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Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 15th, 2004, 08:00 AM
R.K.
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Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

New York Times
January 13, 2004

Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Byungsoo Son's recent western trip was mostly for pleasure. But the
car rental bill he was hit with at the end is a cautionary tale for
the business travelers who make up the bulk of the auto rental
industry's customers.

Mr. Son, who manages a grocery store in Georgetown, Ontario, and his
wife, Junghyun, picked up a Ford Escort at a Payless Car Rental outlet
in November in San Francisco - their son, Jaehwa, is an intern for a
credit card company there - and embarked on a 12-day road trip with
him.

First, they drove to Las Vegas, 50 miles east of the California state
line, and from there 200 miles to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, before
circling back to Palm Springs, Calif. They then traveled west to the
coast to drive on the scenic state Highway 1 back to Northern
California.

Mr. Son received a shock when he returned the car. 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.

The car rental industry already has a reputation for high
gasoline-refill charges and airport use fees, among other items, and
business travelers are concerned that telematics will offer yet
another opportunity for companies to impose additional charges.

Donna Williams, a former investment banker, is worried about another
potential drawback. "You don't always want your car rental company
knowing where you're going," said Ms. Williams, the author of "The
Business Travel Almanac'' (Que Publishing, 2004). "What if you're
doing your due diligence on a transaction, and you've rented a car
with a tracking device? If your rental company knows who you are,
which company you work for, and where you are, it could threaten the
whole deal. It could even be used as insider trading information."

Mr. Abrams says it is not always easy to tell if a car is being
monitored, although the fine print of a rental contract should
disclose the fact. "It could be anything from an antenna on your
rental car to something that's internal and can't be seen," he said.
Some tracking technologies simply relay a car's coordinates back to a
rental franchisee, though more sophisticated versions can keep tabs on
any damage to the vehicle and even disengage the engine by remote
control if the car is stolen or driven out of the country.

"When you put a perfect stranger in a $30,000 vehicle, you have to
protect yourself," Mr. Abrams said.

The customers also need to be protected, said Mari Anne Sullivan,
president of the Association of Car and Truck Rental Independents and
Franchisees. "There are liability issues when you take a car out of
state, and the tracking devices also help prevent theft," Ms. Sullivan
said. "That keeps rental costs down."

But Mr. Son contends profit also plays a part. He said he made his
itinerary before reserving the car and never hid his plans from
Payless. He also says the agent at the rental counter neither asked
him where he intended to go or told him of the restrictions. Mr. Son
admitted that he did not read the contract.

"There were many customers waiting behind us, and I felt rushed to
sign the contract," he said.

If Mr. Son had taken the time to read the fine print, he would have
seen a disclosure in an addendum to his rental contract warning that
the vehicle might be equipped with a tracking device and that driving
outside California would cost him $1 a mile or more.

Payless confirmed the restrictions in an e-mail message it sent to the
customer, but Mr. Son's son made the booking on his behalf, so he did
not see it.

Mr. Son appealed his bill to Payless and to the Acceleron Corporation,
the owner of the San Francisco Payless franchise. In an internal
memorandum to Mike Harley, Payless's president and chief operating
officer, Kathy Johnson, the company vice president, reported that "the
client was informed of the geographical restrictions throughout the
reservation and rental process."

Ms. Johnson says the San Francisco franchisee has had geographic
restrictions on its cars "for a number of years," and that it added
tracking devices gradually to its fleet in 2003.

Payless deferred to its franchisee for a decision on Mr. Son's
request. Mr. Pudasaini turned him down. "You violated the signed
rental agreement and jeopardized our company and your family," he
wrote in an e-mail message to Mr. Son. "You planned this trip in
advance but decided to conceal your intent."

Jaehwa Son, who was present when the car was picked up and returned,
denied his father hid anything from Payless. "Why would anyone even
try to risk a $3,400 car rental bill by concealing that kind of
information?" he asked. "We just didn't know about the rule."

Mr. Son also considers the tracking device an invasion of his privacy.
He is disputing his credit card charge and is considering suing
Payless, contending that, among other things, it failed adequately to
disclose the tracking device and violated his right to privacy.

It would not be the first time a motorist has taken a car rental
company to court over a tracking device. In 2002, a Budget Rent A Car
franchisee in Tucson was sued by at least four customers after they
were billed $1 a mile for crossing specified state lines, with the
extra fees for two of them totaling more than $7,000. The cases were
settled out of court, and the Budget franchisee no longer charges $1 a
mile for rentals taken beyond areas authorized by its rental
agreements.

