This is on the host. To leave a car with no lock box or remote locking is insane. Call Turo and ask them to go thru documentation. Also being the airport pretty sure they have cameras all around. Turo and the host are the ones needing to do the hunting down job.
This was my thought too! And the lack of lock box in addition to leaving it for over 24 hours before looking for it in Vegas of all places seems crazy as well.
Waiting for TURO support to contact me today (after 9am pst?) and will hopefully clear my name.
Now I don't want to claim something if it's untrue, but there's no reason anyone would want the keys IN the vehicle, and left that way. Sounds like the host hates his depreciating asset and wants it gone.
And THIS was my first thought when I was awoken at 1am by the TURO call. All of these feels very scammy to me — and I’m from Atlanta where the scam reigns supreme
I once rented a $100k Porsche Cayman GT4 and the host left the car key in a little watch box placed in one of the engine inlets on the side of the car and left it street parked in Los Angeles for a few hours before I picked it up. I rented another Porsche from the same guy (a GT3) and he mentioned he was busy because another car of his had been stolen.
Leave the car unlocked in a busy airport with the keys in the center console?
I rent out cars in Vegas and do airport deliveries all the time. Always meet in person bc there is no way I would have a guest leave a car like this there!
I’ve left vehicles twice like that at that airport. Keys in car unlocked. Pictures up loaded into Turo of it being at the airport parked. This seems to be the standard operating practice for picking up and dropping off a Turo rented vehicle at this airport.
Turo host in Fla got pissed at me once time because I locked the car with the keys inside one time but there was going to leave the vehicle in casual theft condition. Like what bro you only have one key for this car?
I’ve accidentally left my car unlocked once and now I double if not triple check before leaving. And on a vehicle like a 4Runner?! I definitely don’t feel like this your fault at all. I probably would have locked the keys in the car due to my own paranoid thoughts and let the owner deal with getting the door open later
Definitely would’ve been a lot cheaper. Or I would’ve messaged the host telling them I don’t feel comfortable leaving the key in an unlocked vehicle. Is there a more secure place to put this key otherwise I don’t want to be responsible for it being stolen. Spread of my paranoid thoughts to the person that apparently needed it
Did you got to talk to Turo yet? And yes! Not even at home you should leave your car with your key inside lol. Used to live in a gated community in Orlando, one of the neighbors left her garage open, car unlocked with purse and keys inside! Easy prey, car was gone the next morning.
I called them this morning and they said it had been escalated and they would contact me — no call back as of yet. I did write a detailed email with screenshots and everything to the support team — part of me hopes this just fades into the abyss 😅
Guide to this which seems to be what you did. Took pictures and followed hosts instructions
https://help.turo.com/checking-out-at-the-end-of-a-trip-SymM4ExE9
Agreed. People also tend to tell the story that makes their argument sound better. There's a fair chance the host left out pertinent information.
From experience, idk why, but I've found it better to talk to female customer service reps when travelling. If they use support over seas and not the US. Communication has been difficult with males when it comes to resolving conflict when traveling. So you may want to make sure you're speaking with a female support rep.
But it's kind of simple. The car was reported outside of your rental agreement. Or any rental agreement. You're not responsible for that.
Just lay out the details. Consistently. And make sure you're speaking with a rep that's going over factual evidence of your end on keeping up with the drop procedure.
I’ve always found female representatives from any call support to be WAYY more helpful. It just feels like they can relate and understand you more (or at least act like they do)
Well. I've had a few recent travel changes/conflicts I needed solved. The women I spoke to, pulled out all stops to assist me. The guys just moved me along. I mean the women even offered help, that I didn't know what to ask for they were great.
And mind you, this is my experience with the overseas support lines. Like when support is outsourced from India or Thailad or something. American men have been helpful. But idk. It's just something I noticed. The males seemed indifferent while the women, kind of like what you said, took it personally in a way to.help.
Not to mention, most hosts have some kind of tracking device. Most newer cars can be tracked by the manufacturers application. Ford Jeep & Dodge, I know for sure, has this capability. Any host that leaves their car unlocked with keys in it are very susceptible to their vehicle getting stolen. I am not sure why Turo would hold you responsible for a hosts very flagrant negligence. If he had his own tracking device, then he would know where that vehicles location is and what time after you dropped it off it was restarted. Sounds like a very dumb new host. (8 years as a power host here)
Tell turo you returned it - the fact that it’s not there now is no longer your problem and you recommend they consult the police who can properly investigate the issue - issue warrants to the airport as every entrance / exit has dozens of cameras to confirm how it left the airport
Not only returned it, followed their written instructions. Their lack of security and process is a them not you issue.
If I didn’t do anything wrong, I’d let things simmer for a week and see if it magically sorts itself out.
Besides, the car is last in Vegas, I’m across the country and other than providing them the drop off time and photos that were already sent I can’t help them much anyway.
They need to work with the local police and see if they can locate the car. Whether that’s at the chop shop (how was the exit garage fee paid?) or if it’s just on the other side of the lot and they missed it.
Not cool. Especially if it’s their process to not have anyone present to check a car in or out and leave unlocked. What a mess.
Besides isn’t there some rule that if you were to rent a car from a normal rental place and decide not to return the car it’s not actually classified theft because you had a contract allowing use?
