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A deposit for car rental is normal. If you provide a credit card they reserve the amount without actually charging you. But if you only have a debit card or you
by fy20 2y ago
A deposit for car rental is normal. If you provide a credit card they reserve the amount without actually charging you. But if you only have a debit card or your credit limit is too low, they cannot do that. So you have to pay upfront, and they will refund you after the rental.
I'm guessing the 'waiver' is for their enhanced insurance, which means you don't pay anything extra if there are any damages.
I've rented hundreds of cars in Europe over the past two decades, and never had an issue. I booked through whatever site is the cheapest (which often is their own site, once you sign up for the loyalty programme). Never took the extras they try to sell. Car seats are carried by airlines for free (even Ryanair), so you don't need to pay for those.
- oliwarner 2y agoA deposit is normal, and yes, if we had the money (pre-approved or real) we'd be €350 better off. What made it feel like thievery was we knew nothing about it until we were in France with two kids who had just had enough of travel, and we were already an eye-watering sum on that we wouldn't get back if we tried to shop elsewhere. Again, the direct customers didn't have this. They had been asked these questions, made these choices as part of the initial order, where they had time to prepare financially, or shop around. It's in this way very similar to how some airlines feel they can double your flight cost as you are literally stepping onto the plane. You have no choice.
- MichaelZuo 2y agoBy definition a reseller is adding at least an extra layer of legal paperwork. Especially for car rentals where even a single paperwork error can cause a huge problem if an accident occurs.