Perhaps the most high-profile tracking case to date involved Acme
Rent-a-Car in New Haven, which imposed $150 fines on customers each
time they drove more than 79 miles an hour for two or more minutes. In
one instance, a customer was charged $450 for his driving.

In February 2002, the Department of Consumer Protection ordered the
company to stop fining its customers and to refund the penalties,
arguing that the tracking devices were inadequately disclosed and the
fines were excessive.

------------
Readers are invited to send stories about business travel experiences
to .


  #2  
Old January 15th, 2004, 11:28 AM
Paul O
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

^In February 2002, the Department of Consumer Protection ordered the
company to stop fining its customers and to refund the penalties,
arguing that the tracking devices were inadequately disclosed and the
fines were excessive. ^

Cheez!! This is old sh*t! Give it away! You don't read the contract - you
don't deserve any sympathy!! Rented many cars in the States - always was
told where I could NOT go - in plain English!! Is that the problem - not
much English????

"R.K." wrote in message ...
New York Times
January 13, 2004

Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Byungsoo Son's recent western trip was mostly for pleasure. But the
car rental bill he was hit with at the end is a cautionary tale for
the business travelers who make up the bulk of the auto rental
industry's customers.

Mr. Son, who manages a grocery store in Georgetown, Ontario, and his
wife, Junghyun, picked up a Ford Escort at a Payless Car Rental outlet
in November in San Francisco - their son, Jaehwa, is an intern for a
credit card company there - and embarked on a 12-day road trip with
him.

First, they drove to Las Vegas, 50 miles east of the California state
line, and from there 200 miles to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, before
circling back to Palm Springs, Calif. They then traveled west to the
coast to drive on the scenic state Highway 1 back to Northern
California.

Mr. Son received a shock when he returned the car. 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.

The car rental industry already has a reputation for high
gasoline-refill charges and airport use fees, among other items, and
business travelers are concerned that telematics will offer yet
another opportunity for companies to impose additional charges.

Donna Williams, a former investment banker, is worried about another
potential drawback. "You don't always want your car rental company
knowing where you're going," said Ms. Williams, the author of "The
Business Travel Almanac'' (Que Publishing, 2004). "What if you're
doing your due diligence on a transaction, and you've rented a car
with a tracking device? If your rental company knows who you are,
which company you work for, and where you are, it could threaten the
whole deal. It could even be used as insider trading information."

Mr. Abrams says it is not always easy to tell if a car is being
monitored, although the fine print of a rental contract should
disclose the fact. "It could be anything from an antenna on your
rental car to something that's internal and can't be seen," he said.
Some tracking technologies simply relay a car's coordinates back to a
rental franchisee, though more sophisticated versions can keep tabs on
any damage to the vehicle and even disengage the engine by remote
control if the car is stolen or driven out of the country.

"When you put a perfect stranger in a $30,000 vehicle, you have to
protect yourself," Mr. Abrams said.

The customers also need to be protected, said Mari Anne Sullivan,
president of the Association of Car and Truck Rental Independents and
Franchisees. "There are liability issues when you take a car out of
state, and the tracking devices also help prevent theft," Ms. Sullivan
said. "That keeps rental costs down."

But Mr. Son contends profit also plays a part. He said he made his
itinerary before reserving the car and never hid his plans from
Payless. He also says the agent at the rental counter neither asked
him where he intended to go or told him of the restrictions. Mr. Son
admitted that he did not read the contract.

"There were many customers waiting behind us, and I felt rushed to
sign the contract," he said.

If Mr. Son had taken the time to read the fine print, he would have
seen a disclosure in an addendum to his rental contract warning that
the vehicle might be equipped with a tracking device and that driving
outside California would cost him $1 a mile or more.

Payless confirmed the restrictions in an e-mail message it sent to the
customer, but Mr. Son's son made the booking on his behalf, so he did
not see it.

Mr. Son appealed his bill to Payless and to the Acceleron Corporation,
the owner of the San Francisco Payless franchise. In an internal
memorandum to Mike Harley, Payless's president and chief operating
officer, Kathy Johnson, the company vice president, reported that "the
client was informed of the geographical restrictions throughout the
reservation and rental process."

Ms. Johnson says the San Francisco franchisee has had geographic
restrictions on its cars "for a number of years," and that it added
tracking devices gradually to its fleet in 2003.