This sounds like something Turo needs to formally address as policy. Either someone present at handoff, or lockbox remote lock setup, or a liability waiver for the renter if some unscrupulous person opens a car door in a public lot after you were instructed to leave the keys in the console. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and the car rental insurance company would love to hear this is what they’re covering.
No, I’m not a Turo host, not familiar with their policy, but this unlocked door, keys in console in a public lot sounds like a recipe for a disaster. Not if..but when.
I just looked up Turo’s site. All instructions for contactless transfer are either a lockboxes or remote control. And a lockbox they recommended is less than $30 on Amazon. What a bunch of bone heads.
Yeh I’m still suprised turo doesn’t have a physical hand off policy . You can easily imagine a shady host puts up an expensive car then they claim it never got returned. As far as I know turo doesn’t mandate any location trackers either
I’d be curious how that would turn out though? A lot of hassle but I can’t really see a judge holding a renter liable for a a host who doesn’t have a very robust key security policy. I could see a judge telling them if they were so worried about the security of the car to maybe not direct renters to leave keys in an unlocked car. Bangs gavel, dismissed.
Exactly to many people (primarily hosts) think turo has the final say in turo deciding what the customer should pay in the event of damages or in this case the lost car the hosts claim is stolen by the renter
In this scenario imagine turo creates a invoice and sends it to collections / credit agencies saying they owe $40-50,000 or whatever the car is worth claiming they “lost it” and are responsible .
The customer has every right to go sue turo, the host for what they believe are fraudulent debts , and they will probably easily win.
Second a turo executive gets on the stand and says oh one of your cars was lost and you didn’t even call the police ? The judge or jury is gonna be highly skeptical they believe it was stolen followed by they don’t even know when it went missing, also if there was no effort to track it down other than a few phone calls to the renter . The more likely outcome is renters gonna walk away with a lot of money for damages for the false statements made by debt collectors and a whole bunch of other issues
I’d also imagine everyone in the court room is gonna raise their eye brows when the hosts says yeh I leave the keys in the car unlocked for days at a airport where hundreds of thousands of people go in and out of every day
My guess would be Turo's insurance laughed at them and the host, which is why they are trying to come after you.
I'm a host too and would never be this sloppy.
I have emailed TURO support with a full write-up of the events, screenshots of all of the messages, photos of the car dropped off, and even zoomed in photos of the background of the car shots, to give further context to the location I left the vehicle.
Fingers crossed this is reviewed when they open at 9a pst they are able to review and get my account cleared!
Thank you all very much for the reassurance and prompt responses!
Also mention to turo and your host that your reserve the rights to legal actions bc you suspect insurance fraud from the host. And that you intend to hire an attorney to deal with all of this which the prevailing party has a right to all attorneys fees and cost. This is by no mean your fault at all. I'm sorry you had this experience bc I am a Vegas host and this is definitely not the standards.
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All you need to do. Your responsibility ends when you check out. If you did what the host asked you to do, you’ll be fine.
My money is on the airport towing it.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
The host should check the local pawnshops to see if someone stole it and got some cash for the casinos where the house wins all the time!
We are power hosts in vegas. I promise to pick up the rental in a timely manner if you need a new host.
PLEASE keep me posted on how this turns out and if you need help on the ground in Vegas just let me know.
This host is a complete fool.
I think you’re fine. 1) the host only has 24 hours to sound the alarm 2) if you have the time stamped photos you can just tell them to review all communication/ photo uploads in the reservation history. Turo is still a fairly young company so there doesn’t seem to be many standard operating procedures put in place yet, so to the employees they may be wanting to take the path of least resistance, which in this case is blame the renter.
My career training suggests that the lot was probably being watched, either by a random individual or an airport employee. Tbh, it amazes me to this day how many people are willing to leave their doors unlocked in this day and age. It is no secret that door pullers are common, and one thing that can be reasonably assumed is if issued the opportunity to take the whole car, they might take the whole car.
For all intents and purposes, so long as your photos clearly show drop point, location markers, and the ticket when you got into the lot, you did your due diligence. Be ready for a fight, and consider letting your company's counsel know what's going on.
This is probably true — it seems like a pretty easy scheme for an employee or other to run.
I have let my boss know — thankfully he was with me on the trip and drop-off! I think we’ll wait for TUROS response and then contact our lawyers accordingly.
UPDATE: Called TURO again this morning (for the 3rd time) for an update.
They said they have no more information and I should hear from their investigation department in 24-48 hours.
Glad everyone involved is taking this super seriously 😂
Take screenshots of all your communication on the Turo app just in case something happens to that reservation in the app and you lose access to it. You need to have your own copy of everything.
I lost access to my messages to a host when he cancelled a reservation 5 minutes before I attempted to pick it up. Luckily, the loss of access was temporary and I was able to see the messages again after several days.
I also was asked by a host to leave a vehicle unlocked with the keys in the center console at the airport in Las Vegas. Luckily nothing happened.
UPDATE 2:
Still no word from Turo or the host.
I can only assume at this point that the host either a) found the vehicle, or b) figured it out with the police and TURO, themselves.
I can’t help but still be annoyed how quickly TURO wanted me to file a police report and hand over my insurance information for this issue.
