UKC

Hiya,

Can't anyone help me with car hire please?

I need to hire a car for two holidays in Europe and my partner will drive as he's 25 but neither of us have a credit card. Has anyone hired a car without one and any recommendations on companies please?

Thanks!

In reply to Chloe:

Used to, up to five, maybe ten, years ago. Then it suddenly seemed to be impossible.

I got a credit card a few years ago, just for that purpose. That turns out to be a double edged sword: since I never budgeted beyond my means, I never needed credit, but not using it paradoxically gives you a dreadful credit rating (you need to show you can 'handle' or manage debt, apparently) and so I was recently refused a £10/month Phone deal on account of it. Couldn't have made it up.

Sorry, think you'll struggle to find a hire company who don't insist on credit cards now.

In reply to Chlo
Do you mean that you have neither credit nor debit card? My recent hire in Sicily required a card which covered 1800 euros ( after the prepayment of the car hire itself).

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

You will need a credit card as hire companies cannot 'hold' the deposit on a debit card.

In reply to Chloe:

If you pay for the extended insurance some places like Goldcar won't require a credit card.

In reply to Just Another Dave:


Who explained that was the reason the phone thing got refused? Can a phone company see WHY supposedly your credit is bad?

And did you just never use the credit card at all? Or were you buying things with it but always paying the full balance at the end of the month? I've had credit cards for decades now, but I don't think I've ever not paid the full amount each month - so have never paid interest.

In reply to Chloe:

Although my French bank card is 'Visa', its a 'debit card' rather than a credit card but I've never had a problem with car hire, hotel bookings etc. Credit cards are relatively rare here, at least compared to the UK.

In reply to Chloe:
It might be worth starting a thread saying where you want to hire . For example Lara car at Alicante airport don't need one but thats probably no help to you ?

In reply to Chloe:

Hi,
I've literally just got a credit card for this reason. I'd recommend getting one and just using it occasionally and paying it off in full to keep it ticking over so your credit rating doesn't plunge. Won't cost you anything as long as you pay on time each month.

In reply to Chloe:
Halifax clarity card is the best card i have ever had for travel related purchases. Make sure you apply for a credit limit high enough to cover the 'deposit' but not too high if you have poor credit. They dont take long to set up/arrive. Also check the companies young driver rules and fees 25 should be fine but i have had expensive premiums for years and they arent always forthcoming with the info.

In reply to tingle:
I think Halifax also don't sting on the exchange rate ? I'm sure there have been threads on here whereby people have been charged by their cc to change the deposit both ways ( might be wrong but wouldn't be at all suprised )

In reply to Chloe:

I was in same position, found it impossible basically.

In reply to aostaman:


They used to take an actual deposit, and refund it after. Can do that with debit. Don't know why they still shouldn't, providing you have the funds.

In reply to TobyA:

No one with any authority/insider knowledge, admittedly. I'd love someone to explain exactly what's the reasonings behind credit ratings.

Can a phone company see WHY supposedly your credit is bad?

Would have thought so.

And did you just never use the credit card at all? Or were you buying things with it but always paying the full balance at the end of the month?

Not at all for few years, till friends explained the reasoning above, so now use it occasionally and have always always cleared the monthly balance.

I've had credit cards for decades now, but I don't think I've ever not paid the full amount each month - so have never paid interest.

Same here, past year or two. No question. Don't understand where credit ratings come from.

Edit: notice indyjk has also suggested the need to get a credit card and also to have to keep it 'ticking over' to avoid a rating plunge. Does anyone understand the sense behind this?

In reply to Just Another Dave:

I think companies do different things. My personal bête noir, Centauro, took the deposit and then refunded it so I had associated bank charges and exchange rate vagaries. Rather amazingly Goldcar merely ring fenced it so those nasties did not apply.

In reply to Chloe:

As some above have said, either Halifax or post office credit cards are better than exchange rate for cash more often in my experience, and will sort you out for the deposit. You get the exchange rate on the day if paid in local currency and me and my partner have used both to travel across Europe multiple times. Either are worth getting, and the Halifax one you can even withdraw cash for no extra charge. Double check which are best now I've not used mine for 6 months. I had no problem getting the post office card when I was around 22 with no real credit history and a £1500 credit limit, although obviously depending on circumstances. As long as you can pay it off straight away either cards in my experience are better than exchanging cash. Last 2 week trip to Europe we left the uk with around 200 euro in cash. It's the future!

Matt

In reply to Chloe:

I have been able to hire a car in Europe - Spain and Germany without a credit card (2015 and 2016). However I had to give a large deposit instead. This year I got a credit card mainly for that purpose. So yes it's possible but if you can get a credit card I would definitely recommend it. You need to have the credit card for the driver. So your partner needs the credit card. They will only accept the credit card of the driver not someone travelling with the driver. At least that's my experience.

In reply to Chloe:

Wallet nicked in Barcelona a few years ago. Hired a car on my wife's debit card. I was the driver. Took a LOT of winging.

In reply to Chloe:
Hi Chloe

Record go in Spain do not require a credit card. Not sure if they operate throughout Spain but definitely Malaga & Granada airports

Also meant to add if you are heading to Alpujarras or Sierra Nevada then Sierra Nevada Outdoors in Orgiva also do car hire, no credit car required.

In reply to Chloe:

Indigo Car Hire (indigocarhire.co.uk) specialise in car hire for people with no credit card

In reply to stev1e.wilso:


You may have to make all payments from the same card as well i.e. you can't book it here then pick it up and use a different card then. I've had this problem when hiring a car on a work trip, work paid the hire with their card or account then the hire company wouldn't allow me to drive it as my credit card wasn't the one used for the booking. I think I had to cancel the booking and re-make it there and then on my card, which luckily had enough credit.

In reply to Chloe:

Any reason not to just apply for a credit card? As said above, weirdly it will actually help your credit score as borrowing money provides evidence that you aren't a high risk borrower.

They are also usually offer better rates than debit cards when paying abroad (but not for cash withdrawls), just pay off the full balance when you get back off holiday and it may actually save you a few £'s. When travellin I also like having one for unexpected emergencies (eg medical costs), which I am insured for but may have to pay upfront for in the short term.

In reply to Just Another Dave:

If you want to build your credit rating with a credit card a good way is to use it to pay for day to day expenses but set up a direct debit for full settlement, and keep a record of what you've spent so that you don't go and spend that money in cash thinking you've still got it. You also gain other benefits of credit cards e.g. the additional consumer protection, as well as protection against fraud (if you notice it, cancel the DD, and you're not out of pocket while it is being resolved).

It's a bit of effort to manage but can pay dividends when you eventually want something like a mortgage.

Regarding credit cards, some companies *might* let you rent without one if you take their full CDW package - this was the (slightly pricey) solution used when we came up against a problem a while ago in that the main driver on the car didn't have a credit card and they would only take one in the main driver's name, not a named driver. (We couldn't just change the main driver, as they were already on another car and they wouldn't allow two). Would have to do some phoning around.

Note in your case - if your partner will be the main or only driver the card will need to be in his name not yours!

In the event it was rather a good thing we took the package as one of the drivers scraped it on a tunnel wall, when we took it back they checked we had bought their insurance and pretty much went "fine, don't worry about it, you've taken the insurance". I don't even know if they ever bothered fixing it.

In reply to Just Another Dave:


If I were you I'd be heading to MoneySavingExpert and using their free access to Experian to have a very close look at my exact credit score. If you can't get a £10pcm phone agreement, something is wrong.