SINGAPORE, April 25 — As car-sharing services grow more popular amid the pandemic, users are facing higher penalties for "inconsiderate usage" such as leaving the car dirty or its fuel tank empty. But one user was enraged when slapped with a bill of over S$1,000 for a flat tyre.

BlueSG user Darren Tan last Tuesday (April 13) took to Facebook to express his displeasure after being charged S$961.02 for repairing damage to a vehicle and another S$100 in administration charges by the firm the day before.

Tan said that this was for an incident three months earlier, when he was driving along North Bridge Road on Jan 10 and heard a loud bang at the car’s left rear, followed by a warning sound and an indication on the dashboard that the vehicle had a tyre puncture.

"Without hesitation, I stopped the car to assess the situation. The tyre had indeed been punctured but was still drivable. To avoid causing obstruction to other road users, I decided to make the last 70m drive (extremely slowly) to the parking lot at Purvis Street where I called customer service promptly,” he wrote.

He said he lodged a report the next day, and that BlueSG’s claims and legal department found him to be "responsible for the accident” and therefore liable for the charges.

His main complaint was over the amount charged, claiming that it is more than what auto repair shops would charge for replacing a tyre.

In a subsequent comment on Facebook, Tan said BlueSG has reached out to him on the matter.

"It was found that the tyre wasn’t punctured from the outside. Instead, it was caused by damage to the car wheel (a dent in the wheel rim) which in turn resulted from the tyre rolling over a high obstacle like a kerb,” he wrote.

He said BlueSG also shared the breakdown of the costs but he could not say more about it.

Tan added that he has decided to pay the charges and move on from the episode.

BlueSG declined to comment on the incident in response to TODAY’s queries due to its privacy policy.

Tan’s experience sparked a barrage of comments from car-sharing users, detailing their bad experiences with various firms.

Many users also called for transparency in penalties or the cost of damage that users may be liable for if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Issues aplenty

Eight people, with whom TODAY spoke, who use car-sharing platforms such as BlueSG, Shariot, Tribecar and GetGo, said "inconsiderate usage” of the cars is the most common problem they face.

BlueSG user Liyana Othman, 31, who uses the service at least twice a week when she is looking to shorten her travelling time, said she has faced such issues at least thrice a month.

On one occasion, Liyana could not drive the car despite being able to unlock it because the previous user failed to lock the door at the end of his rental period.

"It was raining and with the customer service officer on the phone, I had to go in and out of the car to troubleshoot the problem. Usually, the process of renting a car is relatively seamless…it only gets frustrating when you get caught in all these technical issues,” she said.

Cleanliness is also an issue, although she does not fault the firm, given that many users share the cars.

For frequent Shariot user Dennis Chen, 35, his biggest grouse is getting a car with an empty fuel tank.

Chen said that several times this has caused him severe inconvenience as he has had to rush to the petrol station as soon as he starts his rental period to top up fuel, which takes up time and money.

Car-sharing firms said the most frequent issues raised on their customer service hotlines are related to low petrol amounts left in the fuel tank as well as bumps and scratches on the car exterior.

Some of the firms have also imposed higher penalties to deter inconsiderate usage.

Shariot said that two months ago it increased the penalty charged to users who return the car with under one-quarter of the fuel tank filled from S$20 to S$50.

This followed feedback from users who saw more cars with empty fuel tanks at the start of their rental period.

Similarly, Car Lite last month adjusted its penalty for failing to leave enough fuel, from S$15 to S$20 or S$25 depending on the vehicle model.

Transparent policies

While some users told TODAY they have been charged penalties, usually for not honouring their bookings or returning the car late, Tribecar user Kamal Mahmood, 42, two years ago had to foot a S$250 bill for damage to a vehicle.

The assistant engineer said he was driving along Haig Road when he heard a loud bang and saw that one of the car tyres had been punctured.

After lodging a report, Kamal was told that the bearing was damaged as well and that he was liable for the repair cost.

"I was definitely taken aback by the price. I didn’t expect to fork out that much money because it’s like a shared car, you know? Everybody used it.

"But I guess I was just the suay (unfortunate in Hokkien) one because the damage happened (under my watch). Fortunately, the price was reasonable for the punctured tyre and damaged bearing.”

Penalties and charges are common issues "detailed transparently” to users in rental agreements, the firms said.

Co-founder of Tribecar Adrian Lee said it has clear guidelines for employees on how to assist customers when issues arise on when it will impose penalties.

"For example, if a customer has dirtied the car, that customer would then be charged for cleaning fees which will be paid to the external cleaning vendor as well as (to cover) downtime of the car,” he said.

"Another example is if our customer returns the car below reserved fuel, the customer would be charged and the subsequent customer who was inconvenienced will be compensated.”

As the majority of cars under Tribecar are owned by partner firms, Lee said in the event the car requires repair, the cost charged to users will depend on quotations given by the firm’s appointed workshops, which would usually entail a detailed breakdown of the repair cost.

In the event of a punctured tyre, Roy Tan, managing director of Shariot, said users will need to bear the cost of external services such as towing, which is about S$60 to S$90 and changing the tyre, which costs about S$70 to S$90.

"For cases like tyre puncture or vehicle scratches, these are to be evaluated externally by workshops and advised accordingly after,” he added.

BlueSG, whose vehicles are known as Bluecars, said its terms and conditions, which must be accepted by the user prior to membership validation, "clearly state” the various penalties for damage or misuse.

In the case of an accident, the firm will charge the user for the cost of repair billed by the workshop and additional fees when applicable, such as administrative fees, penalties for failure to report an accident or fines imposed by authorities, it said.

"All our members are encouraged to check the state of their Bluecar prior to commencing their rental. They have every right to reject a Bluecar if the selected or allocated Bluecar is not deemed to be in a good or reasonable condition to them.

"And in such instances, if a Bluecar is rejected by our member due to state of condition, then it will be locked and immobilised to be checked by our technicians prior to releasing it back to the service for rentals,” added BlueSG.

Most users said they rarely read the fine print when signing up for car-sharing services.

Kamal said he skimmed through the terms and conditions before signing up for various car-sharing platforms but never paid attention to the details until the incident.

BlueSG user Liyana said: "I use car-sharing services for the ease of it so honestly, I really don’t read the fine print so I’m not quite sure how much damages I would have to pay or who bears the responsibility if anything happens.

"So I’m just driving and praying to God I don’t get into an accident.’’ — TODAY