive a full refund. How am I supposed to provide a 24 hour notice when I am canceling within 1 hour of booking my trip? I literally can't provide a 24 hour notice and the company should know that. Trash company. Do not recommend!
Reviewed Aug. 5, 2020
Reserved a car in an ideal location near my home a month in advance; two weeks later it was changed to an inconvenient location with no apology or offer of driving credit to compensate (I would have had to Uber to the location). Then, THE DAY BEFORE the trip, I was notified the reservation was canceled. Again, without apology or offer of compensation. When I called I was told that car had been in an accident and the only other car available was a half-hour away. They could have had an employee drive it over to me, but that wasn't offered. Instead I got a measly $50 of driving credit, which increased to a still measly $75 when I complained. What do I pay for a Zipcar membership for if a reservation is meaningless? The day before a weekend trip midsummer, there are very few other options that weren't several hundred dollars more for the rental.
Now reading other reviews, I'm shocked to see others have experienced the same thing - I thought this was just very bad luck on my part. How do they not have extra cars for occasions when cars break down, get in accidents etc? I'm also disappointed to see others have experienced getting smoky, dirty cars. It's not like they are a cheaper service than car rental firms, the only reason I do it is because the cars are nearby. But after years of membership I'm now reconsidering, because I've never had a rental company car that smells gross, and I've definitely never heard of a rental car company randomly canceling a reservation where a deposit has already been paid! So disappointing now that they have a monopoly on this type of service, they clearly don't care about customer service at all.
Reviewed July 23, 2020
Everything about this service is bad. There are never cars available when you need them. If you are lucky enough to find a car when and where you need it they will just change the car or the location of the car which defeats the purpose of the reservation. Also their customer service is virtually useless. The 2 times I was actually able to reserve a car... One of the times the car was dirty and smelled like cigarettes and the other time the gas card did not work. I would in no way recommend using Zipcar to anyone. You're better off paying more to rent a car from a car rental place.
Reviewed July 20, 2020
I reserved a Zipcar more than two weeks in advance and when I arrived to pick it up it was not in the garage. Zipcar Customer Service did not offer a solution, had me waiting on the phone for over two hours. No help. Do not use them!
Reviewed July 18, 2020
I reserved a car for hot summer weekend in advance. I got to the place where car was supposed to be parked, it was not there. 40 minutes later (was on hold for all this time and disconnected several times), find out that my car was parked 2 miles away. Had to take an Uber. I could not find the car, one hour later after multiple phone calls to Zipcar (representatives just hung up on you and then need to dial back and wait on a line for at least 15 min for the next representative) I find out that place where car parked locked till next morning.
Zipcar representative was trying to help and booked the other car, after we hung up, it turned out that my zip car was booked only for a night (from 10 pm Friday till 9 am Saturday), my original reservation was till Sunday night. I had to call back to zip car, after another half an hour I learned that no zip car available for weekend (it was already late Friday night). All my plans are ruined and zip car staff can’t help. This is a nightmare. Zip car customer service is terrible and I would not wish anyone to be in this situation.
Reviewed July 10, 2020
Updated on 07/11/2020: So the representative said I was abusing, they were quick to suspend with still 80 or 78 dollars still in the account. They didn't call to speak to me but they quick to suspend. Been calling them since yesterday. Now on hold for over two hrs for something that wasn't my fault at all, they deleted my video. All I want is my money back. They are so unprofessional.
Original Review: Ok been with Zipcar little over a year. So every time I get in a car is either broken, beyond dirty seats, stains, full of trash at times even the outside. At times no gas card. 98 percent of time cars don't have registration, I spend more time speaking to them on my trip than actually doing what I'm supposed to do. Zipcar will take hrs to answer. When they do they really don't want to help if you call constantly, yesterday was the last blow with zipcar. Rented a car 1 one, broken shield meaning a crack, seats were suppose to be creamy color but they were black.
That's how dirty it was. Ac was not working. Took the car at noon. Was almost 5. Still no answer. I called over 21 times, so they finally changed me to another car. Omggg the car had no keys but had roaches in the glove compartment. I recorded it but zipcar went to my media and deleted it???? The day before I had a car for one whole day. Almost 2. As soon as I dropped it off someone picked it up. Ok soo when is the cleaning service coming? They also deleted that video, when I went to park the car another vehicle there so I get charged for late fees???? For something that was not my fault, but they take money in less than a sec but weeks and hrs to resolve your issue, another thing prices on app are not the same. When you ready confirm $75 day. Cars actually 96 or 98.
