Tags
AVOID, Budgetair, Canada, CAR Rental, Cartrawler, CIRCULAR CAR HIRE, ISTANBUL, RIP Off, TURKEY
- POST #1:
This blog is meant to expose (an alleged car rental company) Cartrawler (and their agent here in Canada, Budget Air) so that my fellow Canadians and citizens of the world get aware of this scam company.
Through Budgetair.ca website I was offered a competitive car rental offer for a Hyundai Sonata 2013. It seemed perfect for my trip to Istanbul, Turkey, and I placed a reservation online.
As soon as the reservation was placed online, the whole rental payment was instantly deducted from my credit card. Upon my arrival to IST airport, I had to call the car rental agent there (CIRCULAR CAR HIRE, I was told they will be waiting for us, but this was not the case). Then they took us (a baby, my wife and I) to the road next to the airport and we were asked to wait till the car arrives. After about 25 minutes a small Renault car arrived. The car was incompatible with the reservation placed online. Further, I was given the business card of the agent as well as a filled-out rental agreement except for my signature.
Upon checking the car I found out that the four tires are literally worn out. Further, the car was dirty from inside with strong cigarette odor. Moreover, the air condition was not working properly, it was merely a fan. I refused to sign the rental agreement and I requested a car in a good condition. I was told there are no other cars available and I can simply cancel the rental with a full refund. I didn’t sign the contract and it stayed with me. I also cancelled the rental.
I contacted Budgetair.ca and requested a full refund. I was told that they cannot do anything about it and I have to get in touch with WWW.CARTRAWLER.COM. I did so and I was asked to fill out some complaint form online (http://www.cartrawlersupport.com/contact-us) along with all supportive documents.
The online form seems not to function properly all the time, and whenever I try to submit any message online it gives the error message shown in Fig. 1 below. I managed to search the web and found the email address of Cartrawler (ccm@cartrawler.com and customercare@ccm@cartrawler.com).
- Fig. 1: Error Message Received When Try to Send a Complaint thru CARTRAWLER’s Complaints Handling System
During my search I also learned there are tremendous complaints about Cartrawler and how they’re so good at doing their best to rip off their customers. For example, please see:
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g1-i12567-k5882290-Cartrawler-Road_Trips.html
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4154553&page=1
In this blog, I will share with you all my communication with Cartrawler and I will expose them to you. Eventually, I will use the documentation provided here to lodge official complaints, both on the federal level as well as the provincial level, against both Cartrawler and Budgetair.
I will also take this to CBC.
————————————————————————————————————————————————–
POST # 2
In this post I show the initial emails I sent to Cartrawler and the responses I got.
EMAIL SENT
From: REMOVED
Date: Sat, Jun 22, 2013 at 2:18 PM
Subject: Car Rental (TR346312650) Cancellation and Request for Full Refund
To: CarTrawler Support <customercare@cartrawler.com>
KE
From: Cartrawler Customer Service <csnoreply@cartrawler.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Subject: Message from CarTrawler Customer Care, Ref: 500-1207327
To: REMOVED
CarTrawler Ref: 500-1207327,
Thank you for taking the time to contact CarTrawler. We regret any inconvenience you have experienced and assure you that we are anxious to retain you as a satisfied customer.
Our Customer Care Team will be reviewing the information you have sent us and conducting an investigation to resolve this matter.
In order for us to investigate a query, it is usually necessary for us to have a copy of any documentation relevant to your case, such as:
- The final invoice or rental agreement for the rental (these documents are normally provided at the rental desk).
- a copy of your paper bank statement
- a copy of any receipts/ documents/ photographs that are relevant to your case
- Your flight details including airline and flight number (for airport pick-ups)
To provide any of the above relevant documentation or information, please go to:
http://www.cartrawler.com/portal/postcasedetail.asp?case_caseId=430369&EmailAddress=
Here, you will be able to update your query, attach documents to support your case and check the status of your case. Please note that the quicker we receive your documentation, the better we will be able to assist you so we would really appreciate it if you could provide it at your earliest convenience.
As we must refer to the Car Rental Agents during the course of an investigation, it can take up to 20 working days to resolve a case. However, we will do our best to provide a satisfactory resolution before this deadline. A dedicated Customer Care Representative will be in contact with you throughout the course of the investigation to give you regular updates on how your case is progressing.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you.
Kindest Regards,
Martin Cornelissen
CarTrawler Customer Care
———————————————————————————————————-
ANOTHER EMAIL AFTER AROUND ONE WEEK
| from: | Cartrawler Customer Service <csnoreply@cartrawler.com> | ||
| to: | REMOVED | ||
| date: | Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 9:46 AM | ||
| subject: | Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 500-1207327 | ||
| mailed-by: | cartrawler.com |
Dear KE,
CarTrawler Ref: 500-1207327,
Firstly, let me offer my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused to you by the fact that you were offered a car in bad condition.