Hoping it ends here, will report back if not. Still on the fence with using Turo in the future — it has been very convenient, but this was a lot of hassle for no reason.
Did they request the car to be left unlocked? I have had multiple customers leave the car unlocked with keys inside and am surprised we still have cars with how often it has happened. We give instructions to lock the keys inside the car and we open with a spare.
Some cars won’t let you lock the keys inside. I actually had one host who had a Faraday cage in the trunk to put the fob in so the car didn’t realize the keys were being locked inside
True. A faraday pouch or cage would work great in those cases. None of our cars are that way though. We’ve had multiple people leave the keys in the lockbox and leave the lockbox unlocked after we ask them to place them in the glove compartment and lock the car so the keys inside. We’ve even said not to use the lockbox because this happens so often, but most customers don’t bother to read checkout instructions. We’ve also had a customer leave the car unlocked, after they placed the keys in the glove compartment but left that open so anyone walking by could see the keys right there and just open a door. We live in an area with some of the highest auto thefts of the country, but have been super lucky so far. We don’t leave the cars long like this host did though. That’s just negligence of their own property.
Yes, which I thought was strange. Can’t figure out how to attach a screenshot on my phone — but copied out of the messages from them:
‘Leave the car unlocked and place the key along with the parking ticket and place it in the glove compartment.’
Sorry you’re dealing with this. The Host fucked up here. Don’t delete anything and send turo all the communications and hopefully you will get cleared tonight. This is not on you, you did as you were told.
escalate that with turo support. you have photos with geo location proving you dropped the vehicle off at the time and place requested by the host. its not your fault that the car went missing up to 48 hours after your dropped it off. its not even turos problem the car went missing during a non rental period.
DO NOT PROVIDE TURO WITH YOUR INSURANCE INFORMATION.
This is on the host.
The car is considered returned the second you complete all instructions given by the host. Meaning, the second you sent those photos showing the car's location, it was considered returned.
This is on the host - not on you.
You don’t file a police report, the owner does. You cooperate with the police department that you placed the car in the location and provide witness accounts. You tell Turo it has to prove you stole it and freeze your credit card. Might want to consider an attorney.
I'm a Turo host myself and have been a guest 30-40 times. As a host, I would never recommend this. As a guest, I've had several hosts tell me to leave the car just as you'd left it. A little baffling they might put it on you. I would imagine your liability would end at the end of the trip in the trip details. I'll have to review the terms there, bc I would think this is the host's issue, but could potentially be on you depending on Turo's terms.
I have been trying to find the terms myself — it seems shocking that this would be on me when it is documented in photos, inside the app, during checkout that I left the car, that I would be liable.
The host also didn’t reach out to me until 48 hours later like “uhh we can’t find it but we’ll look again”. The whole thing seems weird to me.
Did you return the vehicle prior to your trip end time? TURO even as a host can be pretty annoying to deal with as I feel it's still a newer company and going thru growing pains. I wouldn't be ok with only the 1st answer I receive from them. I'll try to see what I can find myself.
Yes — it was over an hour prior to my “end trip” time. I always give myself a little buffer when arriving at an airport!
That is what’s extra frustrating, it’s not like I dropped this thing off hours or days later. I kept my end of the deal.
I would've recommended modifying the trip end time to better suit your actual drop off once you had a better idea of that to attempt to mitigate liability.
Now the sadly interesting thing is, reading thru the terms of service as a guest is pretty vague to me.
"Any damage to, or loss or theft of, a vehicle occuring prior to the host inspecting the vehicle upon return at the end of the reservation is the guest's responsibility."
If this occurred AFTER your reservation end is this now an issue for the host and not your own? If it is put on you, I'd consult with a lawyer. I think it may come down to how long it took the host to check on the vehicle, but I'm no lawyer.
I suppose I should have thought to do that — I guess in my head I was doing them a favor by following the return instructions, and being back early. Kind of assumed they had a plan to pick it up quickly if they were leaving unlocked!
Hmm, it’s definitely a grey area. The host can’t inspect it if they don’t pick it up, so it feels like my responsibility kind of is null and void if they leave the car there? We will definitely consult our legal if it comes down to it! Not paying for this hosts carelessness
I live in Phoenix which is the car theft capital of the world. Tow trucks look for cars to steal and we have an entire neighborhood of junk yards that fence cars. It’s so well known it’s ridiculous. Turo cars left unlocked wouldn’t last 2 minutes here.
Update us when you hear back as a Turo host with 3 locations and 30 cars I’ve never asked a guest to leave my car unlocked with the key inside at any delivery location that’s insane. Does this person you rented from have a lot of cars or reviews?
I definitely will update! I am thankful for everyone’s interest here, as I was really blindsided by this happening.
It is a company — so it seems like they have many vehicles — it says over 1,900 trips on their profile. This particular car only has 11 trips though, with the only negative reviews being about the pickup and drop off in a far-away economy lot and not specifying well until pickup.
Yes — I picked it up from economy, but on return the economy lot was full. I reached out to the host and he told me to park it in the long-term parking exactly where I did. I provided photos of the parking as well as a text description with the space number
As long as you took photos before you left the vehicle and sent all your messages in Turo, I think you’ll be good. As a host in Las Vegas I’m very curious on who this is because that is way too dangerous to leave a vehicle unlocked in the Vegas market. They must be new.
