Last November 2010, I began looking for an available MPV to bring our family to Johor Bahru for a few days’ vacation with several families the following month. Given the holiday season, it was quite a challenge. I turned to the internet, and found this link:
http://www.rentcarsingapore.com/
I managed to speak to a Mr. Calvin Tan. After confirming availability from him, I deposited SGD 50 into a POSB account number via ATM on November 22 as deposit for a Honda Stream for our planned dates. Mr. Tan confirmed the availability of the vehicle for Malaysia the following day by sms. We agreed on the rates for the rental dates from Dec. 28, 5 pm, to Dec. 31, 5 pm, with the usual add-ons for insurance in Malaysia. The pick-up address was 774 Bedok Reservoir View.
A few weeks before the trip, I confirmed the plate number since I would need to register the vehicle for overnight parking at our place.
I arrived on the appointed date and time 20 minutes before 5 pm and found that it was an HDB housing unit. Nobody I asked there knew of any car rental agency, but said there had been occasions when people would drop off vehicles.
I called the number of Mr. Tan for some 20 minutes, always getting disconnected after several rings. I eventually tried calling two other names in the website, namely Janice and Marcus. The former was not reachable; the latter eventually answered and sounded confused saying they do not have a Honda Stream. He said he would call up Calvin.
I called up Calvin after several minutes of waiting. He eventually answers and started off by claiming he had refunded me my money already. I said no money was ever refunded; I had not even informed of the unavailability of the car. He said they had “returned” the Stream already. I was naturally distraught, as my pregnant wife and three young children were all looking forward to the trip the next day.
I insisted that he find me a vehicle for my family’s use, and asked him to deliver it to my home, as I could not pick up the vehicle because of my tight schedule that evening and the next morning.
After following up several times that evening, I eventually agreed to Mr. Tan’s alternative arrangements. He offered a “non-MPV” vehicle, which turned out to be a Hyundai Getz. He gave me a number and a Mr. Aw Yong to call so that I could arrange the delivery to my home the following morning at 9 am.
The next morning, I call Mr. Aw Yong to confirm to drop-off address and the rate. That was when he told me the vehicle did not have insurance in Malaysia, and that should I use it, any damage or loss during the trip would have to be borne by me.
I communicated with Calvin asking him for a solution to the dilemma– he offered none, saying it was all because of miscommunication. I asked him to cover for problems should anything untoward happen while we were on our trip. I believed this was fair given that this whole situation arose because of his negligence and because he sourced the alternative vehicle for us. He refused, citing policy.
From the time I managed to connect with him on the 28th, there was never an admission of shortcoming on his part. He kept asking for my account number so he could refund my “deposit and taxi fare” while denying any culpability.
My biggest problem with Mr. Calvin was his cavalier attitude. He did not deem his actions to be unprofessional. He believes in his trying to source a vehicle for me, he was already being professional. Not informing me of the unavailability of the vehicle; citing previous refunds where there was none; sourcing a vehicle for rental without the proper insurance; poor response to problems; refusal to take ownership for obvious deficiencies– these were plenty of bases for me.
My own shortcoming– I should’ve been wiser seeing the address on his website was an HDB block address. I trusted his word, which apparently was not enough.
He seemed to think that it was all right if I gave him negative feedback because Singapore has a “small market” and every car rental knows each other. He seemed to think the unavailability of cars justified him not fulfilling his end of our agreement, and all he needed to do was give us a refund, and that was enough. All said, I believe letting others know about Mr. Tan’s methods should educate other agencies how NOT to deal with their clients. It may also serve as a warning for those looking to rent cars to steer clear from such “dis-service providers”.
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