They not fair. Horrible and they get mad because I'm constantly calling. Ok fix my problem, return all my money and we are ok. But people don't carshare with zipcar. They nasty cars. They will go into your media meaning pictures, texting, voicemail and they will delete it. Trust me when I'm saying they deleted the video I had well 2 of roaches in the car????
Reviewed July 8, 2020
I have had several times where the car was not there. The key fob was missing. It smelled, was dirty. One time I found tissues and condom wrappers. I've been on hold with customer service 40 minutes, over an hour... I called to report the car was inoperable. The chassis was on a slab of ice. The wheels weren't touching the ground. A week later I rented the same car, but it was still in the same condition. I reported it again. They never took the car off of their bookings. And I've been billed for cancelled trips - because the car wasn't there. I'm quitting! POS company.
Reviewed July 5, 2020
I am a new customer for Zipcar. I booked my first reservation to pick up the car on July 3rd and had my farm tickets ready to go to the farm. In the morning at 6:50 am I received an email that my car reservation was cancelled. There was no way for me to make another reservation due to July 4th busy week. I called to speak to a representative, he takes forever to pick up and they decided to give me a 25 dollar credit. I then decide to give it another shot and booked again with them for July 5th. The morning of July 5th 6:50am my car reservation was cancelled again. This is ridiculous and frustrating and I won't definitely not recommend Zip car to anyone.
Reviewed July 3, 2020
The morning I went to pick up my Zipcar at the garage, I was advised this car was in an accident the day before and no longer available. I received no notice either by phone or email from zipcar. I called their customer service line three times for assistance and placed on hold a total of 40 minutes each time. On two of these calls, the call was mysteriously dropped while talking with the representative. On the third call, I was advised that there were no replacement cars available that day in Manhattan. I had to take a subway, railroad and cab to my destination 50 miles outside of NYC and was three hours late. How does a company strand their customers like this and remain in business. A truly horrible experience.
Reviewed July 3, 2020
I would not recommend Zipcar to anyone. Every time I rent a car I have an issue. The car is dirty, smells like weed etc. I booked a car on July 4th for a trip with my family and they completely ruined it by canceling my bookings without disregard. They didn’t even bother to look for another car of for me. Zipcar is the absolute worst. Be careful with booking with them this might happen to you.
Reviewed July 2, 2020
On 07.01.2020, I reserved a car for the day. On the day of the car was not there. After waiting on the line for over an hour, the Customer Service Rep informed me that the vehicle was reported to be having car issues by the person that rented it before me. At 10:23 am on 07.01.2020, I received an email that stating my reservation was cancelled. Later that same day, I reviewed my Zipcar account to see if I was being charged, I had not been.
On 07.02.2020, I checked my bank account to my surprise, I had been charged. At that point, I called Zipcar again and waited yet again for over an hour before I was able to speak with someone. After a long a circular conversation, they've stated that it will take 3-5 business day before I can get a refund. My concern is the length of time. As previously mentioned my Zipcar account has a $0 balance. So why was I charged in the first place. If you are not a member of Zipcar, be cautious. Note this is my third time renting a car and this is the second time having issues with them.
Reviewed June 28, 2020
Do not become members of this car share rental. Zipcar should be completely shut down. I've been a member for a few years. Twice they screwed me on the 4th of July weekend. 1st time they inform me the day before of my rental not being available. They manage to get me a car only because I was highly pissed off and was literally screaming and cursing through the phone. Today June 28 2020 six day before my family gathering I was forced to cancel my car rental and on top of all that I have rented a house for over $2000 which I may not be able to go if I don't find a car in time.
If I don't go to my family gathering I will not get my house rental funds back. NO REFUNDS ALL BECAUSE OF ZIPCAR! Zipcar did not notify me about my car not being available. No email, phone not even a text. When asked why was I not notified I was told a bogus excuse which really pissed me off. Zipcar literally forced me to cancel my rental. I terminated my membership with them right there and then never will used them ever again.
Reviewed June 27, 2020
As a 15 year member of Zipcar, I'm horrified by the deterioration of their service and reliability. We've been messed up every time we've reserved over the past several months, and it's virtually impossible to contact customer service. I've had enough and hope we can find a good alternative in NYC.
