Wicked Campers / Campervan Hire Melbourne

I have worked for over a decade in the customer service and travel industry and this company has the worst customer service that I have ever experienced. I have been trying to get answers on a booking I made since 26 August, when it was sales related, I replied a swift response but due to COVID, I unfortunately had to re-schedule/cancel. Since I required further information that was not sales related, I have received no response. After weeks of e-mails and calls, I was given another e-mail, they sent me a template response and have not responded to the multiple e-mails I have had with questions since. I am not one to normally write a negative review but I would hate for anybody to go through the frustrating and disappointing experience I have - Especially if they had hired a car with this awful company and needed urgent assistance on the road. Don't waste your money - Even if it does seem like a good deal at the time.

Terribly difficult business to deal with - overpriced campervans with many hidden fees make a seemingly good deal very expensive compared to other campervans.

Rip off artists. Not worth the money. Charge you to reserve what you have booked? Multiple add on charges. Vehicle was not roadworthy when we picked it up. Advertised as $300/day but works out at $600/day. Cheaper to hire a car and buy a tent outright. Also watch out for their park access fees, do not pay for these.

I have no idea why everyone is so upset with the company? I had an amazing experience! Our van was a little rough around the edges but it was perfect for what we needed it for and had everything we needed! When we returned it (clean and vacuumed as you agree to when taking the van!) we received our full bond back and it was in our account within a week. We enjoyed the experience so much that within a few days we went out and bought our own van to do up. Love y’all!

I had the time of my life in the van, as I knew I would. Everything I needed or could have wanted. There were issues around returning my bond on time due to the coronavirus though, and the communication around this could have been much better. If I were an international traveller stranded without money, it could have been devastating for me. Fortunately I was well looked after in the meantime by locals. Cheers team. Keep up the great work. I look forward to more trips.

Th price was extremely cheap and the guy who helped us was very relaxed. Very easy process to hire. The van was fine - for the price we paid it was acceptable. We enjoyed our trip down the Great Ocean Road.

Awful experience! Do not rent with this company. I had to leave a 1000 dollar bond, which they said would return to my account within 30 working days after I gave it back. It is now more than TWO MONTHS ago, that I returned the car. I called several times and sent even more emails but either nobody answers or nobody is responsible for anything. Now I have to get a lawyer.
Do yourself a favor and rent a car with a trustworthy and competent company. I also don't seem to be the only one this happened to.
Thanks,
Simon

Review on behalf of Claire Magro.

I am now left with no choice but to leave this poor review because i feel obliged to let everyone know about our misadventure with wicked campers.

I have been emailing the company with no response from them.
My Wicked experience was shocking. When I came to pick up my vehicle, the battery was flat so naturally one of the employee changed it to a new one. Once i was all good to go, i realised that when i was driving a smell was off inside the car but no red signs or anything suggested that something was wrong.

We travelled with my mum for 2 days having to deal with that smell not knowing what it was. Until the day we reached Traralgon national park: all of a sudden the car started having smoke coming out of the engine. I stopped the car immediately and flammes started. A nice man came down with this car and helped us using the extinguisher because i was completely freaking out! We then called the fire men which by luck were just down the hill and came within 10mns. It took them 3x to turn off the fire completely. All our belongings on the side of the road, rain started to pour, our day completely wasted and we were very scared too! The firemen found out that what had started the fire was actually a torch forgotten on top of the engine! I was completely shocked! The guy who had changed the battery had completely forgotten about it! With his negligence, the firemen told us that we were lucky because the batteries of the torch hadn’t burnt and it could have caused an explosion if the flammes had started there! We were driving this whole time without knowing that our lives were in danger. We have put our trust into someone’s who wasn’t completely focused at work and forgot something so important that this vacation could have been deadly and so much worse for us!

This compromised our safety and impacted our enjoyment of the rest of the trip. We lost a whole day of our trip and had to skip the national park if we wanted to be back in time and most of all we were really shocked by the whole thing.

I requested a refund for the vehicle and for the fact that this was clearly a poor negligence and management of the vehicle and risked our own lives which is unacceptable.

