Big Tech Has Disrupted the Social Contract

I rented a car from Turo this weekend and it might as well have exploded...

You may have heard of Turo. They’ve been in the news lately because both vehicles used in the New Year’s Day Attacks this year were rented from Turo. In a statement responding to the incidents, the company had this to say:

“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” Turo said in a statement Wednesday. “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents.”

This weekend, we needed to rent a car to pick up our son, Senna, from Boston who’d been staying with my Mother-in-law the last three weeks after the fires.

As mentioned before, we evacuated the day of the Palisades Fire, stayed in Palm Springs, then San Diego, then Escondido, at which point my Wife, Natashia, flew to Boston with Senna and I went home to pack up the house.

Our shipment arrived Wednesday, Natashia came to set up the apartment with me, and, FINALLY, I was going to see my son after 3 weeks on Friday.

Since I have two assault charges on my record from the age of 17 and 19 - when you are supposed to have assault charges if you’re going to have them - Natashia usually has to rent the car.

Our first choice is always Enterprise Rent-A-Car but all of their branches were closed this weekend. We tried Hertz and they didn’t have vehicles, so, we turned to Turo. The car Natashia rented was an Audi Q8 set to arrive at 11am so that we could avoid rush hour traffic heading into Boston.

Every thing seemed fine, but about 30 minutes before the car was to be delivered we got a frantic call from the Host saying that a tire on the car popped as he was driving to deliver it and that the car was no longer available, BUT he would deliver another car of equal or greater value at the promised time. He said that he had a huge fleet of cars and would take care of us.

Being reasonable people, we figured he’d be at least 30 minutes late so we went to get bagels at H&H.

An hour later around 12pm, we called the Host and he didn’t pick up. At that point, we figured it was a wash and tried to cancel the reservation, but the app would not allow us to cancel the reservation nor would it allow us to rent another car. It needed the Host to cancel so we were held hostage.

She called Turo Support which advised her to give the Host another 15 minutes to either deliver the car or cancel. We gave the Host 30 minutes and then called Turo Support again, which told us to give him even more time. That’s when she put them on speaker so that I could recount every thing in detail and ask for a supervisor in what could only be described as agitated business casual.

Turo revealed that they could not cancel the trip. The Host would either have to cancel the trip OR we could wait til the trip ended and they would offer a refund. Neither option made sense and we HAD to get my son from Boston, so, I tried my luck signing up for Turo since the current sitting President is also a criminal.

My assault charges as a teen were in Florida so I submitted my newly minted California license and wah-lah. I was accepted. So much for Turo’s security measures…

We ordered a Volvo XC60 for 1pm. Of course, it did not arrive at 1pm.

We received the car at 2pm dirty with a can of Febreeze in the driver’s side door and it took us 6 hours to get to Boston because of the late Turo reservations, but the story gets better…

We got our son, I had some fried clams, clam chowder, and hit the road the next morning.

About 2 hours into the drive, we stopped to get coffee at Marylou’s in Rhode Island cause Natashia said it was “BETTER THAN DUNKIN’ DONUTS” and had drinks like the “Frostylou”.

I went to the Marylou’s inside a gas station, but it was shuttered. All that was left was this sign, so, we drove across the street and got two Sabrina Carpenter Brown Sugar Shaken Espressos.

As I turned back onto 95 South with my INCREDIBLE Sabrina Carpenter Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso, my manager, Phil Sun from M88, called.

I have to brag about this because getting a call from your Hollywood Manager on a Saturday Afternoon is like actually hearing Lauryn Hill perform in concert. She may have sold you a ticket, she may even be backstage, but very rarely does she actually perform. If your manager doesn’t call you on a Saturday Afternoon in Rhode Island, call Phil Sun.

I was about 7 minutes into my call with Phil when I heard sirens.

I looked in my rear view, turned my left turn signal on, moved to the left lane and the State-y followed me. That’s when you know it’s you. So, I quickly moved to the far right shoulder, hung up, and let Phil know that I sincerely appreciated his call, but that I was being pulled over.

The State-y rolled up to the passenger side window and asked for my license and registration. For a moment, I thought maybe I had been speeding and didn’t notice since I was so excited my manager called, but when I reached into the passenger compartment for the registration and pulled out a receipt from a car wash, he said, “You don’t have registration because it’s suspended.”

I informed him that I had rented the car from Turo, showed him my reservation, and he noticed our child in the back seat. We told him the whole story and he went back to his vehicle. About 15 minutes later, he came back and told us that he should tow the car, but he didn’t want to do it to us with the kid in the car.

It was probably the best interaction I’ve ever had with an officer and I really appreciated this guy. Rhode Island. What a State!!!

He told us to inform Turo immediately because this car should be towed and we would’ve have been assed out in Rhode Island with our son in the snow.

I was really fucking upset, but also just thankful that I’d be able to drive back to the city and get Senna to his new home after the worst month of our lives. Every thing has been insane since January 7th.

