Lyft, Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
 
 
[redacted].   They're incorrect about their "communication"  boilerplate responses that say the same thing or work only as continuation filler is not "communication.  
 
While I appreciate their payment for the work in question I still must regard their response as lacking full disclosure of the actual circumstances.   Prior to this I was told in email: As follows (screenshots can be provided if requested)Email 1: -----Date: May 13, 2017 04:44:59 amMileage: 126.88 milesTime: 113 minutes, 47 secondsAfter further review with our risk team, we will be unable to honor the payout for the flagged trip in question. In addition, we will be offsetting a total of $142.67 from future earnings for previously prearranged ride(s). Please note, under the Terms of Service, Lyft reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of Ride Fees if it believes that you have attempted to defraud or abuse Lyft or Lyft’s payment systems.Moving forward, it is important to never prearrange rides with passengers as any attempt to defraud Lyft or Riders on the Lyft Platform or in connection with your provision of Services could put your account at risk of deactivation.[redacted]-----
I responded explaining that they do need to pay me,  they need to explain further why they believe I've done something I had not (misuse the system).   I sent several responses more,  and after 3 days I receive another response. -----[redacted] (Lyft)May 16, 12:55 PM PDTHi [redacted],We regret to inform you that after additional consideration we are unable to honor the payout for the aforementioned flagged trips. To reiterate, Lyft reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of ride fees if it believes that you have attempted to defraud or abuse Lyft or Lyft’s payment systems.Moving forward, any attempt to defraud Lyft or Lyft riders, or in connection with your provision of services, could put your account at risk of deactivation.[redacted]Lyft Support Representative-----
 
I again asked for clarification and explained that they can't simply take my money or not pay me.   I messaged on twitter / facebook / and filed more support tickets.  On twitter I received this response:  
 
-----
 
[redacted] Follow MoreReplying to [redacted]Thank you for reaching out to us about this. This decision has been reviewed thoroughly by our Risk Team and will remain final.1:52 PM - 20 May 2017
 
-----
 
This suggests that the decision was made,  in finality, and they are not going to pay me.   So no further email communication until I file another support ticket.  I get someone named [redacted]:  
 
-----
[redacted] (Lyft)May 22, 5:51 PM PDTHi [redacted],Thanks for reaching out to us.I understand that you have pay concerns and I've reviewed your profile. I see that a team has been communicating with you. They'll get in touch with you for any updates or if they need more information.For the meantime, if you have any concerns about connectivity, please don't hesitate to tell me so that I can further assist you.Thank you for your time! Have a good one!Best,--[redacted]Lyft Support Representative[redacted]
 
-----
 
They claim they've been communicating with me,  but I believe they have an incorrect definition of communication.   Sending someone an email saying "we've determined we're not going to pay you,  because we're not paying you,  because we reserve the right based on arbitrary undefined terms, that is,  our beliefs"   is not communication.    
 
I receive no further email communication  until the 25th where in another final review (how many times can you make a final review anyhow?) 
 
-----
 
[redacted] (Lyft)May 25, 2:57 PM PDTHi [redacted],Thank you for your patience and follow up.After a final review with our risk team, we will honor the payout for the flagged trip in question. Please note: Lyft reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of ride fees if we believe you have attempted to defraud or abuse Lyft or Lyft’s payment systems.I went ahead and submitted a bonus to your account in the amount of $292.67, so you should be seeing this included in your earnings in your Lyft app within the next 2 to 3 days. If you don't see it by then, reply directly to this email thread and I can check on it for you.Moving forward, any attempt to defraud Lyft or Lyft riders, or in connection with your provision of services, could put your account at risk of deactivation.Regards,[redacted]Lyft Support Representative[redacted]
 
-----
 
 
Well I guess they decided to pay me.  I'm glad for this.  I can actually afford to pay my car payment on time now.   Good on you Lyft.  Except this isn't the crux of the problem.   Being paid is a big deal,  and the major part of my complaint,  but hardly the entirety.   Simply saying you reserve the right to NOT pay someone doesn't give you said right.   The refusal to communicate and then LIE about said communication is not acceptable to those who use Lyft either as riders or drivers.  To find this complaint resolved you need to ensure that future communication,  not just with me,  but with all riders and drivers,  ensuring that we,  as drivers or riders,  have the expectation met of full disclosure in resolution practices involving disputes that Lyft or we the clients have with the product.   This is the only resolution I will find acceptable.   Payment is part of this,  and again I appreciate you finally coming around and realizing your mistake.  I do not,  however,  find your response acceptable as I do find it offensive as a consumer of the Lyft platform, to be called a fraud,  or to be accused of misusing the system.   You need to reexamine your policy and approach in dealing with matters such as these.   
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2016/01/08) */
We are in receipt of the December 23, 2015 correspondence regarding Revdex.com case number 12101003. Ms. [redacted] complaint concerns a referral bonus which she did not receive. [redacted] wrote to Support on November 9th. On November 9th, we were in...

