Seattle man fences in Car2Go vehicle parked in driveway



SEATTLE -- A property owner in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood has decided to take matters into his own hands. He is essentially blocking access to a ride-share car after it was parked in his driveway, and he wants the ride-share company to get it out themselves.

It might be a difficult task though, he has decided to build a small fence around the car.

Dan Smith's property is a duplex on the 400 block of 6th Avenue N. He says the car was parked in his lot on May 17.  He says he tried to do the right thing.

He told Q13 that he called Car2Go to get it moved but didn't get a response.

He said he also got the runaround when he tried getting the car towed by the police or tow companies.

Nobody was willing to move it, he said. So he figured he'd build a fence. But he says he did it for good reason.

“I was very worried about the liability. I didn’t want them inviting people onto the property because what if somebody drives into the house? What if somebody gets hurt? I had no idea what that liability nightmare I’d be in for, so I only wanted the car to be moved under a controlled situation,” said Smith.

According to Smith, the lack of response forced him to go from being a good neighbor to a business man. He is asking Car2Go to not only move the car, but to also pay for nuisance fees, storage fees and fees to put the work into building a fence.

“I don’t think ride-share companies should be allowed to pull in your property then rent their car off your property. I think if they’re on your property, they should shut their car down right away, and have a dedicated crew come leave with it,” said Smith. “I think what bothers me at this point, is that they’re threatening that I stole the car,  and they’re acting like I’m holding the car hostage, when they drove their car on my property and they ignored me. They’re playing the victim.”

On Thursday, Car2Go's parent company ShareNow issued a statement.

"We have made multiple attempts to retrieve our vehicle from this location. Despite professing his wish to have the vehicle removed, a person claiming to be the property owner is obstructing its removal and demanding payment. We do not tolerate our vehicles being held for ransom. This is now a legal matter," it said.