Pending Authorisations - what do they mean?

antonybee

I spent a while before my holiday in France (20-27 July) trying to find a car hire place which would take a Debit Card rather than a Credit Card to pay for the hire of a car. Anyway, I could not seem to find one, so I applied for a Credit Card at Santander, who I also originally got my debit Card from.

So, a couple of days before the holiday, I received my Credit Card (Santander Zero Credit Card), and I phoned up Avis to make a booking. Just to be curious, I asked if they took Debit rather than Credit Cards, and I was surprised to here the answer that Yes, they did, and it was OK to pick up the card with a Debit Card. It was apparently OK in all countries in the EU except Luxembourg (+ one other country I can't remember). So I decided to pay by Debit Card, about €250. And that came off the Debit Card account.

When I arrived in France, I presented my Debit Card and booking details to the Avis desk, and they said "Non, Debit Cards are no good for this". Luckily I had bought my Credit Card too, so I presented that, and they took the details. I also indicated that I wanted to pay the Collision Damage Waiver, which was about £10 per day.

During my holiday, a white van overtook on a narrow road and chipped a piece of plastic off the wing mirror. I assume this was coved by the CDW.

When I get home I looked at my accounts, and there are two payments in the Pending Authorisations section of my Credit Card account:

• £500 (20 July)
• £70 (28 july)

My limit is £500, and I my account stands at -£40. These seem to be related to my car hite, with the £70 being the CDW. What, however is the £500? Does Avis just hold this as an authorisation, but eventually give it back?

InsideInsurance

Avis, like most car rental companies, tend to make the whole thing as confusing as possible. The standard CDW (or VDC as I think Avis UK call it) has a fairly hefty excess to pay, the uk it is £650 or more. There is a second product that you can buy to reduce this excess.

If you didn't choose to reduce the XS it wouldn't be uncommon for the rental company to get authorisation for the XS at the beginning so they know you are good for the money.

If it is authorised but not claimed it is not a case of "giving it back" but either a) releasing it or b) allowing the authorisation to lapse

smartiedriver_2

Most vehicle rental places take an 'authorisation' for a large amount when you collect the car and cancel it when you return it undamaged. Recently I hired a van for £60 and the company also required a £150 authorisation.

It is to make sure that much money is available should it be needed.

It is similar to buying petrol if you have ever used 'pay at pump' although that works in reverse - you put your card it, it takes an authorisation for the sum of £1.00, then you fill up. Then, when the transaction is released, it takes the full amount of money in payment for the petrol you took.