I am happy to confirm that, having investigated your case fully, I have now proposed a refund of € 414.48 to our Finance Department.
Below, please find my calculation of the refund amount:
| Online cost of your rental: |
|
527.52 |
€ | |
| Number of rental days: |
14 |
|
| Number of days retained: |
3 |
|
| Cost of retained days of rental: |
113.04 |
€ |
| Cancellation fee: |
0.00 |
€ |
| Total amount of cancellation charges: |
113.04 |
€ |
| Amount to be refunded: |
414.48 |
€ |
At the same time, I would like to explain in a bit more detail why this situation has occurred. Please be advised, that according to our cancellation policy, if the booking is cancelled at the rental desk there is no refund due. However, as a goodwill gesture, we refunded you your placement fee less three days.
As soon as this refund is approved by our Finance Department, they will email you with a confirmation that it has been processed. Please allow between 5-10 working days for this to happen. In the unlikely event that the refund is not approved, I will contact you with further details.
I’d like to apologise again. I can imagine how inconvenient this situation must have been for you and I do hope that you will accept our sincere apologies for this experience.
If you would like to discuss this on the telephone, please do not hesitate to contact me on my direct number +35312183879 (available during business hours 09.00hrs / 17.00hrs).
Kindest Regards
Alicja Kisio
CarTrawler Customer Care
—————————————————————————————————————–
POST # 3
Here I refuse the offer of a partial refund and I request a full reimbursement. REPLIES THAT follow from CARTRAWLER are included.
Date: Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [#UJP-248-12669]: Please refund me my money!
To: feedback@budgetair.com, cs@budgetair.com
Cc: CarTrawler Support <customercare@cartrawler.com>
KE
Date: Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Message from CarTrawler Customer Care, Ref: 453-1217225
To: REMOVED
Date: Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 6:47 AM
Subject: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: REMOVED
Date: Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 6:54 AM
Subject: Re: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: Cartrawler Customer Service <csnoreply@cartrawler.com>, feedback@budgetair.com, cs@budgetair.com, csca <csca@budgetair.ca>Dear Sir or Madam,
- Front Side of Business CAR
- Back Side of Business CAR
Date: Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Subject: Fwd: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: CarTrawler Support <customercare@cartrawler.com>, cs@budgetair.com, csca <csca@budgetair.ca>, feedback@budgetair.comHi,
- Unsiged CAR RENTAL AGREEMENT GIVEN TO ME BY CIRCULAR CAR HIRE IN IST AIRPORT
From: Cartrawler Customer Service <csnoreply@cartrawler.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 1:04 PM
Subject: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: REMOVED
Date: Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 1:54 PM
Subject: Re: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: CarTrawler Support <customercare@cartrawler.com>, CarTrawler Support <ccm@cartrawler.com>, csca <csca@budgetair.ca>, cs@budgetair.com
One is under Car to Be Checked in At : (4.6. 2013).
And the other is called the Check Out Date: 22.06.2013.This is my arrival date to IST airport (22.06.2013). Please find my attached ticket which confirms that I arrived on this date to Istanbul. Please remember that I never signed this contract nor I checked its authenticity due to the bad condition of the car as I previously explained. I don’t know what the first date given above means. You better ask your agent, CIRCULAR CAR HIRE!!!Look at the Check-Out Fuel and the Check-Out Damage Notes at the end of the contract! This gives clues on what the Check-Out Date given above means! How on earth I will chenk in a car at the same time I check a car out from CIRCULAR CAR Hire! This is INSANE (June 22 is my arrival date to IST airport)!What I care about here is that I was physically given this document by your agent in IST airport upon my arrival on June 22. Further, this proves that I showed up in the airport and I personally met your agent CIRCULAR CAR HIRE, which nullifies their claims of NO SHOW mentioned in your earlier correspondence!!!I never left Canada before June 17th as shown in the attached ticket. I am working with Memorial University and everyone here knows this.Also if I happen to have any other booking on June 4th (as claimed by you) with my name as shown in this paper, I SUPPOSE you won’t have a problem locating it on your system, don’t you??? !!!The way I am being treated by you and by your agent in IST airport is completely unacceptable! I am now in Canada and I am in the process of lodging official complaints against you guys and against Budget Air. I can assure you that I won’t let my money be taken out this way.
Date: Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 6:03 AM
Subject: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: REMOVED
AND HERE IS MY REPLY AGAIN (STILL WAITING FOR RESPONSE);
From: REMOVED
Date: Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: Update from CarTrawler Customer Care – Ref: 453-1217225
To: CarTrawler Support <customercare@cartrawler.com>, CarTrawler Support <ccm@cartrawler.com>, cs@budgetair.com, csca <csca@budgetair.ca>
I am not begging from you here, this is my right. My money is ripped off for no reason whatsoever. I won’t allow this to happen. Not only that, I promise you that I will use all means available to let people here in Canada know about my experience with you.
KE
Cartrawler, an Alleged Car Rental Service to Absolutely Avoid! 