Rental Cars Now Big Brother Enabled

[Ken Brown]

He signed the contract, he should pay up. It all looks perfectly fair to
me.

Of course, if he can afford a decent lawyer, the courts will be tied up
for months with debates on the reliability and audit trail of the system
that checks the cars speed - I hope for their sake that that company are
well-versed in the kind of thing discussed in the Risks list :-)

Ken

Eric Cordian wrote:
> 
> Amusing little story about a minor rental car company that installed
> GPS in all its vehicles, and added fine print to its contracts to say
> that they will dock clients $150 each time they exceed the posted speed
> limit.
> 
> One customer was unamused when they lifted an extra $450 off his debit
> card, and is taking them to court.
> 
> http://www.newmassmedia.com/nac.phtml?code=new&db=nac_fea&ref=16435
> 
> -----
> 
> Coming to small claims court: Roadrunner vs. Acme Rent-a-Car.
> 
> By Colleen Van Tassell
> Published 06/14/01
> 
> James Turner is taking Big Brother to small claims court. Turner's taking
> his own car. Big Brother's driving a rental.
> 
> A rental outfitted with a high-tech device that tracks your every move.
> One that records your speed. One that enables rental car agents to rip off
> unsuspecting drivers.
> 
> ...
> 
> When Turner signed Acme's rental agreement last October, he didn't notice
> the warning at the top of the contract that read: "Vehicles in excess of
> posted speed limit will be charged $150 fee per occurrence. All our
> vehicles are GPS equipped."
> 
> ...
> 
> When he returned to New Haven on a Sunday night, he drove to an ATM to get
> some cash and discovered his account was drained. There were three
> mysterious $150 withdrawals.
> 
> ...
> 
> --
> Eric Michael Cordian 0+
> O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
> "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"