Credit card blocked when trying to hire a car - had to purchase additional premium cover

joeflaherty

Hi all,

Two weeks ago, I flew to Pisa in Italy with my family. I attempted to use my Virgin Money credit card to pay the deposit for the car hire at Pisa Airport. The transaction was blocked by the VM fraud team. I then attempted to call to find out why the transaction was blocked but I could not get through to anyone. 

After nearly an hour trying to get through to VM on the phone without success, and without any other options, and as the car hire company did not take American Express (my only other credit card), I was forced to either cancel the reservation entirely, and therefore completely ruin my holiday, or spend €416 on additional car hire cover in lieu of the deposit. I already have car hire excess insurance, so this was additional cover that I did not need or want, but I couldn't hire the car without it. 

When we arrived to our accommodation, I managed to speak to someone from the VM fraud team on the phone who confirmed that the attempted transaction had been blocked and that it wouldn't have been possible to have unblocked it over the phone. So even if I had managed to speak to someone when I was at the airport, it wouldn't have made any difference and I would have still been left with no choice but to purchase this additional insurance. 

I have travelled all over the world and this is only the second time ever that a transaction has been blocked for no reason; the only other was in Kazakhstan and a swift phone call to Natwest unblocked the card and I was able to complete the transaction inside five minutes.

It baffles me as to why a transaction at a car hire desk at Pisa airport, a destination used by millions of European holidaymakers each year, should raise a flag on the VM system.

I emailed a complaint to VM to request a refund of this additional payment, but they have refused, saying that, as per the terms of their agreement, "we cannot guarantee that your card will always be accepted or usable in every situation. VM accepts no liability for any costs or losses incurred as a result of such circumstances."

Do I have any other options here other than to just accept the outcome and swallow the additional charge? From a quick Google search, I'm not the only person who has experienced this. 

Nasqueron

You could chance your arm on a complaint that they couldn't give you a way to confirm the payment was legitimate but I doubt you'll get the money back, might get lucky though

Always have backup cards for future though

SuperAllyB

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

marcia_

 Would your travel insurance cover this? 

MyRealNameToo

SuperAllyB said:

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

I was wondering the same thing and could that method have not been used for the deposit?

joeflaherty

SuperAllyB said:

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

I was able to pay the €416 with my debit card. They couldn't accept the debit card for the deposit. Apologies that this wasn't clear in the original post 

MyRealNameToo

joeflaherty said:

SuperAllyB said:

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

I was able to pay the €416 with my debit card. They couldn't accept the debit card for the deposit. Apologies that this wasn't clear in the original post 

Whilst undoubtedly the T&Cs say it must be paid by CC there is no real reason why it cannot be paid by debit card. 

I normally use a chargecard and have frequently been asked if its a credit card, I say its a chargecard, they look confused, eventually put it in the machine and it goes through fine. I have also paid by debit card, by accident as it and one of my chargecards looked very similar at a quick glance (or just the edge sticking out in the wallet) and similarly there was no problem. 

In principle they can easily setup their card machine to only take certain types of cards, same way as HMRC will reject any personal credit card but accept business credit cards, but in practice I find they dont as it would cause them problems potentially when then wanting to take a debit card for buying insurance etc. 

Olenna

MyRealNameToo said:

joeflaherty said:

SuperAllyB said:

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

I was able to pay the €416 with my debit card. They couldn't accept the debit card for the deposit. Apologies that this wasn't clear in the original post 

Whilst undoubtedly the T&Cs say it must be paid by CC there is no real reason why it cannot be paid by debit card. 

I normally use a chargecard and have frequently been asked if its a credit card, I say its a chargecard, they look confused, eventually put it in the machine and it goes through fine. I have also paid by debit card, by accident as it and one of my chargecards looked very similar at a quick glance (or just the edge sticking out in the wallet) and similarly there was no problem. 

In principle they can easily setup their card machine to only take certain types of cards, same way as HMRC will reject any personal credit card but accept business credit cards, but in practice I find they dont as it would cause them problems potentially when then wanting to take a debit card for buying insurance etc. 

My brother and sister in law had this very issue in Italy when SIL forgot to bring her credit card.

The simple reason is that it's much more likely that they'll get their money back from a credit v a debit card. The latter could be linked to an account with no overdraft facility so will simply decline if no funds. The extra insurance negates some of that risk as they'll get most back from the insurer if needed. 

MyRealNameToo

Olenna said:

MyRealNameToo said:

joeflaherty said:

SuperAllyB said:

If one card was blocked and the other not accepted how did you pay the €416?

I was able to pay the €416 with my debit card. They couldn't accept the debit card for the deposit. Apologies that this wasn't clear in the original post 

Whilst undoubtedly the T&Cs say it must be paid by CC there is no real reason why it cannot be paid by debit card. 

I normally use a chargecard and have frequently been asked if its a credit card, I say its a chargecard, they look confused, eventually put it in the machine and it goes through fine. I have also paid by debit card, by accident as it and one of my chargecards looked very similar at a quick glance (or just the edge sticking out in the wallet) and similarly there was no problem. 

In principle they can easily setup their card machine to only take certain types of cards, same way as HMRC will reject any personal credit card but accept business credit cards, but in practice I find they dont as it would cause them problems potentially when then wanting to take a debit card for buying insurance etc. 

My brother and sister in law had this very issue in Italy when SIL forgot to bring her credit card.

The simple reason is that it's much more likely that they'll get their money back from a credit v a debit card. The latter could be linked to an account with no overdraft facility so will simply decline if no funds. The extra insurance negates some of that risk as they'll get most back from the insurer if needed. 

Authorisation on a debit card and credit card are the same. If the authorisation drops before the car is returned or the fact monies are owed becomes apparent then you could have spent all your money in your current account or maxed out your credit card and in both cases the subsequent payment would be declined. Whilst the authorisation is held further payments cannot be made on the credit/debit card that would mean that there is insufficient funds to pay against the authorisation. 

In most cases with hire car companies it's a waiver not insurance so they dont get the money back from anyone just the amount people pay on average exceeds the number of excesses being waived.