New Zealand - Camper Van Deposit Nightmare

Blue01

Hi y'all!

I'm a bit of a newbie to this so please bare with me. The scenario that we are in must surely be one that happens a lot, although at the moment we seem to be alone. Anyone traveling or thinking of going to NZ and doing a camper tour should be aware of this issue.

We went to NZ for 3 weeks in September. Van hire was booked and paid for in advance via the Air New Zealand website and was with a company called Britz. They are part of a larger organisation called Tourism Holdings Limited, and they pretty much run all of the camper van hire companies in NZ, to which there are many. On arrival we were asked for a deposit on the van of 7500 NZ Dollars (around £3000 UK pounds). We handed over the credit card and they took the money from it. Just shy of 3 weeks later we returned the vehicle and they put back on the same amount. The problems arose when we returned back the UK and saw our statement. Due to the exchange rate changing whilst we were driving around the amount put back onto the card once translated into UK sterling was short of £285. I got in touch with Tourism Holdings and they were very helpful. I received an email showing both slips of paper which showed the transctions that were made and indeed the same amount in NZD had been put back on. I then got hold of MBNA who put the money back onto the card but warned us that Tourism Holdings could dispute the claim and take the money back off. That happened today! I had a call from MBNA and they stated that Tourism Holdings had disputed the claim and that there was nothing I could do to get the money back. They are refusing to pursue the issue any longer and there isn't a way of retrieving the lost amount.

I told them that I thought this was archaic... As surely this fluctuation could go either way for certain tourists... some coming back home with more money than they originally deposited and some like us having a massive shortfall. Again, they stated there was nothing that can be done.

As a consequence I have gotten in touch with the Office of Fair Trading who indeed have given me an insight into the Consumer Credit Act of 1974, so at least we have a start and a line in which to follow.

With the thousands of Europeans traveling to both Australia and New Zealand to do camper trips such as we did I cannot for the life of me see this as a normal occurrence. The concept that its a lottery as to how much you will lose on your deposit due to fluctuations in exchange rates as you drive around sightseeing just doesn't sit well with me. I simply want the money I put down to be given back to me.

If anyone else has had experience of this or can shed light as to the whys and the wheres and what to do next it would all be greatly appreciated.

Peace!

Blue

dzug1

You HAVE got the money back that you put down - $NZ 7500. The fluctuations in exchange rates are a fact of life and beyond the control of Tourism Holdings or MBNA. It's your risk - and yes others have been in the same situation. Others have I am sure gained from fluctuations.

Given that noone has made any mistake it's difficult to see there is anything you can do

PasturesNew

I think it's 100% correct. You went to a foreign country and paid a deposit in their currency, they returned your deposit promptly in their currency, for the very same amount.

Currency fluctuations are something outside of their control and remit. It's your loss - and, as you say, another tourist might have received more back. You'd have been gloriously happy if it'd swung the other way for you.

A camper van company cannot be expected to act as a Foreign Exchange company, hedging deposit positions so you get back what you deposited in the currency of your choice.

Blue01

What smarts is that as its a deposit and they are holding the money until you come back with the camper, you don't expect the amount to be given back to you to be less nearly £300. If we were talking £30 I guess you would take it on the chin, but £300... Its not like we purchased anything. I was surprised to see that they had taken the money off the card in the first place and not just taken the card details as security. A nice earner for them as they have over 1500 campers out at any given time. You do the maths... floating that amount on overnight markets makes them a tidy packet.

Bottom line is that if we purchased something and handed over the cash for a product or service we would expect it to fluctuate. The idea that a deposit is also included in that scenario doesn't seem right.

PasturesNew

They took 7,500, they returned 7,500.

Nobody's sitting in their office playing the dangerous foreign exchange markets trying to earn a few extra bob.

JimmyTheWig

Obviously the same would have happened if you had paid the deposit in cash.

But I agree that the problem is that they took the money on the card in the first place. That doesn't normally happen with a deposit, does it?
But then, I guess, when we're talking that sort of money they would need to be sure that the money is there and stays there.

Incidentally, have you looked at the exchange rate over that period? Did it really change by nearly 10% in just three weeks?

Blue01

The exchange rate was 0.48747 when we arrived but two days before we left it dipped to 0.45009.
I totally get the fluctuations, but it would seem that they took the money off the card instead of simply authorising it.
Does this happen a lot? I mean, when we are talking about £3300 coming off your card its no wonder what you get back is a lottery.

JimmyTheWig

Ok, so that's a 7.5% decrease. Which just about fits the numbers you've given. (Maybe with a 1% charge from the credit card company?)

I have no idea if it would be possible for the company to get authorisation from the card without taking the money. For example, what if you had a £10k limit on your card with zero balance. They check that there is £3k on there, which there is, but don't take it. You then go off and spend £9k and don't return the camper. They can't get their £3k, because it doesn't exist any more.

Very frustrating for you (and very pleasing, presumably, for those who went 3 weeks after you did). Not sure that anything can be done about it, even if the company wanted to.
But definitely something that others doing something similar need to be aware of and need to budget for.
(Alternatively, knowing this is how it works, someone could match their exposure on a currency spread bet. The equivalent of insurance.)