pricing and payment options with IdeaMerge
Please click here for an explanation of our excellent pricing and payment options.
reservation and booking
In accord with the automobile rental industry standard,
reservations may be made for a vendor's particular vehicle category
(what we might call a vendor's "group") only, not for a specific vehicle.
Which is to say,
although the various images, model numbers and vehicle specifications presented
throughout the IdeaMerge motorhome rental pages — especially on the
vehicle-specification pages — are carefully selected to accurately
and precisely indicate the vehicle that you will get, the vehicle model
(and layout) you get might not be identical to what is indicated by said
information.
In the very unlikely event that
a vehicle in the reserved category is not available upon the pick-up date, the
rental company reserves the right to substitute a comparable or larger vehicle
with the same equipment and the capacity to accommodate the number persons you have delineated (in terms of, say, adults and children) as being in your party. In this case there will be no additional charge for a larger
vehicle. However, the higher ancillary costs associated with a larger
vehicle — such as ferry charges,
tolls, and fueling costs — are to be borne by the customer.
And on the other hand, should a smaller vehicle be offered to and accepted
by the client upon pick-up, the difference in price between the two
vehicles will not be credited to the customer.
Of course IdeaMerge will not charge your credit card unless the vendor you select does have availability in the
particular vehicle category you select.
After you place a complete online reservation request with IdeaMerge (i.e. including your credit card details), IdeaMerge will straightaway query the vendor.
If a vehicle in the selected vehicle category of that selected vendor is indeed have available, we will immediately book the rental with that vendor and charge your card —
binding you per the cancellation policy noted below. Either way, we will then inform you as soon as possible,
often within an hour but most certainly within 24 hours
(or perhaps 48 hours if you enter the reservation request on a Friday or Saturday,
since the booking facilities of some vendors are closed on weekends).
The duration of the rental is calculated by calendar days, i.e., regardless
of time of pick-up and return. Therefore both the pick-up day and the
return day count as a full day. However, a return time must
be set upon placing a reservation. A charge of EUR50 per hour
will be levied for each hour that the client is late returning the vehicle.
A client may request a modification to this return appointment, provided
he or she gives a minimum 24-hour notice; but the vendor is not obligated to
approve such a change.
Pick-up and return are possible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
However, pick-up or return between 6 pm (18:00 hours) and 8 am (08:00 hours) entails an extra EUR149 fee;
if both the pick-up and return occur during those hours, the fee will be charged twice.
Our software will include such fee in the total it presents to you.
Conversely, returns booked for 8 am
(800 hours) through 11 am (1100 hours) qualify for an EUR50 discount.
cancellation fees
We require the aforementioned downpayment and prepaid balance because the vendor
imposes a schedule of considerable cancellations fees. Necessarily reflecting that schedule of fees,
our cancellation policy is as follows:
Cancellation 45 days or more prior to pick-up date: NO CHARGE.
Cancellation 44–30 days prior to pick-up date: 25 percent of rental amount.
Cancellation 29–16 days prior to pick-up date: 50 percent of rental amount.
Cancellation 15 days through 1 day prior to pick-up date: 100 percent of rental amount.
Cancellation no-shows or cancellation on the pick-up date: 100 percent of rental amount.
If upon cancellation the balance has not been paid, the vendor reserves
the right to charge the customer's credit card according to the above schedule.
changes
A. Authorization required. Once a rental is booked, any request to change any part of the booking,
such as adding or eliminating accessories or changing the dates, must be authorized by the rental company in advance.
Do not expect to make changes when you pick up the vehicle.
B. Cost. The vendor will charge a EUR50 change fee if they have already issued the invoice.
C. Cancellation Fee for Shortening. If you request to shorten your rental duration, you must pay a cancellation fee
on the days that you eliminate. For example, if you reduce the number of rental days by moving the pick-up date closer
to the return date, or the return date closer to the pick-up date, or both closer to each other, you must pay a
cancellation fee on the days you eliminate. The general cancellation fee schedule for this vendor applies.
D. Cancellation Fee for Shift of Rental. If a change involves a shift of both the pick-up date and return
date away from of their original dates, or of pick-up or return location away from the original location, it may be
considered by the vendor a full or partial cancellation rather than a mere change. The general cancellation fee
schedule for this vendor applies.
E. Early Return. There is no refund for early return of the vehicle.
age and license
The minimum age limit for renters and other drivers of the rental vehicles
is only 18 years; there is no maximum age limit. However, said drivers must have possessed a valid
drivers license for at least one year prior to the pick-up date.
Drivers must of course possess a valid drivers license
relative to the weight of the vehicle.
Most domestic licenses suffice for operation of the vehicles presented on
the IdeaMerge Website, for most of the vehicles are rated at 3500 kg or less.
Relative to vehicles exceeding this threshold, our online software will usually elaborate.
Regardless, you the driver or drivers are obliged to check your licenses and the vehicle's
specs page in this important respect (the latter by clicking on the vehicle
image during the online reservation process).
Many Singapore drivers licenses, for instance, limit the license holder to vehicles rated only 3000 kg or less.
Generally see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver's_license and, say,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Driving_Licence_codes.
Regarding the vehicles rated at over 3500 kg
(i.e. 3.50 metric tons):
Almost all typical (i.e. class C) USA drivers licenses, for example,
suffice in this respect.
(In fact such licenses usually cover vehicles up to 13,000 kg.)
