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I hired a car from Woodford Group, Cape Town International Airport from the 24/3/2014 to the 3/04/2014 while on a holiday from the UK to visit my mother in Cape Town. The original agreement no CAPE-6906 I signed on the 24/03/2014 was for a Fiat Punto for 10 days @182.57 pd for a total of R1825.70. Additional charges for Airport taxes at 8% was for R146.06 and a Tourism Levy at 1% for an amount of R18.26 brought the amount up to a sub total of R1990.02. The contract fee of R30 brought the total amount to R2020.02 which was deducted from my credit card ac. A deposit of R4000 was taken seperately from my credit card which I was assured would be be refunded when the car was returned which is the normal procedure. I have a receipt for the payment of R2020 and a separate receipt for the R4000 deposit amount which was to be refunded. The mileage taken when I took delivery of the car on the 24th March 2014 was 22717kms. Included in the car hire package was 150 free kms per day giving a total of 1500 for 10 days.
On the 3rd April 2014 I returned the car at approximately 15.00pm. The mileage taken by me and Woodford on return of the car was 2328kms. There were no damages and the car was returned in the condition it was received. When I returned the car I was told that the deposit of R4000 to be refunded to my credit card couldn't be done for 24hrs. I wasn't going to leave the country with my credit card details in the hands of Woodford and no proof of the deposit being refunded at any time. After a lengthy discussion between Clint Henderson and his colleague they agreed although I was told "not normal", to fax "HQ" to request cancellation of the deposit. I reminded them that the R4000 was not just a cancellation but had been taken from my credit card a/c and had to refunded. After more discussion they agreed to give me a copy of the fax as proof that it had been sent and the request made. However the request is for "a cancel on the deposit" and not a refund. I had no option but to leave the office with the copy of the fax and Clint Hendersons business card and assurances that the R4000 deposit would be paid back into my a/c "in 24hrs". This has not been done. I have hired cars before and have never ever had an issue before.
I have emailed to Woodford copies to of the orignal invoice dated 24/3/2014 for the total car hire charges, the fax from Clint Henderson to Woodford HQ dated 3/4/2014; and the invoice dated 3rd April which is outrageous and obviously wrong .
I am extremely concerned that Woodford have taken the liberty of debiting my credit card a/c with the R8001.38 showing on the incorrect and as far as I'm concerned fraudulent invoice dated 3/4/2014, and have also kept the R4000 deposit which is due to be refunded to me. Woodford therefore owe me a total credit of R12001.38. At the very least as I returned the car after 2pm on the 3rd April, they may be entitled to charge of R182.57 for an extra day which would mean a credit of R12001.38 less R182.57 is due to me which would be a total of R11818.81 to be refunded back into my credit card a/c.
As I have had no reply from my emails to Woodford I am appealing to you for urgent assistance for the money to be refunded to me. The only amount that was authorised by me to be taken from my credit card a/c was R2020 being the total charges for the car rental and R4000 deposit which was due to be refunded on the day the car was returned.
Please can you assist in getting the refund repaid to me as a matter of extreme urgency. We are not all wealthy people coming from the UK and I am on a tight budget. This has been a very bad experience.
Rosemary Howard-Carr ([protected]@aol.com)
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
We've rented a car from Woodford online and even paid for the
car of our choice, when we got at the airport there were some issues and ended up canceling the reservation and we were told we will receive our money back. Then we proceeded to another rental car agency and everything went smoothly. That was on the 30th November 2023 and now it's the 19th of December and haven't received our refund back. Customer service suck, they ignore emails.. I'm really angry cause it's not as if we asking them to loan us money, but we want our money back... We feel scammed
Fraud, I've paid two more thousand ZAR more than it was confirmed in the booking, extra services that were guaranteed to be included when reserved. After 2 weeks the deposit hasn't been returned back yet. Customer care is disgusting, their answer was you are fool because you agreed to pay more upon check in.
