Uber?

Quote: Evenbob

When I was in the cab biz I had a fleet
of 40 cabs. There was 65 in the whole
county. I cannot understand how any
of these Uber drivers are making any
real money, many of them sit for long
periods with no rides.

You make money by using it as part of multiple streams of income. I've been doing some doordash delivering. So has a buddy I referred. You make $60-100 for a few hours. The busiest hours. You find another hustle to do in the other hours. This is life for intelligent misfits who are getting up in years and have no tolerance left for corporate nonsense.

This might be it for me and Uber. Guy in
his 50's picks me up Friday in a 9 year old
rattle trap Chevy. We have an OK talk on
the 8 min ride.

I get home later and there's a CC alert that
they refused an $80 charge from Uber. I
learned last year never keep more than
$25 on the card I use for rides. Sure enough,
this driver had sent pics of old stains on his
back seat, that I saw when I got in, and blamed
it on me.

I live in a very affluent neighborhood, but I'm
grandfathered in, my house isn't a new McMansion
that starts at $400K, it's a 170 year old farmhouse.
But you can't see it from the road, so this guy figures
the old guy in the nice neighborhood gets the hit.

I raised holy hell with Uber because this exact same
thing happened last year. I log on today and oops,
they made a mistake and took off the charge.

That's it for me, I took a Lyft home. Way newer cars,
the drivers are vetted, it's just takes longer to get
one because there are fewer of them. Screw Uber,
enough already.

Quote: Evenbob

This might be it for me and Uber. Guy in
his 50's picks me up Friday in a 9 year old
rattle trap Chevy. We have an OK talk on
the 8 min ride.

I get home later and there's a CC alert that
they refused an $80 charge from Uber. I
learned last year never keep more than
$25 on the card I use for rides. Sure enough,
this driver had sent pics of old stains on his
back seat, that I saw when I got in, and blamed
it on me.

I have taken to photographing rental cars before I take them. Just takes a minute. The last one reeked of stinky wine.

Quote: petroglyph

I have taken to photographing rental cars before I take them. Just takes a minute. The last one reeked of stinky wine.

It's really worth it to have a couple cards
with very little credit left on them. I like
to get a new card with a low amount,
like $200, run it down to $50 and just
make the min payments.

Quote: Evenbob

It's really worth it to have a couple cards
with very little credit left on them. I like
to get a new card with a low amount,
like $200, run it down to $50 and just
make the min payments.

I assume you mean credit card not debit? I didn't know I could rent a car with that low a credit line?

We keep a limited balance on our debit card, figuring if we get ripped off, it will only be a small amount.

I was just reading last months AARP magazine about the dark web and how so much credit info/ ID and personal info can be bought for less than ten dollars by crooks.

Crooks often prefer older people who are slower to be digitally savvy, and have better credit.

Quote: petroglyph

I assume you mean credit card not debit? I didn't know I could rent a car with that low a credit line?
.

From Avis/Budget they put a $200
hold on the card, so I keep it at $205.
Always use a CC, debit cards are frowned
on at rental car joints.

Quote: petroglyph

I have taken to photographing rental cars before I take them. Just takes a minute. The last one reeked of stinky wine.

It’s reasonably common to get scammed for excess charges with rental car companies. I always take photos/video of the exterior, interiors etc before driving out to avoid them claiming damage after dropping it back. Also take a photo of the bill and fuel gauge after filling up just prior to drop off. Common for them to claim you left the tank half empty.

At the end of the day if you have some evidence and they refuse to reverse the charge you can just go to your bank and request a charge back. Same result just a bit extra inconvenience and running around. It looks like that’s exactly what’s going to happen to AVIS when they likely refuse to refund me the cost of the faulty GPS unit I rented in August (yes I know I should just download the map in google instead).

Quote: Evenbob

From Avis/Budget they put a $200
hold on the card, so I keep it at $205.
Always use a CC, debit cards are frowned
on at rental car joints.

A few of us at work were talking and I mentioned to use credit cards not debit. One guy got huffy saying "what's the difference." He got mad when I explained how much more legal advantage you had with credit. He got madder.

Same guy did not understand betting the no-safety or other limited payouts. Did not get that winning $10 eleven times was better than winning $100 once. Blew cash on scratch off tix. Hit one once big, guess where the winnings went. Oh well, can't save the world.

Quote: AZDuffman

He got mad when I explained how much more legal advantage you had with credit. He got madder.

The biggest thing with a CC and car rental
is, Visa and MC have car rental insurance
that's included. Usually covers damage up
to $50K. The rental place by law has to
to carry liability insurance on their fleet.
So you're covered for everything.

Debit cards offer no insurance, so they put you
through the ringer if you use one.

Quote: Evenbob

The biggest thing with a CC and car rental
is, Visa and MC have car rental insurance
that's included. Usually covers damage up
to $50K. The rental place by law has to
to carry liability insurance on their fleet.
So you're covered for everything.

Debit cards offer no insurance, so they put you
through the ringer if you use one.

Very good point. The truth is you really shouldn't be using debit cards for anything other than taking cash out from a bank. Purchases with a debit cards open you up to the possibility of liability that doesn't exist with credit cards.