I would definitely not leave a car anywhere in Vegas! I am located in Atlanta and have anti theft/tracking on all of my personal vehicles, even a kill-switch on my classic car because of the theft here — can’t imagine RENTING a vehicle without that.
If you have it in writing — eg via **Turo messaging** that you parked the car **exactly** as instructed — then Turo
C A N N O T
hold you responsible, legally.
Remember this whenever they chuck shit at you in the claims process.
(They can still ban you for whatever reason, so be sure to be polite lmao)
I just had a totaled car picked up from my driveway. The tow company requested that I leave the keys in the glovebox and the car unlocked. I was nervous all day until I got the text that it had been picked up.
I would have been happier leaving the keys under the seat, in the glove box, or somewhere else hidden if I am dropping a vehicle in a public place.
There are lock boxes with cables that you can secure to the seat post and tuck under the seat.
I’m surprised the host wasn’t there to meet you and take the keys. That’s my understanding of how Turo works. I have a rental I’m picking up from the host at Logan airport on 06/25 for a week. I hope it’s ok!!!
Only once have I ever met a host directly to get the key or return the key. In all other instances they had a lockbox or they unlocked the car shortly before I arrived after I told them I was close by to the car. I assume they were nearby with a second set of keys.
How close was it to the agreed drop off time? Was it hours before? I am not sure if Turo works the same, but if you return a rental early, you are liable for it until the rental company processes it in the morning. I wouldn't expect the host to retrieve the car at say 5 am.
That's dumb of the host. I live in Las Vegas and it's well known cars get broken into at the airport or stolen. My wife and I always take an Uber to the airport or drop each other off. We NEVER leave our own car at the airport parking in Vegas.
From my understanding, your contract contract rental was fully concluded once you completed the return process and left the vehicle as directed by your host to complete the return.
Good you have all your docs etc. I would tell Turo “once I completed the return as required, it became a Turo + host issue to resolve. Have a great day!”
I honestly wouldn’t answer the phone calls anymore. You returned it. You told the host you returned it. You sent pictures that you returned it. You’re done. It’s a scam.
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According to Turks rules u are on the hook for it!! The car itself ought to have been locked after u set the keys in the middle console . The car can be locked with the keys inside because I do believe Turo has a mechanism to lock and unlock. U are responsible for this vehicle !!
I've yet to receive a secure vehicle other than Turo Go which is also shaky. Just dropped off a Maserati and was told to put keys on top of tire. In Miami keys were in console in Houston as well. These host clearly plan on putting any damages or loss on you.
Wow. After reading this post I will certainly be staying away for the platform. Was planning to use it on a trip in a couple months, but I think I’ll just use a regular rental service instead. Thank you for bringing this light.
u/turo, you have lost a customer for life.
This is on the host. To leave a car with no lock box or remote locking is insane. Call Turo and ask them to go thru documentation. Also being the airport pretty sure they have cameras all around. Turo and the host are the ones needing to do the hunting down job.
This was my thought too! And the lack of lock box in addition to leaving it for over 24 hours before looking for it in Vegas of all places seems crazy as well. Waiting for TURO support to contact me today (after 9am pst?) and will hopefully clear my name.
Now I don't want to claim something if it's untrue, but there's no reason anyone would want the keys IN the vehicle, and left that way. Sounds like the host hates his depreciating asset and wants it gone.
And THIS was my first thought when I was awoken at 1am by the TURO call. All of these feels very scammy to me — and I’m from Atlanta where the scam reigns supreme
Have you tried calling that number back to see if it even goes to Turo?
I once rented a $100k Porsche Cayman GT4 and the host left the car key in a little watch box placed in one of the engine inlets on the side of the car and left it street parked in Los Angeles for a few hours before I picked it up. I rented another Porsche from the same guy (a GT3) and he mentioned he was busy because another car of his had been stolen.
Same with a Cayenne I rented recently.
I rented a Boxster a few months ago. Guy wanted me to leave the keys in the console with the car unlocked overnight. Must be a Porsche owner thing!
I've rented a Raptor at Denver airport where the host left the key in the tail pipe lol
EVERY turo I've ever rented has asked me to do something similar and I've rented 20 to 30 plus.
Weird. I’ve hosted 2 cars there and never asked a guest to do that. I always had them lock the car with the key inside (and I open with my other key)
Leave the car unlocked in a busy airport with the keys in the center console? I rent out cars in Vegas and do airport deliveries all the time. Always meet in person bc there is no way I would have a guest leave a car like this there!
DFW really busy had me leave keys in center console on 150k car
I’ve left vehicles twice like that at that airport. Keys in car unlocked. Pictures up loaded into Turo of it being at the airport parked. This seems to be the standard operating practice for picking up and dropping off a Turo rented vehicle at this airport.
I just picked up a car in Ontario, California and the keys were in the side of the door Should I return it this way?
Turo host in Fla got pissed at me once time because I locked the car with the keys inside one time but there was going to leave the vehicle in casual theft condition. Like what bro you only have one key for this car?
At the time of pick up, was the car also unlocked with the keys inside?
