Kaizen Rent Reviews 

RE: hidden costs/ scalping at the desk

I have used Kaizen Rent in the past without issue. However, my recent experience was quite disappointing, and I feel I was unfairly treated.

Upon arrival to pick up the rental car, I was informed by the staff member that my credit card could not be used because it did not display my full name, but rather an abbreviation. This was surprising, as I have used the same credit card on a previous rental with Kaizen Rent without any problems. The staff member pointed out that this issue was outlined in the terms and conditions, but given my previous successful use of the card, I was unaware of this specific stipulation.

I was then informed that in order to avoid paying a deposit for the excess insurance, I would need to pay an additional fee per day for the rental period, resulting in an extra cost of 910 zloty. This sudden and unexpected charge was both frustrating and unfair, as I had already rented from Kaizen Rent with the same card without this issue on previous occasions.

I strongly believe that this situation represented an unfair attempt to charge me hidden additional fees and took advantage of my vulnerability of requiring a car in that given moment. I feel that this extra cost was imposed in a manner that could be considered opportunistic and misleading. Not only was this costly to myself financially, but also caused stress and set a poor tone for the rest of my recreational holiday in Poland.

I complained to Kaizen Rent but they customer care team were not very helpful and didn't seem to acknowledge my grievances.

As someone who regularly visits Poland, I can say with confidence that I will not be using Kaizen Rent again and will not be recommending to others.

Do NOT rent here. The car is all ok. The company is rather cheap. But when you want to pick up the car is when they get you. They demand that the name on the credit card is identical to all your names on your passport. And since they "cannot check your identity" you have to pay extra, otherwise you will not get the car. They are very happy to take the deposit from the credit card, but after that they demand extra money (approx. the same price as I paid for the rent). It is a scandal.

Had never used Kaizen before but we picked up a car from Krakow last week and the experience was smooth and painless. We did opt for the upgraded Full Cover insurance as we were going to snowy conditions and this had the added bonus almost no paperwork and a quicker processing time. The car was exactly as ordered, and was clean and well prepared for snowy conditions. One note is to keep close hold of the ticket they give at the desk as this gets you out of the car park and thru the toll barrier when leaving the airport. Returning is slightly odd in that there is not meet & greet and you have to go back to the rental desk, but no big deal. Great hire experience.

Anyone considering car rental with Kaizen Rent, should read it carefully, as it could save you a lot of aggravation and unexpected expenses. If your credit card does not have your full name (first name in full, no initials) on it, avoid this company, as they will not accept it and will demand the full insurance payment, which could be twice the rental fee and the agent-provided excess isurance. I had a serious argument at their rental counter, as I pointed out that such a condition was not legitimate, since my card was it was legal and VISA- registered, it was against custom and practice, so even people who have exercised due dilligence might have issues finding out about its existance. I seriously suspect that this is the way they earn extra on the full isurance, which in my case was quoted at £200, compared to the £160 of rental fee and insurance provided by the agent. Eventually the car was handed over to me, grace to the agent who showed commitment, courtesy and deserves recognition as one of the few strong points at Kaizen Rent. The car was nice and clean, but it was having engine oil change warning displayed on the dashboard and the tyres were worn down to ca 3mm, making the car very slippery on snowy roads. I know that it was above the legal limit in Poland, but the car occupants safety dictates rather recommended, not legal limits. For me it was yet another sign of the penny pinching policy. Another issue, when the weather became colder, it turned out that there was water in the windshield washer instead of antifreeze. All of the above turned my long-awaited winter trip into a nightmare. Sorry, Kaizen, the next time I will rent a car elsewhere.

