TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Empress Car RentalSt. Maarten

This is my first trip to St. Maarten and after reading some reviews about the different car rental company's I decided to go with Emperess. A lot of people here have said they have had no problems at all with them. I'm a little nervous at the moment though. When we signed out the car they had us sign a couple of credit card receipts/papers swiped with no $ value on them. They said it was standard practice, and because of what I read here I gave them the benifit of the doubt. Should I be expecting some insurance " I found a new scratch on the car" scam?
I would appreciate anyone who has rented from empress chiming in to ease my mind
Thanks
Pete

No problem. Many car rental agencies do that.

I always use empress, that two receipt thing is common for them.
No worries. Enjoy your holiday!

It is there standard practice, one is for the real rental price in case you bring it back late, the other is for damage done to the car and you don't have time to get it adjusted before leaving the island, they have your signature on file. When you bring the car back, if there is no damage, they will tear up the unused credit card slips, and if you want, they will give it to you. They will also give you a copy of the rental receipt when you bring back the car also. I personally have not had a problem with them in the 6 times that I have used them. Besides, if you had a problem with excess billing, you can always dispute the charges with your credit card company, but I never had that problem along with many others on this board.

It is standard practice. If you're concerned, take some photos with your phone. They'll be dated and show the scratches that were on the car when you got it. We no longer bother with that as we've been dealing with the same company (AAA) for many years now, but the first time we rented from them we did that, just in case.

Pete,

As already stated, what they asked is pretty much the norm for most of the agencies on the island. I wouldn't worry too much about it if I was you...... Empress has a pretty good reputation from all I've read here and heard from friends who have used them. They also have pretty decent pricing as I recall - I doubt you'll have any issues with them at all. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

As as afterthought, I just realized this was your first post and I thought I'd say, "welcome aboard and I hope you have a great trip!"

Although AAA which we use doesn't ask us to sign a blank CC receipt for potential dammage to the car we rent, several rental Cos in SXM do it.
I suggest you set-up automatic alerts with your CC company triggering a txt message or email each time your card is charged more than $xxx, in my case, $1. That way, I know immediately if someone charges my CC and I can react without any delay.
In addition, as other posters mentioned, take some phone pictures of the car when you pick it up and when you drop it off.
Better be safe than sorry.

That's interesting, as we always sign a receipt at AAA, but perhaps it's already filled in with the rental amount that we agreed on ahead of time. I haven't really paid attention, but will next time.

The last few years we rented from AAA, the full rental amount was charged to our cc immediately.

Ours was this past trip, the year before last he had a problem with his credit card system and it was several months after our return that it was finally charged. I sent him an email when I realized it hadn't been charged, and he thanked me and told me he was having issues. It was a month or more after that email that the charge finally hit our account. But last year it was charged immediately, so I guess that's the slip we're signing when we get there. I'm just so happy to be there that I don't pay any attention to it, lol!

Simply the best, no they didn't pay me to say that!

Thank you all for your responses. I feel a whole lot better about it now, and can relax finally.
Pete

One last note. Your credit card might have a hold of $300 or so for Best Discounts. Freaked me out the first time. After the trip and signing the final bill - about 3-4 days after we came home the correct price was billed by Best. We've used them 5 times and scheduled again for June! Say high to Marvin.

Update on my Empress Car Rental.
Returned the car, they looked over it quickly, no problems.
They handed the second credit card slip back to me and filled out the other one with the final price (we had them throw a couple of beach chairs in the trunk, they added a cooler and an umbrella), and we were on our way to the airport.
Completely hassle free and would rent from them again.
Thank you all for your advice and recommendations.

Pete

Marvin and his team are the best. Never a problem.

Thanks for coming back and posting the successful conclusion.

I concur. They are #1 I have been using them for many years