Please select a question
from our car hire FAQs list:
How do I make a booking ?
How do I pay for a booking ?
What is the difference between request
and confirmed bookings ?
What documentation will I need on collection of car ?
Can I choose different
pick-up and
drop-off locations ?
When should I expect to receive the pre-paid voucher ?
I should have received my voucher by now.
How do I amend my booking ?
How do I cancel my booking ? What is
Cancellation Protection ?
I have lost my car voucher.
How do I request infant / child seats, roof racks
? What are the costs ?
What
is the Gold Package (USA and Canada) ?
What are the Executive / Gold packages
(South Africa and Namibia? ?
How reliable are
your vehicles ?
Do
you charge extra for unlimited mileage ?
Is there a charge for extra drivers ?
Is
there any age restriction for car rental ?
Do I
have to pay extra for insurance ?
What is
damage excess ?
Can I pay an extra charge to reduce the damage excess ?
What happens if the car breaks down or I have an accident ?
Does the car come with a full tank of fuel ?
If I drop my car off early - will I get a partial refund ?
What happens if I drop my car off late ?
Will I get the make and model of the car that I have requested ?
If my flight is late arriving at the airport will the staff
wait ?
Who is Car Hire Direct ?
How do I make a booking ?
You may make a booking by either:
1. Using our car hire online booking form. By clicking at the Bookings button,
you can choose the region and locations of your booking and follow our
easy online booking system.
2. Contact us at our reservations telephone 08700 55 00 44, request quotes and make
a booking immediately. Prices are identical to those you can read
online.
Our
office hours are from 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday through Friday and Saturdays from 9.00am to 16.00pm. On Bank Holidays hours are from 9.00am to
16.00pm (excluding Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
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How do I
pay for a booking ?
When the car you book is immediately available (Free Sale) you
can pay online through our secure online credit card system.
If the car you requested has to be confirmed by our
suppliers, you will be notified of confirmation as soon as possible (usually
within one working day from the requesting date). You may then pay by
credit card by contacting our reservations team or using our
online payments facility whose link you will receive in the confirmation
email.
In
either case a pre-paid reservations voucher is sent to you right
after receiving the full payment. You can choose to be sent the voucher
by post or by email.
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What is the
difference between request and confirmed bookings ?
Confirmed bookings (free sale) are for vehicles that
are immediately available. You will be able to pay immediately the amount of
your booking once you choose your vehicle and accept the quote.
Request bookings are for vehicles that need to be
confirmed by our reservations team with our suppliers in a short period
of around 24 hours. You will be contacted then by our reservations team
to confirm the (very likely) availability of the vehicle, so then you
can confirm your booking by paying the amount due within a week after
receiving the confirmation.
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What
documentation will I need on collection of car ?
On
collection of your vehicle you will need the prepaid rental
voucher, a full valid driver's license and, in some cases, a valid major credit card in the
name of the lead driver. For questions about documentation requirements in a
particular country contact our reservations team at 08700 55 00 44.
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Can I choose different pick-up and drop-off locations ?
Yes, with some
restrictions. In general, you can drop your car at different locations
within the same country. Additional charges apply in some cases. In the
USA, one way trips are free within the states of Florida and California.
For further details contact our reservations team or use our
web contact form. Some suppliers provide that information in our
terms and conditions page.
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When
should I expect to receive the pre-paid voucher ?
The
pre paid vouchers are usually sent out within 3 working days of receiving your
car hire booking and full payment. You can choose to receive the voucher
by email or by post.
If you are travelling in a short time we can also fax a copy
of the pre-paid voucher to you.
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I
should have received my voucher by now.
If
you have been notified that your voucher has been issued and you have
still have not received it within the expected time frame for normal
post, contact us at our reservations telephone or use our
web
contact form, with the subject "Voucher not received".
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How
do I amend my booking ?
Contact
us at our number 08700 55 00 44 during our office hours or use our
web
contact form, choosing the subject "Amend booking /
request".
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How
do I cancel my booking ? What is Cancellation Protection?
If
you need to cancel a booking please contact
us at our reservations telephone or use our
web
contact form.
If you have purchased our cancellation
protection, you may cancel your booking at any time up to the day of
departure and get a full refund of the price paid. We must receive this in writing, either by email, fax or post
before the day on which you are due to collect your vehicle.
The cost of our cancellation
protection
is £5.00 per week (or the equivalent in the chosen currency, e.g. €7.00
if you choose Euro). A 1 - 7 day booking cancellation protection would
cost £5.00, 8 - 14 days is £10.00 and so
on. This is an optional extra.
If we receive notification on or after
your collection date then the full amount of your hire will be
non-refundable.
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I have lost my
booking voucher.