I made my reservation in December for this rental through WizzCarHire to pick up my car from Warsaw Okecie. All was paid with extra protection from AXA and what kind of surprise waited for me by the desk? Yes, the same surprise as for many people, the gentleman by the desk is telling me that he won't accept my Credit Card as he CAN NOT verify my identity, in short - my credit card is missing my first names (had initials only and surname). I had my passport with me, my other debit cards, driver’s licence, Polish ID with pictures and full names but this is not good enough for Warsaw Kaizen Rental office to verify my identity, not a chance, its good enough for Border Force to let me travel all over the world but not good for Kaizen. I’m thinking, ‘’oh, there must be a kind of solution for that’’ so I asked what we do in this situation? And then the magic began, ‘’Mr manager’’ tells me if I pay an extra £70 (or £73, I don’t exactly remember the amount) then I can rent this car ‘’and my names will magically appear on my credit card’’ Obviously he didn’t say that but what kind of scammers you got to be to find a trick in T&C to scam money from people who never received a Credit Card from their bank with their full names and surname on it? From this point I was thinking ‘’welcome to Poland’’.
I just wanted to congratulate the ‘’genius’’ at Kaizen who came up with this stupid T&C about names on the credit card. Because of this you are losing customers, and my review will be read by many people. On the flip side I’m curious if this is only practice in Warsaw? Maybe Krakow and Gdansk don’t have these issues or maybe Krakow and Gdansk are breaking Kaizen T&C and accepting credit cards with initials after verifying identity based on other documents. However, not accepting a legal credit card issued by HSBC, one of the largest banks globally, is beyond my understanding.
In the end I refused to pay extra to ‘’ fix my credit card’’ and rent a car. I cancelled everything and I went to another car rental and rent a car from them without issues using the same credit card.
Now I’m thinking, how many people were in the same situation and paid extra as they had no option to go elsewhere (late hrs or no cars available), and they need the car? Hundreds if not thousands, math is simple.
I can assure you I will get my money back, if not from Kaizen directly then through WizzAir or HSBC and I will never ever even look in Kaizen direction when thinking about car rental.
AVOID KAIZEN

Avoid. Not honest company. Not accepting insurance if bought through third party, you still have to pay deposit around £700. They have rejected my credit card because my first name was initial letter only. Manager wasn’t helpful and said he cannot do anything because it’s in the policy that they will accept credit card only with full name. I have searched everywhere and nothing like this is state in company policy. I have been force to buy full insurance directly with Kaizen otherwise I would stay with no car. I have called customer service to complain and ask them to read the point where they explain that credit card must be with full name, just to hear that they have the right to reject card if they cannot confirm identity. There is nothing about initials. I have provided 3 other documents and my credit card (which was issued by bank, not by me) but it was still not enough to confirm my identity. So be aware that if your bank make your card for “J.Smith” they will charge you few hundreds £££ more
Also, after starting engine, it showed up that car need oil change after 50 miles. I have called customer service and they said that they might call me to agree the day when I can deliver car to garage for them to do service. Happy holiday with Kaizen.

I used Kaizen before and left many positive reviews, also recommending them to friends and family.
I booked the car with them in October for rental between 23rd-29th December at a collection from the airport. Unfortunately, when I arrived to the desk to collect the car I was told they will not lease the car as my credit card 'does not have full name' (it had all my initials and surname). The operator on the night (it was at midnight) could not point me to any clause in their terms and conditions and the rental voucher that states that the credit card or any payment card for that matter requires full name.
Unfortunately, to be able to rent the car I was forced to buy a full insurance with them so they 'can release' the car to me.
My complaint was dismissed as according to their conditions they "may in particular refuse to conclude the Lease Agreement if: 21.2 there is no positive verification of the data". My details were confirmed by passport and driving licence. I felt cheated out of my money.
The most disappointing part was that I used their service on many previous occasions, but definitely will not be coming back.

Exellent service and professinalism in customer service. On my holiday I did rented car twice and every time Bartosz from Kazan-Modlin and his team delivered great clean cars.
I certainly recommende Kaizan-Modlin car rental for polite and price are very expectionaly very good,
I will definitely use the company next time Andrzej from Sydney

AVOID! Almost ruined our Christmas!!!

We made a reservation via third party webside two months in advance to rent a car for one week during Christmas period. When we arrived at Krakow airport at 5PM on 23rd December, we were informed by reception staff that they won’t accept my partners credit card to take a deposit as there was no first name on the card, only initials and surname. We had three other documents to confirm my partners identity but they still didn’t want to accept his credit card. They said that the only way to have the car is to take additional insurance with them of 800PLN!!! (Despite the fact we already paid for insurance with someone else) and then they will also charge my partners credit card (the same credit card they didn’t want to accept at the first place) for „symbolic” 1PLN. ABSOLUTE SCAM!!! We have rented cars many times, in different countries, and always used the same card and never had any issues. This company waisted our time and caused us a lot of stress just before Christmas, but luckily, car rental next door had no problem whatsoever with accepting my partners credit card! However, you can only imagine the cost of car rental day before Christmas! We eventually managed to get hold of rentalcars.com and got a refund. PLEASE AVOID AT ALL COST!!!

I booked a car in advance, 1.5 months prior. I arranged everything: accommodation, gear, and planned the trip. And just 1 (ONE!!) day before the trip, the company tells me they have no cars available.

I strongly do not recommend this company. Due to their unreliability, I might lose thousands of euros. Yet they didn’t even apologize and stopped responding to messages. 🤡🤡🤡

Fantastic and professional service. Highly recommending to anyone in need of hiring the car. I used Tarnów branch and been smoothly checked in and out by Mirek. Returned the car 2 hours later but even that was no problem and no extra charge.

