As some rental car companies implement artificial intelligence (AI), drivers say the technology is driving up unfair charges.
Customers across the country are claiming they’re being charged hundreds of dollars in damage fees—sometimes weeks after returning their rentals—for minor or even nonexistent damage.
Massachusetts resident Ellen Connor was one of the customers who was hit with hundreds of dollars in damage she says she didn’t cause.
“I am always willing to pay for damage if I’ve done it, but they did not prove any of it,” Connor said.
She rented a Mercedes to drive along the West Coast with her son this summer.
“It was the nicest car I’ve ever driven, and it was great,” Connor said.
What wasn’t great were the bills she got after the trip. The rental car company charged her over a thousand dollars in damages.
Connor was shocked. She said nothing happened while she was driving and the videos she took when returning the car showed no damage.
“I had taken such good care of the car,” she said. “I always parked it very carefully. I would kind of walk around it every day and inspect it.”
The company said photos taken by their AI system proved otherwise. Connor was charged for a scratch on a rear door, a mark on a tire and a damaged front bumper.
But, Connor said, the photos the company provided didn’t prove there was damage.
“I still couldn’t see it,” she said. “I wrote back and said I don’t see any evidence of damage.”
Rental car companies nationwide are rolling out new AI-powered inspection systems that resemble drive-through gates. As customers rent and return their cars, the systems capture images from multiple angles and use artificial intelligence to evaluate any potential damage.
Companies claim the technology make the damage inspection process more efficient, objective and transparent, but some drivers claim it is making mistakes.
Michael Audette was charged over $300 after renting a car in Florida. Like Connor,…