In May of this year I rented a car at Sixt in Florence, Italy. Returned the car full of gas and had it checked over by the manager upon return. In June of this year my credit card statement arrived and it had a charge from Sixt. It was the exact amount I expected: The amount the invoice I received up returning the car. The invoice including all daily rental, insurance, etc…
All over and done, right?
Nope.
Yesterday not one, but 2 separate charges from Sixt appeared on my credit card bill.
Both were for $45.15 USD.
I called Sixt and they were able to pull up my account but could not explain the 2 charges. They said they’d investigate and get back to me.:dubious:
Called my credit card company and contested the charge.
Has this every happened to anyone, and any guesses over what’s going on?
Did you drive in any of the Restricted Zones in Florence - this is pretty common according to the Lonely Planet (which convinced us to use the train into Florence). There are areas of Florence you cannot drive in without a permit, and covered by ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras. Once the Rental Company gets the fine, they pass the charges off to the customer, and it can take some time to come through.
Years ago I worked for Budget Rent a Car as a CSR. I can tell you from personal experience if you rented from an American company you can easily call them in the US and they will refund charges like that. So, if you don’t receive a credit from the place you rented in Italy and you’re dealing with an American company it may be easier and cheaper for you to deal with this problem by talking to customer service. Unless of course you live in another country.
I’m going with what si_blakely said. You may have hit some kind of red light or speed camera. Driving in Florida you get billed extra for the Sun Pass road tolls via plate recognition. If they can’t tell you what the charge is for, definitely dispute it.
I have never even heard of Sixt but any charge should be explained. I agree with Si on the likely cause; when you’re in Italy, you’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
I rented a car in Florence a few years ago to leave the city. I never had a problem with the restricted zones because I left the city immediately upon picking up the car, but I got a speed-camera ticket in another Tuscan village. I got a charge from Hertz for about $45; this was four months after the trip. They told me it was for the speeding ticket. Then another six months later I got a ticket from the municipality fining me about 200 euros. I called back Hertz and said that I thought this was all settled with them.
Here’s the kicker, and what you need to watch out for. Hertz said their $45 fee was only for supplying my name and address to the municipality so they could issue the ticket.