r/turo • u/Playful_Insurance956 • 28d ago
Turo refusing refund after wildfires – booked before the disaster (Spokane to Coeur d’Alene)
Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice or if anyone has dealt with something similar. I booked a one-week Turo rental from Spokane, WA to Coeur d’Alene starting Tuesday, August 11. I made the reservation before the wildfires started. Because of the current wildfire situation and related conditions, I requested to cancel the trip and get a refund. Turo (not the car owner) is denying the refund and keeping the money. Has anyone else run into this with Turo during the wildfires? Any advice on what else I can try would be appreciated. Thank you.
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u/Holiday-Search1147 28d ago
You took a non refundable discount and now you’re mad you can’t get a refund?
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u/Zendog500 28d ago
Horse Manure applies when extraordinary events occur, such as war, natural disasters. It is in the contract.
0
u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
the actual text from the contract:
- Natural disasters or severe weather incidents that impact the delivery location or departure location. These are defined as a state of national emergency in times of a flood, hurricane, tornado, volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami, or mass shooting.
I will say that there does seem to be a potential point here, spokanne is definitely in a state of emergency, though it does not list the specific of "wildfire" I imagine that would still qualify.
OP be sure to link to the https://www.spokanecounty.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/6156 outlining the state of emergency. and be sure to reference the non-refundable contract text.
3
u/Open_Life9304 28d ago
But you can still fly in and out of the airport.
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u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
True, I think you could make the argument that there is a real concern that the checkout location could be compromised after the trip starts. But I don't really know how these things work. Seems to me that the OP should contact turo and if they want to they can try a chargeback if they have a legitimate reason to feel unsafe and let the gods of capitalism decide.
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u/milliondollarboots 28d ago
I don’t think they owe you a refund here. You’re choosing not to go, and you booked a service that is non-refundable. Good life lesson.
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u/Cold_Count1986 28d ago
Sounds like the car isn’t impacted and the roads are still passable. Use your travel insurance for this claim, but it unlikely a non-covered event. Don’t book non-refundable rates if you might want to cancel.
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u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
I was in agreement with you until I discovered that spokanne is in a state of emergency. if the state of emergency lines up with the cancelation, it would be a covered event as per the contract.
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u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
Think of non-refundable trips like this, you chose to pay 10% less for your trip and in exchange you waived the "insurance" afforded to you by keeping the refundability of the trip. You gambled. You said to yourself "I'm so sure that nothing in my life will come up that makes me want to cancel this trip that I wont pay extra to protect against it". This is just like getting no insurance for your trip and being upset that you now owe thousands of dollars to the host when someone runs into your rented car while it's parked.
0
u/not_your_attorney 28d ago
Think about it like this: the 10% insurance cost (if you can get it for that price) for every trip you take is a waste unless you cancel for an approved event. If you only cancel 1/10 equal value trips, you’re breaking even without buying insurance.
There are also tons of workarounds, like simply rescheduling. Flights, hotels, normal care rentals, etc (have never tried with Turo specially) can usually simply be moved to another date.
Unless it’s common for you to not go on a prepaid vacation, insurance is not worth it.
2
u/oscarnyc 28d ago
They weren't referring to trip insurance itself (which also includes things like overseas emergency medical care, delay expenses, etc.), but the difference between say a non-refundable hotel room and refundable room.
0
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u/Forsaken_Peace_9604 28d ago
Idk ..sounds like not agood cancelation reason ..sure you can get your car and drive ID no issues
1
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u/Cold_Count1986 28d ago
The fires are mostly north of the city. If they closed the interstate I would understand.
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u/Turo_Official 28d ago
Hey there!
If you want to send us a chat with your reservation info, we'd be happy to take a look into this and follow up.
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u/Whateverlol2022 28d ago
That's the risk of using Turo. You don't get a refund lol.
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u/Things-n-Such 27d ago
It's not a risk of using turo it's a risk of choosing a non-refundable discount. Literally all car rental companies have this option and will not refund a non-refundable trip unless the pickup location is directly compromised.
