Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price • Hacker News Board

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#21

Post by lotsofpulp » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:11 PM UTC

jjoonathan wrote: post #10

gnicholas wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was the fee putatively for? Was it a cleaning fee that would have been less per day on a longer rental? It doesn't seem right to call something a "service fee" if it doubles the total purchase price.

Engaging at any level with the idea that the fee is for any purpose other than lying about price in advertisements is giving it too much credit.

From a customer’s point of view, absolutely.

But fees are many times also used to avoid or evade taxes and royalties. For example, resort fees can be used by hotels to avoid paying royalties to the franchisor.

There is never any good excuse to hide or gatekeep the total price from a customer though.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#22

Post by forgotmysn » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:11 PM UTC

tyrfing wrote: post #14

forgotmysn wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share your sentiment, but I'm not sure there are any legislators I trust to understand or regulate dark patterns effectively.

https://www.adlawaccess.com/2022/02/articles/dark-patterns-a... https://www.adlawaccess.com/2022/02/articles/dark-patterns-a... Marriott has settled a lawsuit over similar pricing "dark patterns": https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Marriott... > Among other provisions, the agreement requires Marriott to prominently disclose the total price of a hotel stay, including room rate and all other mandatory…

Ya, I have much more faith in the courts to discern fair deployments of dark patterns than I do any legislative body.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#23

Post by cheriot » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:12 PM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #9

megafauna wrote: post #2

Last week I went through the tedium of providing all of the requisite information when trying to book a 2014 Toyota Prius for 1 day @ $50.40 through Turo. On the final step of the reservation flow, Turo revealed an additional $50.40 service fee. Seeing the total price double didn't sit well. I promptly exited the reservation flow and deleted my account. I agree with your sentiment - if the app shared the service fee…

What was the fee putatively for? Was it a cleaning fee that would have been less per day on a longer rental? It doesn't seem right to call something a "service fee" if it doubles the total purchase price.

iirc they add insurance cost at check out, but I've mostly used GetAround lately.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#24

Post by triter » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:12 PM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #7

Turo is a haven for money laundering. In my area you can "find" multiple Chrysler 300Cs for rent for $600/day. I say "find" because many of them are unavailable for days or even weeks on end as being rented. Good scam if you're, say, a dealer. Have one of your customers "rent" your car through Turo at an inflated rate. Bonus: you don't even have to let them have your car. They're just paying you and saying they rente…

No post body was provided.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#25

Post by ellard » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:13 PM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #7

Turo is a haven for money laundering. In my area you can "find" multiple Chrysler 300Cs for rent for $600/day. I say "find" because many of them are unavailable for days or even weeks on end as being rented. Good scam if you're, say, a dealer. Have one of your customers "rent" your car through Turo at an inflated rate. Bonus: you don't even have to let them have your car. They're just paying you and saying they rente…

Maybe I just haven't had enough coffee this morning, but I don't understand the scenario you're describing. Could you elaborate?

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#26

Post by voldacar » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:13 PM UTC

wardedVibe wrote: post #19

dont__panic wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes you wonder how many tech companies are (unknowingly, hopefully) laundering money. You could pull off this kind of money laundering through a lot of services -- Etsy, Taskrabbit, tons of others -- by simply listing extremely overpriced items that nobody would ever buy legitimately. And I suppose if any poor sap ever wandered in and actually bought the thing you're selling, instead of just laundering money... you…

I mean, there's a lot of speculation that this is exactly what NFT art is most commonly used for.

physical art too

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#27

Post by silverpepsi » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:14 PM UTC

Never used them though definitely wanted to based on much more interesting vehicle choices.

I swear they're reliant on customer good luck and ignorance. There is no way to get insurance for these, and most people think their personal insurance covers it. In fact, it's super hard to get the correct info out of your own insurance company and you have to go up a level on support before you get the bad news that if anything went wrong you're not covered and you'd be royally screwed

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#28

Post by ryandrake » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:15 PM UTC

forgotmysn wrote: post #4

standyro wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My trick with their system is to just look at every car, click through to the final receipt screen and then go back to find the cheapest one. It's a bit tedious and deceptive to the customer to present variable fee at the last part of the checkout process. Probably the worst modern "dark pattern" that I hope regulators take a look at.

I share your sentiment, but I'm not sure there are any legislators I trust to understand or regulate dark patterns effectively.

"Not knowing the price of something until it's time to pay for it" is about as American as apple pie. From retail stores, where shelf prices don't show tax, to your cellphone/cable bills with a half dozen opaque fees added on to the quoted monthly rate, to the hospital, where literally nobody providing the service knows what it will end up costing. Good luck getting rid of this mentality--it's permanently baked into our business and consumer cultures.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#29

Post by gnicholas » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:16 PM UTC

jjoonathan wrote: post #10

gnicholas wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was the fee putatively for? Was it a cleaning fee that would have been less per day on a longer rental? It doesn't seem right to call something a "service fee" if it doubles the total purchase price.

Engaging at any level with the idea that the fee is for any purpose other than lying about price in advertisements is giving it too much credit.

You're right. I was thinking about Airbnb, which has cleaning fees that can be pretty hefty on one-night rentals. And those are understandable because someone needs to come in and change the sheets/towels, wash dishes, etc.

But there's no "bedsheets" analog for a car rental. Yes, it needs to be washed, but I imagine most renters of Priuses don't actually care if the car hasn't been washed in a few days/weeks.

Re: Turo Requires a Driver's License Number and Credit Card to Show Full Price

#30

Post by SOTGO » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:16 PM UTC

ellard wrote: post #25

FireBeyond wrote: post #7

Turo is a haven for money laundering. In my area you can "find" multiple Chrysler 300Cs for rent for $600/day. I say "find" because many of them are unavailable for days or even weeks on end as being rented. Good scam if you're, say, a dealer. Have one of your customers "rent" your car through Turo at an inflated rate. Bonus: you don't even have to let them have your car. They're just paying you and saying they rente…

Maybe I just haven't had enough coffee this morning, but I don't understand the scenario you're describing. Could you elaborate?

Instead of paying for what the dealer is selling you rent his car for the same amount of money. You don't actually drive it (so it costs the dealer nothing in depreciation) but now the dealer has the appearance of a legitimate income stream.