When John Stachura drove his rental automobile by Sixt’s futuristic synthetic intelligence scanner in Manchester, England, he was impressed. He assumed that such an elaborate contraption have to be a foolproof option to doc the automobile’s preexisting harm. Nevertheless, his opinion of the expertise disintegrated when he obtained a $2,200 restore invoice after his 24-hour rental.
Reviewing the harm declare, Stachura was sure that Sixt’s AI scanner had made an costly error within the firm’s favor. It had alerted to deep scratches on the physique of the automobile throughout his return journey by the scanner. That was the identical harm he had famous and properly photographed earlier than taking the wheel.
But Sixt’s AI scanner, generally known as Automotive Gate, had failed to spotlight the scrapes firstly of Stachura’s rental.
Regardless of his proof of the AI scanner’s mistake, Sixt continued to demand that he pay $2,200 to repair the automobile. Two months later, after the automobile rental firm threatened him with collections and authorized motion, he requested me for assist.
As a shopper advocate and TPG’s ombudsman, I do know Stachura will not be alone. AI scanners at Sixt and Hertz (and its subsidiaries) are making errors, and prospects are paying the value. The associated fee to vacationers isn’t just in actual {dollars} but in addition within the time and power they spend defending themselves. Based mostly on my case recordsdata, it seems that the deployment of this expertise could also be a bit untimely.
This is what automobile rental prospects have to learn about defending themselves from an AI scanner’s mistake — and the way Stachura’s battle towards one finally ended.
A 1-day drive in a beat-up rental automobile
On the finish of September, Stachura and his spouse — who’re self-described “Sixt Loyalists” — traveled to England. Throughout a one-day journey to Manchester, the couple rented a BMW Sequence 5 on the airport.
“We seen instantly that the rental automobile wasn’t in nice form,” Stachura informed me. “It had harm to the entrance passenger’s aspect. The tire rim had heavy scuffs, and there was a deep scrape on the physique.”
Having rented roughly 20 automobiles from Sixt over time, the couple was shocked by the poor situation of the automobile. Nobody on the rental counter had informed them that the automobile was broken.
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“We took a couple of photographs of the scratch and the scuffs,” Stachura recalled. “Then I took a video throughout the automobile in case I missed the rest. Our time was restricted there, and we wished to get on the street.”
So, in an effort to rapidly be on their means, the Stachuras didn’t return to the rental counter to report the harm. The couple would vastly remorse that call for months to come back.
Automotive Gate, Sixt’s AI scanner takes its personal photographs of the BMW
The Stachuras loaded their baggage and themselves into the rental automobile and shortly handed by the AI scanner. Lower than 24 hours later, the couple was again, having pushed simply 16 miles. They went by Automotive Gate once more, parked the automobile, and headed contained in the airport.
Stachura says he had no inkling that this rental can be any totally different from his others. However two days later, he acquired the primary of many emails from the Sixt Injury Workforce.
It learn partially:
“Thanks in your rental with Sixt. We’re contacting you relating to harm to the automobile that has been recorded upon your return. We now have checked the paperwork accessible to us and assign the harm to your rental interval. We sit up for receiving your cost of £1,659 [within seven days].”
Hoping this could be an simply correctable mistake, the couple requested the Automobile Incident Report. These reviews embody essential particulars in regards to the automobile, the rental contract, photographs of the harm, and restore estimates. If you happen to imagine you are being falsely charged for automobile rental harm, it is essential that you just get the VIR and punctiliously evaluate it for inaccuracies.
The Stachuras have been positive that the VIR related to their rental would vindicate them.
And it did.
The VIR with the AI scanners’ earlier than and after photographs clearly confirmed the pre-existing harm in each units. The Stachuras’ pictures and video supplied the identical proof.
Nevertheless, that plain, obtrusive proof did not cease Sixt from pursuing the Stachuras for cost of the $2,200 restore invoice. For eight weeks, Sixt inundated the couple with calls for for cost, warnings that their account was in arrears, and, lastly, threats of collections. That is when the couple requested me for assist.
AI scanners rolled out, and the complaints began rolling in
Hertz after which Sixt rolled out AI scanner expertise in restricted areas in April 2025. Nearly instantly, complaints from automobile rental prospects started to roll into my inbox, stating that the expertise had falsely attributed harm to them.
