Car hire scam

squeakyp

:mad:Just cancelled car hire with Holiday Autos in France because they insist the main driver (ie. my husband) has to have valid credit card in his name when picking up the car. They won't accept the credit card I made the booking in, despite the fact I would be there and could validate with passport etc. We are trying to save money by having one driver (c £40) and I don't want to be the main driver. Surely, this is just another scam on part of the car hire companies. Anyone else experienced this?

richardw

Does he have a credit card?

McKneff

So where does the 'scam' come into it then.

mcfisco

Paying for the car with any credit card is one thing

The reason they want one off him is to cover for damages, I could think of 101 scenarios where the driver damages the car and the 3rd party with the credit card refuses to accept any liability, it would all be mighty messy.
"if anything goes wrong, she'll pay"

Much easier to have the driver agree to everything - and have the relevant means to guarantee the agreement.

peachyprice

It's pretty standard, pretty much everywhere, not just Holiday Auto in France. If you want to hire a car you need a credit card for security in the/one of the drivers name.

If there are damages by your husband and you are not on the rental agreement your CC company has no liability to reimburse the rental company.

You're right though, there is a scam, but it's you trying to scam them by giving them a credit card for someone who is not on the agreement.

Who have you re-booked with that will allow a non-driver use their card for security?

Gloomendoom

squeakyp wrote: »

:mad:Just cancelled car hire with Holiday Autos in France because they insist the main driver (ie. my husband) has to have valid credit card in his name when picking up the car.

It looks like you have at least three options...

1. Don't hire a car.
2. Get your husband credit card.
3. Put yourself down as the main driver.