How AI risk scoring and trust scores work

TrailerBase assigns every renter a trust score so you can make fast, informed decisions before handing over a trailer. The score is a single number from 0 to 100 that summarizes everything the system knows about a renter's rental history with you. You will see it on the renter profile and inline on the booking form.

The starting point: 50

Every brand-new renter begins with a baseline of 50. That is neutral — not a warning, not a green light. You have no history on them yet, so the score reflects that uncertainty. As they rent from you, the score moves up or down based on real events.

How the score moves

The engine watches the rental lifecycle and applies adjustments automatically:

• +5 per completed clean rental — trailer returned on time, no damage, no chargeback, no disputes.
• -15 per damage incident — any damage report you file against the rental.
• -10 per late return — the trailer came back after the agreed return window.
• -25 per chargeback — a card dispute initiated by the renter against one of your charges.

A single event can move the score meaningfully. A chargeback is the heaviest penalty because it represents a financial loss and a broken trust relationship. Clean rentals build the score back up slowly and steadily, which rewards reliable repeat customers.

Where you will see it

The trust score appears in two places:

1. Renter profile — a colored badge next to the renter's name, plus a breakdown of the events that moved the score.
2. Booking form — when you start a rental, the score loads next to the renter field so you can spot high-risk bookings before you commit.

The score is never visible to the renter. It is an internal signal for your team only. There is no renter-facing portal view, no email, and no API endpoint that exposes it to the customer.

Using the score day-to-day

The score is a recommendation, not a hard rule. TrailerBase will not block a booking based on the number. You decide the policy. Some operators:

• Require a larger deposit when the score drops below 40.
• Automatically approve returning renters above 70.
• Flag scores below 25 for manager review before confirming.

What the score does not include

The trust score only uses data from your own account. It does not pull from other TrailerBase operators, credit bureaus, or third-party databases. A renter with 20 clean rentals at another operator will still start at 50 with you. This keeps the score fair and keeps your data private.

Overriding and auditing

Every score change is logged with a timestamp and the triggering event. If you believe an adjustment was applied in error — for example, a damage report you later retracted — open the renter profile, click Score history, and recalculate. The system will re-apply the rules to the cleaned-up event list.

Trust scoring runs in the background automatically. You do not need to configure anything to turn it on. Keep filing accurate damage reports, marking returns on time, and the score will keep earning its keep.