Support/Renter Help/Eligibility
What are the eligibility requirements?
Nikki B
posted this on February 23, 2012 10:22
Although we reserve the right to deny membership for any reason, here are the general guidelines:
- You must possess a current, valid driver's license.
- You must possess a mobile phone in your own name that we can verify through text message. Note, at this time we can only text to US phone numbers.
- You must be at least 21 years of age.
- If you are under 25, you must demonstrate two years of current driving history.
- If you have a foreign license, you must submit an English translation of your driving record.
- When booking, we require a U.S. cell phone number AND a U.S. issued credit or debit card issued in your name.
- You will be ineligible if your record shows any major violations, more than 2 minor violations in the last 3 years, or more than 1 minor violation in the last year.
Comments
How do you insure against a situation where a person who is not eligible (due to say DUI) provides information online or via the phone that belongs to another person (say a friend or relative) who is eligible and has a clean record. Must the owner then do an ID check at time of key exchange?
We do other data cross-checking that mitigates this situation, but you are correct that the owner should always check the Driver's License at the time of the key exchange.
Hi Meredith,
The eligibility check is instant in most cases. Only in a small minority of cases do we have to slow down a renter's reservation process to double check eligibility. We only do it when we have conflicting information about the identity of the renter.
Best,
Andre
I got the "We’re sorry, but due to insurance restrictions, we are unable to approve you to rent." message as well and then received an email specifying that an “adverse action” was the reason for denying me. If you're not running credit checks, why does this fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act? What is the reason I would receive messages like this? Angela
The Fair Credit Reporting Act "regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information" and your driving history is considered consumer information. Since we are taking action based on this information, we are obligated to follow the FCRA standards. We do not currently run any credit checks.
How do you verify that a renter has "driven for at least 2 consecutive years"? given that driving licence ownership is near ubiquitous and does not really indicate driving experience.
I'm curious too, since Andre says that the further verification of driving record is something "We only do [it] when we have conflicting information about the identity of the renter."
I've held the same driver's license number, in the same state for 16+ years. I just renewed it 4 months ago at my birthday (with the option of renewing by mail because my record is clean!!!), and I'm being told that you cannot verify 2+ years of driving. Yet had you checked my driving record when I first applied (which was prior to the renewal), we would not be having this problem. While on the one hand I understand it makes sense to not pay for a driving record check/verification for a "member" that might never make a reservation (since you're not charging a membership fee), it's *incredibly* inconvenient for someone to trying to make a reservation, even several days out, to discover that further action is necessary (in my case requiring a trip to the DMV which cannot be completed before the requested rental date not to mention the $12 fee to obtain my driving record).
It's frustrating, and it sounds like I'm certainly not the first to experience this.
Melissa, totally understand your frustration. I agree it can be quite inconvenient when presented with this issue when you're trying to make a reservation, but most states provide this information instantly online, so a trip to the DMV is not necessary and you can obtain your record in minutes. I do not know why Illinois apparently does not provide this convenience, but it's quite honestly not an overwhelming issue for most of our renters that have to go through this process. Frustrating and annoying yes, but again, it typically takes minutes to secure. In some cases the first issue date is printed right on the current license so all that is needed is a photo.
I don't want to mitigate your frustration as I do understand, but we have many folks who sign up and don't rent for weeks, months, or even ever, so you're correct from a business perspective, if you are a first-time user the best time to run the DL check is when you are actually making a reservation.
The driver's license check is done to ensure you have held a license for more than 2 years and you meet our eligibility requirements. You are correct in that the fact you have held it for 2 years does not prove actual driving experience, but our other security checks, member ratings and reviews and your own vetting of the renter all combine to create a safe marketplace.
How do you ensure car owner's property is safe when rented? I know of other companies similar to relay rides on the west coast i.e. Rent In Style that specialized in renting exotic cars has hit hard by criminals that used fake IDs and ended up stealing cars. Several companies in this line of work had to shut down because of these criminal rings. I have a luxury car, not exotic, but still I worry. How can you guys ensure our cars are safe? I'm a little nervous to rent my car since I'm new to the community and most people want to use my car to go out of state to NJ or other places.
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the question! We do several steps of verification to make sure that our renters are safe. In addition, we have driving standards that are tougher than most other rental car or car sharing companies to ensure we have a safe community.
For more see- http://support.relayrides.com/entries/21012193-how-do-you-screen-re...
Thanks!
Why do I keep getting declined for rentals? I keep requesting, but keep getting declined?
I keep getting denied for rentals as well, are specific reasons why you get denied every time?
