• Sixt car rental refused in Montpellier France

hi! I just want to share my terrible experience renting a car with Sixt in Montpellier Airport - France.
I called them before traveling to France to confirm they would accept my card, they confirmed they accept "mastercard credit card" and that should be ok.
But once I got there, they said that my card was NOT a credit card and they couldn't use it for deposit, the numbers were not embossed and refused to rent me the car. I called the Sixt customer services and they couldn't do anything about it.
That completely ruined my holidays.

    And that was against Mastercard's rules
    https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/documents/mastercard-rules.pdf

    Page 236/237
    5.10.1 Honor All Cards

    EU Countries, Iceland, Norway, and Serbia Only
    The following Rules apply with respect to acceptance by Merchants in the EU, Iceland,
    Norway, and Serbia of Cards issued in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and Serbia.
    1. A Merchant that accepts Mastercard Credit Cards must accept all Mastercard Credit Cards
    issued in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and Serbia.

      OK, everyone is right, I also have problems paying online for stuff where MasterCard should be accepted in France with French geolocation.

      BUT: we, as users cannot do a thing against the whole payment chain. We cannot go to the store / call the online store and tell them: "hey guys, I need you to update your payment system immediately because I need to do a payment!" to which they could kindly answer something like 'yes, we would do it instantly but you see... the problem is with our payment provider..."
      etc etc etc

      bunq should deal with the main payments organisation in France which in their turn would contact the smaller payment organisations to UPDATE their payment acceptance rules.

      So: what do you say bunq? Will you give us a hand?

        Might also help to file a complaint against the merchant through Mastercard as it's a violation of their terms.

          I'll file a complaint. But now I'm really concerned about using the Bunq card again in a trip abroad. I'm wondering what else I could do to avoid this problem again.

            3 months later

            I had a problem today with Sixt. I made online pre-payment, but when I wanted to pick up the car they did not accept the travel card. Manager came and said that they were instructed not to accept Bunq cards anymore. Country: Netherlands

              9 months later

              Hey bunqers 🌈

              We heard you and we have some great news for you! We’ve been working with Mastercard to solve this issue and from now on all bunq users can easily rent a car anywhere. You can learn more about this here 🚗

                9 months later

                @bunq#227276 Hi I had the same problem today in Amsterdam. With Sixt. What is this issue ? It doesn’t look solved

                  @New-Pink-Eagle-2806513696#246016 bunq credit cards weren't accepted by some car rental companies, because the companies used their own special way of charging for their services. This didn’t comply with Mastercard’s and EU’s regulations. In case you experience any issue with renting a car, please make sure to report this to the bunq Support Team so that they can help you.

                  Many of the car rental agencies require a credit card to rent a car. The bunq Metal card and Mastercard are credit cards and they work like one but with the difference that bunq is protecting you from the risk to fall in debt.

                  The bunq Mastercard and Metal card are launched with the latest specifications of Mastercard. This means you get a card without embossed (raised) numbers, resulting in thinner and flat cards. Some car rental agencies may require a (credit) card with embossed numbers, even though it's against Mastercards Rules written as the 'Honor All Cards Rule'. It's suggested to check the terms and conditions of the car rental agency or to contact them to prevent any misunderstandings. You can also report shopping problems with Mastercard merchants directly via the Mastercard support center.

                    7 days later

                    @thijsoost#246020 My Mastercard was refused at Hertz Utrecht today for the same reasons above.

                    I tried contacting Bunq support, and left a message, yet they have not gotten back to me. This is quite bad from the car rental agencies, they're violating MasterCards terms of service.

                      @Willem-Yellow-Hummingbird-2115622721#247364 Bunq is aware of this, but unfortunately there's not much they can do. Indeed those companies should accept bunq cards, it's really strange that they refuse to use them.

                        @thijsoost#247365 I even ask them to try it, and they directly refused, to my face. They have no mention of this while booking the reservation online, yet the dude showed me on his screen that they don't take Bunq debit cards.

                        I pleaded and told them it's not a debit card, it's a Mastercard Credit card, and that it is handled by any merchant as such.

                        He even supposedly phoned his supervisor and dude "some control check" to verify it.

                          @Willem-Yellow-Hummingbird-2115622721#247377 Very weird. I'm curious what happens if they just try it. It works! For them it's just like any other Mastercard. Can't get my head around this

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