'I was stunned': Man charged over $6,000 for damages to GetGo car, claims faulty brakes caused crash

A man took to social media to highlight an "unfair" charge of over $6,000 by a car rental company after he got into an accident, claiming that the brakes of the rental car were faulty.

In a post made on Facebook group Singapore Road Vigilante on Saturday (Aug 31), user Aaron Goh recounted his experience with car-sharing platform GetGo.

He said he had rented a Honda from the platform on Aug 22 and went to collect it from a car park for what he "assumed would be a smooth drive", he wrote. GetGo told AsiaOne that the incident took place at a car park in Ang Mo Kio. 

As he began to drive the car out of the parking lot however, Goh noticed something was "terribly wrong".

The man claimed that the car's brakes were not functioning as the vehicle continued to move forward despite him stepping on the brakes.

In an attempt to regain control of the car, Goh said that he applied the handbrake and shifted it into park mode.

However, the car did not stop and collided with a vehicle parked opposite it.

"I immediately contacted GetGo support to report the issue, fully expecting them to address the problem, given the clear fault with the brakes," wrote the driver.

"But a week later, I was stunned to receive a demand from GetGo asking me to pay $6,316 for the damages [to the car]."

'Feels like a scam': Goh

A picture of the car after the accident, which was attached in the post by Goh, shows little damage to it aside from a small dent and some paint scraped off the front.

"This entire situation feels like a scam – renting out a car with faulty brakes and then holding the user responsible for the inevitable accident," said Goh.

"How can they justify asking me to pay over $6,000 for an accident that was caused by their own negligence? This is beyond ridiculous."

Goh also warned other car renters that they could be putting themselves at risk by using these vehicles.

When asked by a netizen if he had any proof that the rented car had faulty brakes, Goh said there was a camera recording the inside of the car which would prove that he did not accelerate and tried to brake multiple times.

Another commentor suggested that Goh report the matter to the relevant authorities as the faulty brakes could have endangered Goh's life.

"Imagine the brake failed on the expressway," wrote the commentor.

AsiaOne has reached out to Goh for more information.

Car passed multiple inspections: GetGo

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, a GetGo spokesperson said that its team conducts regular vehicle inspections to ensure that they are safe to drive.

The spokesperson explained that the vehicle in question had gone through several inspections in the months preceding the accident.

"It was last serviced on May 13, passed its VICOM inspection on June 21 and also passed a routine inspection by our Fleet Operations (FO) team on Aug 3," he said.

"No brake issues were found during any of these inspections. In addition, our FO team also inspected the vehicle after the reported accident and did not identify any brake issues."

Additionally the spokesperson pointed out that the car in question had been driven for over 70 bookings in the month of August before the accident occurred and no brake issues had been reported then.

He highlighted that any vehicle safety concern raised by a user during their booking is assessed by GetGo's agents, who will immediately instruct the user to stop driving the car if it is deemed unsafe to drive.

"We understand that getting into an accident is distressing and frustrating. This is why we encourage users to consider opting for our collision damage waiver when booking a GetGo vehicle, which can help reduce the insurance excess ceiling by 50 per cent in the unfortunate event of an accident."

ALSO READ: Driver accused of speeding by car rental company, allegedly told to pay $3,000 for 'breach of contract'

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com