correspondence with [redacted] and informed her that she was not eligible for the referral bonus. Ms. [redacted] friend did not apply using their referral code, and instead used another user's referral code, which means that [redacted] is not eligible for the referral bonus. At this time, our policy does not allow us to honor any retroactive referrals coming in from email correspondence as our referral process is automated. It is imperative that all driver referrals have the referral code entered correctly before the application is submitted for consideration. In the future, [redacted] should make sure to have any new friends use her driver referral code when first applying. As we have further explained the referral process, we consider this matter resolved.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 14, 2016/01/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
[redacted] didn't put anyone else as a referral they put some one else for the referral that [redacted] do not know. we both tried to tell them that there was a mistake . [redacted] did not know about lyft until I told her I was there when she put the application. and I seen her put my code in [redacted] said they gave the bouns to someone she do not know. and she has emailed them about this
Final Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2016/01/18) */
We are in receipt of the January 12, 2016 consumer rebuttal in Revdex.com case number [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] friend did not use her referral code to sign up and instead used another driver's referral code in the driver application. At this time, our policy does not allow us to honor retroactive referrals. In the future, [redacted] should make sure that any new friends she refers use her referral code in their application. We consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case #[redacted]. [redacted]’s complaint concerns a damage fee that she has incurred on the Lyft platform.Before a user can access the Lyft platform, she must agree to Lyft's Terms of Service. The Terms of Service appear when the user first signs up with Lyft, and the...

new user must click that he/she "accepts" the terms before he/she can continue to use the service.Lyft's Terms of Service state: “Damage Fee: In the event that a Driver reports to Lyft that a Rider has in any manner materially damaged the Driver's vehicle, Rider agrees to pay a ‘Damage Charge’ of up to $250 depending on the extent of the damage (as determined by Lyft in its sole discretion), which shall constitute full payment for Driver's cost of repairing or cleaning the vehicle, or otherwise remediating the damage. The Damage Charge shall be transferred to Driver. Lyft reserves the right (but is not obligated) to verify or otherwise require documentation of damages prior to processing the Damage Charge.”[redacted] acknowledged that Lyft may charge her credit card for damage caused by her use of the Lyft platform when she accepted Lyft's Terms of Service.As a one time exception, we have refunded the damage fee in question. Depending on [redacted]'s bank, it may take 3-5 business days to process the refund.As we have clarified our damage policy, we consider this matter resolved.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:They send E-mail, but I did not confirm their refund to my account.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/08) */
We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint #XXXXXXXX. Ms. [redacted] wrote into support about a pre-authorization hold on her account on August 3, 2015.
The $25 was a pre-authorization hold. This was not a charge. The hold was used to verify the payment...

method, to ensure that the ride cost will be covered, and to protect against unauthorized behavior. The ride amount was less than $25, and our system released the difference of $16.82 back to Ms. [redacted]'s account on August 3, 2015.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: Lyft neglected to address the lack of obvious access via phone support and the haphazard way correspondence is ONLY carried out via email. It is difficult to resolve a support issue strictly through email. It is highly annoying to have to rehash the support issue with a different agent every time. Also, there is no obvious phone number to call. You have to dig through their help page to find a "CallMe" button that says it is only for Express lay issues. Please Lyft, out an obvious phone support link on your help page. People like to talk to people. There is something to be said for hearing someone's voice. So much is said through inflection of tone and it is a ton easier if you don't have to explain everything over ten times
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 16, 2016/01/22) */
We are in receipt of the November 16, 2015 correspondence regarding Revdex.com complaint number XXXXXXXX. Mr. [redacted]'s complaint concerns a ride fare he incurred when he had ride credits available on his account. On November 3rd, Mr. [redacted]...