Payless deferred to its franchisee for a decision on Mr. Son's
request. Mr. Pudasaini turned him down. "You violated the signed
rental agreement and jeopardized our company and your family," he
wrote in an e-mail message to Mr. Son. "You planned this trip in
advance but decided to conceal your intent."

Jaehwa Son, who was present when the car was picked up and returned,
denied his father hid anything from Payless. "Why would anyone even
try to risk a $3,400 car rental bill by concealing that kind of
information?" he asked. "We just didn't know about the rule."

Mr. Son also considers the tracking device an invasion of his privacy.
He is disputing his credit card charge and is considering suing
Payless, contending that, among other things, it failed adequately to
disclose the tracking device and violated his right to privacy.

It would not be the first time a motorist has taken a car rental
company to court over a tracking device. In 2002, a Budget Rent A Car
franchisee in Tucson was sued by at least four customers after they
were billed $1 a mile for crossing specified state lines, with the
extra fees for two of them totaling more than $7,000. The cases were
settled out of court, and the Budget franchisee no longer charges $1 a
mile for rentals taken beyond areas authorized by its rental
agreements.

Perhaps the most high-profile tracking case to date involved Acme
Rent-a-Car in New Haven, which imposed $150 fines on customers each
time they drove more than 79 miles an hour for two or more minutes. In
one instance, a customer was charged $450 for his driving.

In February 2002, the Department of Consumer Protection ordered the
company to stop fining its customers and to refund the penalties,
arguing that the tracking devices were inadequately disclosed and the
fines were excessive.

------------
Readers are invited to send stories about business travel experiences
to .




  #3  
Old January 15th, 2004, 01:41 PM
Fustanella
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

January 13, 2004

More like 2001-2002 when I first heard of this, including the quoted person.
Is the NYT back into its old game of rehashing "news"?


  #4  
Old January 15th, 2004, 04:19 PM
Me
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

In article , (R.K.) wrote:

New York Times
January 13, 2004

Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Byungsoo Son's recent western trip was mostly for pleasure. But the
car rental bill he was hit with at the end is a cautionary tale for
the business travelers who make up the bulk of the auto rental
industry's customers.

Mr. Son, who manages a grocery store in Georgetown, Ontario, and his
wife, Junghyun, picked up a Ford Escort at a Payless Car Rental outlet
in November in San Francisco - their son, Jaehwa, is an intern for a
credit card company there - and embarked on a 12-day road trip with
him.

First, they drove to Las Vegas, 50 miles east of the California state
line, and from there 200 miles to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, before
circling back to Palm Springs, Calif. They then traveled west to the
coast to drive on the scenic state Highway 1 back to Northern
California.

Mr. Son received a shock when he returned the car. 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.


I guess this Mr. Son doesn't travel much. Disallowing a rental car
to cross state lines is a common practice with rental agents. I have
rented cars many times and the rental agent has always informed me
about this limitation verbally. What's new is that the rental agency
is now tracking their cars remotely, but that is their right. Mr.
Son should have asked about any limitations when he arranged for
the rental car.
  #5  
Old January 15th, 2004, 04:44 PM
Lenny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers


"Me" wrote in message
...
In article , (R.K.) wrote:

New York Times
January 13, 2004

Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Byungsoo Son's recent western trip was mostly for pleasure. But

the
car rental bill he was hit with at the end is a cautionary tale

for
the business travelers who make up the bulk of the auto rental
industry's customers.

Mr. Son, who manages a grocery store in Georgetown, Ontario, and

his
wife, Junghyun, picked up a Ford Escort at a Payless Car Rental

outlet
in November in San Francisco - their son, Jaehwa, is an intern for

a
credit card company there - and embarked on a 12-day road trip

with
him.

First, they drove to Las Vegas, 50 miles east of the California

state
line, and from there 200 miles to the Grand Canyon in Arizona,

before
circling back to Palm Springs, Calif. They then traveled west to

the
coast to drive on the scenic state Highway 1 back to Northern
California.

Mr. Son received a shock when he returned the car. 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.


I guess this Mr. Son doesn't travel much. Disallowing a rental car
to cross state lines is a common practice with rental agents. I have
rented cars many times and the rental agent has always informed me
about this limitation verbally. What's new is that the rental agency
is now tracking their cars remotely, but that is their right. Mr.
Son should have asked about any limitations when he arranged for
the rental car.


For the record, I'm a frequent renter in the Eastern U.S. and have
never encountered this "common practice." Is it primarily a creature
(a) of the West, where there are generally greater distances between
states, and (b) of smaller rental companies?


