Hire cars - deposit - which cards?

Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Posts
11,950
Likes collected
26,833
Location
SW London, Poland and all Europe
Funster No
8,876
MH
A Class N+B Arto 69GL
Exp
Since 2009
After Basia's Mother's funeral and attendant admin we consider it too late to dive to Provence so I have booked 2 weeks in a villa in Crete, from 4 Oct.

We are looking at hire cars and all companies there have a condition of putting down a €600 deposit(refundable) against damage not covered because of the insurance excess. I have never come across this before, having hired in other parts of Greece, Canaries and Madeira.

OK that is the way they want to do it in their local market, but there is another problem.

They will only take that deposit via a Credit Card but not debit card nor cash. Neither of us has a CC. Mine, with a £8K limit on, apparently expired because I did not use it - it was there for emergencies.

This is not a moan, but results in a question - has anyone been in the same situation and found that they insist on a CC, but in the end accept a Debit Card? - I can prove enough funds in the account backing the card many times over.

We will try to apply for a CC tomorrow but with only about 10 days before departure it is not sure that it would arrive in time.
 
I've not come across that but I always have at least 2 credit cards and use them every few months, I have a visa and a master card useful in case one of them stops working.
 
After Basia's Mother's funeral and attendant admin we consider it too late to dive to Provence so I have booked 2 weeks in a villa in Crete, from 4 Oct.

We are looking at hire cars and all companies there have a condition of putting down a €600 deposit(refundable) against damage not covered because of the insurance excess. I have never come across this before, having hired in other parts of Greece, Canaries and Madeira.

OK that is the way they want to do it in their local market, but there is another problem.

They will only take that deposit via a Credit Card but not debit card nor cash. Neither of us has a CC. Mine, with a £8K limit on, apparently expired because I did not use it - it was there for emergencies.

This is not a moan, but results in a question - has anyone been in the same situation and found that they insist on a CC, but in the end accept a Debit Card? - I can prove enough funds in the account backing the card many times over.

We will try to apply for a CC tomorrow but with only about 10 days before departure it is not sure that it would arrive in time.
Will they accept Collision Damage Waiver insurance which you can buy online?
 
I don't think buying collision damage waiver online through a third party will help but it's usually available at the desk when you pick the car up and if you buy theirs the insurance will only be the excess. When we hired a yacht the other week it was a similar deal either standard insurance included in the hire and a 1700 euro deposit or 120 euro cdw insurance and a 120 euro deposit as we're chickens we had the extra insurance.
 
I don't think buying collision damage waiver online through a third party will help but it's usually available at the desk when you pick the car up and if you buy theirs the insurance will only be the excess. When we hired a yacht the other week it was a similar deal either standard insurance included in the hire and a 1700 euro deposit or 120 euro cdw insurance and a 120 euro deposit as we're chickens we had the extra insurance.

This seems to be on top of CDW, as far as I can see.

Also if they want even €120 deposit it cannot be on anything other than a CC.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
This won't help with your credit card issue but buying Collision damage insurance at the counter is really expensive. You can buy an annual policy online for about £35. Well worth it if you hire even only occasionally and gives real peace of mind. I use Eversure.com Lots of positive reviews.
 
Have had a nightmare with 2 German car hire companies, when I returned home they charged me every extra you could think of on my card, took me ages to sort it out and get a refund.
If I ever hired again I would try my Revolut card then take the cash back out once I had the car🤬🤬
 
We hired in Spain this August. If was Firefly (Hertz budget brand) As I recall they would take a debit card but would take the whole deposit (1000 Euros) from a debit card, whereas they just reserve the amount on a CC. (We used a CC)
 
Have had a nightmare with 2 German car hire companies, when I returned home they charged me every extra you could think of on my card, took me ages to sort it out and get a refund.
If I ever hired again I would try my Revolut card then take the cash back out once I had the car🤬🤬
That's why they don't allow debit cards, there is no guarantee that the money would be in place if required.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
This won't help with your credit card issue but buying Collision damage insurance at the counter is really expensive. You can buy an annual policy online for about £35. Well worth it if you hire even only occasionally and gives real peace of mind. I use Eversure.com Lots of positive reviews.
It's a lot cheaper but if there's an issue you would have to pay then claim off the third party insurance which hopefully will cover it so the process is less straightforward. To be fair we only had one bigish claim and it was a cracked windscreen. It was on a rental where we had third party cdw and they paid out. It was though the policy sold by the broker we booked the car hire through not another separate insurance.
 
