GetGo driver allegedly crashes into another vehicle due to ‘faulty brakes’, company demands over S$6K in damages

GetGo demands S$6K in damages after car collision, driver blames faulty brakes

A GetGo user recently took to the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page to share about an accident that allegedly occurred due to “faulty brakes”.

Describing the incident as “beyond ridiculous”, 26-year-old Aaron Goh said the incident happened as he was renting a GetGo vehicle for the first time.

The incident happened at an open-air car park in Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Town Centre at about 11pm on 22 Aug.

After starting the engine, Mr Goh released the handbrake and put the car into drive mode. However, things went wrong the moment the car started moving.

According to Mr Goh, the brakes were not responsive despite him stepping hard on the brake pedal.

In a desperate attempt to stop the car, Mr Goh applied the handbrake and shifted the car into park mode.

Despite these measures, Mr Goh claimed the car kept moving anyway and eventually crashed into the vehicle parked opposite it.

Mr Goh subsequently contacted GetGo support to report the accident, expecting the company to resolve the situation given the “clear fault” with the car’s brakes.

Driver accuses GetGo of causing incident with failure of car brakes

To Mr Goh’s shock a week later, GetGo demanded the 26-year-old pay S$6,316 in damages for the accident.

Mr Goh was left stunned, saying:

This entire situation feels like a scam.

He accused GetGo of unfairly asking him to pay for an accident he alleged was caused by their negligence with the rental car’s faulty brakes.

“This is beyond ridiculous,” he said, warning other users about finding themselves in similar situations.

The rental driver also included a photo of the car after the accident, showing some minor damage to the vehicle’s front bumper.

Speaking to MS News, Mr Goh described it as “minor scratches and paint job [damage].”

GetGo user appealing demand and requesting in-car footage

A commenter on the post asked how Mr Goh could prove the crash was the result of brake failure and not driver error.

Mr Goh replied that the in-car camera would show that he did not accelerate and instead tried applying the brakes.

Mr Goh said to MS News that he had emailed GetGo for the in-car footage but had not received a reply.

He added that he had gotten into the car with a friend, who witnessed the entire incident as well.

Mr Goh also expressed his intention to appeal the demand and continue requesting the in-car camera’s footage.

“I won’t be paying because it’s totally ridiculous to pay S$6,300 for [a] paint job.”

Mr Goh has also reported the situation to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

Insurance excess forms majority of S$6K damages

In another Facebook comment thread, Mr Goh shared the breakdown of the costs.

Based on the breakdown, repair costs amounted to S$396, with the bumper repair and paint job costing S$165 each, alongside a S$66 towing fee.

Mr Goh was charged S$120 for the car’s “loss of use” as well as S$300 in administrative fee.

All this added together amounted to S$816.

GetGo then charged S$5,500 for “3rd Party Damage Excess”. According to GetGo’s website, this is an insurance excess charged in accidents involving a third party — in this case, the driver of the car Mr Goh crashed into.

The website also mentioned that the involved driver could contact the third party for a mutual settlement without an insurance claim.

Mr Goh told MS News that he reached out to the third party but has not received an update.

GetGo states that no brake issue found before or after accident

In response to MS News‘ queries, a GetGo spokesperson said that the company conducts vehicle inspections regularly.

“The vehicle in question underwent several inspections in the months preceding the accident,” they said, with the latest VICOM inspection on 21 June and a routine inspection by a GetGo Fleet Operations (FO) team on 3 Aug.

The vehicle passed both inspections.

In addition, the spokesperson stated that the FO team inspected the vehicle after the accident but found no issues with the brakes.

The spokesperson also said the rental vehicle involved had been driven for “over 70 bookings in August” with no reported brake issues from other drivers.

Furthermore, the representative highlighted that GetGo would immediately assess and inform a driver not to proceed further if they raised a vehicle safety concern during a booking.

They added that GetGo users are encouraged to opt for a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) when booking their vehicles, which would reduce the insurance excess ceiling by 50% in the event of an accident.

According to GetGo’s website, each booking charge with CDW opt-in would cost an additional 5%.

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Featured image adapted from Aaron Goh on Facebook and Google Maps.