I know I am only a month into the IVA but so far everyhting has been reasonably ok. However, we already have a holiday booked in september for a week in Lanzarote and we are saving everything we can to try and have an enjoyable week. Yesterday was pay day for both me and my wife and we had enough before we got paid to cover the cost of a hire car and so this morning I went to book it. Now this is were the problem lies as in reading the small print, the hire companies only seem to except credit cards to cover the insurance excess (normally between 100 to 300 pounds). Luckily I read this before completing my online booking and after a phone call with the company have realised that a hire car may nor be possible. Has anybody got any words of wisdom on this?
Can`t you just get one once there. I remember doing that in Malta, it was cheaper than pre-booking, mind you that was in the olden days. We left our passports as security.
Last edited by Hyperdrive on Tue May 21, 2013 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
I am not sure on that Hyperdrive. I guess if I am unable to book one in advance it could be worth a try but I am the sort of person that likes to have everything planned and organised in advance. That would really be the last option but thanks for the idea:-)
Thanks Lesley and plasticdaft. Not used a prepaid card before. Can you recommend one? I am guessing this could be good to have with me anyway when abroad? Cheers.
just ensure if using pre-paid card that you have sufficient funds for the whole of your holiday as once car hire secured against it, it will not be available for anything else until the car is returned and the hire company release the funds back.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Thanks for the advice. It concerns me that I need to now save an extra 300ish pounds to cover the excess costs. I am not sure if that will be possible. I have just found a site that I have used before that clearly states they accept debit cards so I may just go with them.
Thanks for the advice. It concerns me that I need to now save an extra 300ish pounds to cover the excess costs. I am not sure if that will be possible. I have just found a site that I have used before that clearly states they accept debit cards so I may just go with them.
£300 though is alot to be 'blocked' from your debit card if you're in an IVA - such an amount would take up the majority of my monthly disposable income. Also, some hire car companies also insist (especially for weekly rentals) on you paying for the car having a full tank of fuel when you collect the car and you have to bring it back empty (so they earn at both the start (because you pay an inflated fuel price) and the end (because you'll bound to leave a bit of fuel in the tank) of the hire). And god knows why but such companies insist that the fuel payment also must be made by a credit card (not a debit card) in the name of the driver.
Indeed I find hire car companies very tricky as they always insist on any card being in the name of the lead driver, and many simply insist on a credit card. Check the small print very carefully, especially about the fuel situation.
I am fortunate enough to have a work credit card so if I ever have to pay a holding deposit on a hire car I use that card, although I always pay for fuel using my debit card, and in Malaga earlier this year Goldcar insisted on me paying (on collection of the car) for the full tank of fuel using the same credit card the holding deposit, which I was far from happy about as my finance department understandably get rather 'awkward' (even if I pay it back as it messes up the accounting) if I use my work credit card for anything non-work related, but Goldcar wouldn't budge even though I was waving around my debit card pleading to use that.
I am being treated to a week long holiday in Gran Canaria in July, and one of the first things we did was to ensure the hire company we are using do not charge any upfront fuel fee upon collection, i.e. leaving us to use whatever method of payment we want to when putting fuel in.
The ClearCash account provides an excellent prepaid service - and perhaps Sam Mond who runs that company and is also a forum expert can assist with telling you more about how it works.
Failing that, Lanzarote has a great public transport infrastructure so I seem to remember.
My ex wife used to manage a hire car office and they would only take credit cards so if there were any other expenses that came in after the hire finished, e.g speeding fine parking ticket then they can still claim it back off you card. This is not possible with pre paid or debit cards as you may not have sufficient funds.
Hi Grayson, Some but not all firms accept prepaid cards. As an example, Hertz do not allow them so you will need to check before you travel.
When a prepaid card is used for security deposit a block is put on the funds for the relevant amount on that card (worth finding out how much of a block they place on).
Unlike a credit card, a prepaid card such as ClearCash holds a prepaid balance and the block will stop you from spending the deposit amount of your travel cash. A block can last for up to 30 days so as long as there is enough of a balance to cover the deposit hold and also the rental amount, you should be fine.
As your rental is taking place outside the UK, using a UK based prepaid card such as ClearCash may not be the most cost efficient option. Have a look at the prepaid travel currency cards. One that I can personally recommend is the Caxton Euro Card.
A ClearCash card would work (i would call customer services prior to travel letting them know to be on the safe side).
I have found some people pay for the rental beforehand so that when you arrive, it is just the block that is placed on the card... one other thing that has been pointed out by pavel is their fuel policy... I also got stung by Gold car in Malaga!!
Have a look at sites such as carhire3000 as they seem to have great deals and you pay upfront (sometimes there are fuel options)
I hope this helps and I hope the weather is far better there than here... not hard!
Managing Director of ClearCash Limited, a general purpose and reloadable prepaid MasterCard facility. Campaigner for the unbanked sector believing that no one should be financially excluded. "Intelligent Money Management"