I have always taken the extra insurance from a third party insurer it's much cheaper, I do read the reviews of the insurer first. I also take pictures and video of the car when I pick it up and when I take it back, so far I've not had a bill
 
I have always taken the extra insurance from a third party insurer it's much cheaper, I do read the reviews of the insurer first. I also take pictures and video of the car when I pick it up and when I take it back, so far I've not had a bill
Having said on another thread that I normally accept some risk to get cheaper premiums it seems I'm doing the opposite on car rental cover! I need to have a word with myself!
 
Just hired in France, they point blank refused to take Caxton as a payment card. Credit card or nowt.
 
Who did you book the villa with, maybe they can help with a hire car.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
This is a good firm but not sure which areas they cover as well as Heraklion
 
Getting back to the OP's problem, this has to be a salutary
lesson to us all.

Regardless of our thoughts and wishes, we are now in an age where
despite our thoughts on the matter, we have to conform to the edicts
of 'Big Brother'

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a luddite. I kicked when my CC
provider insisted on the contactless card but I had to accept it.

I wouldn't dream of wandering the planet without a selection of cards,
both debit and credit. It's not that I like the idea, but the days of a wad
of notes to pay for everything has gone.

The card, whether DC or CC are now almost as good as a passport for
proving who you are in the mindset of business.

I hope the OP gets his card in time for his trip. 10days, (nine now) is
more than enough for a Card provider to get one out. They like the
thought that the quicker it gets to you, the quicker you will owe them
interest.
 
They like the
thought that the quicker it gets to you, the quicker you will owe them
interest.
I have recently got a Tesco card with interest free for almost 2 years, I am using it to pay for everything and putting the cash into premium bonds until it's needed.
 
Getting back to the OP's problem, this has to be a salutary
lesson to us all.

Regardless of our thoughts and wishes, we are now in an age where
despite our thoughts on the matter, we have to conform to the edicts
of 'Big Brother'

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a luddite. I kicked when my CC
provider insisted on the contactless card but I had to accept it.

I wouldn't dream of wandering the planet without a selection of cards,
both debit and credit. It's not that I like the idea, but the days of a wad
of notes to pay for everything has gone.

The card, whether DC or CC are now almost as good as a passport for
proving who you are in the mindset of business.

I hope the OP gets his card in time for his trip. 10days, (nine now) is
more than enough for a Card provider to get one out.
They like the
thought that the quicker it gets to you, the quicker you will owe them
interest.

I did not trust my UK bank to be able to get a card to me in time, so Basia and I went to our Polish bank and they did not want to give me a card because my income is not in Poland although they can see I transfer quite a lot each month for our living expenses.

The problem was solved by the lady suggesting Basia applied and to have two cards on that account for each of us. As it happened there was an offer on her account page for her to have a CC with Zl 20,000 limit(approx £3,500) so the lady did not need to see proof of income, which was lucky because most of it comes from me, and then we would have been back to the same discussion.

Two cards will arrive next week, so we are sorted.

Thanks for all the replies and information.
 
As far back as I can remember - 30 or 40 years anyway - it has been fairly normal business practice for the Car Hire industry to insist on a credit card being used in the transaction. It pretty much de-risks their side of the contract. And, as many will know to their cost, they periodically feel free to charge for any extras without recourse to the client, such as undeclared damage to the vehicle that they subsequently happen to discover.

I'm not saying there aren't ANY hire companies that don't insist on a credit card being used, but believe they are few and far between.