@Breanna, it's up to the owner whether they accept a reservation or not and there is no specific reason they have to give. It could be the car is not available for some reason. Please use the feature that allows you to request multiple cars at once to increase your chances that you will secure a car.
I would like to rent a car, but I am currently not able to drive (broken leg), could a friend of mine drive my reservation for me? He is 19 but also a Relay Rides member?
@Douglas, sorry to hear about your broken leg! Hope you get some good signatures on your cast.... Your friend who is 19 actually cannot drive the car as you have to be 21 and older, so unfortunately he will not be able to drive the car under your reservation. Sorry about that.
RelayRides,
What exactly does your insurance cover? If a renter spills coffee in the car and damages the interior, is that counted? As well as what happens if the rented car is damage happens to the exterior while it is in a parking lot?
Also, how is mileage tracked? Is that up to the owner to report? What happens if the renter loans the car to someone else during the rental period (Under 21, someone with a bad MVR, etc). Does the insurance still cover them?
As a general statement, the renter is responsible for damage that occurs during the reservation. To your specific examples, the spilled coffee should be cleaned up, or paid for by the renter. If the car's exterior is damaged in a parking lot, the renter is responsible, though their financial responsibility is now limited to $500.
For key exchange cars, the mileage is tracked by renters and owners. If the owner believes there is overage, they should report to RelayRides for additional charges. The renter may not loan the car to anyone else -- this is a clear violation of our terms, will invalidate coverage for the renter (but not the owner), and subject them to expulsion from the marketplace. The only exception to this is allowing another RelayRides member (i.e., someone who has met all the eligibility requirements and had their driving record reviewed) to drive the car, in which case the renter should also secure the approval of the owner of the car.
I am unclear, I do not use facebook, does that keep me from being eligible?
Good, been needing something like this, saw a spot on the news just a little while ago, business should pick up quick here.
Is there a way I can check to see if I am eligible to rent cars by a quick check on me before I rent, just to know if I am eligible or not? I've had a couple of minor tickets and I want to see if I am allowed.
@Adam, when you place a reservation and it is approved, we run a check immediately, but if you'd like to pre-run it, you can email you DL #, State and DOB to us at support@relayrides.com and we can run it outside of a reservation.
cool thx!
Is there any way to find out why an application was denied without writing to CoreLogic for a copy of the report? And how does one reapply? It says in the rejection email that it is possible to do so, but I can't see how when all the "request car" buttons have been replaced with statements that I am ineligible. Is it just that one has to wait a certain period of time after rejection to try again?
@Emma, there is no other way to understand why an application was rejected without getting the report from CoreLogic. This will tell you exactly what violations are on your driving record. If you dispute the violation(s) and they fall off of your record, we can certainly re-run your Drivers License manually.
Is there any way an 18 year old could rent a car if he produces a clean driving record?
Hey!
I am from Sweden, just moved to New York, and I am interested in using the service. As I have a foreign license you state that I have to provide a driving record translated into english. As far as I know we dont have this thing in Sweden. The only thing I can think of is some proof that I have no recent traffic violations from home. Would that be sufficient?
Herald - Unfortunately, there is no way currently -- you must be at least 21 to rent a car in our marketplace.
Nicolas - you'd need to submit the documentation with an accurate translation. More information can be found here: http://support.relayrides.com/entries/21356261-What-if-I-have-a-For...
Hey Guys,
I'm trying to book a ride for this weekend. When I tried book a car, I was told that since I'm <25, I need to provide some additional proof of a driving record and that I would receive an email with further instructions. For some reason, I haven't received an email yet.
Please let me know what next steps are. I'm supposed to provide this information in the next 24 hours, You can contact me @Alex_Mist if you'd like.
Are you permanently ineligible if you have one major violation ever?
Jah Fizz - yes, that's correct.
Matt, I'm sorry but you need to be 21 or over to rent.
Angelo, you should be able to find the information you need at this FAQ: http://support.relayrides.com/entries/21356261-what-if-i-have-a-for...
If you have questions specific to your personal situation, just contact us directly at support@relayrides.com
I've had the worst experience not with the car renters but with the staff at relay riders. After being approved as a driver the system would not take my credit card info. I assumed it was because my billing address is a po box. Ashley assured me it works with po box yet it did not work with any of my cards. I asked her if I could use someone elses card and she said yes.
