Zipcar TERMINATED MY SERVICE AFTER I REPORTED NON-AUTHORIZED DRIVING -- what gives? washington, District of Columbia

In order to make a reservation with zipcar you have to go into the website and to be able to get access to the website you need a password. You mentioned that your roomate stold the card a made a reservation so therefore he also had access to your zipcar account. how did he get access to both the member card and your zipcar account?

I agree with most of the commentators.

The card is your responsibility. This is exactly the same as a debit card, or cash. Don't leave things lying around.

Zipcar has every right to terminate you permanently. It is not a grey area -- you were irresponsible. Because you didn't intentionally give your card away, obviously they are being lenient in discussing this situation with you. They have no responsibility to "be nice" after you've broken their rules.

Also, just the ZipCard doesn't allow your roommate to rent a car. To rent online, he would've needed to know your password and username, and the same goes for the app on smartphones. If he had this information, you are 100% at fault. Don't blame someone else for your mistake. If I had the password to your banking information and took all of your money, you couldn't even begin to fight me in court. How can you explain my knowing the password without "cracking" it?

If he made the reservation via phone, he would need to know account information and a pin. If he knows this, once again, completely your fault.

Zipcar isn't some back-alley company. They put checks into place to avoid any actual grey-area's.

Okay, I clearly GET that some FOLKS want to cast irresponsibility as the NEW way of life. The ADULT would UNDERSTAND that ZIPCAR made it CLEAR in its TERMS that it WILL and CAN CLOSE an ACCOUNT if an unauthorized user accessed the account.  They do it to PROTECT the business and the account holder.  IT DIDNT ANYWHERE say that the Original member was Banned. They can re-establish an account AFTER certain formalities are followed. The OP (MARINA) who had her purse in an accessible area where a person took liberty, still falls under: FRAUD USE. File the report with the police. Show some responsibility...it was a crime that your roommate partook, and your wanting to hold ZIPCAR responsible is ignorance at its finest! You have every right to be upset...you also have every right to step up and do the right thing. You are casting your anger at the right entity. This Business deserves to protect its assets.

Come on, leaving your ZipCard unguarded is NOT the same as letting someone use it; not even close. I can see a temporary suspension to get the OP's attention, and maybe even a "three strikes and your out" rule, but if somebody stole the friggin' card... a permanent ban is absurd. 

The moral of the story is, if someone DOES steal your zipcard, just pay the bill and don't tell them about it. 

After talking to many, many zipcar reps, I'm hoping to resolve the situation.  Thankfully there are a number of people working at zipcar who, unlike the commentators here, understand that grey area that my situation falls in.  

(About the commentators -- you sound a little too zealous, and you're responding a little too quickly, to be just a non-affiliated party ...)

Fingers are crossed.  I've been a huge advocate of zipcar all along and really hope something can be resolved.  At the end of the day, I really just want to continue using their great service ... which is the most frustrating part of all of this, really.  

Here's hoping!

  You can make your case over and over, but (as I originally posted) it seems obvious that Zipcar is not happy with the level of care you decided was appropriate for the card.

" The card was STOLEN.  Taken WITHOUT my permission.  Left in the kitchen during the time I went to work.  Are people implying that I should be responsible for what's done with my property AFTER it's been stolen? "

   You left the card in the kitchen, where anyone with access to your kitchen could take it.   You're still not getting it.   A Zipcard is a very powerful object.  It allows the holder to take possesion of a very expensive piece of equipment that can cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, in a very short time.   

  I do not work for Zipcar, but I think I can safely assume that they are pissed about the way you secured their valuable and powerful card in the first place.    I don't think they care in the least what you did after your roommate took it.    The point is that you left it lying around where unauthorized users could get their hands on it.

    This company is particularly vulnerable to losses from unauthorized users.  The ease in which you can rent a Zipcar relies greatly on the trust that the company puts in their cardholders.  Simply put, they don't trust you anymore.  

   If someone had actually robbed you and stolen the card, this would be an entirely different story.  You left this card where unauthorized persons could easily access it.  The fact that you still think that was OK, illustrates why you can't be trusted with a Zipcard.

The card was STOLEN.  Taken WITHOUT my permission.  Left in the kitchen during the time I went to work.
- There is your problem.  You left it in a place that was accessible by your roommate that even you admit you have had issues with in the past.  They probably didn't suspend your account because the card was "stolen" but because YOU were negligent.  Had you left your debit card and PIN number on the kitchen table and your roommate went on a spending spree..the bank would not be refunding your money for any of these fraudulent charges because you again were negligent.  So you may want to keep this in mind in how to better protect vital information.

 

There's a baseball bat in my garage, too -- should I be worried if someone breaks in, takes it, and then beats someone with it? 
- No because it is not the same thing.  Unlike your case where your roommate has access to the kitchen, someone would have to break-in to your garage.

At the time, I had no idea who had the car -- all I knew was that I'd gotten an email from zipcar about a reservation I hadn't made.  I figured my card had fallen out of my purse or something, and who knows who was driving that car.
- Why change your story?  In your original post as soon as you got the e-mail you called them up and gave them your roommates name.  Unless you are just randomly handing out names, that sure sounds like you knew who took it.  Then in your update you state you left it in the kitchen.  So was the "or something" you leaving it in the kitchen?

The commentators seem to have some issue with their reading & comprehension abilities:

The card was STOLEN.  Taken WITHOUT my permission.  Left in the kitchen during the time I went to work.  Are people implying that I should be responsible for what's done with my property AFTER it's been stolen?  There's a baseball bat in my garage, too -- should I be worried if someone breaks in, takes it, and then beats someone with it? 

To the commentator who worries about the liability:  Yup.  I hear you.  Which is why I reported it in the first place.  At the time, I had no idea who had the car -- all I knew was that I'd gotten an email from zipcar about a reservation I hadn't made.  I figured my card had fallen out of my purse or something, and who knows who was driving that car.  I immediately called and addressed the situation.  Sadly, had I known what zipcar's reaction was going to be, I probably wouldn't have called them in the first place.   

Here is what the website for this service states:

Can someone who is not a member drive a Zipcar?
Nope. In fact, this is a very big no-no. Anyone behind the wheel must be a Zipcar member for obvious liability and insurance reasons. If you let someone drive who is not a member we will have to cancel your membership. If someone in your household wants to join, we have household memberships too. Also, when you become a member you will be able to send a friend some driving credit as an incentive to join. Now that's a friend!

----So with that said, its twice the time you should have READ this! As the other responder stated, YOU are ultimately responsible for the card and how secure its kept. File a theft report against your roommate for this, its fraud pure and simple. ZipCard made it clear that you and ONLY YOU are to be partaking of this service. They did what is legally theirs to do, cancel your membership, put you in a time out, and make you think twice before doing something so irresponsible. Have you no concept of how much trouble this roommate could have caused???? You would be ultimately accountable for so many things while the car was in his/her possession.

" Why are they doing this to me?  "

Because they have discovered they cannot trust you.   Because of you, one of their expensive vehicles ended up in the hands of someone they neither knew nor approved of.    I do not think that they appreciate the way you took care of your card, which allows someone direct access to their vehicles.   Can you blame them?    This could have turned out very badly.