Judge Approves Settlement Over Turo ‘Drip Pricing’

Turo Pricing Settlement Overview:

• Who: Quebec consumers who booked a vehicle on Turo.
• Why: Turo allegedly charged a higher price than initially advertised for its vehicles.
• Where: Quebec

A judge has approved a settlement in a class action lawsuit that accused vehicle-sharing service Turo of charging higher-than-advertised prices.

The Class approved by the judge includes all consumers pursuant to Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act, who, from Nov. 4, 2016, to March 31, 2021, while in the province of Quebec and for a purpose other than business, made a vehicle booking for anywhere in the world using the Turo website or mobile app and who paid a price higher than the price initially advertised by Turo at the first step (excluding the Quebec sales tax (QST) or the goods and services tax (GST)).

No further details about the terms of the settlement agreement are available at this time.

Lead plaintiff Shay Abicidan alleged Turo used “drip-pricing” — advertising the vehicles at one price, then revealing the true cost later — a practice he claims violates Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act.

Abicidan, who filed his class action lawsuit in 2019, says he used Turo to book a car at an advertised rate of $43 per day; however, he ended up being charged $174.13 for three days.

He claims he was charged a “trip fee” of $6.10 per day, and that this fee was not advertised or displayed during the first step of his transaction.

“Since the ‘trip fee’ of $18.30 ($6.10 x 3) was a mandatory fee and not optional, Turo should have factored it into the price it advertised at the first step,” Abicidan argued.

Abicidan also claims he was charged a $25 delivery fee during the second step of the transaction. However, this was an optional fee.

Class Members who wish to exclude themselves from or object to the Turo settlement will have until March 18, 2022, to do so.

A final approval hearing is scheduled to take place April 12, 2022.

Have you booked a vehicle using Turo? Was your final price higher than you expected? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

The plaintiff is represented by Joey Zukran of LPC Avocat Inc.

The Turo Drip Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Abicidan v. Turo Inc., Case No. 500-06-001026-190, in the Superior Court for the Province of Quebec, District of Montreal.

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