Car hire in Spain - fully comprehensive insurance

SW17

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Don't want to put the kibosh on any of the other companies, but there is something to be said for being able to drop the car off and to pick it up at the airport.
Goldcar, Record, Hertz, Sixt etc are just beneath the baggage collection hall. I've missed out a few names...as I don't remember them all.

You are right, and have also used Sixt when they were doing spectacular deals a few years ago. It was definitely more convenient. Generally found Helle Hollis cheaper though, and they are only a couple of mins drive from the terminal by shuttle bus, just by the airport exit (you could walk if there were any footpaths...), though of course you may have a short wait for the bus.

PolishBigSpender

Never replied to this, but Helle Hollis were fantastic. The car was in perfect shape, they were punctual and the shuttle bus to/from Malaga Airport was even tracked on a big screen via GPS, which was a nice little touch.

Can't complain in the slightest, and I'd recommend them to anyone that wants a no-drama car hire.

InsideInsurance

Almost all companies are going to have an imprint of a card even if you buy every insurance and add on they offer in case a dozen parking tickets or speeding fines etc arrive after you have handed back the car.

If they ring fence any money by an authorisation is broadly irrelevant to their ability to claim funds should there be any issues. Those with large excesses to pay then its common for the ring fence to ensure the person has the £1,000 to pay for it if there is a problem. For those with no excess because of buying all the companies insurances then an authorisation may not be required but their T&Cs still state they can charge your card for any damage, fuel, fines etc that arent otherwise covered.

benjus

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Almost all companies are going to have an imprint of a card even if you buy every insurance and add on they offer in case a dozen parking tickets or speeding fines etc arrive after you have handed back the car.

If they ring fence any money by an authorisation is broadly irrelevant to their ability to claim funds should there be any issues. Those with large excesses to pay then its common for the ring fence to ensure the person has the £1,000 to pay for it if there is a problem. For those with no excess because of buying all the companies insurances then an authorisation may not be required but their T&Cs still state they can charge your card for any damage, fuel, fines etc that arent otherwise covered.

I'm not familiar with the details of how credit cards work but I'd like to understand this.

IME, any pre-authorisations from the hire company drop off less than a week after the car is returned (based on checking available balance). Parking/speeding/etc tickets tend to take quite a bit longer to turn up.

If the pre-autorisation has been released and the customer cancels the card, is there any basis that the hire company could charge the card? I know that cancelled cards do continue to exist, but any new transactions should be blocked, shouldn't they? AFAIK the only transactions that can be applied to a cancelled card are pre-authorised transactions and continuous payment authorities - neither of which seem to be the case here. Of course, the charge may be legitimate under the T&C and the hire company may be entitled to pursue the customer for the money, but I'm asking if it can be taken from the card.

In any case, I think in most countries (in Europe at least) the authorities imposing the charge can be given the customer's details to pursue them directly, in which case the hire company would only impose an admin charge for digging out the customer's details and handing them over.

PolishBigSpender

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Almost all companies are going to have an imprint of a card even if you buy every insurance and add on they offer in case a dozen parking tickets or speeding fines etc arrive after you have handed back the car.

For those with no excess because of buying all the companies insurances then an authorisation may not be required but their T&Cs still state they can charge your card for any damage, fuel, fines etc that arent otherwise covered.

Helle Hollis made it crystal clear that I could pay in cash or by card, provided I took the full insurance offer and paid a deposit for the fuel. They had a full-full fuel policy, so can't complain in the slightest. The deposit for the fuel was very fair as well - I checked it against the fuel tank capacity and they were using a rate that was only 2-3% more than the pump price at Malaga Airport - which is fair enough.

I suppose it's the difference between a large car hire company and a small one. The only "catch" with Helle Hollis is that they're not the cheapest car hire company around - but they were remarkably pain free (car picked up and returned within minutes) and absolutely without any nonsense.