An Australian man named Anthony White recently won a settlement in a discrimination suit against an Irish car rental company.
White brought suit against Irish Car Rentals Limited for the company’s policy of levying a surcharge of €25 on drivers above the age of 70 and refusing to rent cars to customers older than 75.
Two years ago, White, who is in his mid-70s, tried to rent a car at Dublin’s airport and was hit with the fee, and then was told the next time he’d be visiting the country he would not be able to rent a car because he’d be over 75.
White took his case to Ireland’s Equality Tribunal, who this week finally ruled in his favor that such a policy amounted to age discrimination.
Irish Car Rentals Ltd. changed its policy, and now says it will make case-by-case decisions on older drivers that involve assessing their age, health, driving record and insurance coverage.