If you were thinking about getting a rental car on your next Disney or Universal vacation you may want to look into Hertz’s new AI technology before making your choice.
It seems that Hertz is now using UVeye tech to scan vehicles before and after rentals to find “damage” that they can charge you for. This system has been live for a few months in select locations, with plans to roll out the technology to at least 100 of its 1,600 domestic airport locations by the end of the year.
According to “The Drive” one customer recently was billed $440 for a one-inch scuff on a rear wheel within “minutes” of returning a rented Volkswagen to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
The renter said that the $440 bill broke down into $250 for the repair, $125 for processing, and $65 for administrative fees. For a small scuff.
When the bill was sent so were before and after image scans of the car to show the damage. He was then offered to option to pay within two days for a $52 discount.
Of course, he attempted to call customer service and claimed that the chatbot system would not let him speak to a live person. Instead, he used the “contact us” link to send an email, which could take up to 10 days for a response, well past the 2-day “discount” window.
“The Drive” does mention that there is a way to flag the claim so an agent can review it and call the customer back or he could have called the normal support line for a representative.
Either way, it is concerning that any mark on the rental could come back as a big charge to the customer.
If a “scuff” costs $450, what does it cost if someone bumps into your rental? Or if someone else keys the car?
Another customer posted this image on Reddit (via the NYPost)
They were charged $195.
Hertz customers are starting to raise concerns about this new technology that could hit you in the wallet for anything the AI finds. “The Drive” notes that the pricing isn’t transparent saying,
“As it stands, Hertz has no listed prices on its website for estimates of what different kinds of damage typically cost, so customers are kind of in the dark about this stuff until it happens.”
Be aware of this when you go to rent your next vehicle.
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