Deposit, card and protection for your rental car

The deposit on a rental car is the amount the rental company holds on your credit card when you sign the contract, to cover possible damage, theft or other sums owed under the contract. The deposit is not part of the rental price and is not paid online: booking on Car-Rentals.ro involves no payment at all.

• The amount of the deposit. It depends on the car class and the protection you choose, and it is shown for each protection level and in the Booking summary, under “Deposit (on your credit card, at pick-up)”, before you send the booking. If “stated by the rental company” appears instead of an amount, the figure was not known at the time of the search and the rental company will give it to you.
• Pre-authorisation or charge. The conditions allow both. With a pre-authorisation, the amount is blocked on the card and you cannot use it until it is released. With a charge, the amount is taken from the card and refunded at the end of the rental.
• When it comes back. After the return, the deposit comes back no later than 90 days after the return report is signed. Delays caused by banks are outside the rental company’s control; if the money is late, the conditions refer you to your bank, with the release documents you were given.
• Exchange-rate differences. Prices are in euros. If the deposit is charged and refunded later, any exchange-rate difference between the two dates is borne by you, under the conditions.
• Amounts that can be withheld. Damage found at return, missing fuel, fines paid on your behalf and other sums owed under the contract can be deducted from the deposit or charged to your card, with written notice and an e-mail stating the amount charged.
• Travel outside Romania. If the rental company agrees to let you take the car abroad, the deposit is doubled.

The deposit and the excess are distinct. The deposit is the amount held on your card for the duration of the rental. The excess is the most you pay for damage or theft covered by the protection you chose. The booking shows them separately for every protection level.

For the deposit, the rental company requires a credit card. The rental itself can be paid with the same card, with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express debit card, or in cash.

Requirements for the deposit card:

• it must be valid for at least 3 months after the end date of your contract;
• it must be presented when you sign the contract, together with your original driving licence and an identity document;
• it must have the deposit amount available: the conditions ask you to keep the amount available on the card for the whole contract.

A card in someone else’s name. If the card holder is not the main driver, the rule that applies to the deposit card is set out below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.

No. Without an accepted credit card the deposit cannot be provided, and it cannot be left in cash or on a debit card. If you do not meet the minimum rental requirements, the rental company may cancel the booking, including one made through Car-Rentals.ro.

We recommend a few checks before you travel:

• the wording on the card: a card marked “debit”, or without the word “credit”, is not accepted for the deposit;
• the embossing: the numbers must be raised, because a card that is not embossed is not accepted for the deposit;
• the available limit: confirm with your bank that the credit card limit covers the deposit shown in the booking;
• the alternative: if you do not have a suitable credit card, resolve this before the trip, not at pick-up.

Whatever protection you choose, you present a credit card when you sign the contract. The rental itself can be paid with another card or in cash.

You choose the protection level in the Protection step of the booking. The protection levels are the rental company’s rules on how much you pay if the car is damaged or stolen. Separately, the car has compulsory RCA insurance, which compensates third parties for damage you cause.

• Basic protection (CDW), included. It comes with theft protection (TP). If the car is damaged or stolen, your liability is limited to the excess set for the car. Theft protection does not cover personal belongings left in the car.
• Medium protection (SCDW), optional. It lowers your liability for damage or theft to the amount set in the contract. With CDW or SCDW, the excess is still invoiced in the cases listed in the conditions, for example for damage caused by bad weather and for damage to the glass.
• Full protection (SCDW+), optional. Under the conditions, it removes your liability for an accident and/or theft entirely, with the exceptions below. In addition, the cleaning fee does not apply if you return the car with ordinary dirt.

What no protection level covers

• rims and tyres;
• the interior of the car;
• the underside of the car: sills, undertray, oil pan, exhaust;
• lost keys or car documents;
• filling up with the wrong fuel;
• damage on unpaved roads, on roads closed to traffic or in flooded areas;
• driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs, in which case you are liable for the full value of the car.

For rims, tyres and the underside of the car you bear the full cost of the repair, plus a contractual penalty.

The decision is yours. To make it with the real figures for the car you picked, look at three things in the Protection step:

1. The excess with the included protection (CDW). This is the most you pay for covered damage or theft, apart from the exceptions listed above.
2. What SCDW and SCDW+ change. SCDW lowers your liability to the amount in the contract, and SCDW+ removes your liability for an accident and/or theft, with the same exceptions. The amounts stated are shown with each level.
3. The price of each protection for your dates. It is shown with that level and is added to the total if you choose it.

The price of a protection you choose is paid in every case, whereas the excess is paid only if there is damage or a theft. You are therefore comparing an amount known in advance with one that becomes payable only if an incident occurs. The relevant question is whether you could afford the excess if you had to pay it.

Other factors to consider:

• The length of the rental. If a protection is priced per day, a long rental makes it more expensive, while the excess stays the same.
• Where you drive and park. Minor scratches occur more easily in town and in busy car parks, and they are charged as well.
• The deposit. If you cannot keep a large amount blocked on your card, compare the deposit shown for each level as well.
• The drivers’ ages. If any driver is aged up to 21 or over 65, additional protection does not reduce the liability, so the comparison does not apply.
• The exceptions. No level covers rims, tyres, the interior or the underside of the car; for these, your driving and where you park are what matter.

