MyCarYourRental - Legit Company Took My Money and Vanished

activ8newbs on 12/10/2024 - 00:44

Hello

Fam is travelling to NZ At end of the year. We planned to hire a car through a P2P car hire service called My Car your Rental which appears to be a NZ company.

We requested a car 2 months ago. The owner agreed almost immediately. We paid the money to MCYR.

Today the owner messaged and apologized saying that he hasn't been paid from MCYR for the past couple months for previous hires and he can't keep his car listed on the platform as he isn't getting paid. He apologised profusel and advised he has to take down his listing.

The problem is that MCYR Is not only not paying him or responding to his emails, but they're also not returning my money or responding to my emails. It has been a week and I've tried contacting on FB/Live Chat/email.

I'm worried because it's $700 AUD. Here are my thoughts;

  1. I have ANZ CC travel insurance. Not sure if they can help. I will call on Monday to check.
  2. What can I do about my money? I guess I need to lodge with ACCC equivalent in NZ?
  3. What is the ACCC Equivalent in NZ and does anyone have any experience how easy/difficult it is to navigate the process?
  4. Would it be will and irresponsible for me to book again though the same platform for a new car? I guess it's much cheaper than a rental company as this is P2P but still fully insured etc.

TLDR: MyCarYourRental NZ has taken my money. They won't respond to my refund request. Help pls
Thanks!

Travel Car Rental New Zealand Oceania

Comments

  • Mikinoz on 12/10/2024 - 00:55
    -3

    This is ozbargain. How about seeking legal advice or try a legal forum

    • activ8newbs on 12/10/2024 - 00:57
      +3

      Ozb has users that contribute to the Choice cheapies NZ brand. I'm hoping someone might know enough to help point me to ACCC equivalent there or if I'm lucky, share their experience.

      I don't think it's unreasonable for me to seek an opinion on this forum. There might be people that can, and are willing to help.

      Sorry if I'm wrong.

    • CrispyChrispy on 12/10/2024 - 00:59
      +7

      You've been here long enough to know OzBargain Forums = OzLegalAdvice

      .

      • Mikinoz on 12/10/2024 - 01:03
        +1

        True

  • Iwantthebestprice on 12/10/2024 - 01:14
    +12

    If you paid via credit card I would just do a charge back

    • MrFrugalSpend on 12/10/2024 - 07:54

      100% this ^ ^ ^ - I pay all these sorts of things by credit card and if not supplied, chargeback - thanks to the bank.

    • JIMB0 on 12/10/2024 - 09:17

      There's a time limit on that. They'd need to get on it asap.

      • sam-1966 on 13/10/2024 - 18:12

        Time limit used to be 'within 100 days of expected goods or services'… that line got a few friends of mine out of trouble with the Jim's Water Tanks debarcle…

  • morse on 12/10/2024 - 05:19
    +3

    https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/general-help/how-to-c…

    Would it be will and irresponsible for me to book again though the same platform for a new car?

    Seriously? Why would you do that? You’ll just lose more money.

    Where in New Zealand are you picking up the car from? I’ve used Omega car rentals in Queenstown 5 or so times and found them competitive and no issues with extra charges or vehicle reliability.

    Also check out vehicle relocation and whether it fits your itinerary https://www.imoova.com/en/relocations?region=NZ

  • cuteduck on 12/10/2024 - 06:38
    +3

    https://au.trustpilot.com/review/www.mycaryourrental.com

    Your money is cooked!

  • EightImmortals on 12/10/2024 - 07:12
    +7

    "Would it be will and irresponsible for me to book again though the same platform for a new car?"

    Fool you once, shame on them, fool you twice?

    • avidd on 12/10/2024 - 11:31

      There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmjqlOPd6A

      • Chris17 on 16/10/2024 - 16:55

        To W’s credit, he was desperately trying to avoid saying the words “Shame on me” in a sound bite.

        • avidd on 17/10/2024 - 08:36

          Interesting! I had never thought of/realised that. Would have been a great sound bite.

  • Dollar General on 12/10/2024 - 07:20
    +6

    I would book again through the same platform. What could go wrong?