wrote to Support. Support confirmed Mr. [redacted]'s ride credit had been applied to his ride fare and clarified that although Mr. [redacted] had multiple ride credits available, only one ride credit can be applied per ride. We have since been in correspondence with Mr. [redacted] and have provided him with additional ride credit. We consider this matter resolved.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 18, 2016/01/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
It took months for me to get a response from Lyft, and I deserve compensation. Lyft said in their resolution that I have been provided with a credit which is not true, I have received no such credit from the company.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 20, 2016/01/29) */
We are in receipt of the January 29, 2016 consumer rebuttal in Revdex.com case number XXXXXXXX. Mr. [redacted] was granted $10 in ride credit on December 3rd. This credit expired on December 18th, however, we have extended the expiration of the ride credit. Mr. [redacted] can view his available ride credit under the 'Payment' section in the Lyft app. We consider this matter resolved.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 22, 2016/02/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
After all this inconvenience and waste of time on my part I think I deserve more than $10, I would like a credit of $50 and I will then consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case #[redacted]. Ms. [redacted]’s complaint concerns the cost of a ride she took on the Lyft platform.Ms. [redacted] requested a ride review on July 24, 2017. Our agents have since been in correspondence with Ms. [redacted] to inform her that her ride included 75% percent...

Prime Time.Additionally, our agents informed Ms. [redacted] that passengers who enter exact pickup and drop off locations will see the total price shown up front before requesting the ride. This upfront cost includes Prime Time pricing. Nevertheless, as a one time exception, our agents refunded the Prime Time component of the fees in full.As such, we consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case [redacted]. **. [redacted]'s complaint concerns his rental deposit and other rental charges he incurred with [redacted] through Lyft's rental program.**. [redacted] wrote into Support on June 30, 2017 regarding his rental deposit. Our agents were in correspondence with **....

[redacted] the same day. Our agents continued to correspond with **. [redacted] to advise that the reimbursement process for the rental deposit can take one to two payment cycles for the system to process automatically. Our agents have since followed up with **. [redacted] to confirm that his rental deposit was automatically paid out with his last weekly earnings. Our agents also informed **. [redacted] that the rental charges he incurred reflected each day the rental vehicle was reserved, per his rental agreement.As we have returned the rental deposit and clarified the rental charges for **. [redacted], we consider this matter resolved.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/24) */
We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case #XXXXXXXX. Mr. [redacted] has requested that we delete his account and credit card from our system. Due to the nature of our business and to protect against possible fraudulent use, we are unable to...

completely delete his account. Our Information Retention policies that Mr. [redacted] agreed to can be viewed here: https://www.lyft.com/terms. We have deactivated his account per his request which means it can no longer be used by our system. In regards to his credit card information, we do not store any of our user's credit card information in our system. All credit card information is secured and encrypted via our third-party payment processing company, Stripe. Mr. [redacted] can find additional information on Stripe's security policy at https://stripe.com/help/security. We would recommend that he contact Stripe about deleting his credit card data since we don't have it on file and can't accommodate this request.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/05/31) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The response, "Due to the nature of our business and to protect against possible fraudulent use, we are unable to completely delete his account", makes no sense. Clearly, it is not that they are UNABLE to delete my account, it is that they are UNWILLING. I am no longer using their services (due to the fact that I had problems with it from the moment I started and received no replies back from their customer service department) and I want my account deleted - not just "deactivated". How are they protecting against the "possible fraudulent use" of my account if it is deleted?
In regard to Lyft's Terms of Services, I have re-read them and find nothing that states they will not or can not delete my account upon my request. The only reference to account termination seems to be this:
"16. Term and Termination
This Agreement is effective upon your creation of a User account, as amended by any modifications made pursuant to Section 1. You may discontinue your use of the Lyft Platform or participation in the Services at any time, for any reason. We may suspend or deactivate your User account (either as a Rider and/or Driver), or revoke your permission to access the Lyft Platform, at any time, for any reason, upon notice to you. We reserve the right to refuse access to the Lyft Platform to any User for any reason not prohibited by law. Either party may terminate the Agreement for any reason upon written notice to the other party. Sections 1, 4 (with respect to the license), 6-11 and 13-21 shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement."
The line "You may discontinue your use of the Lyft Platform or participation in the Services at any time, for any reason." seems to be all that addresses this, and this is very vague. So in discontinuing my use of Lyft, I would like my account deleted. Again, WHY are they unwilling to accommodate this request?
In regard to my credit card information, I understand that it is not stored locally with Lyft. And I have reached to Stripe regarding this matter and have received no response. However, Stripe is a third-party payment processing company whose services Lyft has acquired. They say so right here in their response: "All credit card information is secured and encrypted via OUR third-party payment processing company, Stripe." I have capitalized OUR for emphasis. If I would like my credit card information removed, why can't Lyft contact THEIR third-part payment processing company Stripe, and see to it that it is removed?
I am flabbergasted by Lyft's unwillingness to make this happen.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2015/07/14) */
We are in receipt of Mr [redacted]'s rebuttal to Revdex.com complaint case #XXXXXXXX. Mr [redacted] has denied that he made a statement concerning not receiving replies from us. In his rebuttal to our initial response on May 31, 2015, he wrote the following: "I am no longer using their services (due to the fact that I had problems with it from the moment I started and received no replies back from their customer service department)". As we have stated before, we have responded to all of Mr [redacted]'s correspondence and consider this claim to be false. We have made no accusations in this situation but are responding to Mr [redacted]'s claims. In regards to his statements about Stripe and their handling of his sensitive information, we recommend that Mr. [redacted] take a moment to familiarize himself with their security policies. He can find them in their Help Center at https://stripe.com/help/security. Hopefully this will help explain how his information is handled and the security procedures undertaken to protect him from fraud. As we do not store his credit card information and have had to defend ourselves against baseless accusations, we consider this Revdex.com claim to be unnecessary and the issue resolved.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 18, 2015/07/20) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As a point of clarification:
On 5/20/15 I wrote: "I have continued to email back and forth with them and continue to get the same generic response."
On 5/31/15 I wrote: I am no longer using their services (due to the fact that I had problems with it from the moment I started and received no replies back from their customer service department) and I want my account deleted - not just "deactivated"."
In saying I have received "no replies back from their customer service department" I am referring to the fact that all the replies were the same generic, cookie-cutter response, none of which did anything to resolve my concerns.
This should have been self-evident based on my 5/20/15 statement and the fact that I referred to back and forth emailing with Lyft.
Clearly this back and forth via the Revdex.com is doing nothing to resolve the issue at hand. It was my hope that the Revdex.com would step in to try and mediate the matter, and clearly that is not the case.
With that in mind, this is my last message and then the case might as well be closed.
I want LYFT to know that I will continue to make it a priority to tell all of my contacts in NYC to absolutely not use their services.
Best,
[redacted]

