ValTay0607

How reliable are Goldcar car rentals in refunding one's excess deposit once car is returned without damage? Any users of Goldcar please advise. TIA.

Boseley

Loads of comments on TripAdvisor .

Joppa

Well Goldcar is one of those notorious rental outfits that 'finds' most elusive damage and charges you heavily. Online forums are full of those who have been scammed by Goldcar, whose staff know exactly where to find a hidden damage, like underside of a bumper, claim it was caused by you and charges you disproportionately for its repair like several hundred euros and deducts from your deposit. In all likelihood the damage has been there for ages, and they try the same trick on successive customers and make a huge profit out of them. Earlier last year Goldcar was taken over by Europcar and they have promised to clean up the act, but shoddy practice is still been reported. So my advice is to stay away, and only go with reputable firms like Helle Hollis and Malagacar.

Notdunroamin

Like most hire companies Goldcar do not 'take' any actual sum of money from a card for the deposit but block the amount and then release it if there is no damage.

Somewhere in the T&Cs you should find mention of how long it might take to release the block and often they will say that it can be up to 28 days or more but typically it takes a week or less.

Trouble is when no money has actually gone from your A/C many card provider statements don't actually record it as a transaction in which case you're not looking for a refund and therefore have no way of knowing exactly when the block has been released.

ValTay0607

AVIS did this to me last year! SCROUNDRELS!

johnnyone

I have no problems with Goldcar. I have rented cars regularly from them and carry my own insurance. If you don't cause any damage your deposit gets returned in full. If you cause damage it is taken from the deposit up to the excess amount which you can claim if you have a separate policy.
I don't find it any different to hiring a car in the UK. Just thoroughly check the condition of the car before accepting it.

missile

I often rent from Goldcar and have had good service with no hidden / excess charges.
Recently rented a car from Record Go which was cheaper. Big mistake. They overcharged me for 1000 Km. They debited my card for fuel full to full. They did refund, but I lost money on poor exchange rate for both transactions.

jonboy

I have had poor experience with Rhodium and their owner Goldcar. They took (not just blocked) my deposit in full then claimed the car was damaged. They tried to avoid giving me the receipt for the supposed damage making it almost impossible to get a refund from my insurers. Finally when confronted with the photographic evidence that there had been no damage the paid me back but not before they had laundered the money by exchanging it between euros and sterling and claiming exchange costs. The company and their agents should be held to account. The next time I hire from Valencia I will try Centauro carhire. Always use a third party insurer such as Insurance4carhire. Best of luck!

frigilianafreddy

As others have said Goldcar (don't know about Rhodium) and thier subsidiary Inter rent do not "take" the money. They block it on your account so it reduces your available credit on your credit card.

Goldcar were a nightmare but they've improved now. In March last year i hired a fiat 500 for 1.50. I was dreading arguments about fuel and scratches, but no not a murmour. A quick look round the car, when i returned it, and a polite thank you and i was off. OK car hire hire were similarly cheap and also well behaved

€1.50 for 7 days!!!!!!

jonboy

I guess that it would be an impossibility to run a business when Charging such small sums of money. Is it any wonder that they will resort to devious means to raise extra cash? Perhaps they rely on those who are least prepared and equipped to fleece?
That is some business model.

Longlegpete

As with most businesses they need to make money to survive, if people think paying €100 for two weeks of unlimited mileage driving with a piece of equipment often worth north of €14000 is all they will have to pay then they need to look long and hard at the deal and wonder where the company makes there money cause it sure won't be the hire charges

Barriej

Agreed. I always look at the difference charged and wonder where the catch is. I rent from Europcar and while not that cheap ive never had an issue in the last 20 years.

And wgen in Spain ALWAYS take our the extra insurance or get your own. Its worth the extra 40 quid or so.

San Pedro

For those of you that haven't had a problem with Goldcar/Rhodium don't assume that will continue. I used Goldcar and their subsidiary Rhodium several times before they whacked me. It was about a week after arriving home that they deducted 500 euros from my card for so called damage. I disputed this and they sent me a standard email saying they had reviewed my photo's and their decision was upheld. Interesting because I didn't send them any photo's. They are nothing short of criminals. I emailed Murcia airport and the local tourist board to inform them of this company's practices and I would advise anyone to do the same. It may not change anything unless enough people vent their spleen. Of course there is no guarantee that the company I now use won't do the same in the future. Car hire in Spain is a minefield and needs a clean sweep.

missile

Very true, but similar happens when hiring in the UK.

jonboy

Well, maybe we should just pay up and be grateful then?