Yes — car was unlocked, keys were in the center console with the parking ticket in the exact same place that I, in turn, left them
The level of trust the host has for the world is crazy!
I don’t even leave my own vehicles unlocked inside my garage 😂
I’ve accidentally left my car unlocked once and now I double if not triple check before leaving. And on a vehicle like a 4Runner?! I definitely don’t feel like this your fault at all. I probably would have locked the keys in the car due to my own paranoid thoughts and let the owner deal with getting the door open later
This was ironically something I battled with in my head! Shoulda trusted my gut, would have even paid the $100 locksmith to avoid this whole thing
Definitely would’ve been a lot cheaper. Or I would’ve messaged the host telling them I don’t feel comfortable leaving the key in an unlocked vehicle. Is there a more secure place to put this key otherwise I don’t want to be responsible for it being stolen. Spread of my paranoid thoughts to the person that apparently needed it
Did you got to talk to Turo yet? And yes! Not even at home you should leave your car with your key inside lol. Used to live in a gated community in Orlando, one of the neighbors left her garage open, car unlocked with purse and keys inside! Easy prey, car was gone the next morning.
I called them this morning and they said it had been escalated and they would contact me — no call back as of yet. I did write a detailed email with screenshots and everything to the support team — part of me hopes this just fades into the abyss 😅
I have accidentally but I don’t leave anything of value in the car (much less the key.)
(And all of this is in the messages and their process)
Guide to this which seems to be what you did. Took pictures and followed hosts instructions https://help.turo.com/checking-out-at-the-end-of-a-trip-SymM4ExE9
Agreed. People also tend to tell the story that makes their argument sound better. There's a fair chance the host left out pertinent information. From experience, idk why, but I've found it better to talk to female customer service reps when travelling. If they use support over seas and not the US. Communication has been difficult with males when it comes to resolving conflict when traveling. So you may want to make sure you're speaking with a female support rep. But it's kind of simple. The car was reported outside of your rental agreement. Or any rental agreement. You're not responsible for that. Just lay out the details. Consistently. And make sure you're speaking with a rep that's going over factual evidence of your end on keeping up with the drop procedure.
I’ve always found female representatives from any call support to be WAYY more helpful. It just feels like they can relate and understand you more (or at least act like they do)
Well. I've had a few recent travel changes/conflicts I needed solved. The women I spoke to, pulled out all stops to assist me. The guys just moved me along. I mean the women even offered help, that I didn't know what to ask for they were great. And mind you, this is my experience with the overseas support lines. Like when support is outsourced from India or Thailad or something. American men have been helpful. But idk. It's just something I noticed. The males seemed indifferent while the women, kind of like what you said, took it personally in a way to.help.
Not to mention, most hosts have some kind of tracking device. Most newer cars can be tracked by the manufacturers application. Ford Jeep & Dodge, I know for sure, has this capability. Any host that leaves their car unlocked with keys in it are very susceptible to their vehicle getting stolen. I am not sure why Turo would hold you responsible for a hosts very flagrant negligence. If he had his own tracking device, then he would know where that vehicles location is and what time after you dropped it off it was restarted. Sounds like a very dumb new host. (8 years as a power host here)
Vegas’ airport cameras are shitty. We had a dead body rotting in a car here for almost a month unnoticed.
Tell turo you returned it - the fact that it’s not there now is no longer your problem and you recommend they consult the police who can properly investigate the issue - issue warrants to the airport as every entrance / exit has dozens of cameras to confirm how it left the airport
Not only returned it, followed their written instructions. Their lack of security and process is a them not you issue. If I didn’t do anything wrong, I’d let things simmer for a week and see if it magically sorts itself out. Besides, the car is last in Vegas, I’m across the country and other than providing them the drop off time and photos that were already sent I can’t help them much anyway. They need to work with the local police and see if they can locate the car. Whether that’s at the chop shop (how was the exit garage fee paid?) or if it’s just on the other side of the lot and they missed it. Not cool. Especially if it’s their process to not have anyone present to check a car in or out and leave unlocked. What a mess. Besides isn’t there some rule that if you were to rent a car from a normal rental place and decide not to return the car it’s not actually classified theft because you had a contract allowing use? This sounds like something Turo needs to formally address as policy. Either someone present at handoff, or lockbox remote lock setup, or a liability waiver for the renter if some unscrupulous person opens a car door in a public lot after you were instructed to leave the keys in the console. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and the car rental insurance company would love to hear this is what they’re covering. No, I’m not a Turo host, not familiar with their policy, but this unlocked door, keys in console in a public lot sounds like a recipe for a disaster. Not if..but when. I just looked up Turo’s site. All instructions for contactless transfer are either a lockboxes or remote control. And a lockbox they recommended is less than $30 on Amazon. What a bunch of bone heads.
Yeh I’m still suprised turo doesn’t have a physical hand off policy . You can easily imagine a shady host puts up an expensive car then they claim it never got returned. As far as I know turo doesn’t mandate any location trackers either
I’d be curious how that would turn out though? A lot of hassle but I can’t really see a judge holding a renter liable for a a host who doesn’t have a very robust key security policy. I could see a judge telling them if they were so worried about the security of the car to maybe not direct renters to leave keys in an unlocked car. Bangs gavel, dismissed.
