Tourist warning – ATV BALOS, Crete
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this was one of the worst experiences we have ever had while travelling.
We rented a quad to go to Balos. The vehicle felt old and poorly maintained, and the road was not safe enough for us to continue comfortably, so after driving very slowly for around one hour, we decided to return it.
As soon as we arrived back, the owner immediately ran towards us, started shaking the quad and accusing us of damaging it. He demanded extra money, claiming there was a minimum rental period of 5 hours, despite this not being clearly stated on the document we signed.
When we asked for proof of the alleged damage, he refused to provide any. Instead, he became aggressive, took our car keys from our hands and refused to give them back. We had to call the police to retrieve our keys.
We later called the police ourselves and were told not to worry, as nobody can force tourists to pay for damages without evidence.
The most shocking part is that after everything that happened, he even has the audacity to publicly reply to reviews claiming that we were the ones trying to steal from him, when in reality we simply refused to pay for damages that were never proven and for charges that were never properly explained.
Please be careful if you are considering renting from this place. This was the first time in our lives that we felt intimidated and unsafe while traveling.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with ATV BALOS in Crete? I would like to know if this has happened to other tourists as well.