All of it really started to hit me and I called Turo.

I told them every thing that happened and they asked if I had taken a “PHOTO” of the State Trooper. They asked for “documentation” of the traffic stop, at which point I had to inform them that it was an insane ask. What was I supposed to do get a selfie with the State-y? If you’ve ever been stopped, you don’t get documentation. The police have it on their side, but as the civilian you’re just happy to not go to jail and proceed to the next destination.

I asked them to run the registration they had on file for the vehicle and they instead asked me for it so I made another appeal to logic and reminded them that the registration was suspended. They asked me if it was in the passenger compartment and I reminded them that the only documentation was a receipt from a car wash.

Ultimately, I took a photo of the registration sticker on the front of the vehicle so that they could run it.

The Turo representative took about 25 minutes to run the registration and returned saying that according to his research, the registration was valid until 8/31/25. I almost blew a gasket because anyone with one eye and the ability to count to 25 could have told you that the registration was valid until 8/31/25 as it says on its face. The ISSUE is not that the registration expired; the issue is that it was SUSPENDED.

When I clarified this for the Turo Rep, they acknowledged the folly and said, “Sorry the language confuse me.” I took it easy and felt for the guy because he was probably in a call center in the Philippines reading out of a manual.

He took another 25 minutes and was able to confirm that the registration was in fact suspended. He offered a full refund if I returned the car to the Host, but I didn’t want to be in that position.

Turo was going to notify the Host that their registration is suspended and therefore illegal to rent out, but then send me in to physically return it to them? In my head, I looked into the future and saw the potential for another assault charge. If someone is willing and stupid enough to rent out a car with a suspended license, how would they respond if they knew I reported their vehicle?

I didn’t want to put myself in that position.

I asked if a Turo representative could take possession of the vehicle since it was a legal matter. I asked if there was a Turo Office or lot like Enterprise has and he said that there were no Turo representatives that could help me. I would simply have to return the car to the Host, if I wanted the refund.

I asked what would happen if I didn’t want the refund, left the car at a specified location, and had Turo get in touch with the Host? The representative responded that they would then charge me for an improper return…

An “improper return” OF A VEHICLE YOU RENTED ME WITH SUSPENDED REGISTRATION AND HAD MY FAMILY PULLED OVER BY RHODE ISLAND STATE TROOPERS FOR.

The Representative had no other response. Either I returned the car and got a full refund, or, I would be charged for an improper return.

I brought my family home, emptied the car of Senna’s things from LA, got our dog Mr. Chow, and went to return the car.

If anyone was going to catch a case today, it would be Mr. Chow.

JK.

The Host was of course 45 minutes late picking up the car and we waited in the snow. When he got out of another SUV to get the keys from me, Mr. Chow did his thing. He looked at the dog, looked at me, and I tossed him the keys.

Fuck outta here.

I called Turo to inform them that the car had been returned and asked for a confirmation of the refund at which point the Representative asked once again for evidence of the traffic stop in Rhode Island. At this point, my head was spinning. I wanted to throw my phone out the window, but instead laid on the floor, caught my breathe, and asked the Representative to PLEASE review the case more thoroughly because this point had already been adjudicated with a previous Representative.

The Representative said they were not able to find the facts of the case so I asked to be transferred to a Supervisor.

By the time I got a Supervisor on the phone, I’d been on the line 35 minutes and a total of 120 minutes for the day with Turo. This was hands down the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced and I used to dine at Shopsin’s every week lol (Shopsin’s is the best, but the Yelp reviews are comical).

Finally, someone was able to read the entire transcript of my calls and confirmed that the Registration was Suspended and that a full refund had been promised.

I thought the nightmare was over, but a few hours later I started getting messages from the Host.

They started to send a barrage of phony charges.

The reservation allowed for 600 miles and we used about 450, but they charged us for an additional 190 that was never used. It didn’t occur to me to take a photo of the odometer when we returned the car. I didn’t know that you needed to cover yourself in that manner since most rental car companies take the photo at the time of return to prevent these issues.

They also accused us of smoking in the vehicle, but anyone that knows me knows that I haven’t smoked cigarettes since I smoked a Newport doing pressed pills circa 1998. I smoke weed, but I absolutely would never smoke weed with my SON in the car and Natashia is my witness.

I do not have any documentation because I didn’t smoke in the car! How could anyone possibly provide documentation of something that never happened?

The Host sent in this photo of ash that could be from anywhere and Turo charged me $150.

At the time of publication, this issue still hasn’t been resolved, but the point isn’t $150 or $817. To me, the issue is that our lives have been upended by the sharing economy.

All these tech companies promised disruption and it’s here.

Nothing works anymore because the sharing economy turned all the cooks into chefs. The “HOST” is anyone with a vehicle, but that doesn’t mean every HOST is taking on the responsibility of a business owner. They like the idea of being a business owner, they like making money like a business owner, but not every one is capable and responsible enough to run a business.

