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

A little help goes a long way, they always say. But in this case, that 'little help' went quite the wrong way. 

A man, who goes by the name YP Alex on Facebook, shared how he allegedly wound up with a $10,000 repair fee from car rental company BlueSG — all because he accepted a kind stranger's help. 

In his post on Thursday (Sept 29), Alex said he was having some difficulty trying to park his BlueSG car into a "narrow" space. 

A letter from BlueSG in his post states that the incident took place on Aug 18. Alex did not reveal the location.

"Another person offer[ed] to help me park my car. But he mistakenly pressed [the] accelerator instead of the brakes," he wrote. 

The rented vehicle ended up hitting a garbage can and was damaged from the impact. 

From Alex's photos of the car, the license plate was dislodged from the vehicle, and the rim of one of the rear tires was also damaged. 

Alex stated he had reported the incident to all the relevant parties. 

A month after the incident, Alex alleged that he received a letter from BlueSG charging him a repair fee of almost $10,000.

According to the letter sent to Alex, the amount includes an "own damage repair cost" of $8,495.15, as well as an administrative and GST charge of $1,274.27. 

On top of that, Alex is also expected to fork out up to $8,000 for third-party excess, depending on the BlueSG's insurers. 

A check on BlueSG's website shows that the "own damage repair cost" refers to the amount payable by a driver for any damage "arising out of or in connection with any collision or accident that occurs during the rental period. 

Third-party excess refers to the amount payable by the driver for "any damages or injury caused to any third-party property or person arising out of or in connection with any collision, accident or incident" that occurs during the rental period.

Describing the charges as "impossibly high", Alex lamented in the Facebook post: "This huge amount really stretches my [budget] and push[es] me to the edge of [bankruptcy]." 

He added that he's been trying to get in touch with BlueSG to obtain a more detailed breakdown of the repair fees, but has yet to receive a proper response from the company. 

Alex's post drew mixed reactions from netizens, some of whom shared that they had similar experiences with BlueSG. One said he stopped renting cars from BlueSG due to their "poor customer service and unreasonable charge[s]". 

Conversely, others felt that Alex was at fault for the accident, remarking that he should not have parked at a lot which required parallel parking. 

Another astute netizen also suggested that there might be more than meets the eye, judging from the extent of the damage from the pictures Alex posted. 

Another netizen also reminded Alex that he wasn't allowed to let another person handle the car while he was renting it, citing the terms and conditions from BlueSG's website. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Alex and BlueSG for more information. 

In a separate incident that happened earlier this month, a car renter incurred a $2,187.20 fine from local car renting company GetGo — all because he failed to check the rental car's condition before driving off. 

Dan Yeo shared his predicament in a Facebook post, explaining he only checked for damages on the driver's side of the rental car as he "was in a hurry for his appointment". 

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

ALSO READ: 'The wheel fell off and rolled away': BlueSG driver alerts other renters

claudiatan@asiaone.com