Payless Car Rental: We Spy Harder
Christopher Elliott writes in The New York Times about car rental companies using tracking devices against their customers. One customer, a Mr. Son, "received a shock" when he returned the Ford Escort he'd rented to Payless:
The $259.51 bill he expected had ballooned to $3,405.05 - most of it a result of a $1-a-mile fee for each of the 2,874 miles driven. It turned out that by crossing the state line, he had violated his contract with Payless."If we had known we couldn't drive the car outside California, we wouldn't have rented it," Mr. Son said.
Penalties for taking a rental vehicle beyond state lines or national borders are not new. But the way in which Mr. Son's surcharge was applied was somewhat novel. The rental company presented him with a map showing his exact route outside California as relayed by a tracking device in his car. Mr. Son said he was surprised to learn that his movements were being tracked. A letter was included with the bill. "Should you choose to dispute this amount," wrote Umesh Pudasaini, the Payless branch manager, "we will pursue all avenues" to collect full payment. Car rental companies have come to rely on an emerging technology called telematics - which combines satellite-based Global Positioning System tracking, wireless communications and vehicle monitoring systems - to keep tabs on their vehicles. About a quarter of the rental cars in the United States are equipped with tracking technology, analysts estimate. The industry views telematics as a way to enforce its contracts, but some customers regard it, at best, as a means to make more money and, at worst, as an invasion of privacy.
Neil Abrams, an auto rental consultant, said early uses of G.P.S. technology in rental cars, like the Hertz NeverLost system, were intended to help motorists find their way. But recent efforts have quietly focused on catching renters who drive out of state or break speed laws.
I'll focus my efforts on renting from companies that respect my privacy -- if any.
UPDATE: Speaking of scary, here's Reason's Brian Doherty on CAPPS II, which "could be operating in our nation's airports as soon as next month." Oh, relinquishing our privacy is all for our own protection, is it? Oh, goody.
The Goddess writes: "I'll focus my efforts on renting from companies that respect my privacy -- if any."
I also. That's kind of scary, actually. I wonder if those things can also track vertical movement as well. Should be a disconcerting thought to two horny teenagers when Payless discovers that their rented car has done some repeated up and down movements, all while never leaving the parking spot.
Patrick at January 14, 2004 6:12 AM
you work on atomic energy and it ends up being a big bomb ...
you try to help motorists and you end up hurting them -- and why is it a problem to drive outside the state line in the first place? i thought you just get charged an extra fee for dropping off in a different place than you pick up? what happens to tourists, especially from other countries, who want to rent a car for a vacation that includes more than one state?
you start keeping tabs on the citizenry in the name of airline security .....
and they say it's not a slippery slope.
david at January 14, 2004 7:39 AM