WARNING: Pre-authorised Deposit leaves us skint for a month

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vinogeek
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WARNING: Pre-authorised Deposit leaves us skint for a month

Post by vinogeek »

A cautionary tale for anyone who may want to Rent-a-Car.
I rented a van on June 27th and they took my bank card to pre-authorise a 1500 euro deposit just in case I ran off with the van.
This cleared prefectly and I signed a transaction slip just before I took the van out.

I took the van to Leroy Merlin to pick up various bits and bobs to be told that my card was refused; the kind lady looked at the van and asked if I'd just rented it. She told me that the 1500 euros had probably taken me over my withdrawal limit for the month but, strangely, I could still take cash out if I wanted. I shuffled over to Auchan and returned with the correct amount taken from the cashpoint.

At the end of the next day, I took the van back to Rent-A-Car at Polygone Nord and they checked it over to find no damage. I told them that my card no longer worked and that I wanted them to cancel their pre-authorisation forthwith so that I could legitimately pay for things with the money in my account.

"Everything's fine", he assured me, "it'll come off by tomorrow and you'll be back to normal. If not, just ring the bank and they'll up your limit for a month to get you by"

So, two weeks later, the card still doesn't work and, apparently, I have to wait until July 27th for next month's limit to kick in. When I asked them to up the limit for a month they started asking for business plans and proposed income statements.... wtf!?! They won't help.

In the meantime, we're without a working bank card and the account is effectively blocked until this stupid pre-authorisation times out.

Anyone else been here? Know how to deal with this? Taken a shotgun to Rent-a-Car?

Thanks :-S
Corin FAIRCHILD
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interiors66
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Post by interiors66 »

This Isn't the van rentals problem, its the banks problem, there is a rolling monthly limit regardless of the deposits,i have been caught,out by this many times.
Next time perhaps, give them a cheque for the deposit.
carol sheridan
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Post by carol sheridan »

I usually rent a car when I visit my sister in Manchester and although Enterprise do take my credit card details they have never actually taken the deposit off my card.

I bank with Credit Agricole's English Speaking branch in Rodez and when I forgot my monthly limit after booking several long haul flights I just rang my personal banker and she upped my limit for the month. I am delighted with the excellent service I get from CA. The travel insurance I get on my Gold MasterCard paid for a burst tyre on my UK hire car, which almost covered the annual charge for the card.
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vinogeek
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Post by vinogeek »

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
I speak enough French to open a CA account up here in the wilds, but if Rodez has cracking customer service, I could be tempted.

Despite being surrounded by agricultural and restaurant businesses up here in the Agly Valley, Banque Pop stop cheques and freeze accounts at the drop of a hat and then send you a bill for the charges just to add insult to injury.
Corin FAIRCHILD
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Pearsonb
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Post by Pearsonb »

It is better to use a credit card for renting cars, booking hotels etc. That way, they make a 'notional block' against your credit. With debit cards, they block actual cash in your account.

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Santiago
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Post by Santiago »

I was just about to say that Pearson.

I've had my debit card blocked several times. I think there is a rolling limit of 2500 € in any 30 day period but a quick call to the bank always fixes it. It's just a security measure for stolen cards.
Domaine Treloar - Vineyard and Winery - www.domainetreloar.com - 04 68 95 02 29
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