Payless car rental must reimburse customers
About a year ago, Clark talked to a woman who had rented a car in California and accidentally taken a wrong turn into another state before she quickly turned around. Unbeknownst to her, the car was restricted to a certain geographical area and it had an internal GPS system that was tracking her. She went just two miles across the state line, but she was hit with several thousand dollars in penalty fees. Many car rental companies do this as a way to prevent theft of the cars. But Payless car rental turned the unit into a spying device and decided to charge people massive fines if they crossed state lines. Customers were very upset about this and filed suit. Now, California has reached a settlement with Payless for charging people. Payless must now reimburse those people, including the woman who called Clark. Most people were charged $1 per mile, and all of that will be refunded. The issue of spying on people in cars still exists, though. Technology allows eyes and ears to be everywhere these days. Progressive Insurance, for example, has a voluntary program that allows a GPS system to monitor peoples’ driving if they agree to it. Then, the company sets a driver’s insurance rates based on how well they drive and behave in a car. So, if you’re a good driver, that’s a great thing. Clark thinks that as long as we have the potential to benefit from technological advancements, it’s a great thing. The sneaky nature of technology is where the line gets crossed. That is why some companies are getting their hands slapped.
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