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Marci Scheuer /Shutterstock Harry Good recently prepaid for his rental car through a Swiss company called HolidayCars, which makes sense, since Good is an American expatriate who lives in Switzerland.
hotels in pigeon forge tn But what happened next doesn t make any sense. When he picked up his car from Avis in Phoenix, where he planned to rent it for three months, all seemed well. Then, a few weeks later and without any warning, hotels in pigeon forge tn he found a $6,742 charge, in addition to the $3,711 he d already paid HolidayCars.
Here s what happened: HolidayCars went bankrupt late last year, taking his $3,711 rental fee with it. It appears Avis realized at some point during his rental that it wasn t getting paid by HolidayCars, and charged him a same-day rate for three months, which came to $6,742.
I advised Good to try two things: First, hotels in pigeon forge tn to dispute the HolidayCars charge on his credit card; and second, hotels in pigeon forge tn to speak with Avis about the arbitrary walk-up rate his card was charged for his rental hotels in pigeon forge tn without his consent.
hotels in pigeon forge tn It didn t go well. His credit card company sided with Avis in the dispute, finding that both charges were valid, and Avis continued to insist that the charges were right, even after I asked about his case.
At Avis any difficulties or problems encountered by a customer are a concern to us, and we apologize most sincerely for any inconvenience you may have been caused. In researching this inquiry the following information was found:
HolidayCars hotels in pigeon forge tn filed bankruptcy in December 2012 and this account was put on risk in our system hotels in pigeon forge tn as of November 28, 2012 (which is why the first month's rental charge hotels in pigeon forge tn was accepted for payment and not the subsequent months. Therefore, because of the bankruptcy, we are unable to secure our payment from HolidayCar; this is why we applied the subsequent hotels in pigeon forge tn months directly to your Visa account for the cost.
We wish you success in your efforts to recover hotels in pigeon forge tn the money you paid this organization and trust you understand our position. Mr. Good, we can only recommend that you contact a consumer advocacy organization, or perhaps if you purchased a travelers insurance that you can file a claim which can aid you in recovering what was prepaid.
Although we realize that we cannot make up for a disappointing experience such as this, Mr. Good, we do appreciate the opportunity to address this inquiry. Only by being made aware of a problem can we address it and offer the high quality of service that Avis customers expect and deserve.
hotels in pigeon forge tn The letter answers some of Good s questions, but not all of them. Why does Avis feel it can charge him the highest possible rate for his car? Would it consider lowering his bill to a negotiated, pre-paid rate, given his circumstances?
I am at a loss on how to proceed, he says. Should I contact a lawyer knowledgeable with this issue? Or do you know of a way of resolving the issue without a lawyer? And, as a last resort, what happens if I refuse to pay something I have already paid?
Update (10:20 hotels in pigeon forge tn a.m.): Via Facebook, Avis has told me this customer is being taken care of and that there s no need to get involved. I m going to ask Good for an update, hotels in pigeon forge tn and will have more details soon.
Definitely would have been the fair way to handle it. Frankly, given the circumstances, I m surprised hotels in pigeon forge tn they didn t contact him and give him the option of returning the car immediately when they found out they weren t going to be paid by the reseller. That would have given the customer the option of being out no extra money and Avis getting their vehicle back. Instead, they very much took the stance that he wasn t really their customer, so they could treat him as badly as they wanted.
The whole thing is rather confusing. I m having a rough time figuring out exactly how things went down. Basically a month into his 3-month trip he gets a $6,700 extra charge for the rental car he s already paid for. Surely, hotels in pigeon forge tn he contacted them immediately about that, yet the letter only mentions him writing to the manager in Phoenix, which must have happened well after the fact when he was trying to get his money back. He calls it a phantom charge, but if I m reading it correctly it actually was a pre-billing for the other two months of his rental (the first month being paid prior to the HolidayCars place going bankrupt). What did they tell him when he first contacted them asking where he could drop the car off? Because, he wouldn t have just kept the car after getting that charge and not attempted to sort things out immediately, hotels in pigeon forge tn would he?
That is all technically true, but it doesn t necessarily mean that the credit card company won t work with you if you ask. They are not OBLIGATED hotels in pigeon forge tn to take a dispute if the merchant is outside the U.S. and you are outside the 60-day window, but that doesn t mean they won t. I had a similar situation where I was living hotels in pigeon forge tn overseas and a foreign merchant didn t deliver some merchandise as promised, and the dispute window had passed, but I decided to try my luck with Capital One anyway and they still processed the dispute. It doesn t hurt to ask at least.
