Unexpected charge for car hire

Q I hired a car from Avis some months ago and paid with my credit card. On receipt of my credit card statement I found a charge of ?150. I queried this with Avis who couldn't tell me initially what this was for. Months later they sent me documentation as to why the charge had been made to my credit card. It was for damage to the vehicle and the charge was for the insurance excess.

My question to you is, if I enter in to a verbal agreement with a party, how much can they charge me without notification? The hire agreement does state that charges will be made if damage is found but surely there must be a limit as to how much they can charge your credit card without notifying you or asking for your consent. This is especially true if there is a dispute regarding the charge they have levied. I feel my credit card is open to all sorts of abuse once I have given a party my number. I would be very grateful for your comments.

IP

A It all depends on whether you could be said to have authorised payment for the excess with your card. Since you paid for the car hire by credit card it could be said that you have implicitly authorised the card to be used for all payments in connection with the car hire transaction. And if you agree there was damage to the car then the matter is not worth pursuing since you would be liable for the excess in any event.

As a matter of principle though I think the hire car company should let you know in advance if they intend taking money on your card since you may wish to dispute the charge or pay by a different method. Taking payment without telling you is not good business practice. And if there is a clause allowing them to do this written into the small print of the hire agreement it may be open to challenge using the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.