Credit card versus debit card ,a bit of advice

Biggles

ShelfStacker wrote: »

Nope.

For the list of who does what: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damage_waiver#Credit_Card_Coverage_of_Damage_Waiver

Hmm, it's odd that no credit card seems to promote that feature (there seems no mention of it in Nationwide's T&Cs, for example). You'd think it could be a big selling point.

Nor is there any mention that I could find on the Visa Europe website, after trying various search criteria. BUT if you key 'CDW' into the search facility in the US Visa site, 'Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver' is the first thing that is listed.

You will note that Wiki's sources are from the credit card's USA websites. Like I was inferring, it's where the card comes from, not where you are driving, that is relevant.

jonesMUFCforever

If you search these forums then this comes up a lot.
It is my opinion that if you use a credit card for anything over £100 then you have automatic rights under the Consumer Credit act whether the transaction takes place in UK or abroad.
A debit card transaction is dependent on the goodwill of the card issuer and no CCA guarantee is applicable.

I'm sure other posters will quickly come on here and try to convince you that I'm wrong citing terms and conditions laid down by Visa.Inc which have no law bearing effect on UK customers.
It is true that by applying for a chargeback some banks will refund on a debit card transaction but I stand by what I have written there is no law to protect the UK consumer which states this.

ShelfStacker_3

Biggles wrote: »

Hmm, it's odd that no credit card seems to promote that feature (there seems no mention of it in Nationwide's T&Cs, for example). You'd think it could be a big selling point.

Well, it applies to *every* Visa and/or MasterCard. They could hardly claim it as an exclusive benefit.

PBA

moonrakerz wrote: »

Perhaps, most importantly, in this day and age, if your card is cloned or the number is misused any monies "misused" are NOT yours.

Widely said, and wrong. If your card is misused, it's your money that's been taken, not the bank's money. The bank will refund as long as you weren't responsible, but it's no different between credit and debit cards.

Biggles

ShelfStacker wrote: »

Well, it applies to *every* Visa and/or MasterCard. They could hardly claim it as an exclusive benefit.

No, I really don't think it does. It's not exclusive, but they would claim it as a benefit. Why would they not mention it? Nor any of the other CC issuers I checked? Why would Visa Europe not mention it, when Visa US makes a big play of it?

It's hard to find solid information, as US sites take it as read, and UK sites don't mention it (as CDW is normally included in the rental anyway in most other countries in the world). All Irish car rentals, however, do offer CDW separately and all have a clause specifying the waiver only applies to holders of certain US-issued cards. Not Irish, not UK.

But the evidence is more in the complete absence of any mention of this cover from a UK source.

I'd like to find that it was true, as it would save me quite a bit next time I drive in the States!

moonrakerz

PBA wrote: »

Widely said, and wrong. If your card is misused, it's your money that's been taken, not the bank's money. The bank will refund as long as you weren't responsible, but it's no different between credit and debit cards.

You have handed over no money for a credit card transaction, the card issuer has paid the bill on your behalf.
In a strictly legal sense you are correct, as you have a credit agreement with the card issuer, but as you don't have to pay to full amount anyway you start to get into "muddy waters", especially as you didn't authorise the transaction in the first place - interesting point of law !

As I said, any unauthorised transactions - you simply tell the card issuer and you don't pay it ! If you don't pay it you have no problem waiting for the bank to "repay" you.
It really is a case of you have got them by the b***s rather than the other way round. They are hardly like to sue you for a transaction in South America you didn't make !

I actually did this several years back when several hundred pounds from a hotel chain appeared on my statement. I paid the bill in full, minus the hotel amount, and sent a letter with the bill querying the charge. The card company put the amount "in dispute" until the matter was resolved - no problem.
(The charge was quite valid, the hotel had not charged my card for a stay due to a fault in their system. It was added about four months later, but was from a different location to the one I actually stayed at, hence my confusion)