Sarah Gilbert  |  June 4, 2014

Category: Consumer News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Zipcar class action lawsuitZipcar Inc. late fees are too high, says a customer of the car-sharing service in a putative class action lawsuit filed Thursday, arguing that California state law doesn’t allow for the fees’ enforcement.

Zipcar is a car-share service that allows members to reserve and rent its cars for use by the hour or by the day. Gas, insurance, and other costs associated with car ownership are included in those rental fees; customers wanting access to the use of the rental service must sign a membership agreement and pay a membership fee. In addition to the rental fees and the membership fees, Zipcar membership agreements require late fees.

According to plaintiff Gabriela Bayol, in a Zipcar class action lawsuit filed in California May 29, “[t]he Membership Agreement provides that Zipcar will impose a late return charge of $50 ‘per late hour or any part thereof’ whenever a Zipcar customer returns a Zipcar vehicle after the expiration of a reservation.”

Bayol, of Daly City, Calif., argues that these Zipcar late fees, which could impose a $50 charge for a customer who was one minute late and up to $150 for each reservation with a late return, are an unlawful penalty. She claims in the Zipcar class action lawsuit that they constitute unlawful penalties that are void and unenforceable under California Civil Code, under California’s Unfair Competition Law, and unconscionable under the state’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

In her Zipcar class action lawsuit, Bayol is seeking to enjoin Zipcar against collecting the fees, disgorgement of profits from these fees, to impose constructive trusts amounts by which Zipcar was unjustly enriched by the fees, and damages and restitution of late fees.

The potential Class Bayol seeks to represent includes all Zipcar customers in California who were subject to late fees, and from whom Zipcar collected such fees.

Zipcar does not discuss the late fees with its customers, nor allow them to negotiate these fees, according to the Zipcar late fees class action lawsuit.

“The Late Fees have limited or no utility as compared with alternatives that would more fairly measure the harm (if any) incurred by Zipcar when a member makes a late return,” the Zipcar class action lawsuit says. “The gravity of the harm that the Late Fees impose on consumers is substantial in that they exceed the actual amount of harm (if any) incurred by Zipcar when a member makes a late payment. Through their imposition and collection of the Late Fees from the members of the Class, Zipcar has been massively and unjustly enriched.”

California Civil Code states that contracts entered into by residents of the state can only provide for liquidated damages that are pegged to actual damages from a breach of contract, unless determining those actual damages is either extremely difficult or impracticable.

This is not the first time Zipcar has been sued for its policies. A Zipcar class action lawsuit filed in July 2013 accused the company of improperly charging renters for vehicle damage. The class action was dismissed in February 2014.

Bayol is represented by Scott A. Bursor, L. Timothy Fisher, Annick M. Persinger and Yeremey Krivoshey of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Zipcar Late Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Bayol v. Zipcar Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-02483, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.