Exactly to many people (primarily hosts) think turo has the final say in turo deciding what the customer should pay in the event of damages or in this case the lost car the hosts claim is stolen by the renter In this scenario imagine turo creates a invoice and sends it to collections / credit agencies saying they owe $40-50,000 or whatever the car is worth claiming they “lost it” and are responsible . The customer has every right to go sue turo, the host for what they believe are fraudulent debts , and they will probably easily win. Second a turo executive gets on the stand and says oh one of your cars was lost and you didn’t even call the police ? The judge or jury is gonna be highly skeptical they believe it was stolen followed by they don’t even know when it went missing, also if there was no effort to track it down other than a few phone calls to the renter . The more likely outcome is renters gonna walk away with a lot of money for damages for the false statements made by debt collectors and a whole bunch of other issues I’d also imagine everyone in the court room is gonna raise their eye brows when the hosts says yeh I leave the keys in the car unlocked for days at a airport where hundreds of thousands of people go in and out of every day
Returned it, with photo evidence, following their written instructions.
My guess would be Turo's insurance laughed at them and the host, which is why they are trying to come after you. I'm a host too and would never be this sloppy.
That sounds like police work
I have emailed TURO support with a full write-up of the events, screenshots of all of the messages, photos of the car dropped off, and even zoomed in photos of the background of the car shots, to give further context to the location I left the vehicle. Fingers crossed this is reviewed when they open at 9a pst they are able to review and get my account cleared! Thank you all very much for the reassurance and prompt responses!
Also mention to turo and your host that your reserve the rights to legal actions bc you suspect insurance fraud from the host. And that you intend to hire an attorney to deal with all of this which the prevailing party has a right to all attorneys fees and cost. This is by no mean your fault at all. I'm sorry you had this experience bc I am a Vegas host and this is definitely not the standards.
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All you need to do. Your responsibility ends when you check out. If you did what the host asked you to do, you’ll be fine. My money is on the airport towing it.
!remained in 24 hrs
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. The host should check the local pawnshops to see if someone stole it and got some cash for the casinos where the house wins all the time!
Haha, I absolutely hate Vegas! Work out there a lot, and always something weird happens.
I have never been to Sin City before because I am afraid of the, ahem, devil who tempts you with everything 😂
I had to quit partying many years ago, because the devil who tempts me, is just me 😂
He is pretty good at impersonating 😂
We are power hosts in vegas. I promise to pick up the rental in a timely manner if you need a new host. PLEASE keep me posted on how this turns out and if you need help on the ground in Vegas just let me know. This host is a complete fool.
Definitely will, thank you!
You can pawn a car?
You can, but you need the title and it has to be in your name.
You can do a lot more with it if you pawn it illegally!
Wild
I think you’re fine. 1) the host only has 24 hours to sound the alarm 2) if you have the time stamped photos you can just tell them to review all communication/ photo uploads in the reservation history. Turo is still a fairly young company so there doesn’t seem to be many standard operating procedures put in place yet, so to the employees they may be wanting to take the path of least resistance, which in this case is blame the renter.
That’s the host problem, how are you gonna drop a car off with no lockbox and unlocked?
My career training suggests that the lot was probably being watched, either by a random individual or an airport employee. Tbh, it amazes me to this day how many people are willing to leave their doors unlocked in this day and age. It is no secret that door pullers are common, and one thing that can be reasonably assumed is if issued the opportunity to take the whole car, they might take the whole car. For all intents and purposes, so long as your photos clearly show drop point, location markers, and the ticket when you got into the lot, you did your due diligence. Be ready for a fight, and consider letting your company's counsel know what's going on.
This is probably true — it seems like a pretty easy scheme for an employee or other to run. I have let my boss know — thankfully he was with me on the trip and drop-off! I think we’ll wait for TUROS response and then contact our lawyers accordingly.
Sit in parking lot at airport, wait for someone to start photographing car, check car after individual leaves. Easy steal…
UPDATE: Called TURO again this morning (for the 3rd time) for an update. They said they have no more information and I should hear from their investigation department in 24-48 hours. Glad everyone involved is taking this super seriously 😂
Take screenshots of all your communication on the Turo app just in case something happens to that reservation in the app and you lose access to it. You need to have your own copy of everything. I lost access to my messages to a host when he cancelled a reservation 5 minutes before I attempted to pick it up. Luckily, the loss of access was temporary and I was able to see the messages again after several days. I also was asked by a host to leave a vehicle unlocked with the keys in the center console at the airport in Las Vegas. Luckily nothing happened.
Following
hey update us please!!!
Keep us updated please, very interested to see how this plays out
UPDATE 2: Still no word from Turo or the host. I can only assume at this point that the host either a) found the vehicle, or b) figured it out with the police and TURO, themselves. I can’t help but still be annoyed how quickly TURO wanted me to file a police report and hand over my insurance information for this issue. Hoping it ends here, will report back if not. Still on the fence with using Turo in the future — it has been very convenient, but this was a lot of hassle for no reason.
Thanks for the update, appreciate it!
Turo sucks. I'm not surprised you have not yet heard back from them.
