Good day,
I am on vacation in Korea (Jeju Int. Airport SK car rental), and I wanted to rent a car while we are here.
Date 29/09/2023 - 02/10/2023
As per the rental car terms, one should have a driver's license for more than one year, although I changed my South African license (valid from 2015) to a local Korean license. I provided both licenses on the day of pick-up and was denied the rental car. I immediately emailed bookings.com and got into contact as I already paid for the rental car.
They advised to my understanding that I would be getting a partial refund of about two-thirds of the total amount paid. They were adamant that this offer would only be valid for 24 hours. I said 'OK', I am tired after traveling, I will get in contact with you tomorrow morning. I got in contact with the team this morning.
The service agents were repeating the same message to me, like reading from a script.
They advised that I would have to make another booking on the website and supply them with the confirmation number. I did what they asked.
The terms are not clear about changing driver's licenses from one country to another. I would like to see that added to the terms to avoid somebody else being in the same situation as me.
I had to prove to the Korean government that my South African license was legal before I could be considered to get a local Korean license.
Misinformation and frustration can ruin your vacation when terms are not clear.
Desired outcome: I would like a full refund of the rental car fee.The two-thirds refund is nice, but not quite there yet.Also, the second reservation that was forced to be canceled - with no financial implications to me personally.