Car renter gets slapped with $2,200 fine but others say he should've checked condition from the GetGo

All he wanted was to get to his appointment on time.

But this man got more than what he bargained for after realising that the car he had rented from local car-sharing service GetGo was damaged. 

And the outcome of his discovery? A $2,187.80 fine.

Upset about his predicament, the man who goes by the name Dan Yeo on Facebook, went online to seek for advice. 

The incident occurred sometime in August, he said. Prior to starting his trip, he had only checked damages on the driver's side of the rental car as he "was in a hurry for his appointment". 

Yeo only realised that the car's bumper was damaged while refuelling the vehicle at a petrol station. 

"I overheard someone saying that my rented car was quite bad," he recounted. 

After walking over to the other side of the car, Yeo "got a big shock" seeing the "dislodged" front bumper. He also found a few scratches there as well. 

"I panicked and was enraged with myself as I did not do my due diligence to check the entire car," he admitted, adding that he immediately reported the issue via GetGo's live chat.

Yeo also informed the company that he had only found out about the damages after he had started his trip. 

According to him, GetGo investigated the matter and deduced that he had caused the damages and was liable for the repair costs. 

After hearing this, Yeo said he tried to highlight "numerous times" to the company that the damages were not caused by him, and urged GetGo to relook the matter by retrieving car park CCTV footage. 

However, he said that GetGo reiterated that he should pay the fee. 

"If the damages were done by me, I will take [responsibility] to pay for it, but it's not!" Yeo emphasised in his Facebook post. 

However, many netizens don't agree with him. 

In the comments section, several people said that it was Yeo's fault for not properly checking the car before he drove off. 

According to GetGo's terms and conditions, the hirer should unlock and inspect both the interior and exterior of the vehicle for evidence of physical damage to the vehicle before driving or moving off from the designated GetGo parking space. 

They are also expected inform the company of damages and malfunctions via the submission of relevant photographs via the app, and if there is none submitted, the hirer is "deemed to be satisfied with the vehicle's condition". 

AsiaOne has yet to hear from Yeo or GetGo after contacting both parties.

One man who can probably relate to Yeo's situation is Fazli. A car he rented for work caught fire two years ago after it came into contact with lit joss sticks in Punggol.

His family heard a loud bang from their kitchen before realising that the back of the car was burning.

Despite the situation being out of his control, Fazli told AsiaOne then he was slapped with a $4,000 bill for the damages.

ALSO READ: 7 facts you need to know about car rental insurance in Singapore

melissateo@asiaone.com