Zenith Rent a Car, zenithsl.com

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

MY STORY SHOULD FRIGHTEN YOU.

The very worst of service. Had the wrong details when arrived at airport. Eventually found Zenith rep at airport who escorted my wife and I and 2 children to a small car which we then all had to get into, including the rep, (faulty seatbelts in rear of car) plus 4 suitcases and drive to their office on some little industrial estate. They then refused to acknowledge the booking until I could show/prove the booking. Fortunately I had paper work that I had printed showing the booking. We had to wait for about an hour for Zenith to find a car as they had no car available and then were given the car that collected us from the airport including all the damage already on the car & faulty seatbelt. Unfortunately on our 3rd night whilst parked the car was crashed into by someone but they had driven off causing a great deal of damage. We only discovered this on the following morning and reported the crash to Zenith. We explained the details of the accident on the phone. The Zenith representative was aggressive and very rude on the phone. We were able to show/confirm our version of events to the tow away driver along with verification from several witnesses who confirmed that they had seen the accident and that I was telling the truth and not responsible but unfortunately had not noted the registration number. I reported the crash to the police as requested by Zenith and paid the excess (400 Euros) to Zenith which was due which I accepted without any problem as this was the contract. I requested a replacement car for the remainder of my holiday which I was entitled to and Zenith replied that I could have a replacement when a car became available. After 2 days of chasing a replacement car or a refund Zenith started becoming rude and abusive on the phone accusing me of being a liar and making the whole story up and in fact it was me who had crashed the car. Zenith stated that I had made a false statement to the police. Zenith said that they had reported this to the police after an insurance assessor had completed a report and said that I had lied about the accident and he stated that I was driving the car at the time of the accident! Zenith informed me that I now faced arrest for making a false declaration. Obviously I continued to deny any involvement in the accident and again pointed out that several witness had approached the tow away driver confirming my story. I even witnessed at the time the tow away driver explaining the accident to Zenith when he collected the damage car and acknowledged that he had told Zenith this at the time. I continued to press Zenith for a refund or a replacement car. Zenith then started hanging up the phone and then to not even returning my calls when I left messages on their answer phone. Needless to say, I never got a replacement car!! When I returned home from my holiday I continued to press for a refund for the remaining 10 days of car hire that was due to me and was given all sorts of stories varying from the accountant responsible for refunds was away on holiday, to Zenith had refunded me but Visa had lost the refund and it was no longer their problem. Visa and I never had a refund. IF YOU USE THIS COMPANY YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING YOU GET.

This was the worst experience I have ever had renting a car, and I have rented cars in many diferent undeveloped countries. I rented a car for a long weekend getaway in Spain. We were traveling to a couple different remote beaches that was very hard to get to, and about 3 hours away from Malaga. When I explained where we were going with the rental car to the lady working in the office, this did not seem to be a problem.

So we drove our car out to the first beach, where we stayed for two days, then when we tried to start the car upo and drive 20k down the road to the next beach, the car didn't start. After trying to jump start the car (with out success), I called Zenith assuming they would help me with this problem. They were of absolutley no help at all. They told me that we were out of their service range, and that we neede to call a tow truck, pay for the tow truck, and then drive the 3 hours back to Malaga where they "may" be able to find us a new car. I explained to them that i was only in Spain for 4 days, and did not want to spend my vacation driving 6 hours to Malaga and back because the rented me a car that broke down on me, and they hung the phone up on me. I was stranded, with out a vehicle and they could care less. I asked for a refund, as I paid for a working rental car, which they did not provide me, and instead, they charged my credit card an extra $350 dollars. I have tried to contact them several times and they will not return my calls or emails. DO NOT RENT A CAR FROM ZENITH!

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY - Poor service and shoddy treatment.

We booked through Atlas Choice and when we arrived in Malaga had to pay the Zenith agent an out of hours meet & greet charge but they would only accept cash and could not provide correct change so she took '50 and short-changed us.

We were led to a damaged car that I would have refused had it not been 12.30am at night, travelling with 2 young children and anxious to get to our destination. Also, as we were not at a rental company desk with a choice of cars parked, but were taken to a lay-by outside departures where their car was parked, our options were limited.

I was rapidly shown around the car in the dark, with the agent noting the various damage on a sheet which she did not give me a copy of. When I asked for a copy she just said "do you see a photocopier around here, because I don't have one". I made my own record of the damage on the car when we arrived at our destination.

When I returned the car, the same agent met us and checked the car over again. After which, she said that the car had new damage and that I would be charged for it. I explained that the damage was not new and had already been on the car when I picked it up, but she just said 1 dent was not on her sheet and they were going to take more money from my credit card.

There was so much damage on that car that the agent simply (and probably deliberately) missed 1 dent at the outset. I believe this is a scam by Zenith that they run regularly to extort extra money from poor unsuspecting customers and have demanded that over £100 extra taken from my credit card be returned.

I have complained to Atlas Choice and Zenith, but they do not care.