Thanks for that. I’ll bring up product review and add this to that site.
Annie
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The power that consumers have is simply not to use Car Next Door.
It does seem that the terms and conditions are heavily skewed against the customer, and are used in a way that is at best dubious. Don’t walk, run, … away.
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Hi All,
We recently moved from Sydney to Newcastle, and alas have left the GoGet service area. (They apparently abandoned Newcastle due to Covid. Come back soon please!).
I had a requirement for a ute recently, and I decided to join Car Next Door (herein ‘CND’).
Now I gotta say they’re in a tough place, acting as they do as a broker between renters and vehicle owners, and the reviews on ProductReview, Google and their app on the Apple App store show LOTS of disappointment. Having seen all this in retrospect, I have my Choice guards well and truly raised.
My specific issue is with their opaque pricing.
ALL vehicles are advertised at a rate that’s “from” $x/hr, with no way to see what those rates might peak at, nor when the time-based changes kick in.
If you’re not paying sufficient attention you might click on a vehicle at $12.50 an hour, plug in a date/time, and then proceed to checkout without noticing the hourly rate’s suddenly jumped 34%.
Here are three screen-grabs of just this process:
- shop for vehicles and find one you like
- select desired date and time
- go to checkout, about to commit, when you realise something was awry (although yes it had started to reveal itself at the bottom of the previous screen):
(For those who might be concerned for the time, headset and battery level differences between the images, I first commend you for your eye for detail. The far left image is a ‘today’ capture to highlight the ‘from’ reference, whilst the other two were the consecutive clicks from the day I nearly fell into this trap last month).
When challenged, CND’s customer support people point you back to the fact that all the prices are clearly marked as being “from” - you can’t dispute that - and say that if you want to know what a vehicle will cost for a planned hire, or to compare the price between two alternatives, you need to just make a booking for each vehicle, aborting each before the final commit step.
They didn’t respond to my question re the times/days the rates change, which would allow me to book just before/after that time in order to minimise my cost.
My question for you: is this just “dodgy”, or actually illegal? I suspect more the former, or is this a type of “drip pricing”, or something else?
I love car share and it disappoints me to see such a relatively long-established player in this market behaving like this.
- Greig.
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Both.
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Whilst I’m not a fan of CND, it is unlikely that the way they display the pricing is illegal.
It is common for businesses to advertise a “From $xxx” price>. For example an airline might advertise flights from Sydney to Melbourne as “From $99”, however that price might not be available for every date, every flight or every seat on a given flight.
Whenever I see a “From $xxx” price advertised, I get a surprise if I am actually able to purchase the item for that price.
Unless the $12.50 rate is never available or only available in extraordinary circumstances, CND is probably not doing anything illegal.
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That’s true of general advertising.
Is it true of the airline booking systems?
In my experience as soon as one selects a date for flights or for accommodation, the fare options for that date and various times are all clearly displayed. It’s readily apparent which options are the lowest cost on any day and time, and for nearby dates up to 7 days at a time.
In the CND example it’s suggested that transparency is lacking. A potential customer needs ‘to guess’ by trying multiple independent bookings to determine when the lowest rates might be available. Perhaps the ‘From $’ rate is rarely offered or available, or never available.
IMO it’s not a fair or transparent way of offering the service. Is it misleading or deceptive? That might be up to the ACCC to decide. It assumes the ACCC receives a sufficient number of complaints about the CND booking site on that concern from potential customers to trigger an investigation.
In the interim an alternative may be to look elsewhere for hire vehicles and not use CND. Who the CND service and business model serves best - the client vehicle owners, the user customers, or the CND enterprise, the concerns raised here come from one group only.
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The first screenshot provided by Greig is simply advertising the lowest rate available without specifying a date or time. Where this page is questionable is that it does not mention the booking fee or any other compulsory add-ons.
The second screenshot has an issue in that it does not state “From $12.50 per hour” or mention any compulsory add-ons. It does however show the minimum charge for the chosen day at the bottom of screen. Perhaps by clicking on a different date, a lower price might display.
The first listed special on a current Qantas sale page shows that you can fly from Sydney to Gold Coast from $77 between today and November 30.
The details page shows the cheapest flight to be $122, which is only available on the last two days of the month.
After choosing to fly on the 29th, you are advised that there are no flights that day, but you can book on the 28th for $351.
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It definitely has an issue and it clearly indicates the lower rate at the top of the screen. I’d wonder what happens if one books fir a whole day if the daily rate at the top of the screen is reliable?