  • MrFrugalSpend on 12/10/2024 - 07:55

    Re; no 4 - in addition to the saying Eightimmortals provided - haven't you ever heard the sayings "If it's too good to be true, it probably is" or the one "you get what you pay for!"

    Read google reviews - it's the "MyCarYourRental North Shore" one, it is listed as "Permanently Closed" (not sure if it actually is), with a bunch of mixed reviews, the bad reviews are mostly centred around people saying there have been payment issues and delays with communication.

    For example, one person says: "Stay away from this company, as a renter (no such a thing as road assistance, insurance?) and as a car owner (… wont pay you and will ignore your mails)".

    With some luck, they may just be really slow as it does not appear to be a recent thing, that trend appears to start with reviews 4 years ago onwards.

    I have no experience with them and can't comment either way - so up to you, but I must say I can see some warning bells. Would hate to think what would happen if you have an accident or something, whether there is any insurance payout they could manage or if there is none, you may just be liable for someone else's car and whatever damage you did to third parties - eek! Did they provide you details of insurance underwriter etc?

    Look into why Google says "Permanently Closed" - it may be a mistake, or it may be a recent issue (vanished as you say) - if they won't pay the owner and won't respond to you, you could do a credit card chargeback whilst you may still have a chance if that is how you paid. Otherwise, you may be an unsecured creditor and good luck to you.

    I am very risk adverse when it comes to liability around car rentals - if you do go with something like this, you need to look into getting independent insurance in your name, which will increase the cost but cover you for accidents as they are engaged by you not the renter / agent. There are companies that provide this separately to the car rental company.

  • freefall101 on 12/10/2024 - 09:56
    +5

    Would it be will and irresponsible for me to book again though the same platform for a new car? I guess it's much cheaper than a rental company as this is P2P but still fully insured etc.

    Dear lord, I hope you never get roped into one of those pig butchering scams, you’ll be doomed.

    But I’m glad you at least asked. Yes, it would be stupid and irresponsible. It’s not cheaper because you’re just throwing money at a scam company. They may have been legit once, but they’re going under and stealing money, stop giving them more money.

    Chargeback time. Also the ACCC doesn’t help you get your money back, state consumer affairs does. Here’s the NZ version https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/making-a-complaint

    • activ8newbs on 12/10/2024 - 11:49

      Thankyou for your help!

  • spackbace on 12/10/2024 - 11:36

    https://www.whois.com/whois/mycaryourrental.com

    See if the phone number is a valid one?

  • ihbh on 12/10/2024 - 12:39
    +1

    Did you by any chance read the reviews?

  • activ8newbs on 14/10/2024 - 12:16

    I have tried a WISE Debit Card chargeback. Fingers crossed. Failing this, I will try the consumer.org.nz route.
    I have hired a car through a diff company!!
    Thanks for your help everyone. Appreciate your generosity and time

  • Pegz on 19/12/2024 - 07:05

    Hello
    I am in the same situation as a car owner and investigating against this company ( Henrik Stovring - CEO - sole trader ). I got a court order in place for money owing to me - which Henrik totally ignored & not responded.
    Next step now - Warrant to seize property.
    The bailiffs are on its way to his new address !
    Keep in touch if you interested in more info.

    Cheers
    Pegs

    • activ8newbs on 19/12/2024 - 09:48

      Wow. I got my money back through a credit card chargeback but interested to hear more

  • emile on 20/12/2024 - 21:27

    Hi all,
    I am another fool on the list… I have rented a car for my Christmas vacation 2 months ago and the renter informed me he never got paid a couple of days ago… Happy to pay another 2 grand for a last minute "official" rental. Believe me, I wish I had seen this conversation before.

    Now my questions are,

    -how is it possible that this site is still open after all those alarms raised by other users since months ago https://au.trustpilot.com/review/www.mycaryourrental.com
    - how can I file a complaint/ make things move on so that so no other users get scamed, NZ authorities are somehow responsible for this as well
    - and ideally has anyone here advice to recover my money (800 bucks …)
    and last resort, less official,
    -has anyone found information on our dear creator in the south island (a small visit could make some good ;) )

    Thanks all!

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