James Villas Car Hire T&Cs

Hezzawithkids

HI all - we have booked a late deal with James Villas and are off to Tuscany in a couple of weeks. Total price includes flights & car hire and we are well chuffed with the deal. The car hire cost quoted by James was competitive for a 5-door A/C model (there are 4 of us in the party and we shopped around first) so we went with their deal.

BUT last week we got all the docs emailed through and on the small print for the car rental it says we have to put down a 700 euro (i.e. £600 quid) 'deposit' via credit card when we pick up the car at the airport. It doesn't say whether or not this is refundable. I don't remember reading anything about this in the T&C's when I made the (online) booking either. It says that we "must make sure there is enough credit limit on the card" so I am assuming they will actually put the charge through rather than just take an imprint. I am also assuming that if they do make the charge our bank will levy their fees on top??

Now we holiday in Europe most years and usually pre-book a hire a car but we have never been asked for such a high deposit before. Before I get on the phone to them and start asking awkward questions - is this normal for James Villas?? (this is the first time we've used them).

And can I cancel the car hire portion of the holiday if I find someone else who doesn't want our firstborn in exchange for the car keys?

Or is this just applicable to car hire in Italy?

Any help/feedback appreciated thanks.

pompeyrich

Some of the bigger car hire companies, Hertz, Avis and the like have excesses of between 500 and 950 Euros. This is the amount you would have to pay in the event of any damage to the car. This can usually be waived for a fee, although this can be as much as 15 Euros/Day.

Only once, out of 50+ rentals, have the hire company actually taken the deposit from my card, it was 300 Euros, they refunded it immediately I returned the car but still took a couple of days to reach my account.

I have used James Villas, not for a package, accom only and found them to be very helpful, so maybe a phone call would be your best option.

Spring909

It is standard for car hire companies to do a 'pre-authorisation' on your credit card. The amount doesn't get actually taken, but it does get authorised, which is why you have to have that amount of money available on the card.