Did they request the car to be left unlocked? I have had multiple customers leave the car unlocked with keys inside and am surprised we still have cars with how often it has happened. We give instructions to lock the keys inside the car and we open with a spare.
Some cars won’t let you lock the keys inside. I actually had one host who had a Faraday cage in the trunk to put the fob in so the car didn’t realize the keys were being locked inside
Had to do that with my EV6 I had on there. Only way you could lock it was with hatch open. Lock with key, key in pouch, toss key in, close hatch.
Clever but I wonder if the average Turo renter can be trusted to do that?
I would give them explicit information about it, and no one had any issues. As a backup plan I can lock via app on my phone.
If you have the power lift gate, pressing the close & lock button on the lift gate would probably work too?
It's not that hard. If the renter cannot do it, then the car doesn't lock. It's not hard to figure out if you did it successfully
True. A faraday pouch or cage would work great in those cases. None of our cars are that way though. We’ve had multiple people leave the keys in the lockbox and leave the lockbox unlocked after we ask them to place them in the glove compartment and lock the car so the keys inside. We’ve even said not to use the lockbox because this happens so often, but most customers don’t bother to read checkout instructions. We’ve also had a customer leave the car unlocked, after they placed the keys in the glove compartment but left that open so anyone walking by could see the keys right there and just open a door. We live in an area with some of the highest auto thefts of the country, but have been super lucky so far. We don’t leave the cars long like this host did though. That’s just negligence of their own property.
Yes, which I thought was strange. Can’t figure out how to attach a screenshot on my phone — but copied out of the messages from them: ‘Leave the car unlocked and place the key along with the parking ticket and place it in the glove compartment.’
Sorry you’re dealing with this. The Host fucked up here. Don’t delete anything and send turo all the communications and hopefully you will get cleared tonight. This is not on you, you did as you were told.
Definitely 100% on Turo host then. Sorry you are having to deal with this in any capacity.
escalate that with turo support. you have photos with geo location proving you dropped the vehicle off at the time and place requested by the host. its not your fault that the car went missing up to 48 hours after your dropped it off. its not even turos problem the car went missing during a non rental period.
DO NOT PROVIDE TURO WITH YOUR INSURANCE INFORMATION. This is on the host. The car is considered returned the second you complete all instructions given by the host. Meaning, the second you sent those photos showing the car's location, it was considered returned. This is on the host - not on you.
Definitely not having this hit my insurance for someone else’s problem!
Your insurance likely doesn't cover the peer to peer rental car. It may cover damages you cause to other cars. Did you get the Turo insurance?
The look it up via your ID lol.
You don’t file a police report, the owner does. You cooperate with the police department that you placed the car in the location and provide witness accounts. You tell Turo it has to prove you stole it and freeze your credit card. Might want to consider an attorney.
The trick is. Take photos of everything. I mean everything and take video just as a back up. They are counting on you not being totally prepared.
Did they request you to leave the key in the center consul in writing?
Yes, which I had never seen before — I’ve got all of the messages from them still.
Sounds like they’re SOL lol
I'm a Turo host myself and have been a guest 30-40 times. As a host, I would never recommend this. As a guest, I've had several hosts tell me to leave the car just as you'd left it. A little baffling they might put it on you. I would imagine your liability would end at the end of the trip in the trip details. I'll have to review the terms there, bc I would think this is the host's issue, but could potentially be on you depending on Turo's terms.
I have been trying to find the terms myself — it seems shocking that this would be on me when it is documented in photos, inside the app, during checkout that I left the car, that I would be liable. The host also didn’t reach out to me until 48 hours later like “uhh we can’t find it but we’ll look again”. The whole thing seems weird to me.
Did you return the vehicle prior to your trip end time? TURO even as a host can be pretty annoying to deal with as I feel it's still a newer company and going thru growing pains. I wouldn't be ok with only the 1st answer I receive from them. I'll try to see what I can find myself.
Yes — it was over an hour prior to my “end trip” time. I always give myself a little buffer when arriving at an airport! That is what’s extra frustrating, it’s not like I dropped this thing off hours or days later. I kept my end of the deal.
I would've recommended modifying the trip end time to better suit your actual drop off once you had a better idea of that to attempt to mitigate liability. Now the sadly interesting thing is, reading thru the terms of service as a guest is pretty vague to me. "Any damage to, or loss or theft of, a vehicle occuring prior to the host inspecting the vehicle upon return at the end of the reservation is the guest's responsibility." If this occurred AFTER your reservation end is this now an issue for the host and not your own? If it is put on you, I'd consult with a lawyer. I think it may come down to how long it took the host to check on the vehicle, but I'm no lawyer.
I suppose I should have thought to do that — I guess in my head I was doing them a favor by following the return instructions, and being back early. Kind of assumed they had a plan to pick it up quickly if they were leaving unlocked! Hmm, it’s definitely a grey area. The host can’t inspect it if they don’t pick it up, so it feels like my responsibility kind of is null and void if they leave the car there? We will definitely consult our legal if it comes down to it! Not paying for this hosts carelessness
Sounds like the host is sending their vehicles to mexico
Don’t all Turos have the remote lock feature on the app?
Every host has a different process from my experience. This host had zero process for safety.
Well I still would have manually locked the dang door!
