'[They] lock you out of the car completely': Customer service rep puts driver on hold while pet cat is stuck inside locked car

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 31, 2023 11:00 AM EDT

Car sharing is a brilliant idea — you can rent out your car for others to use while you're not using the car yourself. As a car owner, you make some cash, and as a customer, you can drive a car that's already located near to you, without having to deal with a typical rental service. What could go wrong?

It's just one of many new services run by apps in today's modern age. But since it is a rather new idea, there are still some kinks that need to be straightened out. Just check out the story of u/KimJontheILLest, which they shared to u/TIFU. Despite the best intentions, they somehow managed to spend a ton of money while getting their precious pet locked in a car and dealing with an emergency all the while. 

After you scroll through this TIFU story, check out this story of two traveling friends whose friendship ended after a one lost her luggage while traveling. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 9769111040
    via Andrew Umansky on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - r/tifu Posted by u/KimJontheILLest TIFU by using Zipcar L This happened today. My girlfriend and I live in separate apartments in Brooklyn, but we share a storage unit near her place. I'd gotten a Zipcar subscription for a trip last month, which left me with a monthly fee that I was looking to justify. So I reserved a car for an hour and half to go pick up some of my crap. That's a half hour to get there, a half hour to pack, and a half hour to lug the stuff up to my place. This will beco
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 03
    Font - I apparently took longer than anticipated packing things up, and, as I'm pulling up to my place, I realize that the "meter" on my reservation is nearly up. Don't really love that you have to anticipate your trip down to the minute, but figure they'll just charge me for an extra hour and it'll cost me an another $15. Boy was I wrong.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 04
    Font - Parking is scarce, so I double park, throw on the hazards, exit the car, shut the driver-side door, and go to start unloading my stuff. Hmm this is odd... I didn't lock the car, and yet the door doesn't open. I know, I'll use my phone to unlock it (you use the Zipcar app to unlock their rentals). Hmm, that's strange, the doors remain locked. This is when I start to realize that when the reservation for your Zipcar runs out, they don't just hit you with a fee -- they unceremoniously lock y
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 05
    Plant - So here's this car, double parked on a busy road, blocking some other poor guy's car in, with all my stuff locked inside. And the best part -- my cat's in there.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 06
    Font - Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I'd spent the night at my girlfriend's, and brought my cat to stay with us. After shoving all my c into the car, I'd loaded Kinko in for the trip back to my place. So now she's traped inside the car, locked in her carrier, on the first official day of Summer. WTF.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 07
    Font - I call Zipcar. I grit my teeth and calmy explain the situation to an insufferably chipper customer service representative for a company that I'm beginning suspect doesn't have my best interests at heart.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 08
    Font - I tell her that her company has locked my things inside of their car. I tell her that her company has locked my cat inside of their car. I tell her that it is hot out. She asks for my ID number.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 09
    Font - I tell her that her company has locked my ID inside of their car. She asks for the last four digits of my credit card. I tell her that her company has locked my credit card inside of their car. She says something along the lines of, "well that's a pickle."
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 10
    Font - It's around this time that I'm approached by an elderly man who announces himself as the owner and operator of the car, which is now obstructed by this imobile rental car/take-all-my-s device. He asks if I could kindly move the vehicle, because he's experiencing a medical episode and is about to drive himself to the emergency room. WTF.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 11
    Font - I explain to the customer service rep that there's now a very real chance that a curteous, elderly bystander may die, because her company has decided to suddenly and without warning transform the car I had rented into a large, immovable hunk of c. I tell her that this is unacceptable, that if it were her, she would not want to die because an uncaring service representative of an uncaring car rental company chose to value their rental policy over a human life.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 12
    Font - She thinks this over. She asks if I can hold. A minute goes by, then two... five... ten. A man is dying. I am freaking out. Something must be done. The garage where I was supposed to drop off the car is actually very close to my apartment. I run to it. I find an attendant there, and I told him the story -- albeit, with less color -- that you read now.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 13
    Font - I ask him to unlock the car. He tells me he might get fired if he does. I tell him that their are lives on the line. That the fate of an elderly man and a very good cat rest in his hands.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 14
    Font - He stares off into space, and a for a moment I can almost see the conflict inside of him, as the pragmatism of his intellect wrestles with the better angels of his heart. He looks back at me.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 15
    Font - He asks where the car is. Soon, my cat is free and an elderly man tragically drives himself to the emergency room. Oh, and the late fee I expected? It was easily more expensive than the entire trip. F you Zipcar.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 16
    Font - TL;DR: I rented a zipcar, but underestimated how long I would need it, so Zipcar locked me out with my cat inside, and blocking an old man from driving himself to the hospital.
    via u/KimJontheILLest
  • 17
    Font - Embarrassed Help 11 hr. ago +1. Zipcar sounds like an accident waiting to happen. You also may have legally been allowed to break the window to save your cat. Any half decent pet owner would smash the window to save their pet regardless of legality and that will cost the company tons in damages if they don't wise up.
    via u/EmbarrassedHelp
  • 18
    Font - iwantsurprises. 11 hr. ago Seriously, I was worried there would be a different ending for the poor kitty. This must have been at least a half hour altogether, way more than enough time for a car to get too hot. I would have smashed the window for sure, but glad everything worked out ok.
    via u/iwantsurprises
  • 19
    Font - TER monkeymanx55 6 hr. ago Without a second thought I would have broken a window or two, for cat tax. Any remote-lock based service is a recipe for disaster. Dude's lucky the cat didn't have heat stroke. Next time, call a tow truck and have them pop the car into neutral.
    via u/monkeymanx55
  • 20
    Rectangle - Initial_E+1 · 35 min. ago Legal maybe, but there will be financial repercussions.
    via u/Initial_E
  • 21
    Font - TheBlueFaced Leicestr · 11 hr. ago This is a bonkers story, I have been considering getting a subscription but that over now!
    via u/TheBlueFacedLeicestr
  • 22
    Font - Ninjewdi +2 12 hr. ago That's fing terrifying. And it kinda seems like a lot of car manufacturers are trying to do similar things with ALL their products. Tesla and other companies building car with all features intact but inactive unless you pay a f ing subscription fee to use something you definitely already paid for. Dystopian, unacceptable, and again - terrifying. I'm glad your cat is okay and hope the elderly gent is, as well.
    via u/Ninjewdi
  • 23
    Rectangle - TootsNYC 10 hr. ago Yeah, this is bad! They have your card number -just charge you. Like hotels do. Maybe liability!
    via u/TootsNYC
  • 24
    Rectangle - samgh 10 hr. ago So you're the al who made me walk 10 blocks because "there is an issue with your reservation"
    via u/samgh
  • 25
    Font - pyroSeven 7 hr. ago Wouldn't it be more profitable and efficient if they just charged customers for being late? What good would locking the car do? What if the driver just leaves the vehicle in the middle of a busy junction and hoofs it? He's off the hook cause technically he's not renting the car anymore.
    via u/pyroSeven

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cars tifu locked out Cats luggage parking
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