Renter says the Indie Campers website chatbot said a camper could go to Montenegro; the firm then cited a ban and kept 95% of the payment on cancellation
In a Reddit post on 4 July 2026 a renter wrote that on 1 July they booked a camper van from Indie Campers for a trip on 12 to 18 July and, before paying, asked the AI chatbot on the company's official website whether they could travel to Montenegro. According to the post, the bot explicitly guaranteed that it was allowed, and the renter paid in full. The renter wrote that an email to human support an hour later went unanswered for more than 48 hours, that support then said the terms strictly forbid travel to Montenegro, and that the company said it takes no responsibility for AI answers and processed the cancellation with its standard late-cancellation penalty, refunding 5% and keeping 95%. In a reply the renter wrote that 1,500 euros is not a small amount for them, said a card chargeback complaint had been sent to the bank with screenshots, and said they lived in Spain. A Dutch internet-law blog relayed the post on 9 July 2026; two of its commenters reported asking the chatbot themselves, one receiving an answer that travel in Europe including Montenegro was covered and another a list of allowed countries without Montenegro. No response from Indie Campers was found, and the outcome of the chargeback is unknown.
- AI system
- Indie Campers chatbot (reported)
- Occurred
- 1 Jul 2026
- Reported
- 4 July 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Financial Loss
- Whose AI use
- An institution’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources
- 4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: AI chatbot on Indie Campers' official website answering a pre-booking question about permitted travel countries
What Happened
The question. The renter wrote that on 1 July they booked a camper van from Indie Campers for 12 to 18 July and, before paying, asked the AI chatbot on the official website whether they could travel to Montenegro. According to the post, "The bot explicitly guaranteed that it is allowed," and the renter paid in full relying on it.
The correction. The renter wrote that an email to human support an hour later went unanswered for more than 48 hours, and that support then said the terms and conditions strictly forbid travel to Montenegro.
The money. According to the post, the company said it takes "no responsibility for AI answers" and applied its standard late-cancellation penalty, refunding 5% and keeping 95%. In a reply the renter wrote that 1,500 euros is not a small amount for them, and that a complaint had been sent to the bank with screenshots.
Other users' checks. A Dutch internet-law blog relayed the post on 9 July 2026. One commenter there reported that asking the chatbot "Can I drive the camper in Montenegro?" produced an answer that travel in Europe, including Montenegro, was covered; another reported that asking which countries were allowed produced a list without Montenegro.
Limits. The account is the renter's; the chatbot screenshot was not published in the thread, Indie Campers' terms were not inspected, and no company response or chargeback outcome was found.
Reported harm
The renter says they paid in full after the website chatbot said travel to Montenegro was allowed, and that the company, citing a ban in its terms and disclaiming the AI answer, kept 95% of the payment on cancellation; the renter mentions 1,500 euros as the amount at stake (first-person Reddit post; uncorroborated).
Outcome
UnknownThe renter says the company refunded 5% on cancellation and kept 95% (in a reply the renter mentions 1,500 euros as the amount at stake), and that a chargeback complaint was sent to the bank with screenshots; the renter mentioned preparing a complaint to the European Consumer Centres Network. The outcome is not known from the thread as read (RSS, 25 entries, 13 October 2026).
What remains unknown
- The exact wording of the chatbot's answer; the screenshot was not published.
- What Indie Campers' terms say about Montenegro and whether the company disputes the account.
- The outcome of the chargeback and of any consumer-centre complaint.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The renter says the AI chatbot on Indie Campers' official website explicitly said travel to Montenegro was allowed, that the renter paid in full relying on that answer, and that the company then cited a ban in its terms, disclaimed responsibility for AI answers and kept 95% of the payment on cancellation. Two blog commenters separately reported the chatbot answering a Montenegro question affirmatively, which shows the answer was possible but does not confirm this exchange. No company statement was found.
4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The renter wrote that on 1 July they booked a camper van from Indie Campers for a trip on 12 to 18 July and, before paying, asked the official website's AI chatbot whether they could travel to Montenegro; the bot explicitly guaranteed that it was allowed, and the renter paid in full.
