Rentas, which operates the Japanese car rental brand Nikoniko Rent a Car, has issued a statement in response to a social media post claiming that a customer was billed for repair costs due to damage caused by a stone chip.
According to an investigation conducted by the franchise headquarters, at the time the vehicle was returned, two visible scratches of about 1 to 2 millimeters that had not been confirmed before departure were found on the front windshield. Although the scratches were small, they were deemed to have the potential to progress inside the glass, and repair costs were therefore requested. The situation was confirmed directly with the contract holder, and since they had not enrolled in the liability exemption (CDW) coverage, Rentas requested, as a deposit, an amount equivalent to the typical market rate for such repairs plus a loss-of-use fee. They also explained that any difference would be refunded after the repairs were completed.
Rentas stated that, under normal circumstances, it does not charge for minor damage of around 1 millimeter caused by stone chips to the vehicle body. However, in this case they billed the customer because the damage was to the windshield and considered to be of a type that could lead to cracking. Even so, they acknowledged that “in light of the degree and circumstances of the damage, we recognize that this was a matter requiring careful judgment as to whether it was appropriate to ask the customer to bear the cost.” After comprehensive consideration at headquarters, the company decided to withdraw the claim.
Rentas commented, “Based on this incident, our company will work to further strengthen our governance framework going forward, and we will continue to respond appropriately and promptly to customer troubles and concerns. We will remain committed to providing services that customers can use with peace of mind.”
The original post on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that “two extremely small stone chips were found on the body of a car rented by a friend, and 88,000 yen was charged.” The post spread widely, with more than 40.77 million impressions.
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