I have till today no response from the company that shows clearly that they don’t care. I will therefore as i kept pictures and proof evidence of the torch won’t hesitate to register a claim against for negligence that could have risked our lives and ask for a compensation. I am not going to let this get away and my best advice is: stay away from this company!

Dealing with Wicked Campers was such a breeze.
From ordering and paying for my camper online to the genuinely lovely staff upon collection and drop off of my vehicle. The camper itself was clean, comfortable and drove without missing a beat.
I will be using their service again and will recommend to anyone!

I would give it minus 5 stars if that was possible, unfortunately 1 star is the minimum.

Horrendous experience from start to finish. I chased customer service for a week or two prior to arriving as they sent me the wrong vehicle to check in. Eventually got told our vehicle had 'crashed'. They said they would upgrade us to a slightly larger version of the one we paid for.

When we arrived at the depot - it was again a completely different vehicle than we asked for. I paid for plain white van and we had a different vehicle, a stage on the roof? Bright silver and green camouflage on the outside and items we had paid extra for like the camping chairs and table were missing from the van.

I was told to complete the trip and hand the keys back at the depot, and if everything was fine with the vehicle someone would come back to my original complaint email and I would be compensated.

I have sent 4 emails in total, countless calls to customer services who "can't help me because they don't deal with complaints, told me to email, and when i explained I already had 4 times, they suggested maybe doing it again. "

Horrendous customer service, Terrible communication, Expect to get something completely different to what you paid for and never hear back from any calls or emails regarding urgent inquiries.

It is around 4 weeks from when we had the van and I am yet to hear anything via email or phone. Everytime I call I am told someone will respond to my email as there is nothing they can do in 'that team'. Still no response. The latest suggestion was 'Just email three times a day and annoy them until they respond to you'

Classic take your money and run.

Thanks,
Sam.

The customer service team on the phone is so rude. I called them up and they started cutting me off from the first sentence I spoke. They talked to me like I was annoying or disturbing them in the middle of something.

Friendly staff, great facilities, good price + flexible return hours! 10/10 would definitely rent again!

Horribly run business.long story short, paid the $3000 bond. The bond wasn’t returned until well over a month later and was a lot less than $3000 because of the exchange rate.

You will be told to contact someone named John in customer service but expect to wait weeks for an answer, then he won’t do anything to help except recite policies.

A complete headache of a company to deal with, look elsewhere for your camper hire, you will thank me later.

Pathetic, offensive & sexist slogans painted all over the vehicle. I don't want to be seen in it.

I have not used Wicked camper vans and never would. I want to let people know that if you hire these cars you will be judged by locals who may be hostile to the disgusting misogynistic slogans that are on their vans. If you are going to rent a car/van use someone else.

