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American Morning
Rent-a-Car Company Sued for Fining Drivers for Speeding
Aired August 20, 2001 - 10:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Consumer beware: The next time you rent a car, your driving may cost you hundreds of dollars in fines. In Connecticut, a rental car company is using new technology to clock drivers, and it's making them pay if they go to fast.
CNN's Brian Palmer is reporting how this case is now heading to court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Turner says he was robbed, electronically, by a Connecticut rental car company during a routine road trip to Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: When I got Virginia, I couldn't use my card. I have a business bank card. And it wouldn't go through.
PALMER: The reason: Acme-Rent-a-Car say they busted Turner for speeding three times, a violation of the rental agreement he signed. So Acme withdraw $150 from his bank account from each alleged offense using debit card information Turner supplied when he rented the vehicle.
(on camera): Acme says it knows Turner exceeded the speed limit, because of the van that he rented, like this one, was equipped with the global systems device of how fast a vehicle is going and where it's going.
(voice-over): You can't see the GPS, but it's there. All the major rental companies equip they vehicles with GPS, but they say they use it to track stolen or lost vehicles, not their customers speed.
Turner admits he signed the contract, and he concedes he broke the speed limit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: I told them that I never was stopped by a state trooper, so how could you charge me for speeding.
PALMER: Acme says the goal is not to make money from the fines.
MAX BRUNSWICK, ATTORNEY, ACME RENT-A-CAR: The purpose of it is to slow people down, save lives, and allow us to rent cars of at a more reasonable rate.
PALMER: Acme has added warning to rental contract, it says, sufficiently warns customers about the GPS monitoring and the penalty.
BRUNSWICK: I can't see how it can be an evasion of privacy. We own the cars. We have a right to put whatever devices we want in our cars, as long as they're not illegal.
PALMER: But Connecticut's commissioner of consumer protection has sided with Turner, and more than 20 other renters who filed similar complaints against Acme.
COMM. JAMES FLEMING, CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPT.: Acme did not notify adequately the consumers that they were going to be fined $150. They didn't notify them adequately what a GPS system was. The second point: Even if they had adequately notified them that this was going to happen, the fine itself is illegal under Connecticut law.
PALMER: Each side will have an opportunity to present its case at a hearing on later this month. After that, the state will decide if Acme is breaking the law, or just breaking new ground in the rental car business.
Brian Palmer, CNN, New Haven, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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