Car had more than 20 documented damages existing to it which was impossible to validate. The actual car had more than this and was very damaged despite only being 2 years old. It was meant to be clean and it was not. I returned the car as I found it. Upon returning the car the kiosk was unattended so I had to pay £6 to drop car off in car park with no handover or agreement to confirm no additional damage had been incurred. My deposit was released but a few days later I was emailed claiming additional scuff had been noted and that they would be charging £600+ for it. I complained as I did not scuff or damage the car at all which they rejected and took my money without consent weeks later. This seems to be a repeating pattern of behaviour as the 20+ existing damages have not been repaired and I would bet that this additional “scuff” would still be there for the next victim. Overall horrendous experience and a pathetic company feeding off tourists renting a car. Cancerous ravaged parasites.

They refused to take the deposit from the Mastercard I used to book and my car reservation was cancelled during pick up at Warsaw airport. The credit card had my first name initial not the full name, and the expiry date was just short of 6 months from expiry. They would have been 'more than happy' to charge the very same card a hefty fee for a fully comprehensive insurance I had already purchased from the broker! The operator at the desk was very complacent and when I refused to purchase a second fully comprehensive insurance hastily cancelled my reservation, no reimbursement available. It seems like this company tries to boost up their profit using their small print rules; if you decide to use them, my advice is to carefully read and understand all of the small print in the contract.

Best rental car company in Poland I believe 👏👏👏

Used it couple of times and had no issues to be raised. Also their protection options are very convenient. Easy to collect and drop off the car. Would recommend.

Hassle free car renting at Krakow airport. Wonderful customer support that answered all my questions via chat on their website. I also bought an insurance with them and by doing so I wasn't required to pay a security deposit and at the same time covered any damages or accidents I could be involved in. I rented for 5 days and travelled to 4 countries without a problem. There is also a fee if you want to go abroad. It is not the cheapest one but I think prices are reasonable. Very recommended in my opinion

Car was fine and nearly new, so no complaints here, however I knocked two stars off from the review, while I even think should take three off, because of communication with the company. It was none. I tried to call them on their main number and also their Poznan branch to find out, if I can collect the car earlier. Nobody answered the phone. I tried their chat. Same story. Upon drop off, I tried to find out, where to drop the car off at the airport in Wroclaw. Nobody answered the phone, so gave up after waiting in the queue for nearly 15minutes. When we arrived at the airport, all Kaizen spaces were taken, so I parked on Hertz space. Their employee asked me to move the car immediately, so tried to call Kaizen again, so they can come to the drop off car park, so I can handover the keys. Nobody bothered to answer the phone, so I had to run to the terminal and there were two employees, which were not busy at all. I explained the whole situation and they asked me to park on another car hire space. I always hired from another company and they always answered the phone immediately, but because they did not have any cars left, I booked with Kaizen. I never, ever had to wait for car hire company to answer the phone until know. Here it is impossible to speak with anybody. They should change their phone system with immediate effect, so you can call branch or have dedicated line just for collections/extensions and drop offs. When I tried to collect car earlier, I waited in total for 25minutes in queue and another 15minutes this morning. Very often I book a car for my wife and she told me, not to book with Kaizen in future, because she does not want to get stressed, because nobody from Kaizen would be bothered to answer the phone, if she has a query or needs assistance. In overall I have a mixed feelings and will have to think twice about any future bookings with them.

Terrible experience with Kaizen Rent! They charged me a hidden 1,000 PLN penalty for crossing into an EU country, which was never clearly disclosed. The booking only mentioned a 299 PLN fee per country. Customer service was unhelpful and refused to resolve the issue. Their lack of transparency and hidden fees are extremely unfair. Avoid them if you want honest, straightforward service!

Everything great but
I had to wait for an hour while the clerk made phone calls over a "broken payment machine". In the end they requested my payment card information over the phone while I was at the location, which is a massive red flag. Now after 2 months someone tried to pay with my stolen card information for a Walmart purchase. The only reason it didn't go through is because I didn't have enough money in it. 2 stars because I'm not certain this information was stolen through Kaizen Rent, but they are my main suspects. Otherwise the car was great, service was cheap and fair.

I took a car in the middle of the night. Person behind the desk who was serving me put on additional insurance without informing me. When I asked him why deposit is only 1€ he said “I put additional insurance but it’s only 50zl difference from total price” I then said sure. When I got invoice next day and saw on it that the insurance was 300zl (more then the rental itself) I called to complain. I was told that person in the desk denied everything and there is nothing they can do for me.
Always check if they put additional insurance but honest I would avoid them as there are many better rentals at the airport.