Worse than useless. Do NOT under any circumstances accept a vehicle, notably from Wicked Campers, whose mileage exceeds 100K.no doubt worn piston rings. 1 should not have, 2 daily top up oil due 2 aforementioned. Any wonder I should not have had 2 hitch hike not once but (to the consternation of the BP garage attendent whom served me), twice in a single day. I This, in 44 degrees of heat at that 2. Break failure (notably descending the Great Alpine pass). I saw another Wicked by name Wicked by nature, wheel fall off (@ the incredulous, OttawayFly, tree/canopy, viewing platforms)!   Others spare tyres, I should not have seen the inner tube portruding therein @ Echo Point, viewing point west of Sydney). PLEASE note these vehicles, (Pizza Deilvery vans and/or Tradesmens runarounds) have due 2 strict emissions regulations been taken off road by the Japanese. That the Oz police, notably Vic & NSW want them off road. 4 youths killed whilst I was there, (un-able as I was 2 rent a 500 - 750cc motorcycle). {All vehicles subsequently then removed off road in NZ, due 2 aforementioned}. The only reason these dangerous vehicles, removed off road in Japan are permitted on road in OZ because only QLD doesn't like NSW, VIC, TAS, SA, WA & NT have a ('Great' British equivalent) MoT. If you should value your life. Do NOT hire! Nice place. Shame about Wicked Campers, Wicked by name & by nature! NEVER. EVER. AGAIN. Can't comment for about other states BUT NSW & VIC police gave me a categorical & un-equovocal assurance they want Wicked ShitBoxes off their roads. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. {not that Garners Motorcycles of, Melbourne (combustible fuel leakages) nor Aucklands, North Island NZ, on the make & take, were much better.as those in South Islands Alexandria belatedly forwarned of, for as he pointed out. He had a former rentsl employee now working for him, ehom advised The Rental Compsnies knew for the over whelming msjority of renters could/ would seldom if ever return they rip tue renters off & make more from ostensible damages as I was to learn than rentals. All out to Con (fidence Tricksters) you & me, their CON (demned) sumers whilst simultaneously recklessly, cavalierly endangering human'kinds' life & limb. Grossly derelict in thrir duty of care & responsibility. Bigger fool me. I should have inspected mileometer prior 2 driving off, with what transpired 2 be an automatic something I have not post 2010 & never, ever, again will accept/drive (as should breaks, should not fail as they had 1 can & should use manuals, gearbox, as should have not had 2 descending VICS Great Alpine Pass, which like The Barry Hwy, the most beautiful aspect of jpurney). I lamentably can't recollect first vehicles, which I should have inspected which the police told me in no uncertain tetms 2 return 2 depot & "Get (that Shitbox off the road)! The manual, I thete after onsisted upon mileometer read like a 747's. All clapped out old bangers. Given petrol & diesel let alone notably daily oil replenishment. Anything but environmentally friendly. Downright dangerous. Even lethal (as 1 should not be replenishing, combustibles, notably petrol in 44 degrees of direct sunlight. I do not know how I survived. Never, ever, again! A fool like me leatns from his mistakes. A wise person like you?

How un-fortunate it was Xmas New yr holidays as I had, been so alarmed drove 2 federal capital, Canberra 2 advise what I should not have experienced nor witnessed but alas everywhere was lamentably closed & should not have had 2 travel 2 Channel 9 tv studios in Sydney 2 convey that I should not have had 2.and if the (se) dodgy vehicles are not good enough and/or safe enough for Japan they shouldn't be anywhere else, let alone down under. Notably OZ. Given this, it may be should not come as a surprise they the Euro/Caucasian/Australians, notably 'Great' British are descendents of far smaller CRIMINALs?

I left feedback via the feedback submission on the website but had to hound the company for a reply.
My Wicked experience was abysmal. I requested an unmarked car and my reservation printout even stated this yet I was given a zebra striped car that said "honk if you're hung like a donkey".
I travelled around Tasmania as a lone female attracting a lot of unwanted attention and having to deal with conversations with strangers who took offence to the vehicle. This compromised my safety and impacted my enjoyment of my whole trip. It restricted my access and made me a target.
The rooftop tent zip was broken and shonkily 'fixed' with Velcro meaning when the tent was under the tension it didn't close or keep insects out. This forced me to seek alternative accommodation.
I requested a refund for the difference of a vehicle without a tent given I wasn't able to use it, was promised a $50 refund (ridiculous), signed a deed and still have yet to see the funds.
There were loads of hidden costs too-NOT WORTH THE HASSLE!

Poor excuse of a company. After waiting 1 month for refund of my $1000 bond, $199 for the car battery that I replaced, and $65.89 for the extra kilometres that it took to go and find that battery, all they’ve returned to me is my bond, 2 weeks late. All their customer service reps give you different inaccurate answers when you ask for an update. John, who is meant to be their escalation point, has ignored my emails asking about the status of my refund. No effort to provide an explanation as to why there’s been such a big delay or any apologies. If I could give a negative rating, I would.

Rent these filthy vehicles emblazoned with misogynistic slogans and expect the ire of the locals. Many of the states have rightfully banned wicked campers.

Travellers be aware. Wicked campers took my $5000 bond, now a month later I still trying to get it back and I'm out of money. With no one to physically help me with my issue, it has been 'refered' onto admin multiple times. Would not use again