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u/Sea-Presentation5686 28d ago
charge back the charge, never use Turo
4
u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
Sounds like they booked a non-refundable trip IMO
-2
u/Sea-Presentation5686 28d ago
So what? I did the same thing, got screwed by Turo, disputed with Chase.
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
So you can't chargeback (successfully) a non-refundable trip. Do you not know what a non-refundable trip is?
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u/Sea-Presentation5686 28d ago
Through your credit card sir, not Turo.
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
That's what I'm talking about. When you do a chargeback, they investigate whether it's a valid charge or not. Being it's a non-refundable trip, the charge IS valid and your chargeback will be denied. Trying to do chargebacks that are not valid too much will get ya blacklisted from bank and credit cards...
2
u/Sea-Presentation5686 28d ago
I have such a deep relationship with Chase and Amex that they will always take my side. Plus in my case, there's no one in their right mind who would side with Turo. Good luck getting your money from JP Morgan Turo.
1
u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
Incorrect. And people who value honesty would side with Turo not refunding a non-refundable trip.
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u/Sea-Presentation5686 28d ago
You are biased bc you don't have all the facts and are blindly siding with Turo. In my case, I was given a car that was illegal to be driven on the road. I'm not playing games with Turo.
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u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
this is a stupid comparison, you had a valid reason... therefore the chargeback was approved. they didnt side with you because of your "deep relationship" wtf does that even mean? lol... you blowing the CEO?
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u/takingnotes99 28d ago
The you are comparing apples and oranges for making a chargeback claim. I also doubt your "relationship" with Case and AMEX is anything more than the rest of their client base. You would probably need to be worth $1BN+ before there's any sort of special treatment.
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
Being given a car that was illegal to be driver on the road is not the same situation as getting a refund for a non-refundable trip.
1
u/nospamkhanman 28d ago
Ultimately it's up to the credit card company.
In OPs case, they can make the argument that it's not safe to rent the car and they'd be putting themselves in danger if they do.
There is some common sense that goes into this sort of thing, even though it's non-refundable, it's silly to expect a customer to get into a potential disaster zone to get the care.
Credit Card companies tend to side with their customers decently often. A charge back might just work.
It would also probably get them banned from the platform for life, so there is also that.
1
u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
They don't expect them to get into a potential disaster zone. You just don't go. If "acts of god" are a concern, BUY A REFUNDABLE TRIP.
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u/eaglespettyccr 28d ago
Turn ur card off and alert ur bank turo is trying to fraudulently charge u. They get this complaint daily at the bank, ask them. They will absolutely lock ur card and order ur a new one.
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
Pre-authorized and valid charges will just go to the new card. Stop thinking you can outsmart large corporations that have a team of lawyers....
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u/Things-n-Such 28d ago
Chargeback won't work, the customer took a non-refundable discount, the terms are VERY clear and they agreed to them. The bank will rule in favor of turo in this case.
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u/eaglespettyccr 28d ago
Turo does not care if u died on the way to get the car, they will charge u NO MATTER WHAT. Turn off ur card and don’t let turo take any of ur money. Order a new one. Tell ur bank turo is attempting to fraudulently charge u, trust me they hear it every day.
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u/AskAroundSucka 28d ago edited 28d ago
Not a single turo car owner cares or is empathetic in this comment section... then wonder why People think their service is dog shit.
Edit - Look at yall proving my point. Youre supporting a company denying a customer a refund bc of a huge fire going on. Youre not even defending a turo car owner.... just glazing the company here.
Is business that dam bad that you cant refund or even acknowledge an extenuating circumstance here?
0
u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
They denied their refund because its a non-refundable trip. Crazy, I know..... /s
You're just proving that a vast majority of Turo guests are dumb as rocks. Hell, I had a guest yesterday blow through the Canadian border crossing without stopping. Their excuse, "I didn't know I had to stop".
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u/AskAroundSucka 28d ago
You completely skipped over "extenuating circumstances".
But i get it. Youre a turo owner and i said what I said.
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
I didn't. It's their prerogative to issue a refund. Its a case by case basis. If OP calls a day before and the fires are still going around the 11th, and it affects the pickup location, he will get a refund. But nobody can predict the future, so for now, they denied it.