Reviewed June 22, 2020
I rented a car for 4:30 to see my father on Father's Day. The car had not been returned and so after 1 hour on hold with customer service, they said, "Oops, we had to change it, so we changed your car to 7!" So, we waited around for 2 hours to get the next car at 7 and guess what, it never got returned so there was no car for us to use! We spent another hour on hold with customer service, never spoke to anyone, waited 45 min. to see if the car got returned and then, having wasted 3 hours we cancelled our plan. What a horrible Father's Day and what a horrible company. We still have not been able to get anyone on the phone for over 3 hours. Even if it were free, I would not use them again, unless I actually want to miss my outing. The company should be shut down.
Reviewed June 20, 2020
In the 3 weeks since we signed up for Zipcar, we have had 2 cars cancelled the morning of our trip, and 2 cars not at their garage when we went to pick them up. The customer service line is useless - because by the time you wait multiple hours on hold (seriously), you’ve probably already missed out on your trip. This service is an absolute disaster right now in New York, and is basically stealing your monthly fee. Please, stay away and avoid the headache of having to cancel your membership.
Reviewed June 18, 2020
I've only used Zipcar once, REPEAT ONCE!! And the car was EXTREMELY unsafe to drive. Check engine light was on, steering wheel shaking, it was 56,000 miles PAST an oil change, I called. They only credited 10 dollars toward my next trip which I never used because I wasn't going through that again (this was May 28th) THEN never used it again but they were still charging me 141 dollars here and another 247 there that I NEVER AUTHORIZED! I even called Zip and spoke to a supervisor who also DID NOTHING! Thank the Lord my bank disputed the CHARGES. Overall ABSOLUTELY do not recommend not even for one hour, they don't care about their customers nor have common customer service knowledge. You have better chance getting Uber and Lyft even A TAXI!
Reviewed June 14, 2020
Zipcar has disappointed me five times in the past months; this included me picking up cars to find such issues; huge dents, a shattered side mirror, interior filthy, sticky; with ** odor. THE LAST CAR I DROVE NOT TOO FAR HAD A DONUT FRONT LEFT TIRE. I’ve had cars switched to another location a few hours before my pick up. The last few times I called to complain, I’ve been on hold for 30 mins to get a $20 credit toward the next reservation. If you need to make an appointment or plan to attend an important occasion skip this service; you may find yourself screwed. There has to be better monitoring on these cars.
Reviewed June 12, 2020
-No such thing as a car in minutes, because there are never any cars available; and when there is one, it's an hour+ to get to it. -Advertises as low as $10/hr or $88.25/day. I've seen nothing close. F-
Reviewed June 10, 2020
Zip car has been a nightmare for me for the past 5 days! First I go to pick up my car and it’s not there. It took 4 hours for me to get through to customer service and once I did they gave me a refund and $20 in driving credit. An hour later I booked another car so I could get where I needed to go only for me to go pick up the car and discover that the battery in the car was completely dead. This company is nothing but a scam trap!! I plan to cancel my membership immediately.
Reviewed June 9, 2020
These cars don’t get maintenance checks, I took a Uber to a location have being told the car was good. I got there to a dead car, I walk to a gas station to put fuel bc they told me that was the problem. The car still didn’t turn on. I wasn’t reimbursed for the gas, my Uber or the inconvenience. But they have the nerve to charge a $20 membership. Beside that wait times to get someone on the phone is over 30 mins. God forbid an accident.
Reviewed June 1, 2020
Worst Customer Service-Cars are FILTHY (during Covid outbreak and before)- Cars are NOT maintained!! My husband and I have been using Zipcar for years and if I could give it O STARS I would!!It was bad enough that before the Corona Virus pandemic would we get cars that were absolutely filthy -both interior & exterior.
However, during the Pandemic, we were told that the cars were would be cleaned and sanitized after every use- NOT TRUE!! Today- June 1st- we went to pick up a car that was not only filthy, but filled with garbage from the previous driver! In addition, every single light lit up (low tire pressure, issues with brakes, steering, etc.) This is NOT ACCEPTABLE especially during the pandemic when keeping things clean and sanitized are a matter of life and death. After waiting 30 minutes, we reached a customer rep and were disconnect with NO CALL back! This will ABSOLUTELY be our last time renting from Zip Car. I would rather pay a bit more and know that I am getting a well maintained, clean, sanitized car.
Reviewed May 23, 2020
I have been a member of Zipcar for the past 9 years. Since this fall, I have reserved 3 zipcars and have had major problems with all of them! In the fall, I was out of town in the car when I got a message that the car booking was canceled, then rebooked for a new car that was back in the city. I was somehow charged for both and had to spend loads of time with customer service sorting this out!! The gas card also never worked.
