Hertz customers charged for minor damages by AI scanners can fight back using these phone apps

Rental car drivers are arming themselves with new AI-powered apps to fend any bogus charges from the growing use of the same technology by major companies like Hertz and Sixt.

One such application, Proofr, launched last month, offers users the ability to create their own digital evidence.

“It eliminates the ‘he said, she said’ disputes with rental car companies by giving users a tamper-proof, AI-powered before-and-after damage scan in seconds,” Proofr CEO Eric Kuttner told The Post.

Both Sixt and Hertz have recently faced backlash from renters who accused the companies of sideswiping them with outrageous charges for minor damages — including one Hertz renter who claimed being slapped with $440 penalty for a one-inch scuff on one of the car’s wheels.

Proofr’s system not only identifies scratches and dents but also timestamps, geotags and securely stores the images to prevent alteration.

“Because AI is now being used against consumers by rental companies to detect damage, Proofr levels the playing field,” Kuttner told The Post.

“It’s the easiest way to protect yourself from surprise damage bills that can run into the thousands all for less than the average person spends on coffee monthly.”

The service costs $9.90 per month, with a three-day free trial available for new users.

The technology powering Proofr relies on sophisticated image analysis.

According to Kuttner, the company employs “a state of the art AI image analysis pipeline to detect and log even subtle damage changes between photo sets.”

Each scan undergoes encryption, receives a timestamp and gets locked to the specific location to ensure authenticity.

The system’s AI models have been trained using thousands of real-world images to improve accuracy.

Early adopters have already successfully used the app to challenge damage claims.

Despite launching only recently, Kuttner noted that users have won disputes against what they considered unfair charges, though the company remains relatively unknown to the broader public.

Another player in this space, Ravin AI, has taken a different approach after initially working with rental companies.

The company previously partnered with Avis in 2019 and Hertz in 2022 during early experiments with AI inspections.

However, Ravin has since shifted its focus toward insurance companies and dealerships, currently working with IAG, the largest insurance firm in Australia and New Zealand.

Ravin’s founder and CEO, Eliron Ekstein, told The Drive that the company’s pivot away from rental partnerships stemmed partly from concerns about customer treatment.

“When you work for a car rental company, if you go about this in the wrong way, then you’re actually going against their interests. Because you’re going against their customers in the end,” Ekstein told The Drive.

“And we quickly realized that if we maximize our proceeds in that business, we’re actually going against their customers and themselves at the end of the day.”

The recent wave of customer complaints about AI-generated damage claims prompted Ravin to make its technology freely available to consumers through a demo on its homepage.

The system, trained on two billion images over ten years, allows users to scan their vehicles and receive reports documenting any differences between before and after photos.

Ekstein believes rental agencies are currently charging excessive fees for minor blemishes to “justify the cost” of their scanning equipment.

He pointed to ProovStation’s marketing language, which promises to turn “routine inspections into gold mines of untapped opportunities,” as evidence of this profit-focused approach.

Hertz and Sixt have begun implementing automated vehicle inspection systems from companies like UVeye and ProovStation at multiple locations, with other rental agencies watching closely.

These AI scanners detect damage without human review, potentially flagging every minor imperfection on returned vehicles.

Testing of these consumer apps reveals both promise and limitations. The Drive’s evaluation found Ravin’s system missed two obvious paint chips while incorrectly identifying a reflection as minor damage.

Similarly, Proofr’s app, while featuring an attractive interface, experienced repeated crashes during image saving, according to The Drive.

These issues highlight ongoing challenges in the technology, particularly regarding photo conditions and lighting.

“Who takes the image, what time, [and] what angle” can dramatically affect results, Ekstein acknowledged, noting that environmental factors remain one of the biggest obstacles for accurate damage detection.

Despite these limitations, Ekstein stressed the importance of transparency in damage claims.

“You can’t go after scuffs — that goes against the whole service culture of those companies,” he told The Drive.

He argued that rental companies should only pursue claims for substantial damage costing at least $700 to repair, and customers should receive detailed repair estimates rather than flat fees.

Kuttner frames this technological shift as a pivotal moment.

“We believe this is a turning point for AI moving from something that works for companies to something that works for everyone,” he told The Post.

The Post has sought comment from Hertz, Sixt, UVeye and ProovStation.