Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am
only publishing my interpretation of my situation. You should seek your
own legal representation for your own particular
situation. Do not rely on my
opinions or statements for your own purposes as state
and local law varies as do individual circumstances.
I recently had to fly to another city on a business
trip. With that trip, I had to rent a rental car for the week. I
made my reservation online, the same way I did my hotel
reservation and my airline flight reservation. When I got to the
check-in desk for the rental car company, I handed the clerk my
driver's license and my debit card for payment. I was a little
worried when the clerk held the debit card just above the
keyboard of his computer and told me that they handled debit
cards a little differently than credit cards. I knew they would
put a hold on a certain amount of funds against my credit card.
What I did not know, and was completely surprised by and
worried, was that they also pulled a credit report. I thought to
myself, "I am going to have to pay cash. They are never going to
approve my credit report."
"Okay," I said
nonchalantly as if my credit report was flawless. I held my
breath.
I do not know what they
look at on these credit reports that the car rental companies
pull. I have no idea. The clerks probably do not either because
it went by far too fast for him to really analyze anything. The
car company must just pull a report and give the clerk and 'yes'
or a 'no'. Mine was, amazingly, a 'yes'. I took the keys that he
handed me and headed out the door without another word. Who
would ever have imagined that renting a car for a week could be
so stressful?
Hotels handle debit cards
differently. I am sure a ton of other types of business' handle
debit cards differently, but this car rental place was the first
time a credit report has ever been pulled for me while using a
debit card. I hope it never happens again, and I hope the car
rental places never start holding real estate foreclosures
against you.
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