Causal attribution. The renter's account of the chatbot answer; the screenshot was not published.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'On July 1st, I booked a camper van with Indie Campers for a trip on July 12-18.'; 'Before paying, I asked their official website AI chatbot if I could travel to Montenegro. The bot explicitly guaranteed that it is allowed. Relying on this, I paid in full.'
Reported The renter wrote that support answered an email more than 48 hours later, saying the terms strictly forbid travel to Montenegro, and that the company said it takes no responsibility for AI answers and applied a late-cancellation penalty, refunding 5% and keeping 95%.
Causal attribution. The renter's account; no company statement was found.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'Support ignored my email for over 48 hours.'; 'they stated that their T&Cs strictly forbid travel to Montenegro.'; 'The company stated they "take no responsibility for AI answers."'; 'offering me only a 5% refund and keeping 95% of my money.'
Reported In replies the renter wrote that 1,500 euros is not a small amount for them, said a complaint had been sent to the bank with screenshots, and said they lived in Spain.
Causal attribution. The renter's statements in the thread.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'I have already sent the complaint to the bank and attached all the screenshots'; '1,500 euros is not a small amount for me.'; 'Yes, I live in Spain.'
Reported Two commenters on the Ius Mentis blog reported asking the chatbot themselves: one received an answer that travel in Europe, including Montenegro, was covered when asking "Can I drive the camper in Montenegro?", and another received a list of allowed countries without Montenegro when asking which countries were allowed.
Causal attribution. Commenters' own checks after the event; they show the chatbot could give such an answer, not what it told the renter.
- blog.iusmentis.com(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
'Can I drive the camper in Montenegro?'; 'so traveling in Europe (including Montenegro) is covered.'; 'kreeg ik een opsomming van alle landen waar je heen mocht, zonder Montenegro'
Sources
2 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Reddit r/LegalAdviceEurope post, Company keeping 95% of my payment, 4 July 2026(opens in new tab)
s1 · reddit.com · First person account · English · Inspected · 4 July 2026 · Primary
- Ius Mentis (Arnoud Engelfriet), De camperverhuurder houdt mijn geld, 9 July 2026(opens in new tab)
s2 · blog.iusmentis.com · Blog post · Dutch · Inspected
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English on 2026-10-13 through the thread RSS feed (post and 24 further entries, including the poster's replies). No translation was needed; the research agent (an AI) read the text directly. The RSS feed may not carry every comment. The poster's handle is not recorded. Applies to s1.
Read in Dutch on 2026-10-13 from the publisher page (HTTP 200); the research agent (an AI) translated the cited passages, and no human translator was involved. The blog relays the Reddit post in a shortened Dutch translation; only its commenters' own checks of the chatbot are cited here, as observations separate from the renter's account. Commenter names are not recorded. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Spain. Court countries: Unknown.
The renter wrote "Yes, I live in Spain," which places the affected person in Spain; the booking was made online and no event country is inferred from residence or the company's base.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-13: Published under the charter's first-person rule as a concrete account of a rental company's website chatbot that said a trip was allowed, after which the renter paid in full and lost most of the payment when the company cited its terms. The renter's claims are attributed; commenters' checks are cited as separate observations of the chatbot.
People described
A renter living in Spain who paid in full for a camper booking after the website chatbot said travel to Montenegro was allowed
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person: the renter who posted the account. Exact 1. No travelling companions are described as harmed.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Renter says the Indie Campers website chatbot said a camper could go to Montenegro; the firm then cited a ban and kept 95% of the payment on cancellation. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-indie-campers-website-chatbot-said-montenegro-trip-allowed-renter-paid-in-full-firm-kept-95-percent-first-person
BibTeX
@misc{2026_indie_campers_website_chatbot_said_montenegro_trip_allowed_renter_paid_in_full_firm_kept_95_percent_first_person,
title = {Renter says the Indie Campers website chatbot said a camper could go to Montenegro; the firm then cited a ban and kept 95\% of the payment on cancellation},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-indie-campers-website-chatbot-said-montenegro-trip-allowed-renter-paid-in-full-firm-kept-95-percent-first-person}
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