Pissed off with hire car

[aliasname]

I hired a car to go to a funeral. Paid with my debit card (the terms and conditions mentioned 'cards only, not cash') Received an email this morning saying that it was okay to pay with a debit card, but I would need a credit card to actually take the car. Oh, and if I don't have one it would cost £37 A DAY extra.

On top of that, it now also transpires I need photo ID or a utility bill (which again I don't have) None of this was made clear when I booked it.

I'm already anxious about the flight/ drive/ funeral and have no idea what to do.

Don’t you have a photo card with your driving license?

Have you phoned them directly? Quite often they are quite understanding and can be a bit flexible.

The last two times I’ve hired a car I’ve needed a utility bill because when they’ve gone to check my address on the (open) electoral roll, I’m not there, because like many people I choose not to be on the open register. I understand their need to check addresses but having utility bills to hand, or even paper copies, is increasingly rare.

It may well be worth cancelling and booking with a provider who allows payment with debit card and for debit card to be used for the deposit. I used Keddy (part of enterprise I think) and they allowed this. They were great, I did still need my utility bill though 🙄.

After a big argument with the lady at Budget (‘not my fault Rentalcars didn’t make it clear, oh yes, everyone complains that they don’t know they need a utility bill’) she VERY grudgingly accepted an email confirmation of a utility bill payment because it had my name and address on.

Sorry it’s causing stress. Definitely better to phone and get a ‘real person’ answer than to panic, possibly without reason.

@MaitlandGirl they require additional address proof, possibly because they don’t believe everyone’s license address is up to date.

These seem very standard t&c's for hiring a car.

It may be standard t&c but it's not something most people do regularly and know about, is it? Like I said, it wasn't explicitly spelled out when I booked it.

And they want ADDITIONAL photo ID as well as driving licence - sorry, I should have made that clearer.

I usually use my passport and my driving licence - that's a handy way to provide two lots of photos

Don't have a passport.

After an unhelpful conversation with the hire car company, I decided to phone the pickup location directly. They were really good and reassured me that driving licence plus flight details would be sufficient. I'm going to get a bank statement just in case because I'm so paranoid (the website is so insistent about addresses!) But I've been told now it shouldn't be necessary.

Will still have to pay the £37 a day because I don't have a credit card but its almost easier to do that than try and cancel the booking oh no we don't do that, you'll have to phone someone else to cancel, give them your details, password, mothers maiden name, and your first-born child, then they will contact us and we might cancel it before January

At least the actual branch had a real person to talk to!