Deposit for Car Rental
Car Rental with a Deposit: Your Safety, Our Guarantee!
Why is a deposit required for car rental?
Our clients are our main concern, and we understand the importance of clarity and confidence in the car rental process.
On this page, we will inform you about our deposit policy, transparent rules, and conditions.
In our company, a Deposit is used to ensure the fulfillment of client obligations arising during the rental process. It's important to understand three things:
Cars are high-value assets (especially in Vietnam, where taxes and fees for vehicle registration are high).
In Vietnam, there are traffic rules, and violating them leads to administrative responsibility, which falls on the company.
A car is a means of increased risk, which in itself means the possibility of causing harm to oneself, third parties, or property.
Given the above, all car rental companies in the world, including our company offering car rentals in Vietnam, implement a deposit policy.
In other words, we take a deposit to ensure coverage for any damages.
Possible damages include (but are not limited to):
- Accidents
- Scratches
- Dents
- Holes in the interior
- Cleaning for smoked-in interiors if smoking policy is violated
- Speeding fines
- Red light violation fines
- Other various fines
- Covering financial debts for late return of the vehicle or any other debts arising from the car rental agreement
Specifics of Car Rental Deposits in Vietnam
Despite the apparent clarity of car rental deposit rules, Vietnam has both basic (common) provisions and some unique features.
Let's quickly go over the basic provisions: a deposit can take various forms: cash (Vietnamese dong, US dollars, other currencies), property (car, motorbike, camera, phone, others), digital assets (cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, digital cash), or documentary (passport, foreign passport, other documents).
However, there are nuances specific to car rentals in Vietnam:
1. Deposit Return Period. It's common for Vietnamese car rental agencies to mention a 14-day period from the date of car return. At VinRent, this period is 10 days. In the European Union, it's common to have funds blocked on a card for up to a month.
In Vietnam, this duration is a necessary measure because the roads are equipped with cameras for traffic rule violations, and fines for violations can take 1 to 2 weeks to be issued. For example: a speeding violation in a rental car can lead to a fine of up to 2,000,000 VND for the company (depending on the speed of the violator).
2. Lack of Direct Card Blocking. Unfortunately, direct blocking of funds on a card is not possible, but at VinRent, we offer the option to pay with Visa/MasterCard for car rental with subsequent return according to the contract terms.
- What is the process for the car rental deposit? With VinRent, you can be assured that the entire rental process is completely transparent and legal. We are officially registered and provide all necessary documents upfront, ensuring your peace of mind.
- Car Inspection: We inspect the car together before rental and make necessary notes directly in the contract.
- Indicating Deposit Amount and Term in the Contract: Our contract has many lines related to deposit relations, namely: amount, return period, payment and return method, cases covered by the deposit.
- Payment upon Receiving the Car: We do not require a deposit in advance. The deposit is made exclusively upon receipt of the car for rental.
- Recording the Deposit Payment: In the contract, we make a note that the deposit has been received, indicating the amount, the recipient's name, and the date of receipt.
- Returning the Deposit on Time: After finalizing the obligations, we return the deposit on time, often earlier than the deadline.
- Flexible for Urgent Needs: Upon agreement, we can expedite the return of the deposit by initiating a GPS points check with camera crossings. In such a case, we deduct the amount of the anticipated fine (if any) and return the remainder earlier than scheduled.
- Recording the Return: We record the condition of the car, its mileage upon return. Similarly, we record the fact of the deposit return (amount, facts of deductions, dates).
Other Nuances with Car Rental Deposits in Vietnam
There are cases when a client does not possess an international driving license, a license issued in Vietnam, or an ASEAN license, but has local licenses issued by their country. In such cases, the deposit amount is significantly higher (from 60,000,000 VND), because the consequences of not having the necessary license (for various reasons: forgotten, left behind, etc.) are as follows:
- Fine for the driver: 10-20 million VND
- Fine for the company: 20 million VND
- Car impoundment, which means a "walking" journey for clients, daily parking fees, and payment for a driver to return the car.
Late Fines. Sometimes fines arrive after the car rental deposit is returned. Such a case is described in the contract with the client, and according to the contract rules, the client is obliged to compensate for the damage. Accordingly, if such a case occurs, our staff will send you instructions for payment.
Insufficiency of the Deposit. In cases where the deposit is not enough to cover the damage (for example, accumulated speeding fines amounting to 50 million, which means exceeding the speed limit by more than 20km/h just 10 times), we will, according to the contract, turn to the client for compensation of the full amount of the damage.
From the VinRent Car Rental Guide