Reviews of rental car companies…The good and the not so good…Photos of our new home in Witheridge…

It’s too cool to use the beautiful pool.

It was delightful to see the roaring fire and to hear the crackling of the dry wood. It reminded us of cozy cold days in Minnesota, although it certainly isn’t as hard here as it was there.

There is heat in this house, but we don’t use it to help the owner keep costs down. The fire was an excellent alternative, especially when all the firewood comes from downed trees on the 150-acre farm.

The living room where we’re currently situated as I prepare today’s post.

On another note, over the past several weeks, we’ve been dealing with a frustrating rental car issue resulting in countless phone calls to resolve it.

On May 12, 2019, we rented a car from Easirent (a rental company in the UK) in Dublin for our three-month stay in Connemara, Ireland. We were shocked at the rental office when a deposit of EU 2100, US $2308.71, was required along with a tax of EU 712, US $826 (neither of which were mentioned when we rented the car online). This huge sum was not just a “hold” on the credit card, but they actually “took” the amount from our credit card.

There’s a freezer on the opposite side of the kitchen (not shown in the photo), which is the same size as the under-counter refrigerator shown here.

We returned the car, filled to the brim with fuel and with no damage whatsoever, on August 9, 2019. We were told when we booked the car and then again when we returned it. We’d see the substantial refund within ten business days. That was 46 days ago. No refund.

After three weeks had passed from the return date, I started calling, inquiring as to when we’d receive the refund. First, I called the location we’d rented it to ensure they’d properly processed the return. 

The master bedroom with skylights with a remote for opening and closing their shades. Each of the two almost identical bedrooms has en-suite bathrooms.

They stated, “Deposit refunds can take as much as three weeks. You should see it in a few days.”   

From the original “10 business days” to “21 business days?” This was not acceptable. However, we knew we had a backup plan if they didn’t refund the money…we could contact the credit card we’d used for the rental and request they handle it.  

We’re a little too early to see the leaves turning.

On one other occasion, we’d gone through the credit card company when we were to receive a refund from an airline when they’d canceled the flight. It took months, contacting them over and over with no results.  

Finally, we took the issue to the credit card company, and they resolved it in days, not months, giving us a full refund. Now, we were faced with doing the same, with the same credit card company.  

An aerial view of the two houses and farm buildings on the 150-acre property. Pond Cottage is closest to the pond shown between the trees in the forefront of the photo.

We preferred not to have the credit card company handle the refund if we could help it. It’s possible they’d flag our account showing multiple requests for refunds.  

I went up the line…searching higher up at Easirent to find the appropriate management to speak to. Yesterday, I had no alternative but to threaten with the prospect of contacting an attorney and muddying their name on our site. 

A few hours ago, I was told by a “higher-up” that the credit was processed at 8:51 this morning.  No apologies.

Many ducks and geese reside on the farm. They enjoy the pond and daily feedings.

He explained it could take a few days to appear on our credit card. I don’t understand why a credit would take so long when charges appear immediately, but we’ll give it a few days and see what happens. Frustrating, to say the least, and also time-consuming.

When we rented the first and second of two cars here in England through Europcar at the Exeter Airport, we were thrilled with the cars, the customer service, the low deposit, and the ease of the entire process on both occasions.

We’d used Europcar more times than any other rental company over the years and always had a great experience. Why did we choose Easirent this only time? For some odd reason, pricing in Dublin was considerably higher at Europcar for the three-month rental than Easirent. We chose Easirent without doing enough research on the company. Our error. We’ll never do this again!

Pond Cottage during daylight hours.

So now we wait to see if the refund comes through in the next few days. If it doesn’t, we’ll ask the credit card company for assistance. We’ll report the outcome here in the next few days.

Yes, traveling can result in situations such as these, whether over the short or long term. We learn as we go and carry along with us the knowledge we’ve acquired along the way.  Even after almost seven years, we still don’t always get it right. We continue to learn from our experiences as we enthusiastically look to the future. 

May your day be filled with peace and contentment.

Photo from one year ago today, September 24, 2018:

From this site: “The giraffe’s main predator is the lion, which can accelerate to almost 50 miles per hour. His second worst enemy, the hyena, can reach 35 mph. If a lion and a giraffe ran a race side by side, the lion would beat the giraffe to the finish line. However, the giraffe is not about to give a predator an even start. He uses his great height and excellent eyesight to spot a pride of lions as far as half a mile away and gets a head start. Lions can sustain their top speed for only about a hundred yards, so they run out of gas before the giraffe does. Hyenas can be more dangerous because they hunt cooperatively. They can take turns sprinting to keep the giraffe from slowing down to catch his breath.” For more photos, please click here.