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Car hire fee

Recently used my Barclaycard as damage security for car hire. Also, the car hire company also took a separate card input to cover fuel. I signed on returning the car for the fuel charge to be refunded. Checking my statements 2 charges for £1.50 have been added. 1 for the security, 1 for the fuel. Is this normal. Thanks.
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Comments

  • CollinT
    CollinT Posts: 32 Forumite
    malagabob wrote: »
    Recently used my Barclaycard as damage security for car hire. Also, the car hire company also took a separate card input to cover fuel. I signed on returning the car for the fuel charge to be refunded. Checking my statements 2 charges for £1.50 have been added. 1 for the security, 1 for the fuel. Is this normal. Thanks.


    Were the transactions made in a country outside of the EU, where charging a fee for using a credit card is still lawful?
  • malagabob
    malagabob Posts: 18 Forumite
    The car was hired in Portugal.
  • yes perfectly normal.
  • EveryWhere
    EveryWhere Posts: 3,249 Forumite
    yes perfectly normal.

    Why is it normal?
  • Ergates
    Ergates Posts: 3,479 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    malagabob wrote: »
    The car was hired in Portugal.

    Presumably the transaction was in Euros. Some cards charge a currency conversion fee - which would be legal.
  • EveryWhere
    EveryWhere Posts: 3,249 Forumite
    Ergates wrote: »
    Presumably the transaction was in Euros. Some cards charge a currency conversion fee - which would be legal.

    Why would it be exactly £1.50 for each transaction? If you don't know, it's ok to state that you don't know.
  • Ergates
    Ergates Posts: 3,479 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    EveryWhere wrote: »
    Why would it be exactly £1.50 for each transaction? If you don't know, it's ok to state that you don't know.

    Probably because the car hire firm processed them as seperate transactions and each transaction was in Euros and the card supplier charges £1.50 for each foreign currency transaction.

    This is why people take out cards which are "free to use abroad" - i.e. don't charge these fees (they soon add up!)
  • EveryWhere
    EveryWhere Posts: 3,249 Forumite
    Ergates wrote: »
    Probably because the car hire firm processed them as seperate transactions and each transaction was in Euros and the card supplier charges £1.50 for each foreign currency transaction.

    This is why people take out cards which are "free to use abroad" - i.e. don't charge these fees (they soon add up!)

    Nope. Barclaycard doesn't make a separate charge for spending. Just a forex charge of 2.99%
    Also, the deposit is an authorisation, not a charge.

    I think more likely that the company made a test transaction and that amount should be refunded.
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,835 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ergates wrote: »
    Probably because the car hire firm processed them as seperate transactions and each transaction was in Euros and the card supplier charges £1.50 for each foreign currency transaction.
    Barclaycard charge a margin of 2.99% on the exchange rate, but apparently no fixed fee per non-sterling transaction. This makes the two charges of exactly £1.50 rather mysterious...

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/#what
    Evolution, not revolution
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Newshound!
    edited 10 June 2019 at 4:35PM
    malagabob wrote: »
    / Checking my statements 2 charges for £1.50 have been added. 1 for the security, 1 for the fuel..
    From checking your statement, how can you possibly know what these charges are for. How do you know that it is 1 for the fuel and 1 for the security. That won't be stated on the statement.
    Could you clarify exactly how these charges of £1,50 appear on your statement.
    Do they appear as two additional separate transactions for exactly £1.50 each or are the transactions for the fuel and security £1.50 more than anticipated?
    Were the security and fuel charges actually debited to the account or were they authorisation only?
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