Every false accusation was the results of an AI scanner’s failure to “hit” on preexisting harm because the buyer exited the automobile rental lot. Nevertheless, when that very same traveler returned the automobile, the system detected and highlighted the issue.
The excellent news for shoppers is that the AI scanners are complete. In truth, in each case I’ve investigated involving this expertise, the connected before-and-after photographs have made my job defending the client tremendous straightforward. These photos are clear, timestamped, and seize the automobile from all angles.
The unhealthy information for vacationers is that if there is no such thing as a human oversight and the AI scanner makes a mistake, they could face a protracted battle to show their innocence.
That is precisely what occurred to the Stachuras. Within the AI scanner’s photographs of the BMW on the exit gate, the bizarre scrape formed just like the letter C is unmistakable.
However the couple was unable to search out anybody at Sixt who would evaluate the proof and erase the debt.
Asking Sixt about Automotive Gate and its prospects’ complaints
Spokespersons for each Hertz and Sixt have assured me that AI scanners are only a software and should not used with out human oversight.
Nevertheless, the circumstances I’ve obtained to this point all seem to have bypassed the eyes of an actual particular person. In Stachura’s case, the pre-existing harm is seen from a number of angles.
Nonetheless, the couple’s battle escalated and culminated with Sixt threatening to hunt not solely the cost for the $2,200 restore invoice, but in addition “Damages attributable to Delay” below the German Civil Code. (Sixt is a German-based firm.)
As I used to be reviewing the paper path Stachura had despatched to me, I acquired the sense that AI might need additionally been dealing with the couple’s grievance.
I used to be pretty sure that as quickly as Sixt’s govt crew had a take a look at their case, the Stachuras would rapidly get the decision they deserved.
The excellent news from Sixt
As a member of the media, I can attain firm executives that prospects can’t. Sadly, generally these are the one individuals who can appropriate intractable shopper issues.
I contacted our govt at Sixt on the Stachuras’ behalf and shared Automotive Gate’s pre-rental scans of the BMW. As I suspected, the couple’s battle was rapidly and efficiently over. The corporate spokesperson wrote:
“Hello Michelle,
Thanks very a lot for reaching out and for sharing the main points of the case.
After reviewing the total timeline as soon as once more, we will affirm that each the harm entry and the related cost have been totally canceled.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has brought about.”
The Stachuras are thrilled to place this example within the rearview mirror. No phrase but on whether or not they nonetheless take into account themselves “Sixt Loyalists.”
Rental Automotive prospects towards AI scanners: This is how one can win
Identical to any synthetic intelligence, AI automobile scanners make errors. Sadly, these errors can lead to substantial restore payments for harmless automobile rental prospects.
And though this expertise is at present solely being utilized in restricted areas and firms, shoppers can anticipate it to roll out extra broadly in 2026.
As it’s nonetheless in its studying part, vacationers have to be proactive in defending themselves towards the potential of the “malfunction” of an AI scanner.
This is how one can do it.
Doc the situation of the rental automobile earlier than and after
Automotive rental prospects getting hit with shock harm expenses after returning a automobile will not be precisely a “cease the presses” second. In truth, it is likely one of the most frequent complaints that I obtain. A lot of my investigations show that the client has been falsely accused.
The primary means automobile rental prospects can just about assure they will not get a restore invoice for harm attributable to another person is by completely photographing the automobile’s situation. This inspection needs to be carried out in a well-lit space in two waves — earlier than the rental and after. It is a essential a part of the rental automobile course of that no buyer ought to skip, no matter whether or not an AI scanner is put in.
To assist automobile rental prospects keep away from expensive harm expenses, I created free downloadable pre- and post-rental inspection checklists to function a information. I developed these types primarily based on the a whole bunch of automobile rental harm claims I’ve investigated over time.
Report unreported harm to an attendant
Even in case you’re about to undergo an AI scanner, in case you see harm to the rental automobile that wasn’t disclosed to you, it’s seemingly not recorded anyplace. If you happen to drive away with the automobile with out reporting it, the issue turns into yours. Discover an worker on the lot or return to the rental counter and doc the harm.
Don’t settle for assurances from staff that the AI scanner will doc the difficulty or that the harm is just too minor to matter. I’ve seen prospects get charged hundreds of {dollars} for small dents and scratches.
