HELLO!!!
 

I have a little question regarding hiring a car in France with a UK Driving Licence. I've booked through a website (it was cheaper) to drive from Paris to Toulouse. I just assumed that my uk licence would be fine for this. However (and however stupid this may sound!), I had a dream last night that I was refused on 31st May (relocation date) because I had a UK licence!!! Now I'm panicking! I'm going to visit the agency when I have some time next weekend but could anyone put my mind at rest in the meantime??!!!

Apart from this, the relocation plans have been pretty stressful! My plane was cancelled due to the volcanic ash on Wednesday so I had to pay nearly 200 euros for a train (there and back in one day!) just to secure the flat!!! It was worth it as it's all done now!!! I'm wondering if Easyjet would not only refund my plane ticket but part of my train ticket too as I couldn't enter my account (and still can't!) to change planes or get a refund, hence why I had to get the train ticket!! Grrr!

Paris - Toulouse.....soon, soon, soon :D

Re: HELLO!!!
 

yes your uk licence will be no problem

Re: HELLO!!!
 

It will be fine, As long as its the Newer Photo License, Don't forget the paper bit.

Re: HELLO!!!
 

Thank you! I thought it would be a bit unreasonable but having dreamt it, I feared it might have been some form of prediction :rofl:

Re: HELLO!!!
 

If my dreams come true then the Stay Puff Marshmallow man will start roaming France. ;)

Re: HELLO!!!
 

You never know
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/stay...mallow_man.jpg
Some dreams come true!

but the one with the UK licence won't!! No problems with that!

Re: HELLO!!!
 

I hired a car last Wednesday afternoon from Paris, and have never had any problems with my old style driving license. I did however forget all my credit card pin numbers for the deposit. As my card sat in the machine, and the woman said regretably there's nothing they can do if I can't remember the pin, the payment went through. She said she'd never seen that happen before - because the card had been left for such a long time, it took the payment. I think my lucky stars were with me, as I'd arrived complete with baby and carseat and was already running late.

Re: HELLO!!!
 

What??? They actually take the 5000E deposit when I take the car????????????????????????????????????? I thought it was just a precaution and that they took the card details so that they could take the money should anything happen to the car!!! A friend of mine told me that they don't actually take the money out of my account.

Re: HELLO!!!
 

They don't take the money from your account, but they "pre-authorise" the amount of the deposit. I am not a financial whizzkid, so don't know the exact details, but I believe that pre-authorising secures that amount of money on your credit card for the hire car company. This means that if they do need to take some money from the deposit, it won't be refused by the card company.

That's my understanding of the system anyway. They definitely do not take the money when you pick up your car!

Re: HELLO!!!
 

Hahaha, I did think that would be a bit obscene!!! So would you recommend that I transfer money into this account to ensure that there is actually 5000 in there???!!! It's a VISA carte de bleue but I don't know if I should actually have the money in there or whether a French carte de bleue would act as an English credit card. Gosh - when I applied for the card, I did say that I didn't want the option of going below zero - now I'm beginning to regret saying this!!!

Re: HELLO!!!
 

I would suggest speaking to the hire car company. I am not sure, but I think they only accept credit cards as security, not debit cards. Probably because they can get a guarantee from the credit card company that the money will be available if they need it. If they took a debit card, you may be able to withdraw all the money to prevent them claiming the money should you damage the car.

Best check with them before you go!

Re: HELLO!!!
 

I think a French Carte de Bleue is a credit card because when I applied for it, they said it would be enough to hire a car with. But I agree, I should go to the car hire company and show them my card as soon as possible!!! Thank you.

Re: HELLO!!!
 

A Carte Bleu is a generic name for a debit card, that takes money from your bank account. They are not credit cards that allow you to pay for goods and services through one month and repay the following month.

There are variations on the way CB transactions are debited from your account, but they are all in effect a bank debit card. In some cases you can arrange for the bank to take the payment in one lump on a pre determined date, or take the payments as they are made. Either way the payments are debited from your bank account so you are expected to have sufficient funds or an overdraft agreement to cover the transactions made.

Remember also that going overdrawn in France is treated far more seriously than in the UK. Here, the banks are quite likely to blacklist you if you continue to make payments without sufficient funds being available. Being blacklisted is not a good thing, as you will not be able to get a bank account anywhere!

Re: HELLO!!!
 

I can only speak for Crédit Mutuel, but their system is like this:
Carte bleue bancaire = valid for payment and cash within domestic France. This is the "real" carte bleue.
"Carte bleue x (x = Vista, Mastercard, etc) = valid for payment and cash international just like any other Vista, Mastercard, etc.
The rest (e.g. "gold" etc) are even called "Carte Bleue" by default in France which is the general term for any credit card.

As far as I am aware, France does not operate "debit cards" in the British sense where any amount paid is immediately debited from your bank account, but I could be wrong on that in that there are exceptions (per bank?)

Firstly every actual debit you make with any card is listed but not directly debited for the month which runs from 20th-20th give or take a day each month.

You can access your account at any time to see the listed debits with details of the companies.

Your total for the month (ending 20th and beginning the list for the next month) is normally debited from your account on the last or next to last day of the month - i.e. depending on weekends/national holidays) so the list ended for any month on 20th gives you up to "10 days' grace" before being actually debited from your bank account.

I guess this may vary with other banks of which I have no direct experience.

Re: HELLO!!!
 

I bank with Credit Agricole and my Carte Bancaire debits purchases from my account within a day or two of being made. If you want to be debited monthly, that is an option that you need to ask for.

Carte Bleu is simply the name of a payment clearing scheme, exactly the same as Visa or Mastercard. (Carte Bleu and Visa have recently merged). They are just different clearing houses for the payments. My UK Alliance and Leicester debit card has a Visa logo, but it is not a credit card, just a debit card. In fact my Credit Agricole card is Mastercard, but they all come under the heading of Carte Bancaire (CB). the CB initials in the top RH corner of your card stand for Carte Bancaire, not Carte Bleu.

The names Carte Bancaire and Carte Bleu have become interchangeable, with most people referring to their debit cards as Carte Bleu even when in reality it is a Visa or Mastercard.

The point I was trying to make is that a Carte Bancaire is not necessarily a credit card. It is generally a debit card that takes payment direct form the bank account it is linked to, either monthly or in "real time". I say generally as it is possible to arrange a credit card function also, but this depends on individual arrangements with your bank. The vast majority are debit cards.

As the standard debit card, the full amount of your purchases for the month will be taken from your account. There is no extended credit beyond the due payment date. There are different Carte Bancaire cards depending on where you want to use it and I guess an increasing monthly fee for the more facilities you require.

A credit card, as we are used to in the UK, is completely separate from your bank account and you either pay back the full amount or a percentage each month and you are charged interest on the outstanding balance.

For the purposes of a security deposit for a hire car, which was the original question, I am not certain but I think a credit card is required. I do not know if they will accept debit cards, because of the different way in which they work.