Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Priceline problems

Anyone ever had problems with priceline cars rentals? I rented a car thru priceline in my husbands name and use my credit card with my name on it to book the car thru priceline. They took my card with no problems shown. When we went to get the car my husband and I were both present at the counter. Avis would not let us have the car because my husband did not have his credit card with him. I told them the card that was used to book the car was my card not his. They would not let us have the car. Can I protest this on my card and with priceline ?

My understanding is that you can book your hotel/air/car with anyone's credit card. It doesn't matter.

I think the problem is that the rental car agency probably has a standard policy of requiring the credit card to be present of the person who will be driving the vehicle. It's probably not related to the Priceline purchase.

They charged my card for the rental and we didn't get the car

I believe your problem here has nothing to do with Priceline.

Whenever you rent a car (and even when the car is pre-paid like with Priceline), the car rental company requires a Credit Card to be given when you pick-up the car so that they can process a credit "hold" against it. I believe they all do this to make sure there is some amount available to them if you should keep the car longer, return it with minor damage, etc, etc.

And with most rental companies, whoever is the driver/rental contract name...that person must present a Credit Card in their name. Priceline or not. Standard policy at most rental companies.

If your husband has no Credit Card but the the rental is in his name, you basically have to change the rental over to your name. And if he wants to drive on your rental, you then have to pay the "Additional Driver" fee.

Pain in the butt, I know. But that's the way car rentals usually work, and this doesn't sound like a Priceline problem.

And FYI for future reference, this FlyerTalk forum is about Miles & Points. If you go to the "FT Travel" logo up top there and click on it, you'll find a "Online Booking and Bidding" forum for this type of question.

[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 10-12-2003).]

But can I dispute the charge on my card because we didn't get the car?

I don't think so. If you read Priceline's terms, they pretty much spell out that car rental companies have these policies.

Your husband wasn't denied the rental because you paid for it on Priceline.

Your husband was denied the rental because he didn't have a Credit Card...any Credit Card...to fulfill the additional requirements of the car rental agency. And Priceline basically warns you about that in advance.

That being said, Priceline has been known to make rare exceptions (minus a fee) if they can manage to get your money back from the car rental agency. But that's up to the car rental agency, and they don't have to as they were willing to provide the car if you were able to fulfill their normal requirements (valid drivers license, good driving record, credit card in name of contract/driver etc.)

You'll have to follow the links on Priceline to find the number to call to start the process. But I think you've got a tough one ahead of you.

Lets continue this discussion over in the Online Travel Booking & Bidding (http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forumcgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Online+Travel+Booking+|AMP|+Bidding&number=39&DaysPrune=5&LastLogin=) forum. I'll move this post over there.

Since that forum's description is <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Share and learn all the secrets of winning bids on Priceline, Expedia, Hotwire and more. </font>(Emphasis mine.)

It seems a more natural home for this discussion.

Best,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

I'll add that based on past reports, Credit Card companies are not too eager to side with you and start up a claim when it comes to their "no pay for services not provided" policies, when you are trying to claim on under non-refundable or use-it-or-lose-it instances, where you lost it because you couldn't fulfill your end of the deal.

You've got to present a physical credit card upon rental or they won't rent you the car, very simple.

Did you not have this exact credit card, or did you not have ANY credit card at all? No car company will rent you off a debit card anymore, there's too much risk that there's no money in the account if you have an accident.

I presented the card I booked the car with on priceline

We've run into this all the time over the years for work. The rental car companies require a credit card in the name of the driver, regardless of how the rental is paid. We have at times been able to get around this provision with individual offices of some agencies, especially if they're independently owned franchises. (Example: we have an independently owned Avis franchise in our building in downtown Pittsburgh. They're willing to work with us because we see them all the time.)

So this is not a Priceline problem but a standard car rental red tape problem. If you had made a normal reservation directly with Avis you would have had the same problem. The difference here is now you've already paid for it. I doubt there's any recourse, but you can try. And you'll know for next time, though it sucks to learn these things the hard way.

In fact, in any kind of Priceline transaction you'll never need the card you've booked with, at least not that I've ever seen. The airline would only ask for photo ID. A hotel will ask for a card for incidentals like using the phone or pay per view (the room and tax is prepaid). And the car rental agency will ask for a card in the name of the driver, specifically the driver, because the driver will be the one liable if there is damage. They'll also charge things like gas to it if you bring it back empty, etc.

It sounds like your husband should have been allowed to take the car, as long as you had access to a valid credit card with at least $100 additional credit available (more required if you were taking additional optional items). Details from the Priceline web site say that you need a valid credit card, but do not list any requirements that it must be in the driver's name.

