Refunding Security Deposit

If you’re renting a motorcycle, you may be asked to pay a refundable security deposit to cover any potential damages or additional fees that may arise during the rental period. However, the way the deposit is processed can be confusing, especially when it comes to pre-authorizations and charges. In this article, we will explain the difference between a pre-authorization and a charge for motorcycle rental deposits, so you can better understand the process.

What is a pre-authorization?

A pre-authorization is essentially a temporary hold placed by a merchant on a customer’s credit card, and reserves funds for a future payment transaction. During the hold period, the funds are unavailable to the customer – they won’t be able to withdraw it from an ATM, or to spend it elsewhere. Although the funds cannot be accessed in their account, no money has been debited in the pre-auth, it is simply reserved.

It’s important for customers to understand that a pre-authorization or retention is not a charge, but rather a temporary hold on the funds. This means that the funds are not actually charged to the customer’s credit card, but instead held for a certain period of time, usually a few days, until the rental period is over and all charges have been settled.

Refunding a security deposit

Once the rental period is over and all charges have been settled, the pre-authorization or retention will be released, and the funds will become available to the customer once again. This means that the security deposit will not be returned in the form of a refund, but rather the pre-authorization or retention will disappear from the customer’s credit card statement.

It’s essential to note that the time it takes for the pre-authorization or retention to disappear from the customer’s credit card statement may vary depending on the credit card issuer and can take up to several days. However, the funds will eventually become available to the customer once the pre-authorization or retention is released. Typically, in Canary Ride we do cancel the pre-authorization right away when the client returns the motorcycle, in some cases it could take till next work day if your return is on weekend. However, your bank is who is responsible for unblocking the funds to you, so if you think it takes too much time, we highly recommend contacting your bank or credit card provider. They will try to help you, because from our side it is cancelled and we can’t do much more. Usually, your bank should help you within a day to release your funds.

Charge vs Pre-Auths in refund

The security deposit won’t be returned in the form of a refund, but rather the pre-authorization will disappear from your credit card statement once the rental period is over and all charges have been settled. Unlike a charge, which will appear as a transaction on your credit card statement, a pre-authorization is only a temporary hold on your credit limit, and will not appear as a separate transaction. Once the pre-authorization is released, it will simply disappear from your credit card statement, so you won’t see it as a separate charge or credit. This means that the funds will become available again on your credit card once the pre-authorization is released, and you can use them for other transactions or purchases.

Please note that in case of Maestro card, the pre-authorization is not possible as they don’t allow it.

In case you need help or assistance, you can always contact us on booking@canaryride.com or via phone +34 828 685 006. We highly recommend talk to your bank first as they are responsible for releasing of your funds.