Ask for a duplicate of the entire Automobile Incident Report
If the worst occurs and an AI scanner detects harm to your rental automobile after you come back it, you need to request the Automobile Incident Report. The VIRs created by AI scanners are very thorough. The AI scanner’s errors aren’t rooted within the machine’s lack of ability to doc the automobile’s situation. As a substitute, the errors I’ve seen to this point have all been on account of AI not alerting to pre-existing harm that the scanner did seize.
Asking for and reviewing the VIR is step one in defending towards AI scanner false positives. Ensure to evaluate the VIR on a full-size pc display, so you possibly can enlarge the areas recognized as broken within the scans.
You will additionally need to ensure the photographs within the VIR are literally of the automobile you rented and match the dates of your rental. (Mistaken-identity harm expenses should not unusual.)
If you happen to’ve taken your personal photographs (as I hope you might have), evaluate the AI scanner photos with your personal. These snaps can present a further layer of protection towards false harm expenses.
Escalate your grievance to the chief customer support stage
I typically evaluate the paper path of consumers who’ve tried in useless to repair their very own downside, going round and round in irritating circles with firm “brokers.” And all of the whereas, they’re getting no nearer to fixing the difficulty.
There is a purpose that these conversations appear nonsensical.
The disagreeable reality is that synthetic intelligence is not simply taking up your automobile rental inspection. AI has taken over many elements of customer support, and shoppers typically discover it very troublesome to achieve an actual particular person inside corporations who can really repair issues. Whenever you’re going through a high-value restore invoice for harm you did not trigger, you need to attain a human who can evaluate the main points of your state of affairs and make common sense choices.
Do not be fooled by the chat home windows, that are nearly all the time powered by an AI program trying to sound human.
To interrupt out of an AI-powered round loop, kind “Stay Agent,” and most applications will be capable of switch you to an actual particular person to escalate your efforts. My group, Shopper Rescue, affords a free govt contact finder, as effectively. You inform us the corporate you are scuffling with, and we will provide the identify and e mail handle of somebody we all know who has a historical past of serving to prospects there.
Why a bank card dispute will not make a automobile rental harm declare go away
Steadily, automobile rental prospects file bank card chargebacks in an try to make a harm declare disappear. It all the time backfires on the patron, and right here is why: Automotive rental corporations do not usually combat bank card disputes. The shopper wins the chargeback by default and assumes the case is closed.
However that’s seldom the top of the story. It’s typically only the start of a brand new chapter of the issue.
The Truthful Credit score Billing Act protects bank card prospects from billing errors and fraud. In these circumstances, the patron can file a bank card dispute, and the financial institution will examine the grievance. When a bank card firm closes the case within the shopper’s favor, the service provider will not be allowed to re-bill the cost; however, that solely applies to the bank card firm. The service provider is all the time free to pursue the debt elsewhere.
Automotive rental corporations routinely ship unpaid money owed to collections and place prospects on the everlasting Do Not Lease listing. So, the patron takes successful to their credit score report and will get booted from their favourite automobile rental firm.
As a substitute of happening that disagreeable street, make each effort to resolve the difficulty instantly with the corporate. Sure, it’s unfair that buyers ought to must waste their time defending themselves towards false expenses. However you should have infinitely larger issues in your fingers in case you get despatched to collections and have to extricate your self from that difficult state of affairs. It is a lot simpler to repair this downside whereas it’s nonetheless with the automobile rental firm.
Backside line
Automotive rental prospects ought to understand that AI scanners might finally show to be a beneficial software for safeguarding each shoppers and the corporate.
Nevertheless, don’t let your self be blindsided by restore payments for harm you did not trigger.
One of the best protection towards false harm expenses is to doc, doc, doc. Get out your telephone and ensure your photographs precisely depict the automobile’s situation earlier than you drive away. Conduct that very same photograph shoot while you return the rental automobile. If you happen to do not, you are leaving your self susceptible to restore payments with little option to defend your self — and that’s a wholly avoidable predicament.
One remaining tip: My case recordsdata have not too long ago proven a disturbing pattern. Maybe, on the hunt for extra income sources, automobile rental corporations are digging deep into their information, sending prospects restore payments months and even years after the rental interval. So preserve your automobile rental photograph albums endlessly. You would possibly want these photos sooner or later.
When you have an issue with a automobile rental firm, cruise line, airline, resort or bank card firm, TPG is right here to assist. Ship your request to ombudsman@thepointsguy.com. I will examine your case and, if the information are in your favor, I will mediate in your behalf as effectively.
