'Bizarre excuses': Customer claims car rental firm owes him $11k in deposits after returning vehicle

A man has found himself in a bind after allegedly being owed about $11,000 in deposit and advance rental payments, despite returning a rental car in good condition. 

Speaking to AsiaOne on Monday (March 16), Jayden Neo, 26, said he first came across the rental service through a Facebook advertisement and had been renting from the firm, Charlotte Vehicle, since May 2024. 

According to Neo, he paid a total of $13,764 in advance rental fees to secure the car from January until December 2026. 

However, in January, he claimed the company's management informed him that an additional advance payment of $3,888 would be required to continue the rental arrangement. 

"The $3,888 came out of nowhere and it was completely unjustified. I refused to pay and decided to terminate my agreement with them," said the tech start-up co-founder, adding that he served the required two weeks' notice before returning the car in February. 

Upon returning the car, Neo said he was informed  that the refund would take two weeks to process. 

However, he claimed that since then, the company has only made partial repayments totalling $2,764 — $764 in early March, followed by two payments of $1,000 on March 4 and March 6. 

"They kept giving me bizarre excuses, such as losing a bank token required to process the full transfer," said Neo. 

To date, Neo claims the firm still owes him about $11,000 in deposit and advance rental refunds. 

"They have acknowledged the debt via written messages but refuse to release the funds. The company director has since distanced himself whenever I tried to confront him," he said. 

Refunds delayed to verify outstanding fines

Neo has also escalated the matter to the Small Claims Tribunals, saying he felt betrayed after being a loyal customer for two years. 

Since sharing his experience online, Neo told AsiaOne that three other individuals have reached out to him claiming to have faced similar issues. 

"I just want to warn others to exercise caution when dealing with deposits and rental agreements. Be sure of what you are signing and to always proceed with caution to protect your finances," he said. 

In a post shared on the car rental company's Facebook page addressing the matter, Charlotte Vehicle said it is aware of the statements circulating online. 

"Our company has never refused to refund any customer's deposit. In some cases, refunds may take slightly longer as we need to verify any outstanding fines or accident claims in both Singapore and Malaysia, which may not be reflected immediately in the system," said the firm. 

It added that it has been operating for 11 years and serves a large number of customers, but strives to do so fairly and responsibly.

"If the allegations were true, our company would no t have been able to operate for this long. We will let the legal process reveal the truth," it said.

AsiaOne has reached out to Charlotte Vehicle for comment. 

[[nid:726110]]

xingying.koh@asiaone.com