Fluid Market Inc

Thank you, Ms***, for your concernAs we explained in our correspondence after you expressed your frustration, Fluid is a Marketplace appWe provide a platform for peer to peer rentalsIn this instance a lender of a privately owned vehicle decided to change their pricing structure on
their personal listing on the app. Fluid typically does not alert users of these types of changes since they're limited to specific vehicles and are very much on a case by case basis. Fluid has thousands of autonomous lenders across the platform that have a variety of vehicles, rules and fee structures. The great thing about the Fluid marketplace is that you, the renter, have freedom to select a vehicle and lender that meet your needs. If the mileage charge of one vehicle is too high, you are welcome to browse the platform to find a different vehicle that meets your needs and budget. In this instance, you chose this vehicle and pricing structure was confirmed by you on your mobile device when you confirmed your reservation and before you started the reservation. The Fluid Terms and Fluid App require that borrowers review the Additional Charges section prior to confirming each reservationI have attached the Additional Charges for the item you had rented during Reservation #*** which I believe was the catalyst for your frustrationThe Lender clearly informed you prior to the time your rental began the new mileage charges for the vehicle but you elected to continue with the reservation. The charge summary, including additional mileage fees, are displayed on both the initial description page and then again on the Reserve Item page for full disclosure and transparency of expected charges. We appreciate your feedback and are sorry that you had a negative experience with this particular lender. We are a community-sourced app and strive to maintain a safe platform where transactions occur with integrity and transparencyWe apologize that this was not your experience but the charges that you incurred were disclosed appropriately prior to the time that you confirmed and began your reservation

The Fluid platform works like [redacted] and [redacted].  A company or person places their items/vehicle up on the Fluid platform and allows others to borrow their vehicle.  The particular borrower can establish rules about how their vehicle is used (e.g. some vehicles cannot leave the state, some vehicles have unlimited mileage, some vehicles prohibit smoking in the car, etc.).  There may be some days of the week or times of a month when rental prices may be higher which is why Fluid requires that all fees are clearly disclosed to borrowers BEFORE a reservation is confirmed.  This is similar to hotel room prices during peak season or off-season rental rates.  Rental rates are variable across most industries.A borrower can go on to the Fluid platform and search for a vehicle that meets their budget, timing and restriction needs.  Some owners charge different rates for weekdays, some charge mileage charges, some lenders have daily rates and some have weekly rates, some lenders charge more in the summer than in the winter. The marketplace has thousands of lenders who each set their own pricing and rules. The rules for each item are very clearly laid out during the search process so as to avoid surprises.  In this case, Ms. [redacted] searched for vehicles, found one that met her specifications and chose to rent that vehicle. Ms. [redacted] was able to look at the restrictions, fees and mileage charges for her selected vehicle. Prior to confirming her reservation, Ms. [redacted] received a summary of charges that detailed the estimated total cost of her reservation including a summary of additional fees.  The summary of possible additional charges is attached hereto.  Ms. [redacted] was charged the fees set forth in her reservation summary and also charged the mileage fees disclosed in the reservation summary.  The assessed fees did not change during the reservation- they stayed the same from the time she confirmed her reservation until the reservation ended. If the owner of the vehicle decides to increase the mileage fee after the completed reservation because of increased maintenance costs, demand for the vehicle, etc., the user can do that and those fees will be posted so that the next time a user completes a search for a vehicle, those fees will be displayed so that users can make informed decisions prior to renting a vehicle from a particular lender.  The lender is responsible for disclosing the fees associated with a rental.  The borrower is responsible for reading the listed fees during the search process.  In an effort to make sure that each borrower is aware of the possible fees that will be charged, Fluid requires a final consent BEFORE a reservation is confirmed that displays the potential fees (even subjective fees) as a step in the confirmation process.Our hope is that this description provides greater clarity about Fluid and the disclosure process.  We are happy to provide further clarification if needed. To reiterate, [redacted] agreed to the fees for this transaction BEFORE she confirmed the reservation.  Fluid is a marketplace, like [redacted] or [redacted].  Fluid doesn't set any prices or control the pricing strategy of lenders.  The lender sets the pricing structure, which Fluid requires is clearly disclosed to the borrower.  In this instance, all fees were clearly disclosed as can be seen by the attached screen shot. The borrower in this instance was charged the fees that were disclosed during the search, that were again displayed at the time the reservation was confirmed, and the actual fees match the information that was included in the borrower’s final receipt.  The fees did not change during the reservation.  Thank you for the opportunity to resolve this matter. Tell us why here...

Complaint: 12630004
I am rejecting this response because:I have correspondence from the lender stating that Fluid changed the policy and I have correspondence from Fluid saying the lender changed policy.  Don’t you think if you are going to have an open marketplace that you ought to at least set some guidelines and rules.  Or a policy that alerts users if there is to be a change in pricing. The additional details box was in gray font for at least one month prior to it going into effect. A font change is all that was made to alert users. The additional details were not active during the time it was grayed out therefore you should not be allowed to arbitrarily one day without warning decide to change the policy details with a mere font change, no matter who the decision is up to. I think if Fluid was a real community sharing company, then Fluid should care to share information with regards to policy changes and not let the lenders be shady with the information they wish to inform us on. Fluid should step in, and up, and be the responsible party that alerts users to the potential that the individual lenders now have the option to change prices. Speaking specifically about my case.I have been a faithful user of Fluid up until this. Had I been alerted from the start, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Also, had Fluid truly cared they could have pressured the lender to not press with the charges based on me being a great customer. If they really cared about the community, I think they would have done more. The stance Fluid is taking by pointing fingers at a lender and the lender pointing fingers at Fluid should show just about anyone what kind of company Fluid and it’s lenders are running. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]