- 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.
I was on the dev side of car auction software. Our auctions were starting to deploy these to create vehicle condition reports. Since COVID, a lot of sales are now made online with no chance to physically inspect the vehicle. These scans protect both the buyer and the dealer missing something. Pretty slick!
CAVEAT: Can’t say if it was the same exact system and in any case nobody was calling it AI.
Ah right. I didn’t register that they are calling it AI.
Maybe just an image pattern recognition tool made with ML for the damage.