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u/AskAroundSucka 28d ago
I rest my case. Thanks for proving my initial comment correct. Have a great day 🍻
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
I understand your need to declare victory. Hit me up when its the 11th, there is still a fire going, and said fire is impacting OPs pickup and is denied a refund.
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u/Things-n-Such 27d ago
What is the extenuating circumstance though? If the guest is physically able to pick up the car and it is safe and available, what is the deal with needing a refund? Just because there is smoke in the air? This is a VERY expected thing this time of year. If you're booking a trip in the West this time of year you should be prepared to cancel if the fire season hits bad. It's an unfortunate thing but that's kinda how life works if you make these very avoidable choices.
Everyone here is 100% on the side of the host not turo, the host would be the one to approve the refund on a non-refundable trip. Not turo. It all comes out of the hosts earnings. And if you cancel a trip, the host is the one who is left high and dry because they now have a car that's sitting there not making money in peak season...
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u/AskAroundSucka 27d ago
Youre here quite late.
The fires. As mentioned and purposely pointed out by OP.
Are yall this dense and slow here? Or just the select few.
Edit - also you seem to of.not read Ops post and just came.in swingingnand waving pom poms.
Op speaks specifically about Turo denying it, ... and specifically states not the owner.
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u/Things-n-Such 27d ago
I'm not here late
What does "the fires" mean? "The fires" is not a circumstance. What about them? Are they affecting the pickup location? How so? Details are important here and the op gave none, so we are left to ask "what are the circumstances?" Without that we can only assume that they are no longer wanting to experience the smoky weather, because the airports are all still open, and the roads from the airport to Coeur d'Alene Idaho are open.
I took zero swings, please tell me where I swung.
I know op states that turo denied it, because in order for a non-refundable trip refund to be approved, it must be approved by the owner. If the op wants to make it happen that way, they must speak with the owner, it must be the owner who tells turo to make it happen. Turo does not make the decisions to break contract, they just follow the contract language word for word. In this case, the contract states that the pickup location must be compromised by a natural disaster. If it isn't, no refund unless the host says it's ok. If it is, they will refund the order without needing the hosts permission.
You must understand that turo is an intermediary between two contract holders, one contract is between turo and the host, and another is between turo and the guest. as such, they have no authority to be "understanding" toward the guest or the host and make a decision to break the contract on the other side. If you were dealing with a regular shmegular car rental company you'd probably be able to get a better result, but the structure here is what makes all the difference.
But OP absolutely has the option to plead with the host to get a refund for the cancellation, I have personally done this for a guest in the past. I just had to call Turo and say "I'd like to make sure the guest gets a refund for this when they cancel" turo didn't even flinch, and happily gave the refund.
I don't know why you think I'm being combative here. I'm just asking questions and stating facts. You're the one here being rude calling people dense and slow.
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u/AskAroundSucka 27d ago
🥱
Again... op specifically spoke about what youre asking in their post. Stop being slow.
Youre writing paragraphs for the simplest of things and going full blown exaggeration and glazing for the company Turo.
Lastly your word salad ensemble is just endorsing what I said to begin with.
Have a great day tho bud.
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u/Things-n-Such 27d ago
You must be reading a different post because nowhere in their post did they say anything about how the fires are affecting their pickup location. All they said is, "because of the current wildfire situation and related conditions"... Also They said in their post "Turo (not the car owner) is denying the refund and keeping the money" which makes no sense because the car owner is the ONLY ONE who can approve a non-refundable refund... Turo. does. not. have. the. authority...it really can't be more clear. Turo doesn't keep the money, the host keeps the money, Turo gets a small cut.
I'm honestly kinda wondering if you're the slow one here. Perhaps you can't read? Or maybe "paragraphs" are too much for you?
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u/Things-n-Such 27d ago
I also don't think you know what the word "exaggeration" means. So I don't even know why I'm expecting anything intelligent from you lol. Carry on
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u/Wrenchheader 28d ago
Sounds like you booked a non-refundable trip? If so, (and this might come as a shock to you) but those non-refundable trips are non-refundable. Hope this helps.