Double Billing and Chaos: What Not to Expect from Car Sharing in Non-Capital Cities
We were all set for a family vacation in Anapa, but things took a turn for the worse when our car broke down just a day before our trip.
This was a major headache, especially since we were relying on a car-sharing service that seemed completely indifferent to the chaos they were causing.
Still, if my review can save someone else the trouble and expense, I'll consider it time well spent.
Belkacar reviewsWe had a family vacation planned in Anapa, but things took a turn for the worse when our car broke down.
It was just a few days before our trip, and we were left scrambling to find a solution.
We were planning to drive to Anapa with a family of four, and we had a lot of luggage. We decided to consider car-sharing from Krasnodar to Anapa.
Our plan was to drive to Anapa and complete the rental there, leaving the car behind.
My husband had a chat with the customer support team about this, and they assured him that we could complete the rental and leave the car in a designated area.
They even sent us a screenshot of the Anapa map with the designated areas marked.
It was a pretty large area, which was a relief.
Car-sharing Belka Car reviewsCar-sharing Belka Car reviewsWe were lucky to find a car in our neighborhood, but we had to take a taxi to get to the nearest one.
We ended up renting a KIA Rio X-Line.
As far as I know, they only have a few models available in Krasnodar - the KIA Rio X-Line and some bigger HAVAL models.
Belka car Krasnodar reviewsThe car was relatively new, clean both inside and out, and the interior wasn't smelly at all.
The gas tank was almost full.
The music inside quickly connected to my phone.
The air conditioner worked well.
The car was comfortable, rode smoothly, quickly, and quietly.
In all honesty, there were no issues with the car itself.
Feeling confident that everything was okay, we headed to Anapa to our booked hotel.
Little did we know, this was the start of a very stressful day.
When we arrived in Anapa, we quickly realized that it's impossible to complete the rental.
This was a major problem, especially since we'd been assured that we could leave the car in a designated area.
It turned out that the airport in Anapa is currently not working, making it impossible to complete the rental anywhere in the city.
We were left with two obvious options: either put the car on hold, which would cost us around 4000 rubles per day, and drive it back after our trip; or take it directly back to Krasnodar, as it's only possible to complete the rental there.
Car-sharing Belka Car reviewsThe screenshot they sent us in the chat with the areas to complete the rental was simply outdated and not relevant.
The operator later told us that it was just an example.
We were advised to leave a complaint, which would be reviewed in 3 days.
Ultimately, their solution was to compensate us 1000 rubles on the car-sharing account.
This was a pretty weak compensation, especially since we couldn't simply withdraw the money to our card.
Car-sharing Belka Car reviewsWe were left to wonder what we'd done wrong.
We checked into the room, as everything was already paid for, and drove back to Krasnodar to complete the rental.
The return trip to Krasnodar was more expensive, and it turns out that the round trip to Anapa and back would have cost us almost the same - maybe even a bit less - if we'd taken a taxi.
When we arrived in Krasnodar, the nearest spot to end our rental was a paid parking lot.
This was another expense we hadn't counted on.
We somehow managed to find a spot to park our car and took a few more turns around the city.
We finally breathed a sigh of relief, releasing all the stress and negativity.
And then we headed back to our hotel in Anapa.
That was an incredibly nerve-wracking day.
Minus one day of our long-awaited vacation.
Money lost.
Three times that day, we drove the same road over and over again.
By the time we arrived, we'd downed a whole liter of beer.
And what I want to say is this...
BelkaCar car-sharing reviewsMaybe there are some internal rules that need to be read carefully before renting a car from a car-sharing service.
Or maybe it's better to write to the operators in the chat, who, as it turns out, are incompetent and bear no responsibility - neither they nor the service itself.
I still think that using car-sharing services is only worth it in Moscow or St. Petersburg, where the system is somewhat developed.
However many times I've dealt with car-sharing services in Krasnodar, it just isn't worth it.
It's better to just take a taxi and not worry about a thing.
BelkaCar car-sharing reviewsSince the car is still registered to you until another driver takes it over, you can get fined for parking incorrectly, towed, and so on.
And it's all on the last driver's shoulders.
So, if you do end up using car sharing, be super careful, and then it's a good idea to log out or even cancel your credit card from your personal account.
Unreliable service.
I wouldn't recommend it.