- Car hire companies are deploying new AI-powered scanning systems to detect even minor vehicle damage, sparking customer outrage over unexpected charges.
- Hertz, a prominent car rental firm, is using UVeye’s automated technology at several US airports, which compares high-resolution images taken at pickup and return to identify new damage.
- Customers report receiving substantial bills for tiny imperfections, such as small dents or scuffs, often just minutes after returning their vehicles.
- Specific cases include Kelly Rogers being charged for a ‘dent’ she thought was a shadow, and another customer facing a $440 bill for a one-inch scuff.
- Despite customer complaints and plans to expand the system to over 100 US airports, Hertz maintains the technology ensures customers are not charged for pre-existing damage.
Yeah. I don’t trust the tech or the company.
Tech seems fine. I just won’t expect that statement to be true.
The only way the customer has, to know if the damage was pre-existing, is to have their own machine to check it while receiving it, because for a company charging that high for a small amount of damage, I won’t expect them to actually try being fair with properly checking for pre-existing damage on checkout.
Then considering how the amount is significantly greater than what it would take to fix it, the employees might as well be adding minor amounts of damage themselves before scanning it.