When abroad, some holidaymakers sometimes have the unpleasant surprise of learning that their car reservation has been cancelled… because of a seemingly insignificant detail.
On vacation, there are some disappointments that we could do without. Like discovering that the accommodation we rented for a fortune does not correspond to the photos or the description, or that our reservation is cancelled at the last minute. Unfortunately, every year, many vacationers face problems that they had not anticipated. This is the case for car rentals abroad. In general, people book their vehicle several months in advance, to be sure to have choice and also to take advantage of more affordable rates.
For this service, there are those who go directly through their travel agency, and those who choose to book on their own on a rental company’s website. Often, when making the reservation online, a prepayment by credit card is requested. This usually goes through without incident, but once on site to pay the final bill, sometimes, it’s a cold shower…
Holidaymakers are surprised to discover that their booking has fallen through, because of their payment method. Indeed, some car rental companies refuse to accept certain French bank cards. In particular, cards with the word “debit”, which are the most common in France. Why? Because it is not really possible to block a sum of money on it to make a security deposit, unlike credit cards. This “which requires the lessors to collect the amount, provided that there are sufficient funds in the account, and to do so reimburse at the end of the rental period” to the customer, the European Consumer Centre (ECC) points out on its website. To avoid additional actions and costs, some companies therefore prefer not to take debit cards. And if you only have a credit card on you, rental companies then require you to take out additional insurance, which is often very expensive.
A phenomenon that would have appeared with the European directive on payment services, adopted in 2015. Since then, on bank cards, there is obligatory the mention “credit” or “debit” printed on them. Before this text, car rental professionals could not know what type of card was used by their customer. To avoid finding yourself without a rental car during your vacation, the authorities advise you to check the general conditions of the rental company in advance. You can also ask your bank for a credit card, which will avoid this type of mishap.