Searching for a sale price from the leader is a little different from a standard search? The CND lowest rate is not a sale. It’s a standing offer.
For air travel sales do book out on certain dates. It’s dodgy if the site does not reliably update availability of the specials on the lead in screens.
I’ve not noticed previously the same misdirection when ousting the standard booking searches, although I’ve only once needed to book more recently (May) during Covid. I looked at fares with Qantas/Jetstar and Virgin, flying with Virgin. There were no issues with the look up tables for various date options or lowest fares on the day being available when looking at the available times?
CND’s software is not only confusing to be polite, it is certainly less user friendly when seeking the best deal.
It is very close, but they have covered themselves by stating ‘Enter dates to see the total trip price. incl. fees’ and using the word ‘from’. When entering a date(s) like you have, it then calculates the total trip price including fees.
What they have done is legal. If they had not used the above wording, it would fall foul of the Australian Consumer Law.
Good question. It isn’t for us to say that what is being done here is unlawful. A court would determine that.
What is drip pricing? Some reading matter for others: Drip pricing - Wikipedia and https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/online-shopping/drip-pricing
One should take a particularly dim view of drip pricing where the “drips” are unavoidable or in practice unavoidable.
For example, looking at your screen shots, there is a booking fee of $6.99. Is there any way of avoiding i.e. not paying, that booking fee? If the answer is “no” then this is Shonky AF but then I think CND has already accumulated enough Shonky Points to be in the running.
I think drip pricing is only unlawful if it is “misleading” i.e. there is no explicit provision in Australian law that makes drip pricing unlawful. So it would come down to whether relevant pricing information was not disclosed, or was disclosed but in a misleading way.
You would think that a consumer organisation like Choice might want to campaign to make drip pricing explicitly unlawful.
A company that wanted to do the right thing by its customers but which had to contend with the idea that the hiring rate per hour was strongly dependent on the day and time (e.g. market forces responding to high demand on the weekend during the day and not so much demand at 2am on a Wednesday morning) … would give a price range. So instead of “from $12.50 an hour” (which could mean almost anything), it would say “between $12.50 and $19.00 an hour” (if indeed $19.00 is the true maximum for that vehicle).
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Thanks person.
I would expect CND to argue that a $6.99 booking fee covers the cost of running the web platform, and maintaining the app, whilst the hourly rate is what’s carved up, 60% to the driver and 40% to… umm, running the web platform, maintaining the app and the rest of their business admin.
Going with the “99c” price-point is such a silly little retail gimmick through isn’t it? All over CND it just comes across as a little bit ‘schoolboy’ in the setup and operation, which annoys me as I’m a HUGE fan of car-share.
I decided to close my account today, but apparently that’s not an option. The closest you can get is to “deactivate it”. It’s still there, you can still sign in with your credentials - it’s just that you can’t book a car. I don’t know why. I’ve raised a support ticket asking what I need to do to close my account fully.
- G.
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Aha!
We can delete your personal information from our database after we receive a request from you in writing. Please lodge a ticket through the Help Centre with your request.
Deleting your personal information will also permanently close your Car Next Door account.
If you have an outstanding amount owing on your account, you will need to settle this balance before we can delete your account.
If you have had any transactions through Car Next Door in the last three months, we won’t be able to delete your information. We need to keep it for three months for our financial recordkeeping requirements and data integrity. Once it’s been three months since your last transaction (or if you have never had a transaction), we can delete your account and all your personal information.
If you ever want to use Car Next Door after we’ve removed your information from our system, you’ll need to go through the sign up process again.
So it looks like I need to wait another ~8 weeks or so before I can be safely expunged.
- Greig.
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The next chapter at CND is uber ownership. A fluff piece, but is it deserved based on net postings?
It isn’t about the money? Chuckles.
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Good lord. That is truly atrocious. So that quote by the panelbeater was done based on photos alone — they didn’t even sight the vehicle. Appalling. Will definitely avoid CND. I was actively considering using them too… had even signed up and gone through the verification process.
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I disagree… the ‘from’ price they state is actually impossible for the customer to get. The price needs to include the compulsory booking fee otherwise it’s a false price.
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Also Legal Aid in each state usually has a free (limited to one session) legal advice service which in days of COVID is I think accessible by phone.
Just sharing my experience in the hope that Car Next Door (CND) continues to lose members due to their poor customer service.
