Dollar running credit checks for thrifty rentals on debit cards-info wanted
 

Hello,

At ELP last weekend I rented from Thrifty for one day and promptly Tuesday morning a hard credit hit shows up on equifax (I have monitoring system) from Dollar. Upon calling I was told it was because I paid with a debit card.

Ok, bad on me as I wasn't really paying attention and I did give a debit card instead of a credit card (they are coloured similarly) and I know most car rentals hold more on a debit than credit card.

Well according to the dollar phone rep I called they run credit hits on anyone using a debit card and if you are not at least at 680 they will not rent to you? (I am over 680 and did of course rent the car). I was told "it was explained to me" but it wasn't, and I was told it was on the rental jacket. I cannot find mention of the credit check on the rental jacket. While the single hit will stay for 2 years, it should not affect my credit in a bad way, it is just the fact they did it without my tacit approval that bugs me. I want to warn my employees and send them to other companies if needed due to this policy.

Anyway, rant over but could someone please direct me to where I can find a copy of that policy?

I did search but couldn't find anything (though search has failed me before here). Any help would be appreciated.

Ciao,
FH

From http://www.dollar.com/AboutUs/GeneralPolicies.aspx

G. Debit Card Usage: If the customer presents a debit card at the beginning of rental to qualify to rent, we will perform a debit card check and credit inquiry screening through Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. This type of inquiry will screen out customers who present a greater driving risk to us, using a standard set of criteria. The credit inquiry is posted on the customer's credit report and may have an effect on the customer's credit evaluation. In the event that a customer's debit card check and credit inquiry fail to meet our debit card criteria, the customer will not be allowed to rent unless they provide a major credit card in their own name. Our debit card policy complies with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws. Debit cards are accepted for payment at the end of rental without a credit inquiry. Debit cards may not be accepted in Canada except for payment at the end of rental. Since credit requirements vary by location, please refer to the Local Policies for specific information on the acceptance and usage of debit cards where you intend to rent a DOLLAR vehicle.

From http://www.thrifty.com/AboutUs/conte...lPolicies.aspx

G. Debit Card Usage: If the customer presents a debit card at the beginning of rental to qualify to rent, we will perform a debit card check and credit inquiry screening through Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. This type of inquiry will screen out customers who present a greater driving risk to us, using a standard set of criteria. The credit inquiry is posted on the customer's credit report and may have an effect on the customer's credit evaluation. In the event that a customer's debit card check and credit inquiry fail to meet our debit card criteria, the customer will not be allowed to rent unless they provide a major credit card in their own name. Our debit card policy complies with all U.S. federal and state laws. Debit cards are accepted for payment at the end of rental without a credit inquiry . Debit cards may not be accepted in Canada. Since the credit requirements vary by THRIFTY location, please refer to the location's Terms & Conditions for specific information on the acceptance and usage of debit cards where you intend to rent a THRIFTY vehicle.

The all caps treatment of the company names is verbatim from the Dollar and Thrifty website, it's the only difference between the "two" policies. I could continue this for each of the major companies, requiring an Equifax check to qualify a customer to rent using a debit card is SOP. Sending your employees to other companies won't have any effect, they'll face the same policy anywhere.

Seeing as how Dollar and Thrifty are the same company and most likely use the same POS software I would guess that Dollar is just the default assignment Equifax gives to an inquiry made at either counter.

Normally I send my employees and consultants out with a credit card linked to me, and I of course use credit myself. Anyway, I am interested in disclosure at the time of renting, as I can find no document give to me or signed by me stating that fact. This is what I want to see.
Thanks for those links though.

Ciao,
FH

When you booked the car, the following info was provided under 'terms and conditions':
"Debit cards: Customers using debit cards to qualify to rent at the beginning of the rental will be subject to a debit card screening, which may impact the customers credit evaluation. "

Loud and clear. I don't think there is real substance in your complaint here.

S.

This is lousy. You rent a car and they ding your credit score.

Another reason to NOT use a Debit Card.

I have a question. I retired at 33, and do some "consulaing" for people just to fill my time-of which I did in El Paso, Texas last week. Money is certainly not a concern, nor is my personal credit which is around 900 in the USA, and not a factor here in Europe.
I'm basically a rich guy with free time, and I'm an a$$#0!e and plan to pursue something here; I want to address something with Thrifty/Dollar. I have all documents presented to me and none seem to note something about this check. I have the booking information from my executive assistant and nothing there mentions debt either. I simple want someone to show me where it is posted at El Paso, which is what the phone rep said was the case.
If you cannot do that, why respond?

