A car sharing company must offer refunds to more than 50 customers who were charged hefty fines in violation of a 2021 settlement with D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General, according to an agreement announced Tuesday.
Getaround, which has been called Airbnb for cars, agreed to pay $75,000 in restitution to the city and consumers, according to the settlement. It also must revise its business practices and provide advance notice to the D.C. attorney general’s office if it plans to bring business back to Washington, after ending U.S. operations in February.
“This settlement puts money back into the pockets of DC residents who were misled by Getaround and charged large damage fees after being led to believe that they were covered by insurance,” said D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) in a press release.
Like other car sharing companies, Getaround allows users to rent vehicles from individuals who list their cars on the platform. Drivers use an app to unlock the car, and the keys can be found inside.
But the practice also allowed users to see the exact location of available cars, resulting in the D.C. attorney general’s office receiving more than a dozen reports of stolen vehicles from the platform in 2020, according to a press release. Between Oct. 1, 2019, and Feb. 4, 2020, D.C. police investigated 90 incidents, including car thefts, theft from cars, vandalism and crashes that involved vehicles from Getaround and Turo, another car sharing app.
Following an investigation in 2021, Getaround agreed to pay restitution to owners who experienced theft or damage to their listed vehicle, make the limitations of its safety and security features more clear and implement an easy-to-use system for users to make complaints and for the company to address them. In addition, the company settled to disclose vehicle insurance terms and conditions, accurately display its customer service hours and vehicle ownership, maintain necessary operating licenses, and pay all taxes, including $950,000 in unpaid levies and fees to the District.
Four years later, lawyers for the D.C. attorney general’s office assert the company continued to violate D.C. consumer protection laws and the 2021 agreement by operating in the city without proper business licenses and misleading consumers on its insurance coverage, car and user vetting practices, and customer service offerings.
Getaround denied violating the 2021 agreement, according to the new settlement, and did not respond to a request for comment.
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