'Did BlueSG overcharge me?' Man asks after paying $650 for damaged side mirror

After getting involved in an accident, one man wondered if he was being penalised too heavily for it.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (July 5), Vernon Tay shared that he rented a BlueSG car a few weeks ago.

While there was nothing wrong with the vehicle, an Opel, Tay said that it was his first time driving the model.

"I did not swerve fast enough and knocked onto a lorry and damaged the left front side mirror," he added.

The bill for the damages came at $650 — an amount that Tay had an issue with.

"Did they overcharge me? Because I thought it should be covered by insurance," he wondered.

He wrote that he is unable to do anything about the disputed penalty since his BlueSG membership is tied to his credit card.

Tay's Facebook post has since garnered over 90 comments.

Several netizens commented that Tay is "lucky" that BlueSG had "only" slapped him with a $650 bill. 

"Some modern car mirrors can cost up to $1,000 to replace so this is not surprising," one of them said.

"The lorry driver might claim for damages as well," another warned.

Another netizen pointed out that the $650 might not just cover the repairs alone.

"The downtime for the car to be sent for repairs. The manpower, the admin fees are likely the main costs," he said.

"Don't speed or whatever. Not worth it. Drive slowly," a netizen advised.

According to BlueSG's terms and conditions, users are provided with medical expenses insurance of up to $1,000 per accident, and up to $100,000 in personal accident cover.

But users have to acknowledge and agree that the insurance may not cover in whole or in part, liability to BlueSG or to a third party, including for damage to the BlueSG car.

"You may be liable directly to BlueSG and/or any third party to whom you have caused damage, injury or loss through you use of the BlueSG service" the company stated on their website.

AsiaOne has contacted BlueSG and Tay for more information.

Previously, another BlueSG driver had to fork out $9,800 in damages after the car he rented collided with a lorry in Marsiling.

"All I ask for is the cost breakdown as I want to fully understand what am I paying for. Is it really that expensive to fix a hollow bumper and steel bar exoskeleton while everything else was intact?", Choar Choong Leong questioned in a Facebook post last November. 

ALSO READ: Man slapped with $10k repair fee after stranger 'helps' him to park BlueSG car

chingshijie@asiaone.com