Sicily By Car review: Car rental in Skopje

Hello,

I rented a car via SurPrice who had a local agent in Skopje ("Starcar" that provided a dangerous car.

I sent the following complaint to SurPrice on 9th October 2023, with questions directly to them regarding their vetting and due diligence of local agents, and questions related to the local agent.

Neither party responded.

I chased up, and it was the booking agent (VIPCars.com) that chased up the local Skopje agent who basically refused to accept any responsibility and denied any of my claims.

Initial Compliant:

"I have rented a cars from SurPrice in the past, and have always had very positive experiences.

It is with regret that I must complain about the car that I was allocated last week from your office at Skopje Airport, N Macedonia.

Booked via VIP Cars (in cc:, reservation G96515432)

Rental Agreement SC1295542 (on SurPrice Rental Agreement)

Volkswagen Polo

Registration plate: SK 0359 BH

On arrival at the airport, there was no-one at the rental stand (STARCAR with a small printed sign on the desk for "SurPrice")

I called and sent WhatsApp messages to all 3 numbers at the desk with no response.

The lady arrived after 10 minutes, acknowledging she had received my calls, and had been "checking the car" (I had assumed she was perhaps on smoke or toilet break).

The paperwork process was very easy.

There were no indications on the rental document of any damage to the car.

I was advised to take photos and we can compare them with hers if there's any future issue.

I was also advised that the car only had half a tank of petrol, and that I should return it the same.

The car had several scratches and dents of which I took photos.

Then inside, I noticed stains and broken sensor above the rear view mirror and broken armrest between the front seats (see photos).

The rear tyre did not look fully inflated, so I asked via whatsapp if I could easily find a tyre pressure machine at petrol stations (no response).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y5rbVk7xTNBM1QtE7 (car condition)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KeYxJbBpZB2tYJi98 (whatsapp screenshot)

I stopped at the first petrol station to fill the tan0k, and pump the tyres

All 4 tyres were at different pressures, some dangerously low at 1 bar.

I suspected one rear tyre (in photo) may have a leak, and checked the boot (trunk) for the spare tyre - there was no spare tyre!

I messaged the lady at the rental company to advise her of this and ask if there was an emergency number I could call?

I received no response.

Over the following hours, I noticed that the car would not lock (the mechanism was broken and simply rotated constantly, and the electronic locking mechanism did not work).

The radio would not work (inconvenient, but I could live with that)

The following lights on the dashboard were lit:

Engine light - constantly lit

Flat Tyre light - constant from day 2

Bulb light - from the afternoon of day 1 - constantly lit (I was unsure which lights had failed)

Glow Plug (Diesel engine management lamp) - intermittent from day 1 - but lit for over 50% of the time.

The engine frequently lost acceleration power and I was unable to overtake slow moving vehicles at times.

You can imagine the danger of losing power to the engine if I am pulling out of a junction with oncoming traffic.

You can also appreciate the danger of driving with underinflated tyres

The rear car tyres had leaks and deflated overnight from 2.2bar to 0.4 bar!

I had to constantly top them up when passing a petrol station throughout my trip.

I returned the car 3/4 full of fuel (unfortunate), and when returning the car, I advised the lady at the desk that it was dangerous and should not be on the road, and certainly not rented to customers. She simply said "I'm not the one that checks the car" (different than she told me when renting it out 2 days previously)

I encouraged her to tell her colleagues to check the vehicle and repair it or take it off the road.

I wanted to reach out to your for your response and proposed resolution before I respond to the feedback requests online.

I would like to know if you vet your providers and that they check their vehicles prior to rental.

Whether you consider this an acceptable rental, or agree that not only my personal belongings (car not locking), but my personal safety was at risk with such a car.

What compensation you propose for this experience, and to encourage me to consider SurPrice in the future when renting vehicles"

I chased a response on 26th October with SurPrice (VIP Cars in cc).

VIP responded on 29th October:

"

VIP Cars Support

Sun, 29 Oct, 19:33 (9 days ago)

to me

Dear Nick,

Greetings from VIPCars!

We have received a response from the supplier and here's what they have stated:

"Dear Partner,

Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in reply.

Kindly note that further that further to the information received from the station the car was not in a very bad condition. It is noted that there was indeed a problem with the lock at the time of the rental however it was only because the battery of the key was not properly charged. Other than that the car was in good condition and was fully drivable.

As of the above, should the client has evidences to support his allegations, kindly provide them to us in order to check further and take necessary actions should this will be deemed appropriate.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance with this. We are looking forward to hear from you in order to resolve this case to the best interest of both parties.

We remain at your disposal.

Kind Regards,

Antonia

Reservations and Customer Service Manager"

Could you please share any valid proof so that we can share the same with them? Hoping to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Martin Gerrard

Customer Care Specialist"

My response on 29th October:

"ello

This is a disappointing and incorrect reply from the rental company.

Their claim that locking mechanism was due to a flat battery is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who can put a key in a hole and turn it!

The car lock did not physically work. Ie the door lock was broken.

In fact, I may have demonstrated this to my Airbnb host in Ohrid, and could ask him to confirm this.

It would be interesting for you to ask them to prove to you that it is working. At the very least they may spend money to repair it.

I have sent photos to show the flat tyre and the warning lights on the dashboard and general condition of the car.

These photos include screenshots of the ignored calls and WhatsApp messages to the rental company.

The car was not in “bad” condution. It was in “terrible” condition and is not fit to be on the road.

Can you ask them to show you the last official check or the car (this is called the MOT in the UK)?

If the rental company does not respond satisfactorily by the end of this week (Friday 3rd a November) without such ridiculous claims, I will proceed with the various requests for online reviews, and contact the local police in Skopje to advise that they investigate this car as a danger to the driver and others on the road.

Kind regards

Nick

"

I have not had any response from an party.