Zest Car Rental
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Beware: Deposit not Returned
It is frustrating to have to write this, all the more so since Zest could have earned a 5 star rating if not for failing to return my deposit. After an easy booking process with Zest/Masterkings in Lisbon, I duly returned the vehicle without issue. Days turned into weeks and my deposit had not been returned. It has now been over a month and a half. While acknowledging the error and claiming to be in discussion with Masterkings about the deposit, Zest refuses to tell me why there has been such a major delay on conducting a simple transaction, let alone any timeline. As such, I recommend avoiding Zest given that they do not live up to their contractual obligations. Update (1/21/2025): It's a new year, and I have still not received my deposit! In fact, I am now convinced that Zest and Masterkings are collaborating on a rather complex financial scam in order to keep their customers' deposits. Other negative reviews on TrustPilot seem to indicate similar activity. The scam works like this: Roughly two weeks after returning the vehicle in good order, I received a credit of €450 on my credit card (the amount of my security deposit), but at the same time also an unauthorized charge from Masterkings of €450. I did not request or authorize this charge nor did I receive any service for it. At that time, I raised this issue with Zest and Masterkings, the details of which I discussed in my original review above. After a drawn out, months-long process, Zest and Masterkings claimed to have no knowledge of the extra charge, ultimately suggesting I go to my credit card company to reverse the charge. When my credit company contacted Masterkings, they claimed that refund was to reverse the unauthorized charge of the same amount on the same day, thus winning the dispute. Clearly, the €450 credit I received cannot be for both the return of my security deposit and the refund of the unauthorized charge. And yet, Zest/Masterkings have claimed both those things on different occasions, despite the blatant contradiction, all the while keeping my security deposit. This is not incompetence, this is a deliberate strategy of Zest/Masterkings to defraud their customers. I am now taking legal action, but I wanted to warn others to avoid Zest given criminal business practices. If you have fallen victim to a similar scam, please report them to your local legal/arbitration bodies as I have done.