Please
contact us at our reservations telephone or contact us through our
web
contact form, with subject line
"Voucher Lost". A new voucher will be issued and sent to you
within the next few days. If the pick-up date is very close we can email or fax a copy
of the pre-paid voucher to you.
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What is
the Gold Package (USA and Canada) ?
The Gold Package is available for bookings in the USA
and Canada and provides additional advantages for a small fee. Click
here to see details.
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What are the
Executive / Gold Packages (South Africa and Namibia) ?
The Executive Cover reduces the excess amount for
bookings in South Africa and Namibia to zero. The Gold Package reduces
the excess amount to zero, includes one free tank of fuel and 3 free additional drivers.
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How do I request infant / child seats, roof racks
? What are the costs ?
You
may request them during the booking stage. The cost is dependant upon location and is held in the country specific
booking terms and conditions
document, to which you can also access at the booking stage, before you submit your request
details, or by clicking here.
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How reliable are
your
vehicles ?
The
majority of our vehicles are less than 6 months old, however some
countries require a supplier to keep their fleet for longer than 6
months.
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Do
we charge extra for unlimited mileage ?
No,
all our vehicles are provided with unlimited mileage.
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Is
there a charge for extra drivers ?
In
some countries we have negotiated one additional driver in our car hire
quote
already. For all other countries, this extra driver information is
displayed in our terms and conditions. All additional extras are payable
locally on collection of your vehicle.
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Is there any
age restriction for car rental?
Age restrictions apply depending on your destination.
Generally, it is OK if you are aged over 25 years old and satisfy the license
holding requirements. If your are between 21 and 25 you may be entitled
to underage insurance. Some countries also carry a maximum age
limit. For further information you can read the terms and conditions
in the location you are interested in.
If you book online there is no problem since our
booking system is designed to allow people within the allowed age range.
For further details on age issues contact our reservations team or use
our web contact form.
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Do I
have to pay extra for insurance?
No,
insurance is included in your rental charge, but there may be a damage
excess.
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What
is damage excess?
The
amount of money you are responsible for if you damage the vehicle. This
can be reduced in some locations by purchasing locally at the time of
pickup an additional insurance called 'Master Cover'. This is an
optional item.
In the USA and Canada, there is no excess or deposit as the
insurance package is fully inclusive.
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What
happens if the car breaks down or I have an accident ?
If
your car breaks down, you need to immediately contact the
rental location listed on your voucher for either a replacement vehicle
or authorisation for repairs.
In the event of an accident,
again this should be reported to the local supplier immediately. Write down
full details of any third parties involved (don't forget to give the other driver the car hire
companies details) and get any witnesses contact details if you can. It is a legal requirement
to inform the local Police either straight away or within 24 hours
depending on the applicable countries law (even if no one has been
hurt), and you will need to obtain a signed police report. Make sure you
keep copies of all your rental documents (and the police report), as you
will need these if an insurance company is involved with a claim, either
against you or on your behalf.
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Does
the car come with a full tank of fuel ?
Each supplier has a different policy regarding fuel. Some provide a tank a fuel and ask that you pre-pay the fuel charge and then return the tank empty as no refunds will be given for unused fuel. Others require you to return the tank with as much fuel as when you collected the vehicle.
Some of our vehicles (e.g. USA Alamo Gold) include a full tank of fuel in the price that you pay now, so you can return the car empty. Click on the "INFO" button next to the vehicle price on our quote screen for more information, and also see the supplier Terms which can be viewed just prior to the confirmation button on the booking form on this web site.
Finally, always check the fuel policy with the supplier when you collect the vehicle.
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If
I drop my car off early - will I get a partial refund?
You will not be
due any refund on the rental fee.
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What
happens if I drop my car off late ?
You
will be charged an extra days rental if you are late bringing your car
back. This is payable locally in local currency and exclude any local
taxes and surcharges.
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Will
I get the make and model of the car that I have requested ?
We cannot
guarantee a specific make or model of vehicle, however, the car hire company will
provide a similar make and model.
If the
vehicle supplied is unsatisfactory, you need to request a replacement
from the car hire supplier at the time of collection. Please
inform our reservation team about this issue as soon as possible. Please
do not wait until you return as we will not be able to do anything for
you once you are back home. As a company we want you to enjoy your car
hire.
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If my
flight is late arriving at the airport will the staff wait ?
It
is important that you enter your flight number when booking your
car. If you have given us a valid flight number and your
flight is confirmed to still be arriving, an office will normally wait
for you if the delay is reasonable. They would not wait if
they normally close at 8pm and your flight was being delayed until 4am,
for example, but you would be able to collect your car on the following
day.
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Who is Car Hire
Direct ?
Car Hire Direct is a London based car hire company
with over 5,000 locations in more than 50 countries. With a simple
online booking system and the most affordable prices in the market, we
have been active on the car rental business since 1997. Visit our the
about us section to find out our details.
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