jonah38

Seems to be some differing opinions on what is actually acceptable or required when hiring a vehicle and looks to be dependant on how a booking is actually made.

From personal experience of standing inside a car hire centre and hiring a vehicle in every state in Australia i can say with certainty that they will request a credit card to pay for both the vehicle hire and a holding payment incase of accident/damage or they want full payment in cash for the hire plus cash for the holding deposit incase of accident/damage.

Never booked on internet or by phone so not certain of requirements but would imagine that a debit card would be insufficient to use to hold the deposit/excess payment required. Debit card use takes the full payment immediately and only if funds permit it! Given that you are expected to cover an excess in case of accident/damage of AUD2,500 a debit card appears to be useless

esperanza

With hertz, when you book online it just asks you for what type of credit card you will present when collecting the car. So you can make the booking without the actual card, but you will need it when picking it up.
Just get a credit card!

jonah38

Get a taxi

forkandknife

I have just called an estate agent in Australia, wanted to book a house for three weeks, it was a dummy run, i suppose i was the dummy?

Anyway, apparently, and is this correct, but i have a Barclays Debit Visa delta card, can you use this in Australia to book accomodation over the net or over the phone?

If i understood her correctly she stated i had to give her my pin number, does this sound right to any of you expert expats? She said the number you press in when you use your card to buy something in the UK, so i guess the pin number i use in the UK, also to withdraw cash.

Surely thats a little on the dangerous side?

Has anyone gone through this process? Or is it best just to get a credit card?


Its just i need to book acommodation asap, she would not accept ozforex, so if the Barclays Debit Visa delta card is no good, it looks like i will have to get a bl@ddy credit card!

Thanks!

hoofie2002

She might have meant the last 3 digits of the numbers written on the signature stip at the back of the card - that is to prove [in theory anyway] that the person at the other end of the phone has the card in their hand at the time.

I've never heard of ANY Reason to give your PIN number out - the banks or merchants never need it. Anyone asking for it is either very wrong or trying to steal from you.

Swerv-o

I have the same card, and have had no problems using it here in Aus. If, after you arrive, you still have funbds in the Barclays account, you can withdraw them from any Westpac ATM and not be charged a handling fee.

My housemate is here on a 457 visa and can't get herself a credit card. She has tried a number of times, but has always been told to try later in the year. It drives her to distraction, as she can't hire vehicles without one. She only had a switch card in the uk, so has nothing to fall back on. Her bank here (the Crimminwealth) won't even let her have a debit card to buy things on line with. So life without a credit card can be a bit harder here than in the uk.


S

Streaks

Hi S, I'd be interested to know if you've used your card recently. I have used my Barclays delta card 3 times leading up to Christmas (after arriving in March) having not used since I arrived and was charged £9.50 for withdrawing $1000 and £7.50 (abouts) for withdrawing two lots of $500. My mum is on it with Barclays and they have told her this is the charge. It is just an ordinary current account (platinum) with £250 limit.
S xx (p.s I withdrew it out of the Westpac machine, and they are looking at if it is Westpac that have made the charge)

moneypenny20

Never give your pin number to anyone, including bank officials. Your woman asked for the wrong thing.

forkandknife

Cheers Swerv mate,

To be honest, the whole trip is turning into a bladdy nightmare, touching forty, and always really been on the walk in, book the package, and spend fourteen nights in the sun kind of holiday. So booking flights, acomodation, and car hire seperately is a trip in itself, and not doing my marital relationship alot of good, cannot seem to do anything right, as fussy draws, all of a sudden seems to think my second name has gone posh and double barelled to "Lunn Poly"?

Anyway, cheers for the advice, i am in the process of leaving Barclays over the next couple on months and migrating my current account to the Nationwide Flexi account, for ease of use in Oz, and Barclays pay very little interest on funds held, so makes sense, as the benefits of withdrawing cash in OZ charge free using the Nationwide card seems quite a good deal?

With regards to the lady, there seems to be a conflict of dialogue i feel, its the first time i have ver spoken to an Australian National, so i may have misread what she was saying?

Is it possible to book and pay for 50% of the cost of your acommodation charge using your Barclays delta card, if so what details do i give the lady over the phone, or what details do i put into the online form? Its just, i want to book something asap, and it could take me a while to get a credit card now, maybe at least two weeks?

Cheers all,


Yep, cheers, realise that, i would not, i think there was a mis-dialogue between an English man and an Australian women over the phone. First time i have ever called Oz, maybe a simple mix up?

tripawaymars

We had same problem when hiring a car in cairns..they are just not interested in cash payments and want credit card to guarantee any poss damage!! We had a nightmare as didn't have credit card. then I remembered that my normal barclays account card had a visa symbol on it..had no idea that you could use it as a visa card as long as money in normal account. it was a god send and I will be using this card when I first get to Oz when we emigrate. if you open a barclays account you will get this card as standard, just put your funds in there and use as a credit card.

tripawaymars

Barclays visa debit card worked fine for us through avis car hire in Oz..no problems at all.

forkandknife

Applied for a Nationwide B/S Credit card today, just recently managed to ween myself off them, so here we go again!

Hopefully, it will make simple the process of booking the acommodation and the car hire, touch wood!

Cheers!

forkandknife

Hello,

Just wondering, but if i open one of the forex accounts such as HifX or Ozforx, i understand you can have your money changed from the pound to the dollar and sent to your bank account in Australia.


But if you want to book some acommodation in Australia, and you have to pay in cash up front, can you have the forex company send the money to another account, other than your bank account in Australia? I mean to the owner of the acommodation bank account?

Cheers!

Timber Floor Au

I very much doubt it. Oxforex to the best og my belief are a foreign transaction company, not a bank account.

Transfer money via them. Get them to deposit in nominated acct.

Then using internet banking, do a EFT to desired provider you need to pay

forkandknife

So to use the forex companies you need an Australian bank account in your name. They will not send to a person you wish to pay?

I do not have one, no point unless you intend to live there, don't know yet, never mind, cheers anyway!

Whats the best way to overcome this problem?

Payment by direct funds transfer or cash
No credit card or EFT facilities available