Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and for Dan Borelli and John Heinkel, it was a match made in frustration heaven.
But that convenience came didn't come without aggravation. In many cases, the companies set up shop overnight, angering residents and business owners who suddenly found the scooters cluttered on sidewalks and streets.That's when Heinkel, who happened to run an international repossession business, walked in.
After a few minutes, Borelli spots a delinquent scooter on the property of a hotel that's contracted with ScootScoop. It's also in a fire lane. He pulls out his phone and starts the process of "ticketing" -- yes, they write their own "tickets" -- and then towing his first scooter of the morning. ScootScoop has a growing list of nearly 350 properties whose owners have contracted with them to rid their grounds of parked scooters. Borelli and Heinkel's daily route takes them past many of those locations. But they also rely on part-time employees back at the office to check on the very apps people use to rent the scooters. They can see if riders are dropping scooters off at properties that ScootScoop serves.
In a statement, a spokesman for Lime said, "ScootScoop has repeatedly been observed taking scooters that are responsibly parked" and that "their attempts to deputize themselves as an extension of the city is not only unlawful, but it is nothing more than a property theft scheme to generate income."