Just read your post above nicholsong, so glad to hear you are sorted! (y)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
See the OP is sorted but
Zest car hire (UK company) gives you the option to take their insurance, I have used them many times but beware they are the broker and firms like Goldcar will push their insurance even though you have Zests.
 
See the OP is sorted but
Zest car hire (UK company) gives you the option to take their insurance, I have used them many times but beware they are the broker and firms like Goldcar will push their insurance even though you have Zests.
Yes, we regularly use the UK-based broker Zest Car Rental. Year after year they come out as the top company in the industry, according to the Consumers' Association Which? They are not the cheapest, but as you indicate, they have pretty good insurance cover; free cancellation; 24/7 emergency helpline and frequently a free second nominated driver. We use a local company in the Canaries (CICAR) and occasionally other brokers or hire firms on the continent.

 
Nicholsong,im sorry to hear your mother in law passed away,i know you sometimes wrote on the post “getting old is no fun” please give my condolences to basia,(i know we dont know each other from adam ) and good luck with your hire car
regards pampam
 
They will only take that deposit via a Credit Card but not debit card nor cash.
yes so that they can charge what they like when you return it,
has anyone been in the same situation and found that they insist on a CC, but in the end accept a Debit Card?
No they won't.
You can buy an annual policy online for about £35. Well worth it if you hire even only occasionally and gives real peace of mind.
Yes & here in spain many of the hire companies will still refuse you & insist on a 1000€ deposit, not a retention .which they will then return after the hire less damage.

When I had to hire in France being a cross border hire ,I had to take there full insurance at 230€. Fortunately the office had already put all & every bit of damage on the paperwork & insisted that I checked they hadn't missed any.

What I learnt from that , & had never realised is that you need to open the boot & ensure that the slam panel has not had bags dragged over & scratched it. ; same with all door shuts & surrounds, along with under the bonnet. Then both front & rear lower panels need to be checked for scratching on the underside & all wheels checked for kerbing. You should also ask wheteher there is a spare & if so that it exists. If hubcaps check they are actually on the vehicle. In fact if fitted with hubcaps the first thing I do is remove them & place in boot as someone else hiring & losing one will nick one of yours.

If there is an emergency breakdown kit , reflectives vest ,triangles ,etc etc, make sure what is supposed to be there & if it actually is.
For certainty it is best to do a complete video using phone & make sure any damage you have multiple still photo's of.
 
In fact some years back it got so bad with scam 'damage' cahrges that most here would hire, pick up then cancel cards/report stolen/lost

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
This won't help with your credit card issue but buying Collision damage insurance at the counter is really expensive. You can buy an annual policy online for about £35. Well worth it if you hire even only occasionally and gives real peace of mind. I use Eversure.com Lots of positive reviews.
When I get chance, I will type my goldcar experience. Along with my nieces recent experience. Despite me telling her DO NOT USE GOLDCAR
 
This is a good firm but not sure which areas they cover as well as Heraklion

When i clicked on the link I got a message not to surf there.

Can you please give the name of the company and I can try to contact them direct.

Thanks Geoff
 
Have had a nightmare with 2 German car hire companies, when I returned home they charged me every extra you could think of on my card, took me ages to sort it out and get a refund.
If I ever hired again I would try my Revolut card then take the cash back out once I had the car🤬🤬

This is why they insist on a credit card. Debit cards (which Revolut is) would not guaranty payment for them as anyone could empty the account first.
 
This won't help with your credit card issue but buying Collision damage insurance at the counter is really expensive. You can buy an annual policy online for about £35. Well worth it if you hire even only occasionally and gives real peace of mind. I use Eversure.com Lots of positive reviews.

You will still have to pay the deposit to the car hire company,then you can claim it back off the insurance company.
 
To answer the OP's original question. While American Express is not th most widely used card (although better than it was) they do tend to issue them really quickly. My wife appliedfoone online recently and it popped through the letterbox 2 days later!

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top