  #6  
Old January 15th, 2004, 05:20 PM
Dirk
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

"Me" wrote in message
...

I guess this Mr. Son doesn't travel much. Disallowing a rental car
to cross state lines is a common practice with rental agents. I have
rented cars many times and the rental agent has always informed me
about this limitation verbally. What's new is that the rental agency
is now tracking their cars remotely, but that is their right. Mr.
Son should have asked about any limitations when he arranged for
the rental car.


Yeah. But...

When you're talking about a dollar a mile, I gotta think--at least until
this practice is truly common knowlege--that the ethical onus should be on
the rental company to make this ability to track a car's movements and
out-of-state mileage crystal clear prior to letting a car out of the lot.

(and yeah, it's possible this Son fellow had been informed of the rate, but
just blew it off.)

I remember how I felt when I learned that my home landline calling plan
charged three (3) bucks per minute on outgoing calls to an exotive,
rarely-seen-by-civilized-humans netherworld called... Switzerland. But I
was just out 36 bucks instead of 3,400.

--
Dirk
**
"I think mostly we just grew up and realized that there really
wasn't a cosmic Santa Claus out there that was prepared to do our
bidding every time we send off some hair-brained prayer. If god
were available to answer my prayers, all conservatives would be
in big trouble because their faces would be some shade of orange
and they would be completely infertile and would have to eat
standing up because of the tail protruding from their rear end."
--kstahl explains it all for you

to email reverse moc.liamtoh@redneb_ad
**



  #7  
Old January 15th, 2004, 05:29 PM
Zen Cohen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers


"R.K." wrote in message ...
....
Mr. Son received a shock when he returned the car. 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.

.....
Penalties for taking a rental vehicle beyond state lines or national
borders are not new.


If there was no limit on the intrastate mileage, I wonder if this $2,874
"penalty" is (a) enforceable or (b) unconscionably high under whatever
consumer protection law might exist in the state.


  #8  
Old January 15th, 2004, 05:35 PM
CC Bailey
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

Me wrote:

I guess this Mr. Son doesn't travel much. Disallowing a

rental car
to cross state lines is a common practice with rental agents. I have
rented cars many times and the rental agent has always informed me
about this limitation verbally. What's new is that the rental agency
is now tracking their cars remotely, but that is their right. Mr.
Son should have asked about any limitations when he arranged for
the rental car.


Everytime I've rented a car, I've been asked where I was
planning on taking it during the rental period. Budget and
Enterprise have had no problem with us taking vehicles
out-of-state.

The last car I rented was from Payless/Fox near LAX, and
they specifically told me that I couldn't take the car
out-of-state, which was fine since I was staying in the LA area.


  #9  
Old January 15th, 2004, 05:39 PM
Brent P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

In article , R.K. wrote:
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.


Money is the obvious goal IMO. If it were about tracking the cars
and enforcing the contract, rules would be plain,simple,and obvious.
It seems in each of these stories there is some surcharge or penalty
burried in the contract enforced by the tracking technology. So IMO
it's about making money. If one ever rents a car now a days he'll have
to sit there and delay everyone as he reads the contract completely.

If it were about the safety of their property, the rental car, then
it would only serve to find stolen vehicles and used when a car was
returned damaged. Someone simply saw another application that would
be pure profit. (the tracker I assume pays for itself by recovering
stolen rentals, etc)

"There were many customers waiting behind us, and I felt rushed to
sign the contract," he said.


They count on that. They know there are people waiting in line, if
it were about protecting property and not for making money the clauses
would be in big red lettering or something to make sure people know not
to do it. Afterall, the property isn't protected by the rules
if the customer doesn't know about them.



  #10  
Old January 15th, 2004, 05:42 PM
Binyamin Dissen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Some Rental Cars Are Keeping Tabs on the Drivers

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 10:19:05 -0500 Me wrote:

:I guess this Mr. Son doesn't travel much. Disallowing a rental car
:to cross state lines is a common practice with rental agents. I have
:rented cars many times and the rental agent has always informed me
:about this limitation verbally. What's new is that the rental agency
:is now tracking their cars remotely, but that is their right. Mr.
:Son should have asked about any limitations when he arranged for
:the rental car.

And the agency should have clearly disclosed - before accepting the
reservation - that they were going to spy on where the customer drove, as well
as to what they do with the information and if/when they delete it.

--
Binyamin Dissen
http://www.dissensoftware.com
 




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