They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
1–10 of 44 posts
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#2Their first client was Borelli’s frustrated landlord. From there, more business followed.
“We did not seek anybody out, those property owners came to us,” Heinkel says.
I looked at one of the pictures and counted 19 scooters. It's hard for me not to think that this is an externality that the scooter company should have thought of and planned for, to preserve goodwill.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#3So in america, if something is on my private property, it becomes mine?
It sounds like the only reason they can hold the scooters "ransom" is because they were found on private property.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#4Their first client was Borelli’s frustrated landlord. From there, more business followed. “We did not seek anybody out, those property owners came to us,” Heinkel says. I looked at one of the pictures and counted 19 scooters. It's hard for me not to think that this is an externality that the scooter company should have thought of and planned for, to preserve goodwill.
Based on their (lack of) interactions with local governments, goodwill does not seem to be one of their chief concerns.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#5So in america, if something is on my private property, it becomes mine? It sounds like the only reason they can hold the scooters "ransom" is because they were found on private property.
> So in america, if something is on my private property, it becomes mine?
No, I think the argument is the same as with a car being impounded:
1. You left shit on my property.
2. It's still yours, but I had to move it off my property.
3. The problem you created has cost me money.
4. You need to reimburse me. I'll hold onto the item for collateral.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#6“Their app specifically says you can ride it ‘anywhere’ and leave it ‘anywhere,’” Borelli says as he pushes a Bird scooter through the Pacific Beach neighborhood. If he sounds slightly bitter, it’s only because he owns a bike shop nearby and believes that dockless scooter companies are trying to steal his customers.
But to Borelli, it seemed that the scooter industry was really trying to replace bicycles. He threw the offending scooters in the dumpster, but they were quickly replaced by more scooters
So a bike shop owner didn't like the competition, and decided to start stealing scooters and throwing them in dumpsters? I have sympathy for people who don't like the scooters on the sidewalk (I'm one of those people), but don't act like you are taking some kind of honest businessman just trying to help the public. This whole thing is just a way to justify eliminating competition for this guys bike shop. Started out throwing them in dumpsters, and moved to "impounding" them and issuing them tickets (not sure why he thinks he has the authority to do that) to try and justify it.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#7It seems like everyone here is in the wrong? A service that moves scooters to proper locations is necessary but these two are clearly in it for the money. It would be easier, cheaper and better for everyone involved if they just moved the scooters to the sidewalk. Holding them ransom behind razorwire is just an attempt to get money while hiding behind a thin veil of public service.
Lime/Bird meanwhile trying to get their property back while minimizing potential PR nightmares that spotlight the harm they cause.
Standard case of humans being humans and trying to get money while maintaining the moral high ground.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#8So in america, if something is on my private property, it becomes mine? It sounds like the only reason they can hold the scooters "ransom" is because they were found on private property.
Even if it is on private property, that doesn't mean you can take it. If you park on someone else's driveway, they don't get to take your car.
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#9So in america, if something is on my private property, it becomes mine? It sounds like the only reason they can hold the scooters "ransom" is because they were found on private property.
Even if it is on private property, that doesn't mean you can take it. If you park on someone else's driveway, they don't get to take your car.
But they do get to have it towed from their property, and you pay the fees for that right?
Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back
#10“Their app specifically says you can ride it ‘anywhere’ and leave it ‘anywhere,’” Borelli says as he pushes a Bird scooter through the Pacific Beach neighborhood. If he sounds slightly bitter, it’s only because he owns a bike shop nearby and believes that dockless scooter companies are trying to steal his customers. But to Borelli, it seemed that the scooter industry was really trying to replace bicycles. He threw th…
I live in San Diego, and have followed this with great interest. From my understanding, they are only doing this for scooters that are parked illegally: e.g. on the shop owners property, blocking vehicle access, etc.
It's very interesting, because the riders don't have an incentive to park appropriately (and that is sometimes a guessing game -- street signs don't exist for where you can park scooters legally). However, I'd warrant that it's the sheer carelessness of riders who cause this issue.
Without people like these repo folks, there would be no disincentive for either the riders or the scooter companies. The riders don't care (and making them care would hurt the companies' growth/user retention -- part of the appeal is that "drop anywhere" thing).
In short, I see no problem with this. We allow tow truck companies to do the same, with private citizens as the victims. This only forces the scooter companies to solve the problem they created.