We have heard from a few readers who have encountered difficulties at car-hire desks around Europe over the course of the summer, and their experiences might save others from getting into trouble before they leave airports on foreign shores.
First up there was James who got in touch in connection with an issue he encountered while renting a car at Pisa Airport.
He was less than pleased when the company refused to accept his Bank of Ireland-issued credit card on the basis that his name and the numbers and expiry date were printed on the card, rather than embossed, as used to be the case with the cards.
He notes that this restriction was explicitly stated in the terms and conditions, although he did not realise it ahead of time.
RM Block
He was fortunate that he had another, older, embossed AIB card that he was able to use, but he “witnessed two other Irish people at the desk who had no other option but to pay extra charges in order to leave with a rental car.
[ Travel insurance and car hire for your holiday: An essential guideOpens in new window ]
“I have contacted Bank of Ireland, who said it had nothing to do with them, and said I should contact Mastercard. Mastercard says it’s nothing to do with them and to contact the Bank of Ireland.”
We contacted Bank of Ireland to see whether it was aware of the issue and was alerting customers to the issues they might have at car hire desks.
Bank sources expressed surprise at this query as the situation appears to be out of line with broadly accepted rules and industry standards – which includes non-embossed cards and widespread acceptance of phone wallet payments.
We contacted Bank of Ireland and received the following statement: “We’re sorry to hear that the customer had this experience when using their Bank of Ireland card at a car hire company in Italy. Mastercard scheme rules require that merchants accept all valid Mastercards. The rules emphasise non-discrimination of cards at point of sale.
“Merchants cannot refuse a Mastercard card solely based on appearance, including whether it is embossed or not. If the card is valid and the transaction can be authorised electronically, it should be accepted. These scheme rules apply across Europe including Italy.
“In Italy, rejecting a Mastercard solely because it isn’t embossed is not compliant with scheme rules. Retailers must accept valid cards regardless of embossing. The only exemption is if the merchant was to solely rely on old manual imprint machines, which is unlikely to happen given that current industry standard includes non-embossed cards and widespread acceptance of phone wallet payments.”
We then heard from Ronan, who booked a rental car in July for his family’s summer holidays in Tuscany.
“The rental was for eight days and I booked it through booking.com.
“I paid €574 for the car and €116.42 for fully comprehensive insurance for the eight days,” he writes.
“I had previously booked a car with the same company – Drivalia – in Leeds Bradford and did not need a credit card.
“When we arrived at Florence train station to pick up the car, we were told that we would have to provide a credit card and a deposit of €500. Neither my wife nor I use a credit card. I used to have one, but done away with it (begone Satan) and all of that,” he writes.
“The guy told us that we couldn’t have the car because the rental agreement states that we have to give a deposit of €500 on our credit cards,” he says. “Then I realised that I had a virtual credit card on my banking app, but he wouldn’t take it.”
Ronan then offered a deposit of €500 on his debit card, which he said they could claim back if I returned the car in one piece. “He refused.
I had to pay an additional €100 insurance because I only had a debit card (I don’t own a credit card). The extra was on top of the insurance I had already paid and it was non-refundable!
— Reader Ellen
“Then, realising that we were going to be stranded, I offered to pay €500 extra for the car, as I knew this would be cheaper than having to book a rental car at short notice. All of this the guy refused.
“Luckily we went around the corner and a very kind man at Avis allowed us to book a car with the debit card, but it cost us €1,000 and we had to leave the car back to Florence,” he says.
“This cost us an additional €250 on train fares, as we had planned to deposit the car back at the airport in Rome, so we had to get a train from Florence to Rome and from Rome city centre to the airport.
“The question I’m pondering is this: why did Drivalia have a different policy at Leeds-Bradford to the one it had at Florence? Why do some car rental companies insist on a credit card when a debit card should suffice?”
Then there was Ellen, who had an issue this summer in Crete with Europcar not accepting a debit card.
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“To be fair, it was partly my fault, as the email had said you need ID, credit card, etc, but I just assumed that meant credit/debit card as I have never encountered a situation where credit is the only option.”
At least when it came to Ellen, the company were able to show a bit more flexibility. “I had to pay an additional €100 insurance because I only had a debit card (I don’t own a credit card). The extra was on top of the insurance I had already paid and it was non-refundable!”
When it comes to Ronan’s queries, we can’t say for sure how the company goes about its business, although it is not uncommon for car-hire operators in different countries, even those trading under the same name, to have very different policies.
Having said that, we struggle to see why it was unable to accept his virtual credit card.
As to the second question, car-hire companies always prefer people to use credit cards for the very simple reason that it gives them more protection should something bad happen to their car while it is in your possession, and it is easier for them to get financial redress long after you have returned home – some might say it is far too easy.
It is not uncommon for the damage done to a car to exceed the deposit paid, and car-hire companies also have to factor in things such as cars being returned with fuel tanks almost empty, in contravention of stated policies, as well as the potential for unpaid tolls, parking fines and other road traffic violations.
If they have your debit card, they will take a set amount from your bank account and you need to have the funds to cover that cost in your current account on the day in question.
With credit cards, however, they don’t actually take the money, but freeze it up to a predetermined amount, with that amount unfrozen once the vehicle is returned and the account settled up.
So on that level there should be no difference.
But it is probably easier after the fact for car-hire companies to extract money from your credit card account – should further charges materialise – then it is to get it from your current account. They simply take the money and the credit card provider does the chasing when it comes to payment.
It is also worth remembering that whether you use a debit or credit card, it must be in the name of the main driver. Offering them the card of a spouse or partner will carry no weight as there is no contract in place between an unnamed driver and the car hire company.