If you keep the included protection, a window shows the protection you can add before you move on, and again before you send the booking; you can continue without it. If you add one, the total is recalculated and you see it before you send the booking. If the amounts shown are not clear, ask before you book, through the assistance form.

The total shown when you book is paid to the rental company at pick-up, by card or in cash. No payment is made online on Car-Rentals.ro.

Included in the total

• the rental for your dates;
• CDW and theft protection (TP); the car also has RCA insurance;
• the rovinietă, the vignette for Romania’s roads;
• the mandatory fees that apply to your booking, for example for the driver’s age, for how long the licence has been held, for a pick-up or return outside business hours or for returning the car somewhere else; each one is listed in the price details;
• the protection and options you choose, for example SCDW, SCDW+, a child seat or an additional driver.

Not included in the total, and paid by you where they apply, under the rental company’s conditions

• fuel; if you return the car with less fuel than at pick-up, you pay for the missing fuel and a refuelling fee;
• parking, including at the airport;
• vignettes and road tolls in other countries, and Green Card extensions;
• fines; if the rental company pays one on your behalf, it invoices it to you with an administration fee;
• the cleaning fee, if you do not have SCDW+ and return the car dirtier than you received it;
• kilometres above the daily limit on short rentals;
• damage and the contractual penalties set in the contract.

The deposit is not a payment. It is an amount blocked or charged on your credit card temporarily and returned after the rental. In the Booking summary it appears on its own, under “Not part of the total”. The rental company issues its invoice in lei.

The handover report records the condition of the car when you took it. At return, any mark that is not on it can be charged to you, so a few extra minutes spent on the inspection are well invested.

• Have your original driving licence, an identity document and the credit card for the deposit with you. If you are not sure your licence is sufficient, read the international driving permit rule in good time, below under “What the rental company’s conditions say”; which foreign licences Romanian law recognises is explained in our guide to driving in Romania.
• Inspect the car together with the rental company’s representative: bodywork, bumpers, mirrors, windows and windscreen, rims and tyres, sills.
• Check the interior as well: seats, upholstery, dashboard and boot.
• Ask for every scratch, dent, windscreen chip or stain to be recorded on the handover report before you sign.
• Photograph or film the car from every side, including the mileage and the fuel level on the dashboard, and keep the images until your deposit is back.
• Check the fuel level recorded on the report: the car is returned with the same amount.
• Make sure the car’s documents (registration certificate and RCA policy) and the accessories you booked are in the car.
• Ask for the damage penalty schedule attached to the contract, and check the protection and the excess stated in the contract.
• Note the place, date and time of return stated in the contract.

Inform the rental company as soon as you notice any damage and follow the procedure it gives you exactly. Its contact details are on your booking voucher and in the confirmation e-mail. The documents you need depend on the situation:

• The car was hit in a car park by an unknown driver. Obtain a repair authorisation from the police before you return the car.
• An accident with another car. If fault is agreed between you, fill in the amicable accident report together. If it is not, obtain the police report and the repair authorisation from the police. If you were not at fault, also keep copies of the other driver’s RCA insurance, registration certificate, identity document and driving licence.
• Injuries, more than two cars involved or an animal hit. Call the police immediately.

Check the documents before you leave the scene. If they are not completed correctly, or the procedure is not followed, you may have to bear the full cost of the repair, plus the cost of the days the car cannot be used.

The return is complete when you and the rental company’s representative sign the return report. Any differences from the condition at pick-up are recorded on it. Under the conditions, defects that cannot be seen on the spot can be identified later, with notice to you.

• Attending the inspection. You can object to what is found no later than when the return report is signed. If you do not sign the report, or leave the car without a handover, the condition recorded by the rental company’s staff stands.
• Returning during business hours. It is preferable to return the car during the company’s business hours: for a car returned outside them, at night or at the weekend, or so dirty or in such weather that it cannot be inspected, your liability for any damage is extended.
• How a new mark is charged. For the parts listed in the contract’s penalty schedule, you pay the penalty set there, however minor the damage. The conditions count superficial scratches, dents, stains, cracks and discolouration as damage. Each damaged part carries its own penalty, and parts that are not in the schedule are charged at the cost of the repair. The penalty rule and the rule of the protection you chose are both set out below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.
• The deposit after the return. If the car has new marks compared with the pick-up report, the rental company can deduct what is owed from the deposit or charge it to your card, with written notice and an e-mail stating the amount. The rest of the deposit comes back within the period stated above. Sums that arise later, fines for example, can be charged to your card after the return as well.
• Keeping the paperwork. Keep a copy of the return report and your own photos until the deposit is back and every payment is settled.

The amounts in the penalty schedule are set per car class and appear in the annex to the contract you sign at pick-up. If you disagree with an amount that was withheld, write to the rental company or use our assistance form, stating your booking number and the e-mail address you booked with.