Questionable financial practices

<p> I have rented cars from First Car Rental a few times, and the way they deal with the deposit is decidedly questionable: The R3,000 is actually charged to my credit card (rather than just a hold being put on it), meaning that the company then has my money rather than just having the opportunity to access it in case something valid (damage, etc.) that they can charge me for arises. Then when I return the car they check that everything is in order, but still take a ridiculous amount of time (during which time they have use of my money) to refund me the deposit that they have charged (on the most recent occasion I returned the car on 29 June and I still have not been refunded the deposit).</p> <p> </p> <p>Compare this to Bidvest Car Rental, from whom I rented a car last week: They put a hold on my credit card for the desposit rather than actually charging it, and within a day of me returning the car they had removed the hold and correctly charged me for the fees incurred.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the future when I need to rent a car I will do whatever I can to avoid First Car Rental.</p>