Don’t deal with this company - they will steal your deposited and claim something g was damaged on the vehicle without any or off of the damage and the repair/ replacement of it - Buyer beware - this is a common practice with this company -
The will F you over in a heartbeat
Matter needs urgent and neccesary attention from Director
Good evening i am writing this message with a heavy heart from the bad treatment and humiliatiion that i got from woodford employees.My car had a problem then Merc decided to own up the problem and organise me a car since the part will only be received in the next 8 weeks. I was in court the whole as an Advocate ,then later they managed to get hold of me .I was informed that Merc rented a car for me the only thing i have to do is to pay a holding deposit of which i did.Later i received a call that they are on their way to drop a car it is from OR Tambo then people who came to drop it said they were from Hatfield but they just requested them to hand it over to me of which they did ,the delivery man didnt even bring a single doc to me he only had a tablet and he said we must check the condition of a car then if i am happy i Must sign delivery note and also initial other 2 pages innocently thats what i did because i knew Merc rented a far for me . I Paid depo as requested before they came online .A week after i had a car on Tuesday the 08th innocently i gave my little brother a car to go and drop my daughter at school because to me i saw an email from merc that doesnt refuse any usage of car by third parties with valid licence and i dont and never had contract with Woodford.When i received a call i was warned of speed my response was i was not aware and will address my briother on his conduct but matter will be rectified with imm effect later in the afternoon i was told there was another speeding should it continue car will be repossesed ,i profusely apologised and promised that since they are explaining how their contract with Merc work i wont deviate can this be regarded as a warning humbly so, then after that an employee of Woodford said to me its understandable but he cant make a decision but he will escalate the matter to his superiors and call me back shortly and send me a copy of contract that i signed of which he never called.In the morning i used the car to work but stopped at the saloon i was suprised when i was called by someone from Woodford to say there are people waiting for me to collect a car and i said how so ,but its ok i will have to first finish at the saloon and i was supposed to be at court then make neccessary arrangements so that i can go with them to their office to get clarity why i was treated In a disgusting manner in public in handling the matter while i am still waiting for a call or email with a response ,as well in a disrespectful, humiliating treatment given to me
As a woman it simply displayed harassment, disrespect, abuse, intimidation and barbaric conduct to say the least, by the team that was send and continued by self through text messages as if i was once told to bring a car i refused or as if i stole the car most of all the turned the delivery note to say i was not signing delivery note but contract,the consultant that came went as far as touching my body parts when they were trying to snatch the key as i told them i wont give it until i understand why i was humiliated in public .
Woodford should know that A business is run through humility, courtesy, respect, professionalism and sound communication as primary principles. Not to mention legal framework.They went as far as de activating the car telling how the contract was terminated with imm effect when i demanded my deposiit with imm effect they told me it will be processed ,later i was told its not possible before inspection when i said lets go for inspection of the car then you imm transfer my money so that i can organise another car i was then threatened of Altrack Car Recovery system .They left me hanging in a place that was not safe until i called a tow truck to take the car to my house for safety thats another financial implication ,until matter is handled properly i will not rest ,my humble appeal is to request Director Woodford to call me as a matter of urgent i am disturbed emotionally tormented ,my image and reputation as an Advocate has been harshly tarnished and dented as well .No one seemed to care about what transpired only person who listened and very late was Darryl who promised to escalate the matter
I'm sending this complain noting that i was talking to a nameless and faceless person who was only communicating with me through text his numbers are +[protected] he doesnt even wanna identify himself but keep on harrasing me more with threats
Having done my research about this company dealings I came across reviews from unhappy customers who had nothing but negative feedback and comments about how Woodford conduct their business. And I was not surprised at how i was treated even going as fa as physically touching me making me severely unsafe and uncomfortable , especially as a woman.
I really don't appreciate that and not happy at all.I cant even sleep i am really disturbed.
If that is the way they run their business, then we really don't need people like them in our country.
I'm exploring all possible evenues at my disposal to remedy the damage they have caused me, emotionally, psychologically and reputational harm Woodford team's actions today caused.
I hope they get in contact with me try and amicably resolve this issue and also identify their employer who cant even identify himself but keep on harrasing me with text messages.
I request also that they forward me contact number of the company's Director as I would like to personally speak to him about the matter.
Regards.
A warning To all hardworking travellers who needs a peace of mind when it comes to car rental Woodford car rental King Shaka is thee worst .
1.Honesty :they'll tell you youll receive you r security deposit upon return minum 24hr latest 48 hrs it's been 6 six day no deposit yet even though they had sent" Proof of payment" and still they're not quite sure when the fund will reach the account
2.untrustworthy : They will charge you extra on the deposit without no explanation why the charge is for
3.So called customer care : on their automated voice system customer care option is 6th on the menu, good luck to anyone who will be responded to on the 4th or fifth time took 2hrs of trying to get someone on the phone.
4.Negligence : they can't even make a disticntion between a charge and a
hold
5: Accountability: for all their mistakes and negligence theyll offier an apology won't even consider remedies to soothe your awful experience.
Very same situation in my case, returned w/o damaged, deposit was not only authorized as promised, but already charged, no replies to emails, no refund since 6 days.