Big Tech has sold people on the dream of becoming their own business knowing that most people are incapable. That’s why we’re left to fend for ourselves when there are disputes. My gripe is simply renting a car with a suspended license and then being falsely accused of smoking in the vehicle and going over the mileage limit. I also almost got towed and left on the side of the road in a snow storm with my 16 month old son.

But for others, it’s significantly worse. In 2022, there was a law suit representing FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY WOMEN who were sexually assaulted by Uber Drivers and another 150 cases being investigated.

From the BBC, “The lawsuit alleged that as early as 2014 Uber became aware that its drivers were sexually assaulting and raping female passengers. But the filing claims that the company prioritised "growth over customer safety".”

The sharing economy empowers individuals without the proper credentials and values to operate like businesses. Anyone procuring the services of Uber, Air Bnb, or Turo have the expectation that the service will be professional. But no one is holding these individual “businesses” accountable.

If you drive an Uber, rent an Air Bnb, or loan a car on Turo, you are a business. You have responsibilities and there are rules, but no one is actually there to ensure performance. Just because there are rules listed on an app or website doesn’t mean they will be enforced.

Try asking a Turo Representative about the 14th Amendment and the equal protection it should offer in these scenarios.

Every thing is failing because there is tremendous pressure to grow, bring on more drivers, homes, sneaker resellers, without the proper time and care to grow the infrastructure with it. The Representatives at call centers can barely comprehend the facts of the case much less adjudicate it or deal with the unique situations that arise when humans do business amongst each other.

In theory, the sharing economy works if every one is a Good Samaritan, follows the rules, and tells the truth, but what in human nature makes you think that would ever happen? This entire ordeal was bound to fail because you cannot trust individuals to do the right thing especially not in business.

THAT’S WHY YOU NEED GOVERNMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

As much as people hate the government or hate agencies like the Better Business Bureau or Tort Law, you need it because people are going to let you down. These tech companies used lobbies to destroy the enterprise structure of our civilization from taxi cab medallions to hotels to brick-and-mortar businesses. They gutted every industry of jobs held by individuals, they robbed us of our protections, and left us to fend for ourselves.

When people and corporations told us that they would disrupt industry, did any of us ask what would happen after that disruption? Would anyone actually take possession and be held responsible?

No, because every one was making or saving money. That’s how they reeled us in: speed, efficiency, and lower costs. On its face, technology delivered those things, but what it disrupted were the values and ethics of business.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a fabulous business that has never let me down. I informed them of my past, they acquired the proper documentation, and rented me cars. I never got pulled over for driving their car without registration. They never reserved me a car with a popped tire. I once even returned a car to an Enterprise and listened as police asked the employees to track down a car they were looking for a weapon in and they found it!

WITHIN 15 MINUTES!

Imagine trying to do that with Turo…

When people lose faith in the economy and can’t trust the people they purchase services from, the entire financial system crumbles. All of this disruption by technology has left the economy and our society in shambles because not every cook has the values and work ethic to be a chef.

The saddest part is that the last thing left to disrupt is the government and it’s happening.

Elon Musk and DOGE are now doing the same thing to the 3 main branches of government that was done to travel, banking, transportation, vintage reselling, and every other business you know.

Not that the DMV or USPS was ever efficient, but the DMV never took fake photos of ash in the back of a car and tried to charge me for it. While rules, government agencies, and bureaucracy slow things down and can seem like helicopter parents, they are necessary in a world run by humans. There has to be rules and a mechanism to enforce those rules.

These tech billionaires sold people the promise of disruption and a brave new world that they knew had huge inherent flaws. They not only destroyed the financial system, but they destroyed our communities and country as well.

These corporations don’t pay taxes, they use lobbyists to gain unfair advantages, they circumvent the judicial system, and they bury people underneath terms of service that most people don’t have the reading comprehension to understand. Do you remember last summer when Disney tried to defend itself against a widower’s wrongful DEATH suit by applying the fine print of its streaming terms of service?

“They argued that by signing up for a free 30-day trial of Disney+ in 2019, and again when purchasing the theme park tickets in 2023 through his Disney+ account, Piccolo agreed to the streamer’s terms of service, which includes that “all disputes” with “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” be settled out of court via arbitration.”

These days I blame myself for not heeding Meg Ryan’s warnings in You’ve Got Mail. If only we had saved the Shop Around the Corner…

How bad is it you ask? This week Amazon delivered a package to Mandy Moore’s in-laws house that burned down in the Eaton Fire.

We have to do something before it’s all over.

The result of the election is even worse than any of us imagined. Project 2025 is happening and the answer is not to gut the world of rules and structures because that’s where every one is going to get really hurt. These structures and government agencies are the safety net of our society whether we like it or not. They are the manifestation of an agreement we make as humans participating in civilization.

Big Tech promised business disruption, but what they’ve actually disrupted is significantly more sacred: our social contract.

In the end, the most helpful person this entire weekend was a Rhode Island State Trooper.

Thanks bro.