My son's lack of credit card saw him denied our hire car at the airport
Dear Gill,
Last October I booked and paid for a hire car on Crete through Holiday Autos, nominating my son Robin as the main driver. As Robin does not hold a credit card, I chose a car firm that would accept a debit card. The rental cost £393 and included an insurance policy with AXA to cover the damage excess charge.
On arrival at the Centauro rental desk, the agent insisted that Robin produce a credit card as security otherwise the car would not be released to us. This is despite showing proof that Robin had the necessary funds in his bank account.
My son's partner offered to become the lead driver, as she had a credit card, but this was refused. We contacted Holiday Autos customer services and they spoke directly to the Centauro agent, but to no avail.
Despite complaining to Holiday Autos, we have failed to get a refund for the original rental. Can you help?
– John Muggridge
Dear John,
Holiday Autos is part of the CarTrawler organisation and, to its credit, it did investigate John's complaint efficiently, especially as he had taken out its Premium Customer Support for an extra €5 at the time of booking.
However, Centauro was adamant that Robin didn't have sufficient funds in his bank account to cover the €1,400 (£1,180) damage deposit.
I have seen proof that €1,400 had been deposited into his account the previous day. However, it would appear that the agent wasn't happy that this sum demonstrated that sufficient funds would remain after holiday spending to cover any damage, and so she refused to release the car.
Although Robin had taken out insurance to reduce his excess to zero with AXA, if the car had suffered damage he would still have had to pay Centauro's invoice, and claim the cost back from AXA.
Nearly all car rental companies – now including Centauro – demand a credit card so that a damage deposit can be ring-fenced against spending through the pre-authorisation process (a practice also introduced by accommodation providers).
A few do still accept debit cards as security, but rather than ring-fencing the deposit, they will debit the damage excess amount from the card and it is not always refunded speedily following the car's return.
Given the continuing lack of clarity on Centauro's own website, I asked Holiday Autos to take the issue up with the company at a higher level.
Holiday Autos was aware of Centauro's recent change of policy to refuse debit cards, and recognised the confusion this may have caused. 'We remain committed to supporting our customers through their rental experience,' said a Holiday Autos spokesperson, 'and in this instance as a gesture of goodwill we have processed a full refund.'
Your travel problems solved
Gill takes on a different case each week – so please send your problems to her for consideration at asktheexperts@telegraph.co.uk. Please give your full name and, if your dispute is with a travel company, your address, telephone number and any booking reference. Gill can't answer every question, but she will help where she can and all emails are acknowledged.
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