My card gives you 120 days to dispute a charge, but they go by VISA rules. I wish I had used Discover. Even though the charge card company sided with me and tried to find a way around fraud isn t disputable if you received the service you paid for (which pertains in this case and my case. Even when you are told a refund awaits they can renege on any verbal promises. My charge card company even called United in a three way call and we were told a refund would come. I feel really terrible hotels in pigeon forge tn for this renter because hotels in pigeon forge tn it s a stacked deck against him.
Avis is probably right about the charge for the period for which it didn t get paid, but good customer service would suggest that it should charge him the same discounted rate he would have otherwise had. He d still be double paying because he got screwed by HolidayCars, but at least it d be at a better rate.
I agree that the OP becomes an unsecured creditor. Nothing the credit card company hotels in pigeon forge tn can do UNLESS you can prove that it withheld a part of your payment to HolidayCars. I am not sure what the holdbacks would be for a car rental company.
As it was already mentioned, the company acted as an agent and mediated between the renter and the local car rental company. hotels in pigeon forge tn Although the car rental agreement was concluded between the renter and the car rental company, the client (the renter) booked the car via holidaycars.com and paid them for the rental. The customer voucher was issued hotels in pigeon forge tn by the Holiday hotels in pigeon forge tn Cars B.V. This proof allowed the renter to collect the car from the local car rental company.
hotels in pigeon forge tn According to the Dutch ECC it can happens that the Holiday Cars B.V. did not pay the local rental company, so the vouchers remained unpaid due to the financial difficulties and starting of the liquidation procedure against the company. In these cases it is most likely that consumers will have to pay (again) at the local rental company in order to collect their rental car. It's very important to carefully read the rental agreement before signing it, because it is possible that the local company reserves the right to make deduction from the renter's bank account, so the consumer has to pay for the rental twice.
Taking into account that the liquidation procedure of Holidays Cars B.V. has started, the European Consumer Centre cannot provide hotels in pigeon forge tn assistance to consumers in settling their complaints against the Holiday Cars.
However, it is recommended that consumers who paid their order by credit card to contact their bank and / or card issuer to stop payment as soon as possible. If payment is new, consumers can call the telephone number reserved for interbank oppositions: 0892705705 (0.34 € / min) or the phone number provided by your bank to the opposition. These numbers hotels in pigeon forge tn work 24h/24 and 7/7.
However, it is recommended that consumers contact the rental vehicle to see if the property can be maintained and whether it has been paid by the company Holiday Cars International BV / Holidays Cars Group BV
Even if the OP (pre)paid HolidayCars (a merchant / agent) and he presented a payment voucher issued by Holidaycars when he picked up the car from the actual provider, he could have signed a contract with the actual provider and left his credit card with the actual provider (for other charges). That contract is essential. It *may* have given the provider the right to charge his car if the merchant/agent that marketed him the rental could not pay the provider.
The lesson here is to stay away from prepaid MERCHANTS and TOUR OPERATORS that are you are not sure is financially sound. The travel industry in Europe must be crumbling together with the economy. Do not believe the BS you read from Travel Agents who make a commission selling prepaid crap. Always POST PAY.
I think this is under their protective services, like the warranty extension and such. They protect the user against a company who files for bankruptcy. I don t think the credit card company actively pursues them in bankruptcy court, its just a service they offer. Mine also says that if I pre-pay for travel, and the service is not received, it is not subject to the 60 day limit for a dispute, I can dispute it up until 30 days after the date the pre-paid service was supposed to occur.
I have seen a few local places go out of business and put up a sign that if you paid for something that they can t refund, hotels in pigeon forge tn but encourage you to dispute it with the credit card including a blinds place we almost used, and am glad we didn t.
I don t rent cars, but my kids do, and often, it s from Avis. I will now tell them that while Avis may still be #2, (I don t know if they still are,) they no longer try harder for the customer. Their deterioration is a disappointment. I will tell everyone I know who rents cars to no longer trust them.
I m curious too. Later it said someone at Citi Bank said they will charge it back even if its been paid off. I refuse hotels in pigeon forge tn to carry a balance and have never had a problem with a charge-back when its been necessary.
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