Then today, my car was somehow randomly canceled for a reservation we made a week ago for tomorrow. When I called and requested a new car, they said they had none available that could hold 12 people and the van that we had reserved for 12 people could never hold 12 people in the first place and is just a cargo van, even though the website said and still says that it has 12 seats! How could the system be so incredibly bad and the excuses be even worse! I'm disgusted by this! And they even canceled my booking and then charged me my membership fee on the same day!?!
Reviewed April 27, 2020
On the website it stated you can add a driver at no cost to me the (primary account holder). Not so. I was charged for a $25 application fee immediately and I couldn’t even finish the application because the website stated there was a bump in the road try again later. They refused to give me my money back so I cancelled my membership. I never got to rent not one car but been paying the membership And insurance fee for the past 3 months. I’m glad I never rented one after reading how bad the cars are. I’m glad there are other options. Hello Enterprise.
Reviewed April 25, 2020
I signed up for a $50 "pre-paid" per month account in 2016 to get 10% off my rides. Since this year, in 2020, I'm going to be using them less, I called them to switch plans. That's when I noticed that none of the $50 monthly charges had ever been applied to rides I had taken -- for four years! They had charged me about $2400 that was supposed to go to rides but then double billed me. At this point I thought Zipcar would admit they made a mistake, apologize and refund my money. When I phoned the person on the phone agreed that they had overcharged me for years. The person on the phone then applied the current month's $50 prepayment to a ride I had recently taken and said Zipcar would get back to me in a couple days. They didn't call, they didn't write.
When I called to find out the status of my refund, not the $50 but closer to the $2400 they had overcharged me over 4 years, they emailed and said they were looking into it further, would give me a $700 credit for future rides, and get back to me. Logically, this was imperfect, because I might or might not want to take these rides. Why credits? What business overcharges you and when you point it out they don't return the money but instead give you a gift certificate for a smaller amount? However, this gave me some hope. I tried to reply, but it was a no reply address, which in this case should have been a red flag. They never got back to me. So 3 days later I phoned.
My trust in them was now low and diminishing. I said it was closer to $2400 and that I wanted the money back, not the credits, because this money was never theirs to take in the first place. The deal was unless I didn't use Zipcar in a given month, the $50 was supposed to be used as pre-payment for rides I took. Although I took rides every month with few exceptions, they never deducted $50 for any bill except this last month when I pointed it out. This had gone on for about 4 years. Finally, I asked, even if it was going to be credits, why $700 and not closer to $2400? They said the case had been marked closed, so that's why they'd not gotten back to me. Another red flag. However, the person I was talking to said they would reopen the case and mark it the highest priority, because they saw my point. So, again, they said they'd call and sort this out, this time for sure, but I never got a call, or another email.
I noticed that in all these calls, they never apologized, and they never called back, even though on the second call, the person on the phone had said, the $50 charges (every month for about 4 years) "were supposed to go to your account but they did not...I understand you need your money back." The fact that Zipcar 1) never apologized 2) were dishonest about call backs and 3) are still refusing to return the money they took. Naturally, I no longer trust this company. Their taking my money dishonestly and refusing to return it is not an accident. It appears to be part of a dishonest business model. They lie and steal for profit, and this is why their credits are worthless to me. I will not drive in a car that is owned by a company that I do not trust, a company that steals your money and refuses to return it when caught. Can you imagine how you would be treated if you were ever in an accident? Do not use Zipcar. It is not worth the risk.
Reviewed April 3, 2020
I signed up for Zipcar so that I could rent a car for my trip the following day. Upon completion of registering online, I was told that a physical card would be mailed to me within a week. I immediately called a Zipcar to see if I could have my membership ID over the phone so I could unlock a car with the app, and when he said that wasn't an option, I asked him to cancel my account since I would be unable to use it as planned.
Come to find out weeks later, I was charged a $25 application fee, which that support rep failed to inform me about. I called back to request a refund on this due to my previous conversations, which they declined and then I requested to reactivate my account since I already paid the $25 fee, which they also declined. Said I'd need to re-apply.
I have never been felt so taken advantage of by a company. Fortunately it's just $25, but after a Google search I'm noticing there are tons of people with the same story. Hope this review helps someone else make more informed decisions than I was. Better yet, hope this review steers others to use more ethical companies for car rental needs.
