S'pore woman, 26, shocked she had to pay S$10,650 for TribeCar vehicle accident, platform said it doesn't profit from it

A woman in Singapore crashed her car rented from car-sharing firm TribeCar, while making a left turn into an expressway, and got hit by a vehicle on her right hand side as her turn was too wide.

She was shocked when she had to fork out S$10,650 for repairs.

The woman, Joey Chok, then took to TikTok on Jan. 6 to share that she was confused and shocked that she had to pay so much money out of pocket.

Accident reporting

The accident occurred on Dec. 30, 2025, at around 1:30am.

Following the accident, Chok said she was shocked, but followed the post-accident reporting procedure.

The 26-year-old contacted the TribeCar emergency hotline and provided photos of the damage.

She was instructed to extend her rental booking to 8pm and paid S$137.99 for it.

8world reported that the car repair shop subsequently quoted her a lump sum bill of S$4,800, without providing an itemised breakdown.

Chok also had to pay S$700 for damages, as well as S$5,450 for third-party excess.

The total bill came up to S$10,950.

The woman said what left her confused was that the company she needed to contact was not TribeCar, but RentNow Leasing, the company that rented the car to TribeCar, which then rented it out to her.

As the repair cost of S$4,800 was S$200 less than the amount she could claim, she asked if the repair cost could be increased to meet the claims threshold so that she could be reimbursed for about 80 per cent of the cost.

However, RentNow Leasing apparently refused and stated that no changes could be made.

The total payable sum was subsequently negotiated down to S$10,650, a figure that Chok mentioned a number of times in her TikToks.

She was then sent a detailed bill a week later.

Update on claims

In a TikTok update on Jan. 10, Chok admitted that she has accepted the consequences, but still hoped to understand the entire repair billing process.

She reiterated that she had made payment of S$10,650 to RentNow Leasing out of her own pocket.

This amount consisted of S$5,450 for third party excess, S$4,600 for repairs, and S$600 for loss of use.

The third party excess relates to the other party's vehicle and potential claims such as repair, loss of use, loss of income, and medical related claims, she added.

She also reiterated that the third party excess payment did not go to TribeCar.

Chok said: "It is part of the insurance and claims process facilitated through TribeShield. I also understand that the TribeShield insurance claims process can take time due to standard insurance investigations and procedures."

TribeCar response

In response to Chok's account, TribeCar issued a statement on TikTok reiterating that it does not profit from accidents.

It also said the woman's account was incomplete and that she had paid the supplier of the vehicle and TribeCar did not "receive a single penny".

TribeCar told 8world that RentNow Leasing provides some of the vehicles to TribeCar, but each platform has its own designated workshop for maintenance and repairs.

It also highlighted the woman's signing up for TribeShield, which could significantly reduce a driver's financial liability via insurance excess in the event of an accident.

TribeCar wrote: "TribeShield can reduce accident outlay to just S$490.50 + S$490.50 for genuine cases. After better understanding how it works, she is now comforted that she made the right choice to pay for TribeShield as the reimbursement will reduce the initial outlay greatly."

It told 8world separately: "In this case, the customer was unable to claim compensation for the damage to the rented vehicle because the repair costs were below the applicable deductible."

"However, customers are still eligible to claim compensation for damage to third-party vehicles, but this will require an assessment. Without TribeShield, they will not be able to receive compensation for the third-party vehicle deductible."

Top photos via Joey Chok