Discussion is Necessary before Repairing a Carsharing Vehicle after the Accidents

- Consumer dispute settlement committee says company which repaired vehicle without discussions is partially responsible -

    Amid increasing interest in the shared economy, when a car used as a carsharing service* is damaged in an accident, the mediator has decided that requesting expenses on repairs for the consumer is unreasonable if the sharing service provider repairs the vehicle without prior discussions with the consumer.

* Carsharing: A type of the sharing economy where a car is rented for use for needed hours then returned. It differs from car rental services as it is available for rental in hourly units around residential areas, etc.

    In a case reported on the KCA consumer dispute settlement committee by a consumer who claims that the repairing fees the carsharing company demanded him was unreasonable, the Committee decided that 30% of the billed expenses should be cut.

    The carsharing company said there were no other accidents following Kim's and replacing the front bumper was not excessive.

    The Committee said the damage on the front bumper appeared to be slight, so that it was possible to regard it as excessive handling, it could not make a decision on that as the repair has been already completed already.

    Yet the carsharing service provider replaced the front bumper without discussion on the repair details while there was no clear professional decision on the necessity of replacing the bumper, and the repair expenses were billed approximately 3weeks after receiving the car without checking with the consumer on whether the repairs were conducted. Therefore, the Committee deemed that the repair procedures were not correctly followed and decided that the company had responsibility to pay for part of the repair expenses.

    This decision is meaningful as it is the first to stress mutual trust and cooperation to demand justified responsibility in handling an accident of the sharing economy service provider in the context of the sharing economy emerging as an alternative growth model where resources including goods and services are shared by multiple people.

    In addition, the Committee said in order to prevent unnecessary disputes owing to excessive repairs, it is necessary to rapidly check the extent of damage and repairs details after the car accidents in order to make the scope of responsibility of the consumer clear and to set forth guidelines on the repair procedures of the vehicles.