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case [redacted]. **. [redacted]'s complaint concerns personal information on her Driver and Passenger accounts. Ms. [redacted] wrote into Support on August 17, 2017 and requested that her information be deleted from Lyft's records. Our agents have since been in...

correspondence with **. [redacted] to inform her that we have deactivated her account per her request.Additionally, Lyft's Privacy Policy states "If you choose to terminate your account, we will deactivate it for you but may retain information from your account for a certain period of time and disclose it in a manner consistent with our practices under this Privacy Policy for accounts that are not closed. We also may retain information from your account to collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, analyze usage of the Lyft Platform, assist with any investigations, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, or take other actions as required or permitted by law."As we've clarified our Privacy Policy, we consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case [redacted]. [redacted]’s complaint concerns a cancelled ride on the Lyft platform.[redacted] wrote into Support on April 14, 2017.Our agents were in correspondence with [redacted] the same day. Our agents refunded the charge in question. We have verified...

that this refund was processed and have no control over when a bank permits access to those funds.As the appropriate refunds have been issued, we consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of the consumer rebuttal in case [redacted]. [redacted]'s complaint concerns authorization holds on her account. [redacted] wrote into Support on August 15, 2017. We were in correspondence with [redacted] that same day to inform her of the following:Like other companies, Lyft uses temporary authorizations to confirm a user’s payment method. The authorization will never actually process but may show as ""pending"" on the user’s bank statement. The user’s card issuer will remove the hold typically within 3-5 business days, and the card won't actually be charged. Once the user has paid for the ride and the card is successfully charged, Lyft immediately releases the authorization. Users should contact their bank for more information about the particular bank’s authorization policies and timelines.Lyft’s temporary authorizations practice is disclosed and explained in Lyft's Terms of Service ([redacted]) and in our Help Center ([redacted]).Additionally, we informed [redacted] that the amount of her authorization hold can become a part of the ride fare causing two charges. If the fare is less than the hold, it will be deducted, and the remaining amounts released to her. If the fare is more than the hold, it will become a portion of the ride fare.As we have clarified our policy regarding authorization holds, we consider this matter resolved.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: your company sent me to places with no cell service that's is your fault second your company also made false accusations stating I did not pull over for some one  which is lie from you company  your company owesnmr over. 100 dollar's do to cell service and mileage loss    your staff does not care about your driver's they only take passenger side   I will let this go one one condition but send me the money I am missing and where even  Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/28) */
We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case #XXXXXXXX. In it Ms. [redacted] has refuted damage fees that were charged to her card as a result of damage that was incurred during a recent Lyft ride she took. We have evidence that connects Ms. [redacted] with...

