The Italian Competition Authority has levied a fine of €5m ($5.8m) against ALD Automotive, a global long-term car leasing company.  

The penalty comes as a result of the company’s reportedly unfair commercial practices related to the handling of customer charges for vehicle damage during the rental period. 

ALD Automotive, a subsidiary of the Société Générale Group since 2001, has been deemed to provide consumers with incomplete and unclear information about an optional paid service.  

This service, which a significant majority of customers purchased, was designed to limit their liability for damage to the rental vehicle to the agreed deductible amount.

The investigation claimed that ALD Automotive did not adequately inform customers that they were required to report each incident of damage promptly through the company’s portal.  

This omission seemingly prevented customers from fully benefiting from the service for which they had paid. 

Furthermore, the company did not sufficiently communicate the criteria used to determine which damages were considered beyond normal wear and tear and would therefore incur additional charges, according to the authority.

The authority also deemed it ‘aggressive’ for ALD Automotive to charge customers for repair costs of damages that were only identified at drop-off, after a technical inspection.  

These were damages that were minor or not readily visible, and thus unreported by customers before drop-off because they were difficult to detect.  

As a result of the company’s conduct, consumers were unable to benefit from the liability protection they had purchased, the body claimed.

ALD Automotive is a provider of manufacturer-independent full-service leasing and vehicle pool management and has customers across 43 countries.