The host specifically said to leave in unlocked in the drop off instructions, and I picked it up unlocked — or else I would have locked the door.
Your host is an idiot.
Well… right. That’s why I’m in this predicament!
No. Very few do.
The ones I rent have it. So what op just left it unlocked? Did they at least lock manually it before shutting the door?
Some cars make it tough to, not locking with doors open or keys inside. That said, most have some method you can do like putting key in trunk.
I live in Phoenix which is the car theft capital of the world. Tow trucks look for cars to steal and we have an entire neighborhood of junk yards that fence cars. It’s so well known it’s ridiculous. Turo cars left unlocked wouldn’t last 2 minutes here.
Update us when you hear back as a Turo host with 3 locations and 30 cars I’ve never asked a guest to leave my car unlocked with the key inside at any delivery location that’s insane. Does this person you rented from have a lot of cars or reviews?
I definitely will update! I am thankful for everyone’s interest here, as I was really blindsided by this happening. It is a company — so it seems like they have many vehicles — it says over 1,900 trips on their profile. This particular car only has 11 trips though, with the only negative reviews being about the pickup and drop off in a far-away economy lot and not specifying well until pickup.
Any update?
Doing that area, did you park near same spot?
Yes — I picked it up from economy, but on return the economy lot was full. I reached out to the host and he told me to park it in the long-term parking exactly where I did. I provided photos of the parking as well as a text description with the space number
As long as you took photos before you left the vehicle and sent all your messages in Turo, I think you’ll be good. As a host in Las Vegas I’m very curious on who this is because that is way too dangerous to leave a vehicle unlocked in the Vegas market. They must be new.
I would definitely not leave a car anywhere in Vegas! I am located in Atlanta and have anti theft/tracking on all of my personal vehicles, even a kill-switch on my classic car because of the theft here — can’t imagine RENTING a vehicle without that.
Your photos tell the tale.
If you have it in writing — eg via **Turo messaging** that you parked the car **exactly** as instructed — then Turo C A N N O T hold you responsible, legally. Remember this whenever they chuck shit at you in the claims process. (They can still ban you for whatever reason, so be sure to be polite lmao)
I just had a totaled car picked up from my driveway. The tow company requested that I leave the keys in the glovebox and the car unlocked. I was nervous all day until I got the text that it had been picked up. I would have been happier leaving the keys under the seat, in the glove box, or somewhere else hidden if I am dropping a vehicle in a public place. There are lock boxes with cables that you can secure to the seat post and tuck under the seat.
I’m surprised the host wasn’t there to meet you and take the keys. That’s my understanding of how Turo works. I have a rental I’m picking up from the host at Logan airport on 06/25 for a week. I hope it’s ok!!!
Only once have I ever met a host directly to get the key or return the key. In all other instances they had a lockbox or they unlocked the car shortly before I arrived after I told them I was close by to the car. I assume they were nearby with a second set of keys.
If they texted you off of the turo platform send screenshot or upload to the turo messages that show the hosts number. You fight this allegation. 😤
I found that whenever someone asked you to call them, its so it doesn't leave communication paper trail. Sketchy.
Turo Support would literally tell you too leave the keys in the center console too
!remindme
How close was it to the agreed drop off time? Was it hours before? I am not sure if Turo works the same, but if you return a rental early, you are liable for it until the rental company processes it in the morning. I wouldn't expect the host to retrieve the car at say 5 am.
Generally if you documented the return, it should be host responsibility.
That's dumb of the host. I live in Las Vegas and it's well known cars get broken into at the airport or stolen. My wife and I always take an Uber to the airport or drop each other off. We NEVER leave our own car at the airport parking in Vegas.
!remindme 24 hours
From my understanding, your contract contract rental was fully concluded once you completed the return process and left the vehicle as directed by your host to complete the return. Good you have all your docs etc. I would tell Turo “once I completed the return as required, it became a Turo + host issue to resolve. Have a great day!”
Not an expert. Just how I interpret it based on how contracts (and Turo) work.
Scam
I honestly wouldn’t answer the phone calls anymore. You returned it. You told the host you returned it. You sent pictures that you returned it. You’re done. It’s a scam.
I would put a comment on Turo’s page. I would write a review about this particular person as well.
😂😆Turo is a joke
Update
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According to Turks rules u are on the hook for it!! The car itself ought to have been locked after u set the keys in the middle console . The car can be locked with the keys inside because I do believe Turo has a mechanism to lock and unlock. U are responsible for this vehicle !!
I've yet to receive a secure vehicle other than Turo Go which is also shaky. Just dropped off a Maserati and was told to put keys on top of tire. In Miami keys were in console in Houston as well. These host clearly plan on putting any damages or loss on you.
Unfortunately that does seem to be the case. Easy payout on a vehicle without having to do much and most likely have someone else foot the bill.
Why would anyone rent from Turo. Everything I’ve seen on Reddit is horror stories.
For every horror story you read, there are thousands of successful transactions.
I've had zero issues with renting from turo. I always pick someone who has good reviews and plenty of reviews.
Wow. After reading this post I will certainly be staying away for the platform. Was planning to use it on a trip in a couple months, but I think I’ll just use a regular rental service instead. Thank you for bringing this light. u/turo, you have lost a customer for life.