Elizabeth

This was a bad experience. My kids and I had rented a campervan in Spain just weeks earlier and had a good experience but Joana's rental was a disaster. She was late meeting us to turn over the vehicle then after just a day when we were about 30 km away, the electricity in the van stopped working. After lots of troubleshooting chats, with her initially asking many questions and insinuating we had done something wrong to her van, she sent her boyfriend to meet us the next day. He tried many things and was unable to fix it. He thought since the boiler was worked on by a mechanic recently, maybe there was something wrong and it was draining the battery. We had to charge our phones and other devices at a friend's place and were in the van with no light at night other than my mobile phone's light. Since we had scheduled education events we had paid for near Palmela, we decided to keep the van another couple days and return it instead of keeping it the planned 2 weeks. We couldn't cook in the van (well we technically could since it was gas but couldn't wash our dishes since the water pump needed electricity) so we ate at restaurants more than planned. That was an extra expense. We also paid for a camping space to try to plug into their electricity but it didn't work either. So we had the van for several days without light or electricity (other than the driving part of the van that was on a different system). Not comfortable at all! For the drop off, we met Joana's boyfriend in a location that was convenient for him and the friend who was picking us up, just north of Lisbon. He signed off on the van stating we left it in good condition. Later, they contacted me accusing me of putting a dent on the side of the van. I drove the van very carefully and don't recall making any dents or accidents. Perhaps another car bumped into the van when we were out. But even though the boyfriend had signed off on the drop off, they both harassed me via whatsapp multiple times, calling me and pressuring me to pay them for the damage. Boyfriend also whined about coming out to try to help us and coming to pick up the van an hour earlier than we planned to meet as his ride needed to drop him early (like that was my fault!). I felt very bullied and harassed. I understand that mechanical problems happen. When all things go well, it's easy to get good reviews. But when things go wrong, that is when the owners should step up their customer service and work to help the customer as much as they can, instead of blaming the customer for everything. Also the fridge was such a hassle to keep cold. There were a few different ways to keep it cold and it was a lot of work to keep turning on the gas. Food got spoiled and I had to throw it out. My dreams during the past several years of purchasing a van for ourselves was ruined due to this experience. It’s very scary to be a solo parent with two kids in a vehicle that has problems like this. I'm not mechanical enough to fix these things. I don't recommend renting this van as who knows when the electricity will go out again! I ended up paying for half of the damage(160 euros) just to get the owner and her intimidating boyfriend to stop harassing me. ***OWNER'S RESPONSE*** Dear Elizabeth,I am so sorry to hear that your experience with our company has not met your expectations.Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and I am truly sorry that wasn't demonstrated to you.While we'd love the opportunity to regain your trust, we understand how frustrated you must be. My deepest apologies for any inconvenience we have caused you. We wish you all the best in the future.Please let us know if you have any additional questions, concerns, or comments, or if we may be of assistance at any point in the future.Best Regards, Joana Bernardo

Januari 2022