€500 or Else: The Day Our Rental Car Was Remotely Disabled

During our recent trip to Georgia, our rental company, Dima’s Car Rent, used a kill switch to remotely deactivate our car, leaving us stranded for six hours. Then, they demanded a €500 fee to assist us, essentially trying to extort us. Here’s the full story of what happened, marking one of the worst travel experiences we’ve had in over a decade.

We began our car rental search with a company called “Local Rent” for our trip to Mestia, Georgia. With claims to “find the best local car rentals to ensure excellent service for the lowest price,” along with solid reviews, Local Rent appeared to be a good option in this area. In our case, Local Rent connected us to a company called “Dima’s Car Rent” which would handle the delivery of the rental car.

Using Dima’s Car Rent was the worst rental car experience we’ve ever had.

Our First Red Flag 🚩

We’ve rented vehicles on six continents, always paying with a credit card to benefit from the included free car insurance. So, when Dima’s Car Rent contacted us after booking with Local Rent and insisted on cash payment, it raised a red flag.

Initially, Dima’s Car Rent informed us that we couldn’t use a credit card for payment, which we intended to use for its free rental insurance. They cited various reasons: first claiming their terminal had crashed, then it was broken, and finally that it was lost. Consequently, we had to pay both the rental and deposit in cash, contrary to our original agreement. Here’s the message they sent us:

Please have cash because my coworker’s terminal crashed yesterday and it takes more than a week to update it. Unfortunately, I can’t do it at the moment because the terminal is damaged. My co-worker lost it yesterday. You can withdraw money from the ATM. I don’t think it’s a problem. – Dima’s Car Rent

After considering our options, we took the risk of going with Dima’s Car Rent after Local Rent provided us with free comprehensive insurance and clarified that the deposit would only cover fines for speeding or parking. We had a vacation rental booked in Mestia and didn’t want to change our plans or cancel a nonrefundable reservation.

Retrieving the Rental Vehicle

The next day, we met with Dima’s Car Rent to retrieve the vehicle. They showed up 20 minutes late. Dima arrived in person, presenting himself in a highly unprofessional manner, exhibiting weasel-like behavior while talking on the phone and filling out paperwork. He only filled in a few sections of the agreement, taking close to 20 minutes for something that should have taken less than five.

While finalizing the rental agreement, we informed Dima’s Car Rent that we were going to Mestia. He wrote in the contract that we could not take the car from Mestia to Ushguli, a route designated for 4×4 vehicles.

Naturally, we agreed because we had no intention of taking a Prius on rugged mountain roads. We simply wanted to visit Mestia to sightsee, explore the mountain town, and go on the cable car. We figured that if we got to Mestia and wanted to go off-roading, we could just join one of the many 4WD or ATV tours available.

At this point, after meeting Dima we were nervous about renting a vehicle from him and wished we would have gone our standard route of comparing car rental agencies on Discover Cars and Skyscanner.

Arriving to Mestia

We departed from Kutaisi and headed to Mestia, about a five-hour drive through curvy mountainous roads. Mestia is located in the Caucasus Mountains, home to some of Europe’s highest peaks, such as Mount Shkhara and Mount Ushba, offering breathtaking alpine landscapes and charming medieval stone towers.

We settled into our vacation rental, explored the town, and went out for dinner. The next morning around 11 a.m., we got into the rental car to drive to the Mestia Cable Car, which ascends about 2,347 meters (7,700 feet). However, it wouldn’t start and we noticed that the interior lights and headlights appeared dim.

Dima’s Rental Car Won’t Start

When we tried to start the Toyota Prius, it only hummed and wouldn’t crank. Also, we couldn’t shift the vehicle into drive or reverse, which are the only two options available in a Prius.

Initially, we thought this was a quirk of driving a hybrid but after some research, we assumed the battery had died. Now stuck, we immediately called Dima’s Car Rent. This is how the conversation proceeded:

Harry: Hi, our car rental won’t start. We think the battery is dead.

Instead of showing concern or attempting to help, Dima asked, “Where are you?”

Harry replied, “Mestia.”

Dima responded, “Why are you there?”

Harry said, “Why are you asking such a stupid question?”

After all, we had informed Dima’s Car Rent that we were going to Mestia. From Dima’s tone, Harry immediately sensed he would be completely unhelpful in the dire situation. Following Harry’s question, Dima got angry, hung up the phone, and sent us this text:

I didn’t say that. I wrote in the contract that you shouldn’t go. Also, similar things are written in Local Rent, those rules. I don’t know what you did to the car because you shouldn’t have gone there, and I am not obliged to repair it. You will be fined €500 because you went there. If you pay this fine, we will help you. – Dima’s Car Rent

We Reach Out to Local Rent

We knew this was ridiculous because Local Rent’s website stated that renting a car to Mestia was allowed, and we had informed Dima we were going there. Furious that they wouldn’t help us with a new battery or servicing the vehicle, we felt like we were being extorted and contacted Local Rent. They replied:

First of all, we are sorry to hear about your situation. However, it is important to emphasize that a car battery can fail for many reasons other than natural wear and tear. Please clarify if you have any evidence that the car had battery problems at the beginning of the rental? Since all vehicles are subject to mandatory maintenance, this information may be critical. – Local Rent

Over the next few hours, they sent further messages and requests:

Please clarify, do you have photos of the car taken at the time of pickup so we can document its condition?

