Hertz charges Navy Sailor $935 for dent amid spiraling scandal

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

By
Hours later, she received a message from Hertz and its new AI partner, UVeye, demanding $935: $500 for damage, and $435 in fees. The system had flagged two small dents on the passenger side. 'I know for a fact I didn't cause any of the damages,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I was primarily at my mother's house with the car parked.' Nadia's experience reflects a pattern emerging among Hertz customers.
DailyMail.com has spoken to scores of drivers who say the scanners are flagging dents, scrapes, and rim scuffs they don't recognize — and charging them with fees between $130 and $935 that are hard to refute. In April, Hertz announced its partnership with UVeye, an AI-equipped vehicle scanning company. The technology is already in use at five locations, with plans to expand in major airport-based rental spots by the end of the year. Hertz says the system improves driver safety, standardizes assessments, and catches hard-to-spot damage like undercarriage wear and tire scuffs.
Independent experts said the AI scanners and the customer-facing problems they're creating are raising broader questions about automation — and what rights renters have when disputing a fee. Hertz initially told DailyMail.com that these scanners were solely safety-focused. After customers started to complain, the company changed its tune: a spokesperson said 'fees are based on the actual losses and expenses we incur as a result of vehicle damage.' When DailyMail.com pressed the company about its own policies, Hertz representatives have either ignored questions entirely or claimed not to understand them. Since July 2, DailyMail.com has asked Hertz representatives five separate times to clarify whether damage charges fund actual repairs or compensate for diminished vehicle value.
Hertz has still not answered this question after multiple follow-ups. When asked about company policies, Hertz representatives insisted on the publication of 'before photos' from customers rather than addressing questions about charging transparency. And as the scanners and their fees continue, more drivers are speaking out. A customer who rented from Newark Liberty International Airport shared an email thread with DailyMail.com after receiving a $416.95 bill for 'cosmetic damage to the tire rim' from the scanner — damage he says he never noticed. 'We paid the amount only because the online claims page presented legal threats and offered no way to speak with a real person,' the driver wrote to a Hertz representative.
He asked for photo documentation to share with his credit card company. The human-led damage team replied that they 'do not have access' to those files. Hertz tells DailyMail.com that it is integrating live agents into the UVeye applications to better assist customers with similar issues. Another renter said he was charged $130 for a tiny dent on a Kia K4 sedan — even though his three-day rental only cost $116 with an AAA discount. Other drivers claimed they were charged $130 for a dent 'the size of a fingernail,' and $195 for 'a very dubious and minor ding.' The new stories mirror accusations made by at least four other drivers in the past month. In early July, Adam Foley spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com after he received a request for $285 after driving his rented Buick through the scanners.
Like every case DailyMail.com has reviewed, Hertz offered Foley a discount if he paid the fine immediately — and directed his dispute to an AI chatbot. 'It's a shakedown that is extremely off-putting,' Foley said. 'I used to view Hertz as one of the higher tier rental companies and my default, ideal choice.' While Hertz says live agents will soon come into the app, independent experts have warned that the lack of human agents is concerning. 'It is unacceptable that a resolution with a human is not possible,' said Dr Ramnath Chellappa, a digital market expert and professor at Emory University. 'If anything, AI should be reducing the human effort in assessment and walk-through with the vehicle; therefore, it should end up offering cost savings.'
Collision experts aren't even sure the scanner identified definitive damage. 'There appears to be a very minor dent visible only under enhanced lighting and reflection distortion,' Alex Black, the chief marketing officer of EpicVIN, a vehicle history report company, said after analyzing pictures Foley shared. 'It's plausible that the second fine is a reflection or a smudge, not an actual dent.' Black said he would have quoted $100 to $150 for the fix, not the $285 that Hertz had charged Foley. Every customer who spoke to DailyMail.com about receiving a charge has said they will no longer use Hertz. The new claims also mirror accusations made to other major publications.
On July 9, The New York Times interviewed a customer who was charged $195 for a small dent underneath a door handle, according to the article. 'It could have been a shadow,' Kelly Rogers, who rented the car with her husband, told the Times. 'We were pulling it up on the app, and we're like, "This is so bananas."' Another driver, identified as Patrick, told The Drive he got a $440 damage fee for a tire rash, a common scrape when motorists accidentally hit the curb when parking. Several people have also taken to Reddit to complain about the charges, including a driver who rented a Toyota Corolla, and claims they got a $190 fee for a small dent. DailyMail.com asked UVeye about the company's involvement in assessing damage. The company hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment.