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The AI damage-detection system rolled out by Hertz continues to frustrate customers as more come forward after being charged for almost invisible damage.
The company, along with its affiliate companies Thrifty and Dollar, has rolled out AI-powered vehicle scanners that detect damage as cars leave or enter the rental car park, with the goal of damage reporting becoming faster, more objective and more accurate.
In a similar but perhaps even more alarming case than last month, one customer has reported being charged for a dent repair for a dent that is almost indistinguishable.
“I recently rented a car from Hertz at IAH (Houston airport) and upon 30 mins of dropping the car off, I received a text saying there was damage reported on the car with a $195 bill tacked on it,” said the customer, who had posted the complaint on Reddit under the name animemufin.
“Upon taking a look at the pictures included, the ‘dent’ they’re referring to is negligible and even looks like a smudge to be quite honest. Am I crazy for fighting back and emailing/calling customer service that I’m not paying for it?”
Accompanying the post in the r/HertzRentals community, the customer posted an image which shows a very small and hard to discern dent under the fuel cap of the rental vehicle.
While the actual measured size of the dent is unknown as the quality and angle of the image is difficult to interpret, Hertz’ own policy says that dents under one inch are considered regular wear and that it would not charge customers for this kind of damage.
Cyber Daily reached out to Hertz for the exact size of the dent and is awaiting a response.
The customer was charged US$195 for the repair but has been offered a discount of US$65 if the fee is paid within a shorter period. In previous instances, Hertz has offered a lesser discount if the fee is paid within a longer limited time.
Both discounts are considered by many to be a way of discouraging people from contesting the damage.
In Cyber Daily’s last report, a customer who was charged US$440 for a wheel scratch just minutes after returning his rented Volkswagen to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, found contesting the damage charge was incredibly difficult.
The customer said that at the time of writing, live chat agents were 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.
“Wow the added pressure to just accept it now is wild. I smell a future class action lawsuit,” said one Reddit user responding to animemufin.
“I like the ‘act now and we’ll waive the loss of use charge’,” said another.
“Exactly what loss of use is this pinky sized ding causing other than your own self inflected admin work you’re putting in to cash grab over a hundred bucks on your own customer.”
Hertz’ AI scanners were only recently rolled out in April when the rental company announced its partnership with Israeli AI firm UVeye. The company plans to implement 100 scanners by the end of 2025 all around the country but currently has only rolled it out in a limited number of airports.
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.
A company spokesperson previously told Cyber Daily that the technology was designed to reduce incorrect damage charges.
“Over 97 per cent of cars scanned with this technology show no billable damage, proving that the vast majority of rentals are incident-free. Vehicle damage has long been a common pain point across the car rental industry for customers and companies alike,” the spokesperson said.
“At Hertz, we’re using this technology to tackle this head on. Our goal is to enhance the rental experience by ensuring customers are not charged for damage that didn’t occur during their rental, while bringing greater transparency, precision and speed to the process when new damage is detected.
“As we continue rolling out this technology, we remain committed to ongoing innovation and continuous improvement."
Hertz was previously found guilty by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 2016 for “incorrectly invoicing and charging customers for pre-existing vehicle damage and failing to pass on spare parts discounts to customers” and instead charged customers the full repair cost while pocketing the difference.
The company voluntarily refunded consumers and vowed to improve its damage assessment and charging practices
According to Bloomberg, Hertz has a total compiled debt of US$6 billion, including a US$500 million junk bond issued in December.
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