iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Post the Covid pandemic, the Emirates has emerged as one of the most popular spots for destination weddings
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Renting a car in Dubai? New circular spells out payment rules, banned practices
Car rental firms must give back deposit within 30 days after the vehicle is returned
All the car rental companies in Dubai have been asked to release credit cards and other deposits to consumers’ accounts within 30 days of returning the vehicle.
The Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade, which operates under the Department of Economy and Tourism, sent out a circular to all the car rental companies in the emirate to abide by the applicable laws, conditions and instructions related to commitments with security deposits.
The circular added that in case the consumer doesn’t have a credit card, the rental office shall receive the security deposit amount in cash or from the consumer’s debit card. “In no event, may a rental office process a credit card security hold as a purchase transaction,” it said.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Ahmed Ali Mousa, director of consumer protection at the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, said the main purpose of the circular was to protect consumer rights and promote the interest of all vehicle rental offices, and they’re reminded that they were required to abide by the applicable laws, conditions and instructions related to the commitment related to security deposit.
“Car rental firms must place a security deposit on hold. They should not make a purchase transaction. If they’re taking cash, the companies are responsible for returning the deposit through bank transfer or exchange. And the fee for the transfer will be applicable to the car rental office,” he told Khaleej Times in an interview.
According to Circular No. (1) for the year 2024, if the customer paid the security deposit amount in cash or by debit card, the vehicle rental office shall refund the security deposit amount in cash or via wired fund transfer. And the vehicle rental company shall be obligated to bear the transaction transfer fee.
However, it added that the vehicle rental companies are permitted to deduct actual amounts from the security deposit paid by the consumers to cover traffic offences and damages to vehicles during the rental period in addition to administrative fees.
The circular said it is prohibited to impose any surcharge of transaction fee for using credit cards or payment applications.
Ahmad Ali Mousa added that car rental firms are not allowed to take additional fees except administrative fees only.
“If the car needs to be washed, then the company will charge a washing amount of around Dh50-60 and they’ll charge the Salik amount,” he added.
ALSO READ:
More news from UAE
The quake occurred at 3.03am local time
Food supplies were distributed to 80 households
Specialised teams are currently managing the situation by cleaning up and removing the dead fish
The charges against them include planning terrorist acts, fundraising for the Organisation, and concealing the source and destination of those funds
In the video shared by the Abu Dhabi Police, speeding cars are seen crashing into vehicles as traffic builds up unexpectedly
Organised by Ameeraga Tamil Sangam, the event had participants from across the UAE
Sheikh Hamdan joined the kids as they browsed through some photos that captured how they used broomsticks and helped their community