Photos received. If you have a photo of the dashboard with tire pressure warning, taken at the receiving stage, please also share it with us. At the moment, we are negotiating with the rental company, it may take some time. We will get back to you with a response after the negotiation results.

We strongly recommend that you do not repair or diagnose the rental car yourself. Please give us some time to finalize negotiations with the rental company, after which we will get back to you with an answer.

At this point, we’re questioning why neither party appears concerned about getting the car fixed. It’s been nearly five hours, and we’re being told the two sides are “negotiating.” Our thoughts? Negotiate later. We just want our car fixed as soon as possible—we only have two days in Mestia.

The Reason Our Car Rental Won’t Start

At 5 p.m., we received this message:

According to the data from the GPS tracker, you drove the rented car to Mestia, which belongs to forbidden regions. According to the rental agreement, the rental company prohibits traveling to this region and also strictly prohibits off-road operation of the car. Based on the GPS tracker data, the rental company assumed that you had traveled on a prohibited route and, as a preventive measure, remotely blocked your car so you could not start it.

In the course of our negotiations with the rental company representative, we reached an agreement that the car would be unlocked and you would be able to use it again. However, we want to clarify that further movement towards Ushguli is strictly prohibited, as the road condition is dangerous for both the vehicle and the driver.

If you drive the rented car off-road, the rental company reserves the right to terminate the rental and charge a fine of €500 for violating the rental conditions. To avoid misunderstandings, we recommend using only asphalted public roads and not driving on country roads. The car should already be unblocked; please check its operation and inform us. We wish you a safe and enjoyable future trip. – Local Rent

Upon receiving this message, our jaws literally dropped. Throughout this ordeal, both parties acted as if the car had simply broken down. We weren’t sure if we needed to fix the vehicle ourselves or find another way to get back to Kutaisi.

After hours of stress and wasted time, we finally learned the truth. Dima’s Car Rent had used a remote kill switch to turn off the vehicle. They eventually reactivated the car, after we exposed them and their extortion scheme failed.

GPS Data Shows We Didn’t Drive to Forbidden Regions

Local Rent sent us a screenshot from Dima displaying a GPS map of our vehicle’s location. Merely parked in front of our Airbnb, there was no indication that we were anywhere near Ushguli or headed toward unsafe roads. It was foolish for them to use this as proof of our supposed plans.

For instance, to even try to drive to Ushguli, you need to cross the Mestiachala River, which we never did. Additionally, we were staying about 400 meters (0.2 miles) south of the Mikhail Khergiani House Museum, one of the main attractions in Mestia. Moreover, based on the restrictions set, we wouldn’t even be able to drive across the river to the Mestia Airport!

We were freaking out for six straight hours for no reason. The car wasn’t broken down. Dima’s Car Rent was trying to extort us for €500.

Six Stressful Hours

During these six hours, local people stopped to try and help us. We even walked about a mile to the local tourism center, getting sunburned due to the high elevation (around 5000 feet) and the July heat. The tourism center provided us with the name of a local mechanic who worked nearby and we quickly provided the information to Local Rent—all between frantically waiting for updates.

Local Rent is just as responsible for this fiasco as Rima’s Car Rent. We never came near any unpaved sections of the road nor strayed off the main tourist route from Kutaisi to Mestia.

Somehow, Local Rent thought it was acceptable to remotely deactivate our rental car sometime before 11 am and reactivate it at 5 pm while it was parked on a Mestia city street. Furthermore, Local Rent claims they deactivated the car because Rima’s Car Rent was ‘worried,’ while Rima’s Car Rent states they deactivated it simply because we were in Mestia.

First and foremost, we made sure that the car was turned on so that you could continue your trip. The fact is that the roads in Georgia are sometimes very dangerous. We are confident that the rental company only blocked the car because they were worried about the passengers and the vehicle. Please be careful. If you find a section of road that is not asphalted or the climb is too high and steep, do not risk driving there. – Local Rent

Follow Up and Returning the Vehicle

This experience significantly disrupted our travel plans, caused us considerable stress and discomfort, and resulted in the loss of an entire day of sightseeing. It highlighted serious issues with the rental company’s communication, customer service, and ethical practices.

Upon returning the rental vehicle, we received our cash deposit and requested a refund from Dima’s Car Rent for the day we couldn’t use the car. They informed us we needed to coordinate with Local Rent and claimed the car was only out of service for half an hour.

Local Rent agreed to a partial refund for one day but asserted it was only down for three hours, despite my records showing it was closer to six. They ultimately stated, “Based on this information, we will decide on our further relationship with the rental company.”

Regardless of the refund, no amount of money can compensate us for the nightmare we endured and the loss of a full day in Mestia, which is six miles from the Russian border and difficult to reach. This was meant to be the trip of a lifetime. Instead, it was completely ruined by Local Rent and Dima’s Car Rent.

In the future, we recommend travelers stick with comparing prices on Discover Cars and Skyscanner for car rentals in Georgia. Of course, avoid Local Rent and Dima’s Car Rent at all costs!

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