the ride in question. We have photos that show the damage, as well as ride feedback submitted at the time the ride ended by the driver describing what happened in addition to a follow up email about it. Now we did send the original email explaining the damage charges to the wrong email address, and our reply to her correspondence inquiring about the charges did include the wrong photos, nonetheless, we do have the valid photos from that particular ride and will be more than happy to share them with Ms. [redacted] if she would like. The feedback that was given at the time the ride ended and the description of where the ride went by both her and the driver match up completely. Our damage policy can be viewed in our Terms of Service that Ms. [redacted] agreed to when she joined Lyft. Our Terms of Service can be viewed in our Help Center at: https://www.lyft.com/terms.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They sent the wrong pictures!? To the wrong email!? To the wrong pick up and drop off addresses!? How can they claim their records are accurate if they openly admit all of these errors. With the errors mentioned, it is clear they have one additional error: I did not do this. If the pictures they sent are incorrect, why have they not emailed me the so-called correct ones?(my email is [redacted]@aol.com in case you forgot again. Please send them my way) I created no damage. I'm not arguing lyfts damage policy, but arguing the damage policy does not apply if I do no damage. Maybe you need to reevaluate your driver and your company because clearly there are a multitude of flaws in your records.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/08/08) */
We are in receipt of Ms. [redacted]'s rebuttal to Revdex.com case #XXXXXXXX. We have sent correspondence to Ms. [redacted] as of August 8, 2015 that includes the photographic evidence of the damage she caused. Since we have reopened our internal case regarding this, we consider the Revdex.com case closed until ours is resolved.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/08/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Although they say they have sent me correspondence, I have recieved nothing. I have checked my email, including junk mail, trash and inbox, and have no messages from lyft. The last email I received from lyft was in mid-July and, as they admitted earlier, included the wrong pictures.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I am not going to accept Lyfts response until they remove or modify this statement from their website. We will cover the cost of your initial inspection to become a driver. 
 
As you can see with my experience, Lyft did everything they could to not pay me for the cost of my inspection. Now they consider the matter resolved , I dont think so. Sincerely,[redacted]

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case [redacted]. Mr. [redacted]’s complaint concerns a new driver promotion.As stated on Lyft’s website ([redacted]), to be eligible for Lyft’s New Driver Promotion, prospective drivers must enter a valid new...

driver promotion code (in the Promo/Referral code field) when they start their driver application. Lyft’s website clearly states that if drivers don't enter a code when starting their application, they are not be eligible for this promotion. We are unable to retroactively apply promotions in situations where the promotion terms were not followed. Here, Mr. [redacted] created a driver application on July 22, 2017. At that time, he did not enter a new driver promotion code (or used it incorrectly). Under Lyft’s New Driver Promotion policy, this means that he is not eligible for a new driver promotion bonus.  As such, we consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of Revdex.com complaint case [redacted]. **. [redacted]'s complaint concerns the status of her driver account.On June 29, 2017, **. [redacted] was informed by our agents that we had found her to be in violation of our Ter** of Service and had deactivated her driver account while we investigated the...

matter.Our agents have since been in correspondence with **. [redacted] to inform her that we were able to reactivate her driver account.As such, we consider this matter resolved.

We are in receipt of the consumer rebuttal in case [redacted]'s complaint concerns a ride he took on the Lyft platform.[redacted] took a ride on the Lyft platform on April 9, 2017. Our agents were in correspondence with [redacted] immediately after he flagged the ride in our system to inform him that the Trust & Safety team was investigating and taking the appropriate and necessary actions with the driver based on his feedback. Our agents also informed [redacted] that he would not be paired with the driver in question on the Lyft platform in the future.As stated by our Terms of Service, “All Charges are non-refundable. This no-refund policy shall apply at all times regardless of your decision to terminate usage of the Lyft Platform, any disruption to the Lyft Platform or Services, or any other reason whatsoever.” As our Trust & Safety team has taken the appropriate and necessary actions, we consider this matter resolved.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: They deliberately keep moving away from my concern although I continued to assure that I have used the advertised link with the promotional code for signing up. The code was automatically input on the site when the sign up process initiated. They also deliberately put me on a different bonus program ($100 referral reward) that I never did for my sign up. I think that they are trying to do a monopoly business over many sufferers like me.
 
Sincerely,[redacted]