I'm the kind of ... that doesn't let things slide.

Ciao,
FH

Then that is the fault of your executive assistant. Your executive assistant would have access to the terms and conditions of the booking from whichever method she booked it. If she booked via a third-party travel agency, then she could have clicked to view the terms and conditions on the final booking page. If she booked it herself over a dedicated GDS terminal, she could have typed a command to view and print the terms and conditions. If she booked it directly at thrifty.com, not only could she have clicked to expand the terms and conditions on the first page after inputting the city and dates, it would have been printed out directly on the reservation confirmation page.

The fault is with your executive assistant not using the tools she has at her fingertips, not with Thrifty for not providing them.

Interesting, given that the maximum is 850.

It was booked over the phone, and I still have nothing from El Paso noting the policy, which was what was directly stated to me over the phone.

Reading seems to be a problem here. Who noted "fault". I was told something by an agent of said company- I still have no proof a "sign" exists in El Paso, and the agent never mentioned anything. A reg. letter went out to them today so I shall see what happens. As happens on this normally valuable board sometimes, we can't find an answer.

Negative, you are refering to an old FICO score, which is different from a complete risk credit score, at least in the banking and finance industry I was in. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. FICO comes from 3 agencies, normal credit is based off of at least 9, sometimes more. Some go to 900, otherse 990.

Ciao,
FH

I've just cleaned up or deleted a handful of posts.

The topic is hard credit pulls from Thrifty when renting with a debit card. That topic needs to be discussed without getting personal or making disparaging or snarky references to individuals posting in the thread. Or else posting privileges on Flyertalk will need to be revisited.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
Senior moderator

Your Dollar experience is informative for any traveler and especially those who use debit cards. But I do not see corporate malfeasance on Dollar's part or the fault of a secretary or travel booker as some suggest. I myself have never thoroughly read the Dollar fine print, but as I can now see, it is indeed instructive that we all maybe take the time to read our contracts thoroughly if not at the counter, then at the hotel or in the airport lounge when we have time on our hands. As to tacit approval . . . the world is bigger than any of us as we expect immediate results/gratification for ourselves but extend impatience/indignance when others do the same to us ( not that I do not agree with privacy/consent limitations which IMO are moot in this instance ).

A single credit check does not dink one's overall credit standing -- banks and agencies who regularly run credit checks understand the process and they can divine the context of an entry when evaluating one's credit worthiness. We've all got unsolicited checks on our records as a bank seeks folks to solicit for credit cards or a used car dealer tries to figure out if you can afford that shiny car you're casually shopping around for.

The OP makes a good point in that it is easy to grab the wrong card when they look alike, and this could be important as debit cards and credit cards do indeed work differently. I do not carry my bank's debit card ( I get my cash from my wife :rolleyes:) but I think I'll remind our son to be wise and judicious if he uses his.

Barry

Yikes, good news to know.

You are speaking of the Vantage system.. I stick with AMEX.. no worries there..

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Are you a dollar express member (or thrifty blue chip)? If so, you agreed to their entire terms and conditions including credit checks when you signed up for your account.

Dispute the inquiry on your report for being a) not a permissible purpose and b) the lack of your authorizing them to do pull your file

The FCRA is very clear on this stuff. If you don't authorize the pull, they can't do it. You must be notified orally or in writing of the fact that your report will be requested, and the notification must be conspicuous. It cannot be buried in a wall of text.

If it really upsets you, sue DTAG in small claims court and get your thousand bucks in statutory damages for the FCRA violation.

Doing so might be within your rights, but be careful or you just might make it so that it's impossible to rent with a debit card at all.

I already know of some agencies who have completely stopped taking debit cards because Visa sent a letter to most rental agencies threatening to fine rental agencies $5,000 per occurrence each time they charged an extra deposit beyond the estimated rental charges. Now they can't charge an extra deposit (i.e. for a $35 rental, the maximum that can be placed on a card is now $35--they can't add an extra $250 or $400 or whatever security deposit). Renting a car to someone who only has $40 in his or her checking account (without some other form of verification that the person is not a deadbeat) is far too risky for a rental agency, so the alternative was to simply cease accepting debit cards.

Other agencies rely on credit pulls instead of security deposits. If these agencies are now no longer allowed to pull credit scores because it is "not a permissible purpose," the alternative is to simply stop accepting debit cards.

Make a fuss, and you just might kill the ability to rent with a debit card at all.