The same is true of, say, typical "old" British licenses
(i.e. class B issued prior to 1 January 1997).
But the typical new "European Union drivers license"
(i.e. class B) limits its holder to vehicles of 3500 kg or less; and as such,
a holder of an EU license must possess a class C license to operate in Europe
one of the European motorhomes which are rated at over 3500 kg.
On the pick-up occasion the vendor will not release a rental vehicle
to a party unless a driver among them is licensed to operate such vehicle.
IdeaMerge is not responsible if such licensed driver is not present
to operate the vehicle upon the pick-up occasion and throughout the duration
of the rental. No refunds will be extended to the client if such absence precludes
the actual use of the rental.
See our "Resources" page for a discussion of the international driving permit,
which is required of certain drivers in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
additional drivers
Each additional driver must present their own credit card upon the pick-up occasion. For security purposes the vendor will make an imprint of each such additional card.
geographic limitations
The included insurance is effective throughout the entirety of Europe —
Western (including Scandinavia) and Eastern, and the UK and Ireland —
except for regions experiencing general and
violent political crisis. You are welcome to transport your
rented vehicle by ferry and/or the Channel Tunnel.
However, if you plan to take the vehicle to countries outside Iceland,
you must list these countries upon placing a reservation. Moreover,
special terms apply to the coverage in the Baltic States,
Belarus, Russia, and Poland.
See our "Insurance, etc."
page for more details concerning the included insurance.
breakdown cover, and insurance
For starters, the fleet of vehicles is modern, under warranty,
and frequently upgraded. The customer is responsible for checking
engine oil, fluids, and coolant levels at each refueling, as well as
reporting mechanical failures immediately. Instructions and
procedures for maintenance expense reimbursement are provided upon
pick-up. Kilometers driven in order to secure a vehicle repair are
exempt from the rental kilometers, but the client is required to travel with
their rental vehicle to the closest repair location stated by the vendor.
Customers may be held responsible for mechanical damage that is
due to negligence in vehicle operation or failure to provide normal
maintenance. In the event the vehicle is in breakdown repair through no fault of the customer, the vendor's responsibility to
refund the customer for lost time is limited.
The headquarters in Helsinki can be reached 24/7 at (+358) 044 056 6937.
(Drop the country code if calling from within Finland.)
The general list of Touring Cars 24/7 emergency telephone lines is:
pick-up and return
The vendor will hold a security deposit in two senses, as follows.
Upon pick-up an imprint will be made of the client's credit card
(Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Diners Club, and not necessarily the card you use to pay us).
However, no amount will be associated with that imprint upon pick-up, and the
imprint will be destroyed upon return (i.e. no amount will then be added
to it and it will not then be finally charged) —
provided that the cost of damages
to the vehicle (plus parking tickets and the like) does not exceed the
insurance deductible. Moreover, the vendor will upon pick-up merely authorize (not charge) a single amount on
that same card, the amount of that authorization being equal to a
single full insurance deductible (which depends on the insurance option
chosen by the client).
An authorization only blocks the amount of credit; it is not an actual charge.
Therefore, we emphasize, the client's credit limit on that card should be
commensurate with said deductible amount and of course with the amount
the client plans to charge on the card during the rental.
Said blocked amount — minus the cost of
any damages (up to the relevant insurance deductible or deductibles) and traffic or parking tickets — will be
returned to the customer's credit within a month after the customer returns the vehicle.
Each additional driver must present their own credit card upon the pick-up occasion. For security purposes the vendor will make an imprint of each such additional card.
A thorough explanation and demonstration of the rental vehicle will be provided
upon pick-up. This orientation, together with completion of the relevant
paperwork, requires approximately one hour.
The vehicle will be delivered with a full tank of diesel fuel and
should be returned with a full tank, otherwise a refueling charge
of EUR26 + EUR2 or more per liter will be levied upon return.
The water tank and the two 11-liter propane (i.e. gas, LPG) tanks
will be full upon the pick-up occassion. The client must pay EUR50 for
each propane bottle that is not returned full.
Toilet chemical is sold for EUR15 per bottle.
The interior and exterior
will be clean, and the toilet tank will be empty of waste. Likewise the vehicle
should be returned with a reasonably clean interior and and an empty toilet tank,
otherwise a minimum EUR172 cleaning charge will be levied (unless, that is,
the client pre-purchased such final cleaning for EUR149).
This charge consists of an EUR150 base charge and a labor charge of EUR60 or more per hour.
The vendor will clean the exterior free of charge.
Smoking is prohibited in the vehicle. An EUR850 penalty applies.
Customers who plan to travel with a pet or pets in the motorhome must pay upfront the vendor's EUR199 pet fee per rental.
The penalty for traveling with a pet or pets in the motorhome without paying that fee upfront is EUR400.
Upon or after the return occasion, the vendor will charge to the client all traffic fines (including parking tickets) which the
rental vehicle received during the rental.
Regarding one-way rentals which terminate at one of the
return-only depots, the vendor reserves the right to inspect the vehicle
after the client departs the return depot and to charge the client
appropriately for damages then discovered.
Cooking utensils, dishes, silverware, kitchen towel, dish soap and cleaning sponge are included in the rental.
A bicycle rack is also included, per your request.
Exactly 300 kilometers per day are included in the price.
Beyond that amount, kilometers cost EUR0.40 per kilometer if paid for
upon the pick-up occasion, EUR0.60 if paid of upon return.
See our "Accessories" page to learn about optional extras.
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