You should be able to find the following under the Rental Cars: Rental Car Policies section of the Help/FAQ at priceline.com:

What do I need to bring when I pick up my rental car?

You should have three things with you when you arrive to pick-up your rental car:

1. A valid U.S. drivers license or a valid driver's license issued from your country of residence and an International Driver's Permit -- you'll need to present it at the rental counter to prove your identity, verify your birth-date and, if necessary, for a driving record check.

2. Your priceline Rental Car Itinerary/Receipt - which is available on our website at www.priceline.com. (http://www.priceline.com.) Just select "Rental Cars" from the "Check Your Request" drop-down menu at the top right-hand corner of the page. Enter your priceline Rental Car Request Number and your receipt and full itinerary will be right there for you to print.

3. A valid major credit card with at least $100 of available credit. The rental car companies require this amount as a security deposit on the car. The driver will need to have additional available credit if they purchase any optional items at the rental counter. The additional amount must cover the cost of these optional items for the entire rental period.
Debit/Check Cards: Alamo, Budget and Hertz will accept a debit/check card with a minimum of $100 available credit. The driver will need to have additional available credit if they purchase optional items at the rental counter. The additional amount must cover the cost of these optional items for the entire rental period. If the driver will only have a debit/check card, you must indicate this in the appropriate check box when you place your offer. Cash: The driver will not be allowed to leave a cash deposit in lieu of a credit card or debit/check card.

starflyer
Based on your research it looks like it's implied,but not specifically stated that the driver must have a credit card. This is sort of one of these examples of the "priceline twilight zone":No one's at fault and everyone is at fault.
Overall,because of the uncertain language of PL's rules,I'd go after them.I'd also check with the rental company and see if their rules specify that all drivers must have a credit card.

I agree with jabez.

The language of the T&C's are ambiguous and can reasonably be read in either of two ways:

The driver must present a valid credit card.

OR

The person who paid for the rental must present a valid credit card.

Priceline wrote the T&C's, so the ambiguity is in the renter's favor. You should insist on your money back from Priceline, because you fulfilled what you believed were your responsibilities, based on Priceline's T&C's. The problem lies in the poor/ambiguous wording of the T&C's; therefore, it's Priceline who's at fault.

This is what PL indicates when you place a bid:
"The driver will be required to present a valid driver's license and a valid credit card or debit/check card in his/her name with a minimum of $100 available credit as a security deposit on the vehicle."

I don't know where Starflyer copied the info, but if you proceed with a bid these are the rules you agree to by initialling. It also emphatically states that whoever you list as the driver when you bid, is the only person who will be able to rent the car. Nothing ambiguous or vague about this wording.

Here's where I found the info that I quoted:

1. Go to www.priceline.com. (http://www.priceline.com.)

2. Click on the Help link.

3. Choose "Rental Cars" in the Product field under BROWSE Our Database, and choose "Rental Car Policies" in the Category field. Click GO.

4. On the results page, click SEE MORE...

5. On the second results page, click on "What do I need to bring when I pick up my rental car?"

The info you are quoting is just the general FAQ. But when you actually place a bid, the rules are spelled out more clearly (very clearly). You are also required to initial a box that you've read, understand and will abide by the rules before you can proceed. Sorry, but I think Bonny31 is not going to get her money back on this one. When bidding on PL, you have to be very careful and read everything.

A person who uses only debit cards told me that when they use priceline and select the debit card only option, they usually end up with Budget rental cars and on occassion Alamo. With Budget, the debit card has never been an issue. With Alamo, debit cards are allowed on rentals only if in conjunction with proof of roundtrip air travel which only gets flagged if the person shows an in-state/regional driver's license. Dollar rental car does debit only car rentals in some locations, and in others it is not very observant allegedly as long as the account has 300 dollars of excess authorization available. Most of the locations near international airports don't care as a lot of international travellers use only debit cards.

The same exact thing happened to me a few years ago with National and there was absolutely no recourse...and I tried, believe me.

Ironically, I was able to shaft PL for about the same amount during the PL Gas (bidding for gas that went belly up)debacle...what comes around goes around! I will NOT use PL for anything but hotels. By the way, I never rented from National again either!

I only used PL twice. In both cases, I bid about less than 50% of the least expensive rate I could find. Cheapest car rental was $40/weekend day. I bid $19/day for 2 days & won. Most of the time, I can find a fully refundable deal using coupons/promos that beat PL.