Communauto

This is a complaint about Communauto — a car-​sharing service in Montréal.
I cannot, in good conscience endorse this company anymore and really feel bad having to write this review.
I had a reservation which I had made long in advance of the date of the reservation. It completely slipped my mind that I had this reservation because other things happened including a serious illness in the family and my mind was pre-​occupied with other matters. Let me tell you, cancer really puts things into perspective. I realized literally at the last minute I had this reservation and frantically tried to cancel it in time. Initially the reservation was to take my sick member of the family on a weekend trip before they started chemo but since their condition worsened, the trip was a no-​go and in the morass of the illness, I forgot about the reservation.
So the reservation came and went. I tried to cancel it and when I called Communauto to speak to a customer service agent, they basically said that they will charge me $ 168 regardless since they basically «lost money on unused kilometers» and while I understand my reservation prevented someone else from using the car, and even after I explained the circumstances of why I forgot the reservation in the first place, the supervisor basically was not willing to budge. Not willing to cancel the charges, not willing to lessen the charges even on the basis of goodwill or on compassionate grounds.
In fact here is the reply I received from Communauto.
«To begin, we would like to say that we sympathize with your situation, and will attempt to explain why the penalty was applied even though you did contact us when you noticed your mistake.
As a car sharing service, we must pay very close attention to our fleet, and make every effort to keep as many vehicles available as possible for our subscribers. Consequently, we must rely on our subscribers to let us know if they need (or no longer need) a vehicle. When you make a reservation, a vehicle becomes unavailable for other users. As we have limited vehicles and a growing number of users, we cannot allow users to make „free“ reservations and not use the vehicles they reserved. If we proceeded in this fashion, it would create a situation where certain users could reserve the entire fleet every month, and then simply use the reserved vehicles at their discretion, thereby depriving all other users of their lawful access to the Communauto fleet.
We recognize that in the majority of cases, our members act in good faith. However, we cannot allow too many deviations, and that is why we chose to establish certain rules that help us offer a reliable car-​sharing service. This kind of mistake occurs from time to time, and our penalty policy has been established to raise awareness of the members to the fact that they share vehicles with other users and that their actions may have direct consequences that affect other members.
We understand that you are looking for an exception based on an unusual situation. Unfortunately, as you were informed by the supervisor you spoke to, no exceptions to this rules can be made.
We hope that you will find this information useful.»
Politely pointless, right?
Until now, I had no bad experience with Communauto, but with their unwillingness to factor in human issues which explains some honest mistakes people make and charge them nonetheless about it, I can’t endorse this company anymore. I used to think they were great, eco-​friendly, fostering solidarity etc. but it’s clear it’s just a front and they’ve lost their human side completely. And like a previous poster, I have to agree. They’ve proven that they are more concerned about making money by fining their members than providing a genuine, compassionate service.

Communauto is not so much a car rental as a car sharing facility. In order to use this service, you have to apply by sending copies of your drivers license and insurance papers, and sign up for a year.
Not useful for tourists, but invaluable when you live in Montréal and do not own a vehicle, since it allows you to grab a car whenever you need it and at short notice.
Much like the Bixi, Communauto cars are located throughout the city. They are mostly Toyota Yaris. Recently, a few hybrids have been added to the fleet. You reserve your car online or on the phone, walk over there, retrieve the keys from a little metal box close to the car, and off you go.
There are several different types of membership available, depending on how much you want to use the car. Prices consist of a fee per hour and per kilometer. Long distance rates are available with some membership plans. Conveniently, gas and insurance are included in the rental price.