“As the day goes on, you can enjoy unlimited rides for 24 hours!” Swedish e-scooter rental company Voi uses this logo to advertise not only their daily pass, but also their monthly pass on their website. But there seems to be a lousy trick behind it: Despite that promise, the number of flights is limited.
The Hamburg consumer advice center, which warned the company to be misled, is now warning against it. According to the Consumer Advice Center, a customer who bought a monthly pass for 39 euros had to find out very painfully. “Voi informed the person concerned by e-mail that he had violated the user agreement of the sharing provider,” a press release said.
E-scooter theft: Consumer advice center warns
The company wrote, “We have found that your use of a Voi Pass exceeds the limit set forth in our Fair Use Policy. The fair use limit is nine flights per 24 hours or 200 minutes of use per 24 hours.”
And indeed: if you take a look at the “Voi” terms of use and scroll down far, you can find the relevant passage. It also states: “If you continue to violate this Responsible Use Policy after notifying you, Voi will deactivate and block your Voi Pass in accordance with Section 1.10 without notice.”
Voi e-scooter rental company offers unlimited rides
Shake the head at the Consumer Counseling Center. “This is not how it works! Voi cannot attract consumers with an unlimited number of trips if the use is really limited!” says Julia Reberg. Such business behavior is unfair, even if potential restrictions are detailed elsewhere.
Here’s what Voi says about the Consumers Association’s claims
In response to a request from MOPO, the Swedish sharing provider explained that the company had decided to restrict the terms of use of e-scooters because they discovered Voi Pass was being abused. On the one hand, there are delivery companies and on the other hand there are users who show “irresponsible behaviour”. “For example, those who treat our e-scooters more like a toy than a transportation service as they should be,” explains company spokesperson Caspar Spinnen.
However: “We now see that we have to be more explicit in our communications in this regard,” Spinnen admits. “In a short time” the site will be reviewed and up and running so that no further misunderstandings arise. “We never intended to deceive our users,” the spokesperson asserts.
Consumers can report grievances online
Spinnen announced that all users who have their monthly pass canceled will be compensated for days not yet used. Individual passes can still be reserved for everyone. Anyone who feels they have been blocked by mistake can contact our support team.
Consumer advocate Rehberg advises always keep an eye on lowercase when using share offerings. “Many services appear cheaper at first glance than they are at the end.” Online complaint form Go to the Consumer Advice Center in Hamburg.