Consumer Agency Warns of Increased Rental Car Issues During Summer Vacation Season... Advises Caution

Monthly Number of Damage Relief Applications Related to Rental Cars. (Source=Korea Consumer Agency)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] It has been revealed that rental car usage-related damages are concentrated in July and August, the summer vacation season, requiring consumers to exercise special caution.

On the 20th, the Korea Consumer Agency analyzed 819 rental car-related damage relief applications received over the past three years (2017?2019) and found that 21.1% (173 cases) of all damage relief applications were concentrated in July and August.

By type of damage, 'accident-related damages' accounted for the largest portion at 46.6% (382 cases), followed by 'contract-related damages' at 34.4% (282 cases), and 'rental car management negligence' at 5.9% (48 cases).

Analyzing the 382 'accident-related damage' cases, 'excessive repair cost charges' accounted for 69.9% (267 cases), making up more than half. Next were 'excessive charges for business loss costs (rental fees) due to inability to operate during repair period' at 48.4% (185 cases), 'excessive charges for deductible/self-pay amounts' at 41.6% (159 cases), and 'excessive depreciation charges' at 9.2% (35 cases).

The average claimed amount for 'repair costs' was approximately 1.82 million KRW, the claimed amount for 'rental fees' was about 730,000 KRW, and the claimed amount for 'deductible/self-pay amounts' was about 600,000 KRW.

Among service types, 'general rental cars' and 'car sharing' had 'accident-related damages' as the most common at 50.5% (252 cases) and 47.7% (105 cases), respectively, while 'long-term rental cars' had the highest proportion of 'contract-related damages' at 54.0% (54 cases).

The Consumer Agency urged consumers to check precautions before contract signing, at vehicle pickup, in case of an accident, and at vehicle return to prevent rental car-related consumer damages.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Policy Committee under the Prime Minister's Office recommended last year to the Fair Trade Commission to revise the 'Standard Terms and Conditions for Car Rentals' to prevent excessive charges for repair costs and deductibles to consumers in case of rental car accidents.

Accordingly, the Fair Trade Commission plans to revise the standard terms and conditions to require rental car operators to provide vehicle repair details when charging repair costs and to stipulate appropriate deductible amounts considering the severity of the accident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.