My car hire ordeal over a rejected Monzo card

I used Stressfreecarrental.com to hire a car for a visit to my 92-year-old dad in France.

- By Jill Insley

I paid £314.32 for a week, which included insurance. I did a lot of research to find the most reliable but cheapest automatic car. I am on disability benefit and a single mum.

When I arrived at Toulouse airport, Goldcar, which was providing the car, said it would not accept a debit card. I don't have a credit card, and because of this the staff said they would have to sell me Goldcar's Mega Relax insurance. This added £231 - almost the cost of the car hire itself. Are they allowed to do that? Neither stress-free nor mega relaxed.

You booked the car using a Monzo card. I checked Goldcar's terms and conditions which clearly say that Monzo cards are not accepted, along with debit and credit cards issued by seven other institutions, including American Express and Revolut. I'm not sure how Stressfreecarrental and Goldcar missed the fact that you used a Monzo card to book the car.

The T&Cs also say that, apart from in Italy, you can use other Visa and Mastercard debit cards to book and pay for your rental car. You have a First Direct account complete with debit card that should have been perfectly acceptable, had you not been told, incorrectly, that Goldcar only accepts credit cards.