Hyrecar I used Hyrecar's service to rent my car out. They have not paid me and do not communicate with me on when I will be paid what I am owed. Los Angeles CA California

On 5/19/18, I rented my car to a driver through Hyrecar. The car was rented and paid for, including an initial extension for 8 days. After that, the driver asked to extend longer and I negotiated to have Hyrecar lower the rate for him to extend.

By 6/6/18, the driver had not paid for the extension or returned the car, which was 9 days overdue, so I contacted Hyrecar for help in the situation. They said they would contact the driver and get payment.

On 6/12, he still had not paid, and I asked for help. They sent me this, “At this point, I would recommend for you to have the vehicle returned. Once the vehicle is in your possession we can send the driver an invoice and bill him for the past due balance. Please provide me with an update regarding the vehicle's return as soon as one is available.”

On 6/13, the car was returned, and I notified them. It was nearly 17 days late. On 6/14, I received this in the email, “Jared, per your request we looked into the mileage and he owes you $33.50 for the miles.”

On 6/19, they emailed the driver an invoice for $939, saying, “If we do not hear from [the driver] by the close of business on the date mentioned above [6/ 20 at 5:00PM], Hyrecar will send the invoice to Fair Claims for arbitration.” I asked for an update on 6/20 and 6/22.

They responded on 6/22 in an email stating, The driver "has not responded and the deadline has passed. We will be sending this case over to Fair Claims. We went ahead and initiated a deposit of $48.50 to your account for the gas and mileage. Please allow 3-5 business days for this to appear on your account.” I have yet to receive that payment, as of 7/24/18.

On 6/26, they claimed that the rental agreement was between me and the driver and they are not responsible. The email says, “Per the rental agreement, the renters are fully responsible for all days vehicle is rented, any tickets and tolls as well as excess mileage. While we do offer courtesy reimbursements for any losses you (the vehicle owner) may incur, unfortunately we are unable to cover the days vehicle is returned late. It looks like the driver was late 17 days and owes $505.75 according to our records. As a courtesy, we are happy to offer $200 to minimize your losses. Please respond within 24 hours for us to process this settlement.” However, on the email from 6/22, it says they will take him to Fair Claims, but here they are offering me $200 settlement to forego my full payment of $505.75, which I assume does not include the $48.50 they said they were sending me on 6/22.

I told them I would not accept the settlement, sending the following email: “You're saying, you allowed someone to take my car at a particular rate they were to pay, which amounts to $550, and they are refusing to pay, so I'm just screwed. Take $200 or leave it? No. I will settle at you paying the amount owed and then you can go after them since you put them into my car. This arrangement is made in good faith for you to place car owners with people who will pay. If you cannot pay car owners what they are owed, your company is a fraud. Pay me what is owed. Go after them for you part and then I will quietly no longer use your service.”

They did not respond until 7/3/18 when James A. Customer Success Manager responded to tell me that they can use the $200 deposit to take him to Fair Claims, which in the 6/22 email they said they were already doing without mentioning the deposit. In the meantime, I contacted the driver and he told me that he had paid them $600 on 6/29.

I sent emails back to James on 7/3 and 7/10 without a response. I called several times and was told he would give me a call back. I emailed and called again on the 7/17, 7/20, and 7/24.

The final email I sent of 7/24 expressed that I want to be paid the $554.25 ($48.50 and $505.75) their records indicate I am owed, and that I will not settle for $200, especially since I spoke with the driver who said he made a payment on 6/29. I gave them 24 hours and then I would make a fuss. I've now posted here, Yelp, contacted the CA AG, BBB, a lawyer, and several news agencies.