After the purchase went through I was confirmed but then hit with more steps never before mentioned. They then wanted submissions of my license, credit card used and of me holding the license. after they go ahead and put the reserve on the vehicle. ok fine. I submitted everything. Done right? I received an email stating they put a $500 charge on the card. YIKES! Then another saying I need a secondary id. As ridiculous as this was getting I decided to call and find out what's going on and why I needed another form of ID. I'm on the phone with Ashley again who then tells me the reserve is being canceled because the card is not in my name. It's at this point I cannot believe those words left her mouth as if I had not been on the phone with her earlier and asked her this.
I then get a another email saying my cancellation request was received.
They have no problem taking your money, throwing you through hoops all before confirming if everything is sufficient and this is a huge problem. If I could charge them for wasting both the gentlemen who communicated with me back and forth and my time taking photos, making copies, taking screenshots, erasing confidential numbers, calling in, searching for a car, writing this complaint, etc I would.
Going forward you should update your FAQS outling the honest process and change your system because currently it's backward and a huge waste of everytone's time (yours too I'd think). If a competitor comes in and does just these 2 things and if it's done a little crappy than you're toast because it's not even on your radar (until now).
In all honesty I just rented from hotwire.com and it was $10 bucks more and much easier.
I do not understand why my comments were deleted. I had a legitimate user experience that shed light on the real process of renting a car from this site. since it's not anywhere else on the site why whould this helpful information be deleted?
Angelica, our apologies for your difficult experience, and thank you for taking the time to alert us to the situation so that we can work to improve our marketplace for everyone.
As part of our trust & safety efforts, we require that any credit or debit card be in the name of the renter. I regret any miscommunication that may have left you with a different impression. We will continue to update our online messaging to make this clearer.
Also, from time to time we charge security deposits, and when doing so, we indicate prior to authorizing the deposit, and with the ability to refrain from proceeding with the reservation if you want to avoid the charge. Once again, we will take your comments very seriously in evaluating how we display these security deposits to our members, and regret that you appear to have been unaware that this deposit was being authorized.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your comments, and I will reach out to you personally to see if there are any additional thoughts you'd like to share.
I've had my driver's license since I was 17 years old in New York State and have been driving since I was about 14 years old. I found RelayRides, and it reminds me of airbnb, which is also awesome. I tried renting a vehicle, spoke with the owner and everything, but when I went to process everything I was denied - We’re sorry, but due to insurance restrictions, we are unable to approve you to rent - That was the message I got. I tried calling the company RR used to do the background checks but they want you to send a bunch of other stuff to them (which is time consuming). I want to rent from RR because it seems a lot cheaper and less of a hassle than most major rental companies but this is incredible.
I sent 2 e-mails already to the staff asking for some details on why I was denied. I know 1000% I have no record because I was stopped recently for passing a car and turning left at an intersection, the officer then told me "your record is clean, keep it that way" and I was not given a ticket/summons.
And since you don't do credit checks, then it can't be my credit either. I've read your requirements and I satisfy all of them.
Can someone help me out?
Hello Oscar -
I responded to your inquiry directly -- please check your spam folder in case in may have gotten trapped in there. That's a better forum for specific case discussion. Thanks!
Is it possible to rent a car in the US then drive it across the boarder to Canada?
Hi Terra - yes.
HI there,
I have had a request approved by an owner and am now about to go through the verification process. As a Canadian Citizen, I do have access to my driving records etc. but my question of concern is in regards to the US Mobile Number and US Credit Card. Will I still be eligible with my Canadian Visa? Even if you have to Pre-Auth the insurance? Also, what should I do in regards to the US cell number? I can always by a PrePaid SIM card and have that if my Canadian one will not work.
Cheers,
Toran
Hi Toran,
Thank you for your interest in RelayRides. We don't support international credit cards so you will need to have a U.S. credit or debit card issued by a U.S. bank for payment. When you register, we verify your phone number via text message, so you will need to submit a U.S. phone number at that time.
Best,
Michelle
Can it be a family member's debit card or does it have to registered under the driver only?
All documents and payment methods on an account must be in the name of the renter.
Hello,
Would I be able to use a prepaid card when reserving the rental?
Thanks!
Chris
Hi Chris!
Thank you for your interest in RelayRides! At this time, we require a U.S. issued debit or credit card, and pre-paid cards are not accepted. This is part of our trust & safety initiatives.
Best,
Michelle
Hello,
In New York state and Michigan state law requires car rental companies to rent to anyone 18 years old and above? How is relay rides following this policy be restricting New York State and Michigan renters to 21+?
Thanks,
Branch
Hello Branch - We are a car sharing marketplace, and maintain our membership eligibility requirements accordingly.