Booked a Mitsubishi ASX via Holidaysauto.com They Want $4400 Security Bond

ajjkh225 on 15/05/2018 - 21:56
Last edited 16/05/2018 - 08:59 by 1 other user

Im traveling to Melbourne for a holiday and i just booked a rental car with Budget car hires. and after the booking they say this in the terms and conditions.

Deposit and Credit card Information
ACCEPTED: American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard (not debit or prepaid), Visa (not debit or prepaid)A deposit amount of AUD 4400.0 will be held against your credit card for the duration of the rental. Your deposit is a guarantee held in the event of damage/theft of the vehicle. This will be automatically released if there is no theft or damage during the rental period. Please note that this does not represent your total excess liability which can be found in the Insurance Coverage section.Credit card(s) must be in the name of the main driver.NOT ACCEPTED: No other payment types will be accepted.A valid credit card in the name of the lead driver must be presented at the rental desk in order to pre-authorise/charge a deposit. The credit card(s) must be embossed and a PIN number may be required.In the event that you fail to present a valid credit card, there is a lack of sufficient funds available on the credit card or the credit card is not in the lead driver's name, the car rental agent may refuse to release the vehicle. In these instances, no funds paid will be reimbursed.

what is this?? im renting a Mitsubishi ASX or equivalent vehicle, and they are taking $4400 out of my credit card as a security bond?? the rental costs $146 dollars for 4 days. i think this is ridiculous. sometimes the bond will take weeks to be returned as well dont they??

what should i do? should i cancel my booking and go with a different company? i just read a few reviews as well, and they dont sound too good.

Automotive

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Comments

  • trustnoone on 15/05/2018 - 22:20

    I couldn't find much online, but if they're insured I'm surprised its this much? Personally I'd probably just look around at other companies, but it sounds oddly high for me.

    Also if you're renting a car I'd deff recommend taking dated/timed photos when you pick it up so that if there is any dents etc they don't try to pick you out on something that was originally already there.

    • ajjkh225 on 15/05/2018 - 22:22

      yeh thanks. i thought it was odd as well. i tried AVIS and they charge $4400 as well. Eurocar $330 and hertz $200 for security bond.

      lol it almost sounds like a scam

      • ThithLord on 16/05/2018 - 08:07

        I've hired froM Budget lots of times - that amount has been quoted to me if I'm not using a Credit card. If you use a credit card, they hold a lot less. As far as I could tell, it was up to the individual Budget location. Way up north QLD they were absolute sticklers for it. Best to call them and clarify. I'm almost certain it's the procedure for Debit cards. This includes Via Debit (unless the cashier doesn't realise it's a Visa Debit)

  • [Deactivated] on 15/05/2018 - 22:22

    I rented a car with Budget late last year, and incurred no such deposit (I booked via the Qantas portal).

    According to the Budget website, their deposit is $200 if paying by credit card.
    https://www.budget.com.au/en/faqs/au/payments-pricing

    Did you book direct with Budget? Did you book with an overseas agent?

    • ajjkh225 on 15/05/2018 - 22:25
      +1

      i booked through www.holidayautos.com

      • [Deactivated] on 15/05/2018 - 22:41
        +1

        They could be the culprit.
        There’s a bit on the internet about such ‘brokers’

        “The system is effectively broken. Car rental companies and brokers quote what look like bargain prices on their websites, but exclude the cost of waiving very high insurance excesses. When you arrive to pick up the car, you are then charged exorbitant amounts to reduce the excess to zero. If you don’t, you have to deposit the amount of that excess on your credit card and then, on return, face a potential battle over whether you have damaged the car.”

        I would cancel if your can. And book direct with a hire company. If you have travel insurance, you may have rental excess cover

      • JimmyF on 15/05/2018 - 23:59
        +3

        Then update the title OP, as you didn't 'book' direct with budget

      • Ryanek on 16/05/2018 - 08:12

        Bingo

  • garffi on 15/05/2018 - 23:37

    Way too much, from my memory with rentals we only had to pay $100-$200 deposit.

  • JimmyF on 16/05/2018 - 00:00
    +6

    The terms you are seeing are www.holidayautos.com terms who you BOOKED VIA, not budget. /thread

  • BertieBrown on 16/05/2018 - 18:11

    I had to pay $500 with Thrifty a while back (prob back around 2016 I suppose), but I wouldn't recommend them anyway as their service was really ordinary (GC airport). Who knows, maybe their service has improved?

  • digitizer on 28/10/2019 - 19:23

    Well I booked Eurocar via holidayautos and was thinking of posting it as a bargain. The insurance cost much less than what eurocar offers. Charged 100 deposit with Eurocar. Rented from Thrifty (directly) a month ago, got a $500 hold on credit card, in GC, QLD

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