A domestic abuse survivor has alleged that her ex-husband used her car’s smartphone app to track her location and harass her. Once she found her car’s windows open in the rain and the interior soaked.
Jane (not her real name) told Forbes that she could not figure out why her BMW’s windows and doors suddenly popped open or why her ignition randomly turned on.
Then Jane realised that her husband still had access to her car’s smartphone app. The My BMW App is the official mobile application that connects a customer’s smartphone to their vehicle. It can be used to operate the vehicle remotely by locking and unlocking doors, sounding the horn, accessing the trunk and more. Speaking to Forbes , Jane alleged that her violent ex-husband used the BMW app to remotely access her car and harass her. He would open the doors and windows, start her engine and even track her location. When Jane realised what was happening, she thought the solution would be simple. She would ask BMW to remove her ex-husband’s access to the app. The woman came back with proof of her husband’s abuse, including police reports detailing his aggressive behavior and her protective order against him. She even showed the BMW dealership her divorce decree and documents showing that she was the listed owner of the car. Despite this, she was eventually forced to buy a new car to stop her ex-husband’s harassment. He has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.
The US woman had to pay $10,000 she owed on the old BMW before she could purchase a new vehicle.
After all, the car was in her name. (Also read: Restaurant owner gifts top employees BMWs after seeing harsh commute, says ‘You deserve this car’ ) Jane contacted her local BMW dealership and asked them to remove her ex-husband from the app. The dealership, however, told her that they did not have the authority to do so. Staff at the dealership told her that the only way to deal with the problem was to buy a new car. “It was very obvious that this was a dangerous situation,” Jane told Forbes. “I refused to get another BMW after that,” she told Forbes. (Also read: BMW owner earning ₹ 40 LPA feels ‘very poor’ in Gurgaon: ‘I can’t sleep at night’ ) Her ex-husband is now in jail for threatening and pointing a firearm at her. When Forbes contacted BMW for a response, a spokesperson said that the carmaker has processes in place to deal with such situations.
However, he acknowledged that dealerships are independently owned and operated.
BMW spokesperson Jay Hansen said the company’s customer service team takes urgent personal safety situations seriously and has “escalation protocols and processes to help remove unauthorized or abusive users from accounts when appropriate. Hansen said that BMW had no record of anyone in Jane’s area contacting them with such a complaint.