I borrowed a car in June 2021 with the basic insurance option. To my knowledge, I didn’t damage the car and took photos as I usually would. Roughly five months later, was charged $610 to replace the bumper based on a very small scratch. I had no idea how this had happened, but it was beside the point - damage had occurred while the car was in my possession and now I was liable.
However, I noticed from my before photos that there was significantly worse pre-existing damage to the same area of the car, while the scratch I was “responsible” for was clearly an inconsequential scratch, one that most reasonable car owners would have just used touch-up paint to fix. I believed the owner was taking advantage of the situation and wanted Car Next Door’s support in reaching a fair resolution, but they offered no help apart from letting me know that the damage is my responsibility regardless of pre-existing damage (see the Damage Policy).
After they had directed me to the Damage Policy, I read the Member Agreement and saw that the process for disputes had clearly not been followed. I contacted the owner myself and asked for a 50% refund. The owner agreed based on the fact that, in his words, “it looks to me like it was not caused intentionally by you.” This exchange between me and the owner suggests that if Car Next Door had a) encouraged the owner to contact me directly in the first place or b) responded to my requests for Car Next Door to mediate this properly, I may not have had to pay anything at all.
CND member agreement states that ● Members are encouraged to discuss the issue directly with each other and attempt to resolve it to the satisfaction of both.● Members can find the email address and phone number of an Owner whose car they have booked, or a Borrower who has booked their car. ● If the Members are unable to resolve the issue within a reasonable time, then either may notify Car Next Door. Car Next Door will contact both Members to hear both sides of the story and gather information about the circumstances leading to the dispute ● Car Next Door will try to help the Members involved to reach a fair resolution to the dispute; and ● If the Members involved are still unable to reach an agreement to resolve the complaint within a reasonable time, or unsatisfied with the resolution suggested by Car Next Door, then Car Next Door will refer the Members to the Community Justice Centres (in NSW).
None of this was honoured. CND instead charged me $610 without offering me the opportunity to dispute or discuss with the owner. They conveniently ignored all of my questions, producing canned responses about the damage being my responsibility (which I was not denying). As they took roughly a month to respond to each email I sent or weren’t able to answer my questions over the phone, I took it upon myself to contact the owner and asked for a 50% refund. The owner agreed without question, which suggests that if I was offered a dispute as I was rightly owed, I would not have had to pay at all. CND took over a month to send the refund. They continuously apologise for their slow replies, yet they took minutes to take money from my account when I confirmed my bank details, suggesting they can be quick when it suits them.
CND refuses to acknowledge let alone provide a reason for violating this section of their member agreement. Since they haven’t referred me to the Community Justice Centre, I appealed myself, but the CND head office hasn’t responded to the letter, and it seems unlikely they ever will.
Their poor customer service has led me to decide it’s better to switch to a more trustworthy service and to convince others to do the same.
Their support team CCed staff members with @carnextdoor.com.au email addresses and after I directly emailed them, those staff members are actually now engaging with me in a timely manner. However, I think it’s unlikely anything will come of this so my intention here is just to share my story in the hope that people will stop using the service.
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Wow thanks for sharing! Haven’t used their service but it was on my shortlist. Sounds like a lot of hassle!
How can then wait 5 months later to charge you though? In that 5 months, couldn’t the car have been loaned out to other folks too ? Shouldn’t there be a time limit? like 24-72hrs after returning the car?
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Welcome to the community, @fernaj
There is a well established existing topic on CND related issues. Worth a read, with your experience likely to be included in the discussion.
The CND damage repair policy appears to be open to owner abuse, and can be a potential source of additional income to CND. It would be great if CND could provide some data on that part of it’s business.
What percentage of hires result in damage claims?
What is the average value of each claim?
What is the average value of each hire?
Do CND monitor individual owners for damage claim rates greater than the norm?
Also are some owners providing multiple vehicles to CND and effectively running a car hire business?
CND is built on the hire of used personal vehicles, many in a condition that are of a lesser standard (fair wear and tear for age) when compared with the regulated vehicle hire industry. CND is facilitating the hire of vehicles which will likely have some damage evident. If their business model is treating customers fairly should they offer confidence through greater transparency? Is the business model open to rorting by owners, especially of the pooled payments model for damage claims and as a mask for commercially inspired owner activity?
All questions the ACCC has powers to investigate.
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Perhaps their slogan should be “Car Next Door - Let your neighbour take you for a ride”.
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