Goldcar scam in Tenerife ?

Monza29

Arriving at the Goldcar desk in Tenerife airport I was ready for the usual recommendation of taking the full insurance package. When offered I declined as I had independent insurance cover for the excess. Normally that is sufficient but on this occasion there was insistence that my cover would not be sufficient and the Goldcar representative then approached my wife trying to convince her that we should take their excess insurance.

Once I had made it clear that we would not take the insurance I was asked to provide my credit card to cover the excess, quite normal process although I was alarmed that the excess was 2000 euros, much higher than I had ever experienced before. Card in the slot and pin number entered and the machine turned orange with a message in Spanish. I was told my card had been declined and the only option was to buy the Goldcar insurance at 185 euros. When I attempted to purchase this my card was declined again so we were told that my wife would have to pay for the insurance, plus the extra driver payment. Despite the fact that she had no driving license this was quite acceptable.

At the earliest opportunity I contacted my bank (Santander) and they confirmed that NO transactions had taken place on my card and that I was clear to use it in Spain without limit.

I can only assume that the Goldcar rep. had some way of stopping the transaction and making it look like the card was declined so that the customer would be forced into buying the local excess insurance.

Please be aware of this and make sure you have an alternative card. I certainly will not use Goldcar again.

Alan_Bowen

Pity you didn't check here first, Goldcar appears to be the worst car rental business in Europe and has been highlighted many times for scams and overcharging. Sometimes booking the cheapest is the worst, not the best idea

SW17

Indeed, many tales of woe here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2744712

Was at Tenerife South airport last weekend, the Goldcar desk was next to the one I was using (Cicar, no hidden extras, just a reasonable and refundable fuel deposit). There were a few animated conversations going on at the Goldcar desk, though I couldn't hear so maybe they were just discussing the weather...

In the Canary Islands I would recommend Cicar or Autoreisen for good service and the avoidance of unpleasant and unexpected charges. I think there are one or two other companies with similarly good policies, but these are the ones I have used myself.