Oops, Hertz’s AI scanner wrongly charges customers for phantom car damage

Hertz’s AI-powered damage detection system, UVeye, is creating widespread customer complaints and billing disputes after flagging nonexistent damage on rental cars. The system, deployed at airport locations since April 2024, is charging customers hundreds of dollars for phantom damage while offering no clear appeals process, highlighting broader concerns about automated decision-making replacing human judgment.

What you should know: UVeye’s AI scanning technology frequently misidentifies normal wear, dirt, or reflections as vehicle damage, leading to unjustified charges.

• One Houston customer was flagged for apparent damage that wasn’t visible upon inspection, with Hertz employees unable to help and pointing to the “AI scanner” as the final authority.
• The customer noted: “Did the AI scanner [misinterpret] water reflections or dirt on the black car as damage? There’s no way to even present that possibility, no path to defend yourself. It’s an unchallengeable, automated accusation.”
• Hertz claimed the system would bring “greater transparency, precision and speed” to rentals, though evidence suggests otherwise.

The bigger problem: Similar AI damage detection systems at other rental companies are producing equally problematic results.

• Germany-based Sixt’s Car Gate AI has fined customers $650 each for damage that occurred before their rental periods, based on incorrectly timestamped photos.
• Two American customers received fines with photographic “evidence” showing damage that predated their rentals entirely.
• While charges were eventually dropped after complaints, many customers likely pay unfair fees rather than fight the system.

Why this matters: The rental car industry’s embrace of flawed AI systems represents a broader trend of companies using automation to avoid accountability.

• UVeye is currently deployed only at Hertz airport locations, but other rental companies are investing in similar damage-detection software.
• The technology demonstrates how algorithms can harm consumers when deployed prematurely, with companies offloading decision-making to automated systems that lack human oversight.
• This pattern extends beyond car rentals, serving as a warning for AI implementation across industries where human judgment remains essential.

The accountability gap: Customers face an automated system with no clear recourse when the AI makes errors.

• Hertz employees cannot override UVeye’s determinations, leaving customers with limited options beyond contacting customer support.
• Even customer service representatives claim they “can’t do anything” about AI-generated damage claims.
• The system creates what amounts to “unchallengeable, automated accusations” that shift the burden of proof entirely onto customers.