Reviewed March 16, 2020
I rented a car from Zipcar out of Union Station, Washington DC. Two parts to the review - problems with Zipcar the company, and problems with Union Station. First, there were no signs anywhere in the station saying where Zipcar was located (although there were a handful of signs for other companies and competitors!). The app told me the car was on the 3rd level of the garage, but there were no Zipcar signs on the third level. And two Union Station employees had no clue - one of them sent me down to the first level. Finally after I called Zipcar they set off the car alarm remotely and I found the car.
But the car transponder was weak and the lane's exit arm would not raise when I drove up. So I called Zipocar, they had me call Union Station, which went to voicemail. I drove around and found another exit lane and there was an employee who paged the manager and they remotely opened the arm so I could drive out the lane. But two levels down there was another exit lane that did not work. This time I buzzed on the speaker and someone let me out. 35 minutes delay. Exiting onto H Street the traffic light did not work so after 5 minutes several of us went through the red light to exit the station.
Upon return there were NO signs for Zipcar (again there were signs for "rent-a-car" and other companies). There was a problem and Union Station employees were manually telling drivers where to go - iafter being misdirected and told to back out, I was told to go in the standard entrance and take a ticket, which I did. I returned the car, 1 minute early. Zip car at Washington DC has NO staff, NO signs, and limited support. I have rented from Zipcar in DC in the past without a problem, but this time was the worst. BTW the car (Honda HR-V) was fine. Never again from Union Station (even though I know the drill now, it's not worth it).
Reviewed March 1, 2020
Using Zipcar over the course of the last month has been a nightmarish, kafkaesque farce. I used zipcar prior to the acquisition in 2013 and found it use easy to use and convenient. Remembering that experience, I recently re-activated and thought I'd give it another try. My mistake. I have rented two cars from zipcar since then, or rather tried to rent two cars. Zipcar saw to it that I didn't actually get either of them.
For the first rental, I had somewhere to be early Saturday morning. As I was heading out the door at 7:30 a.m., I got a call from zipcar informing me that my car that I had reserved weeks in advance was, in fact, not available. There were no cars available in Manhattan, but I was free to pick up an alternative car in Staten Island, two hours away. Thankfully, a professional car rental service (i.e., not zipcar) had plenty of cars available, and I was able to complete my trip. Thanks, Dollar Car Rental.
At this point, I foolishly decided to give zipcar one last try. I think you know where this is going. I went to my scheduled pickup location at 6 p.m. last Friday, which took an hour to get to. My zipcar was not in the assigned spot. In fact, it was not anywhere in the parking lot. Weird! I called zipcar, who seemed slightly confused why I was calling. Their attitude seemed to suggest that it was my problem, not theirs, if the car that I had paid hundreds of dollars to rent was not (technically speaking) available to drive. They offered to call the current renter of the car to figure out where it was and get back to me within 15 minutes. I don't think I need to tell you that I never got a call back or heard anything further about where this car was despite multiple follow-up calls. I hope they've located it, and the drivers did not use it for some sort of "Thelma and Louise" type scenario.
Although several hours late at this point, I finally agreed to backtrack an hour into Manhattan to pick up an alternate zipcar. When I arrived in Manhattan, my card did not unlock my replacement car. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with various representatives who -- if this is possible -- were even sassier and less helpful than the representatives I spoke to before. Finally, we were able to get this car unlocked. I was repeatedly promised that this car would be billed to me at the price of the original car, not the replacement. I think you will be unsurprised to learn that when I looked at the bill this morning, it was at the (much higher) price for the replacement car. It took two weeks of calls threatening to file fraud charges to get this overcharge reversed. As soon as it did, I immediately canceled. I have never been happier about never having to use such a worthless, fraudulent service again.
Reviewed Feb. 29, 2020
Their service is horrible. There are never cars available and just when you think you found 1, you book it only for it not to be at its destination and a sorry from a representative saying there was nothing they can do. No cars were available anywhere else. No notifications saying your vehicle was not returned by the previous renter. I was so upset I had to reschedule my whole trip. I canceled my membership, I will never re-activate my Zipcar membership.
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2020
I subscribed Zipcar to rent a car but as soon as I was charged 25 dollars for their "application fee", their website went down and the service wasn't available anymore. As I had to rent a car through another platform I asked them to refund me but they answered me with an automatic message that "the application fee is nonrefundable". I replied that I don't accept their answer as the site was down and they never answered me again. I feel upset and I has never been treated like that in the US. The only thing I can recommend you is to run away from this awful service.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2020
I could have cut and pasted most of the review by Melissa of Cambridge. I loved Zipcar at first, but now:
2. Zipcar has cancelled 2 of my last 3 reservations with only 24-hours notice. With that little notice, any possibility of getting a substitute car have evaporated.
3. The gas cards don't work on some of the modern pumps.
4. The cars are not properly maintained and warning lights are frequently lit.
I would like Zipcar to work. I hope they can get their act together.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2020
My husband and I have been Zipcar members since nearly the beginning. The company started in our neighborhood and we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It enabled us to get rid of both of our cars, live more environmentally consciously and save money. But now, I absolutely hate them and the fact that there are no competitors in our area. If there were, I would dump them in a second. It pains me to say this because I was such a fan and promoted them to all of my friends for years.
It has gotten to the point where I cannot trust that I will actually be able to get into a car when I reserve one. The last several times I have reserved a car, I get there only to find that it will not open and they have no record of my reservation. Sometimes it goes over to my husband's account and other times it just disappears, or they have cancelled it for some inexplicable reason.
My last reservation was the absolute worst. I was unable to unlock the car, so had to call customer service. The poor man who answered got the brunt of my frustration and, as much as he tried, wasn't able to get me into the car for 45 minutes. I stood out in the cold all this time and ended up late for a doctor's appt. But it didn't end there. When I went to get back in the car to get to a second appt., I was locked out with all of my stuff inside. This time, the customer service agent I got was not at all interested in helping and just kept repeating that he had no record of the reservation, even though the car was clearly in a different location. I ended up have to take a Lyft to and from the other appointment and then calling Zipcar again so I could get into the car to get it back--a call that took another 25 minutes.
I asked that customer service agent to have a manager call me so we could resolve this issue and so I could arrange to be reimbursed for the Lyft. Nothing. When I called, I was told that they couldn't even talk to me. My husband, as the main account holder, would have to call. We have a joint account! When I asked if they could give me the name and direct line for a manager so he would not have to wait on hold, they said they could not. I asked the agent to pass along my feedback to his manager. He simply said, 'no'. Zipcar, if you are reading this, get your act together. These two long-time customers are planning to drop you and switch to good old fashioned rental cars.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2020
I just signed up for the annual membership thinking this was going to provided unlimited usages, however that’s not the case. You pay for a membership and then you are charged hourly or daily for the vehicle. The website wasn’t very clear about this. I thought it was you either pay for a membership or you select the hourly/day rate. After I called Customer Service as I could not figure out how to reserve a car, I was informed I had to wait 5-7 business days to active my account, which was not stated and I needed the vehicle for today.
After getting all the information about how Zipcar works with its rates and not being able to get the car in a timely manner I requested to cancel my membership and I felt I was misinformed about what they were offering. Come to find out they was also a $25 application fee that I was also not aware of and is nonrefundable. I asked if they could waive that fee as I based my purchased on unclear information by Zipcar, and they informed me they was nothing they could do. Very disappointed with customer service and this overall experience. If they would have provided clear information on their website I would have never signed up.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2020
I never received the card you need to use their cars, so I asked for a refund. They only refunded the $7 monthly membership fee (which would've already been available with their 30 day trial) but they will not refund the $25 application fee, for a service I was never able to use because of them. They could do this for every new applicant, keep the fee and never actually do anything. Insane customer service.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2020
Unless I reserve a car days in advance of need, I rarely find a Zipcar car available. Too few cars kept near my home to make my membership practical. I have called Zipcar over the past three years to complain of this issue, but vehicle available has not improved.
Reviewed Jan. 9, 2020
I have been a Zipcar member for over 10 years and reserve cars maybe a couple of times a year. I must have forgotten my password or typed it in wrong and decided to change my password and create a new one. I went through the steps, created a new password, logged in just fine and then when I attempted to reserve a car for the next day morning, the webpage did not allow me to and told me to call zipcar. When I called I was told I should be receiving an email in a few hours and my account is under review. I asked why and what issue is there for my account to be locked and under review. Customer service told me that the "support team" is reviewing and they have no further information.
I asked what the email, what solution would come in my email inbox to allow me to reserve a car for the next morning. Customer service had no answer. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She said the same thing- that I'd get an email in a couple of hours but there's no guarantee of when the email would arrive. 3 hours passed, I called again. Customer service then told me that I'd be getting an email in 1 or 2 business days with more information. I can not believe that because I simply changed my password to my account that I can not get any info from customer service as to why my account is locked. I appreciate security steps but I also expect efficient resolution and information when I call customer service.