UK CAR HIRE

[Loup-garou]

I need to visit family in the north of the UK and it will be easier to fly. Normally, I don't go and let my wife go back visiting but this is a my "sister" thing so I must bite the bullet.

I will need to hire a car while there. Has anybody hired a car in the UK on a fernch permis de conduire? I wonder if anything else is needed to show if the holder has/hasn't got points awarded or perhaps further proof of address is required?

If anyone has had experience of this please do tell. Thanks

[Hotrodder]

Check out the requirements via the hire company's websites. There are limitations regarding age on some.

[widge]

I have never had a problem using my french licence, obviously as someone else mentioned depending on your age that might be an issue.

Depending on how long the hire is for or if you are doing one or multiple journeys, it might be worth looking into an annual hire car excess insurance, this is what I do.
(I use https://www.worldwideinsure.com)

Hire car excess in the uk can be £1000-£1500, and the standard add on insurance from the hirecar companies for a week is often similar to a europe wide annual policy from a third party.

The downside, in in the case of an accedent, the car hire company will take what they are due from the card that you are using as a guarantee, and it is up to you to then claim from your third party insurance. If you do this, make sure that the card you are going to use is ok for the full excess.

I got caught out a couple of years ago, I got to the hirecar desk, and couldn't remember the pin for my UK credit card, so had to use my UK debit card, they could only hold £500 (not £1500) on my debit card, so I ended up paying for their insurance anyway.

Lastly, get a good back brace, if you are used to french roads, and haven't driven in uk for a while, watch out for the potholes

[Hotrodder]

Apology up front for a bit of thread drift but.........although the roads around here are generally very good and worthy of praise the white lines are usually non-existent. In our nearest village centre there have been "elephant traps" to avoid getting worse for a few years. We rejoiced when there appeared to be some red markings clearly outlining areas to be filled. The next time I went through the centre about half of the worst section had been completely resurfaced. Great! But for the fact they didn't bother to bring drainage grates and access hatches up to the new level. Hitting one of these is just as bad as the old potholes. Vive la France.

[Blaze]

But for the fact they didn't bother to bring drainage grates and access hatches up to the new level. Hitting one of these is just as bad as the old potholes. Vive la France.

There's a narrow cycle lane on the edge of the road through an industrial estate in Saint Malo. All the locals use the road as a short cut so it's busy during rush hour times. The cycle lane is full of drains and manhole covers which are not at the same level as the road so not exactly a safe route for cyclists.

[beejay]

The downside, in in the case of an accedent, the car hire company will take what they are due from the card that you are using as a guarantee, and it is up to you to then claim from your third party insurance. If you do this, make sure that the card you are going to use is ok for the full excess.

Don't they place a hold to the value of the excess? They can't charge it later to the original card used for the hire.

[widge]

The downside, in in the case of an accedent, the car hire company will take what they are due from the card that you are using as a guarantee, and it is up to you to then claim from your third party insurance. If you do this, make sure that the card you are going to use is ok for the full excess.

Don't they place a hold to the value of the excess? They can't charge it later to the original card used for the hire.

Yes normally, but the last car hire company I used, said that they are only able to do that up to £500 on a UK debit card, but it is fine on a UK credit card. I have never tried to use my french card, that may be ok. But it is worth asking the question, before arriving to pick up the car.

[Loup-garou]

Thanks for the comments. Yes Hotrodder I see now that some sites have age limits at the opening page, looks like I might just creep under. I'll also explore the insurance but I do have a UK credit card.