2024-07-16 00:01:02
The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 15th that it is issuing a consumer damage prevention advisory as damage related to rental cars increases during the summer vacation season.
The number of damage relief applications related to rental cars received by the Consumer Agency increased from 276 in 2019 to 408 last year.
Of the total 1,743 applications for damage relief received over the past five years (2019-2023), July, when tourism demand is high, had the most at 10.4% (181 cases) of the total. This was followed by September at 9.9% (173 cases) and June at 9.6% (168 cases).
The areas of use are Jeju (36.7%) (639 cases) and the inland (62.1%) (1,083 cases).
Among the applications made in the past five years, disputes related to ‘contracts’, such as excessive cancellation fees and breach of contract, accounted for the largest proportion at 41.6% (725 cases). Next, disputes related to ‘accidents’ accounted for 35.4% (617 cases). However, last year, disputes related to ‘accidents’ accounted for the largest proportion at 35.8%.
Looking at rental car accidents, ‘excessive cost charging’ disputes accounted for the majority at 74.2% (458 cases). This was followed by △refusal to process exemption/insurance at 17.3% (107 cases) and △inadequate accident handling at 8.4% (52 cases).
In particular, some car insurance policies advertise that they fully exempt (compensate) all damages, including repair costs, without additional burden, using product names such as “complete car” and “super car.” However, in reality, there are many cases where the exemption limit is low, requiring payment of excess repair costs, or where exemption is not applied at all in the case of a single accident.
The Consumer Agency advised that before signing up for auto insurance, you should carefully check whether you have to pay the deductible (self-payment), the deductible limit, and the scope of exclusion from deductible. It also emphasized that you should clearly check the concepts and claim standards of ‘deductible’, ‘non-use fee’, and ‘depreciation fee’, which are not frequently used in daily life and therefore difficult to understand.
A consumer agency official said, “In order to prevent damage, you should carefully check the transaction conditions such as cancellation fees and car insurance terms when reserving a rental car,” and “When receiving the vehicle, it is a good idea to check the vehicle’s exterior and whether its functions are working and record them with photos, etc.”
He continued, “If a vehicle is damaged or an accident occurs, you must immediately notify the business operator on site and, if repairs are necessary, request a price quote and repair statement.”
Photo courtesy of Korea Consumer Agency, Reporter Kim Jeong-hyeon
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2024-07-16 00:01:02