{"coverage_note":"Five categories were checked for lime.com: (1) discrepancy_pricing \u2014 searched for hidden fees, deceptive pricing, and regulatory actions; found consumer complaints about unexpected charges and a 'local costs' surcharge but no verified enforcement action or regulatory finding clearing the inclusion bar; (2) discrepancy_availability \u2014 searched for ghost inventory, bait-and-switch, or rate-switch issues; found no verified reports of advertised availability or rates not honored at point of transaction; (3) discrepancy_identity \u2014 searched for merchant-of-record ambiguity or liability deflection to third parties; found no evidence of such practices, with Lime appearing to operate as a direct merchant; (4) discrepancy_policy \u2014 a finding was confirmed: Lime advertises discretionary refund review for service failures but consistently applies a blanket non-refundable policy in documented no-service scenarios, creating a material gap between stated and actual policy; (5) discrepancy_undisclosed_constraint \u2014 searched for geofencing, ride-zone, or booking limitations not disclosed prior to transaction initiation; found editorial criticism of Lime's geofencing accuracy for municipal commitments but no evidence of transactional constraints systematically hidden from end-users. No scan results were blocked or missing; all five categories received substantive search coverage.","human_handoff_required_for":[{"action":"Escalate to a human when a Lime ride has been charged to the user but no service was rendered (e.g., scooter failed to unlock, app error prevented access, vehicle locked out during restricted hours), because Lime consistently applies a blanket non-refundable policy even in documented no-service scenarios rather than conducting the discretionary case-by-case review it advertises \u2014 making an agent-initiated refund request through Lime's internal process unlikely to succeed and potentially consuming the user's dispute window.","evidence":[{"description":"Lime's Help Center states rides are non-refundable but that Lime 'may, at our discretion, issue a refund' for service failures, implying case-by-case review is available. However, multiple BBB complaints from 2024\u20132025 document Lime denying refunds even when no service was rendered and citing only the blanket non-refundable policy, with at least one case where Lime confirmed the denial in writing and then stopped responding.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/electric-scooters/lime-1116-875820/complaints"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"},{"action":"Escalate to a human when a user wants to pursue a refund for a failed Lime transaction and the 10-business-day window for notifying Lime (per their user agreement) is approaching or has passed, because relying on Lime's internal review process risks losing both the internal remedy and the ability to dispute with the card issuer within the issuer's own deadline.","evidence":[{"description":"Lime's user agreement requires users to notify Lime of billing disputes within 10 business days, and Lime's internal process has been documented as producing blanket denials for no-service scenarios, meaning delays in escalating to the card issuer can leave users with no remedy.","reference":"https://www.li.me/user-agreement"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"}],"record_verification":{"last_checked_agentic_scan":"2026-07-01","last_checked_human_verified":null},"vendor_id":"lime","verified_discrepancies":[{"actuals":"Multiple documented user complaints show that Lime charges users for rides or unlocks when no service is actually rendered (e.g., scooter locked out during restricted hours, app errors preventing access to discounted passes), then denies refunds by citing the blanket non-refundable policy rather than exercising the discretionary review it advertises. In at least one BBB-documented case, Lime confirmed the denial in writing and subsequently stopped responding.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"At least 2024 (complaints documented through 2024\u20132025)","evidence":[{"description":"BBB complaint documents a user charged $15 for a scooter that was unavailable until 5am, with no service rendered; Lime collected the fee and the user reported no refund was issued.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/bike-rental/lime-1116-878874/complaints?page=5"},{"description":"BBB review documents a user overcharged over $200 due to a Lime app error preventing Lime Pass purchase; Lime refused a refund 'citing their policy' and then stopped responding to emails.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/bike-rental/lime-1116-878874/customer-reviews"},{"description":"Lime's own Help Center states rides are non-refundable except where required by law, with discretionary review available 'if something goes wrong' \u2014 the policy that users report is not being applied in practice.","reference":"https://help.li.me/hc/en-us/articles/1260804576689-Lime-s-refund-policy"}],"interim_guidance":"Do not rely on Lime's stated discretionary refund process to resolve failed transactions or service non-delivery. If completing a transaction on behalf of a user, document all ride confirmation details and screenshots at time of booking. If a ride is charged but not rendered, advise the user to immediately dispute the charge with their card issuer rather than relying on Lime's internal review process, as Lime consistently applies the blanket non-refundable policy even in no-service scenarios.","last_checked_date":"2026-07-01","status":"active","type":"policy_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Lime's published refund policy states that rides are non-refundable, but that 'if something goes wrong with your ride, our team will review your case and may, at our discretion, issue a refund' \u2014 implying case-by-case review is available for service failures."}]}