Hertz AI damage scanning results in massive customer charges and a pressure to pay quickly

While this seems to be a great way to eliminate false charges, something Hertz has a history of after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found it guilty of overcharging or mischarging customers for pre-existing damage, it has proven problematic for customers already.

A customer renting from Hertz at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, the first location to implement the scanners, was charged US$440 for a wheel scratch just minutes after returning his rented Volkswagen.

Partick, the customer in question, was charged a US$250 rental fee, US$125 in processing charges, and a cherry on top US$65 administrative fee.

According to The Drive, Hertz defines the latter fees as “the cost to detect and estimate the damage that occurred during your rental” and to “cover a portion of the costs as a result of processing [the] claim”.

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While the prices are much higher than what one may expect to pay for a professional wheel repair job, Hertz also systematically deters customers from fighting the damage claims.

If Patrick was to accept the expense, he would get a discount of US$52. Within a week, he would receive a US$32.50 discount.

However, contacting Hertz staff is difficult. At this stage, live chat agents are only available on the website, not the app, which just pushed the claim for a later review. Emails to staff take up to 10 days for a response, eight days longer than the maximum discount period and three days longer than the period with the smaller discount.

According to The Drive, Patrick has not yet paid the fee (as of 23 June), adding that “saving $30 to accept responsibility is not worth it”.

However, it’s likely that quite a few people will feel pressured by the time limits, put it in the too-hard basket and just pay the expense.

The technology was only recently rolled out in April when Hertz announced its partnership with Israeli AI firm UVeye. The company plans to implement 100 scanners by the end of 2025 all around the country.

The company claims that the use of the technology will improve transparency and reduce subjective damage checks, while also making the process faster.

“The vast majority of rentals are incident-free. When damage does occur, our goal is to enhance the rental experience by bringing greater transparency, precision and speed to the process,” a Hertz spokesperson told MotorTrend.

“Digital vehicle inspections help deliver on that with clear, detailed documentation that is delivered more quickly, as well as a more technology-enabled resolution process.”

Additionally, the technology will scan for pre-existing damage as a customer leaves the rental lot, ensuring that it isn’t picked up as new damage upon the vehicle’s return.

To prevent the AI from hallucinating, it has reportedly combined the AI scans with manual checks, according to the UVeye site.

Will AI truly eliminate incorrect charges?

The AI scanners could be a very positive thing for Hertz customers. Despite being caught by the ACCC in 2016, customers worldwide still report attempted charges for pre-existing and non-existent damage.

“I once dropped off a car and asked for a walk around of it with the person at the authorised drop-off site. They declined, and I left. Actual agent calls me hours later saying the windshield was damaged. I asked if he could prove it wasn’t damaged after I dropped it off and that if he was aware that at drop-off, the walk around was declined at the drop-off point by the agent I left it with. Yea, I didn’t pay a dime for that windshield,” said one customer on Reddit just days ago.

“I rent for work nearly every week. Once I noticed a rental had a loose gas tank panel so I took before and after videos at pick-up and drop-off. Later, I got a bill for the missing panel. Funny thing is, the picture they attached as evidence was clearly not the lot I dropped it off at. It appeared to be a body shop. I sent them my video and told them to provide the photos from the time of drop off, and they quickly dismissed that charge,” said another.

Will the AI scanners eliminate dodgy inspections and ensure fair damage charges? Maybe.

However, if the AI does mistakenly detect damage or flags pre-existing damage, or even categorises what would usually fall under wear and tear as damage (such as scratches under a certain size), getting in contact with them to combat the issue will be not only difficult and time-consuming but also a financial risk.

Cyber Daily reached out to Hertz Australia to determine whether or not the AI scanners would be coming to Australian airports. The company has yet to respond.