by freehunter on 12/12/19, 4:58 PM
Is this something I'm supposed to feel outraged about? Amazon refused to give me an EC2 instance with 2GB of RAM because I only paid for 1GB. Microsoft refused to give me 1 hour response times because I only paid for 24 hour response. Google refused to let me use Gmail with my own domain name because I didn't pay for Gmail for Business. Nest won't show me what happened on my camera five days ago because I only pay them to store that data for three days.
If Honda offers a service that lets you track your car and you choose not to pay for the service that lets you track your car, you should expect that Honda will not let you use that service for free. And we should all be especially glad that they didn't provide the information to law enforcement without a warrant. There is a provision in the legal system for law enforcement to infringe on your right to privacy, and it's called a warrant and has to be authorized by a judge. This is one of the core tenants of many Western justice systems.
This seems like a complete non-story. "Man didn't pay for service, company refused to provide said service for free". Kinda loses the punch there, doesn't it?
by yabadabadoes on 12/12/19, 4:52 PM
I'm pleased that they at least required either a transaction or a warrant. How would they verify that police and the owner are legitimately making the request?
by beerandt on 12/12/19, 4:46 PM
>the employee reportedly told them to "get a warrant," leaving Ablhd with no choice but to drop approximately $112 on the service in order to get his vehicle's location.
So why didn't he just get a warrant? The surveillance video provided clear evidence of a crime.
by kbos87 on 12/12/19, 4:46 PM
I don’t see a problem here. It isn’t free for Honda to staff the call center and maintain the tech that allows them to do this.
by rabeener on 12/12/19, 5:10 PM
There’s a larger concern (at least for me) not being discussed here. There is conflicting information from Honda: the customer support rep stated (allegedly) that Honda did have the location of the car while the spokesperson later denied that Honda ever had the location of the car. If the customer support agent is correct, the driver was in a vehicle, owned by him, that had surveillance technology in it without his knowledge and that could be activated by Honda, a private company, without his consent. That’s not ok.
by devtul on 12/12/19, 4:43 PM
Take that indignation and push for legislation to install active tracking on vehicles at all times. /s
by woliveirajr on 12/12/19, 5:04 PM
> HondaLink® Service* Is a subscription-based service that provides convenient features such as voice communication in case of emergency, online security, and one-on-one operator assistance. (source: 2019 SEDAN OWNER’S MANUAL)
Perhaps a case of not reading the manual, clicking next, not reading the EULA... ?
by hsnewman on 12/12/19, 4:53 PM
If the deductible for the car was > $112 for the service, I'd think it would be a good business decision to just pay for the service.
by driverdan on 12/12/19, 5:16 PM
I find it a much larger problem that they're able to track the car in the first place, especially since he didn't have a subscription.
by tabtab on 12/12/19, 7:34 PM
Why doesn't Honda sell an as-needed "finder service" for say $200? They'd make some money without looking like a jerk. The $200 should probably be premised on actually finding the vehicle. Honda makes money, customer gets car back: a win-win. (It probably should be coordinated with the cops. Walking straight into a crook's den could be daunting.)
by mullingitover on 12/12/19, 5:15 PM
I don't understand the urgency in recovering the stolen vehicle. It's a brand new car, which means it was insured, which means it can be easily replaced at no cost to the owner. If my car was stolen I'd be shopping for a new one, not trying to play cops and robbers.
by SanchoPanda on 12/12/19, 6:53 PM
I can completely see the inverse business model popping up: default on for everybody and everybody gets the location at all times via google maps; pay 100$ for increased privacy.
by new_guy on 12/12/19, 4:40 PM
Wouldn't that make Honda an accessory to vehicle theft? They know where it is but won't tell anyone.