Additional Taxes

[Toms Dad]

Hi Everyone

I new to this, so please bear with me.
I'm travelling with Virgin next week and have car hire in with the holiday, but looking at the brochure there is mention of Florida Tax, MIA CFC, FLL CFC & Airport Handling Tax and also an operating fee of 6%-8%.
Can someone please explain what i have to pay on landing at MCO please.

Many Thanks

Paul

[florida4sun]

Hi,
if you booked through this site any extras are clearly explained , this can differ with other companies, so it it is near impossible to predict what is included in your rental. You really need to contact virgin to find out what is included. Some fly drives only include limited insurance, full insurance can be costly. Many folks book a fly drive but then book a car through this site as it works out cheaper.


<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Toms Dad
Hi Everyone

I new to this, so please bear with me.
I'm travelling with Virgin next week and have car hire in with the holiday, but looking at the brochure there is mention of Florida Tax, MIA CFC, FLL CFC & Airport Handling Tax and also an operating fee of 6%-8%.
Can someone please explain what i have to pay on landing at MCO please.

Many Thanks

Paul
[/quote]

[ellie]

Hi Paul

As Martin says, it can be a bit of a minefield.

If you have to pay all of those things on arrival it may well cost you several hundred dollars, depending on how long you are staying. It would be well worth checking out as you may find it cheaper to book a car from here, but only Virgin can give you the answer to your question, I am afraid.

Hope you have a great holiday!

[Toms Dad]

Sorry, here is some more info.
It is with Dollar, we have not purchased any other insurance other than what is included in the package.
The brochure states "the following charges will be paid locally, LDW, UMP, STATE TAXES,AIRPORT HANDLING TAXES, OPERATING FEES, HANDLING FEES, AIRPORT ACCESS FEE AND BASIC SALES TAX"
Can anyone shed some more light on this, as ringing Virgin puts me through to a call centre and communication between myself and the young lady was near impossible!

Thanks

[roger]

It's likely you will pay up to around $700 depending on the car booked and how long you are renting for.

Most people with a fly drive like this just ignore the 'free' car as it costs so much money, and book a car separately on an all inclusive package like ours.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Toms Dad
Sorry, here is some more info.
It is with Dollar, we have not purchased any other insurance other than what is included in the package.
The brochure states "the following charges will be paid locally, LDW, UMP, STATE TAXES,AIRPORT HANDLING TAXES, OPERATING FEES, HANDLING FEES, AIRPORT ACCESS FEE AND BASIC SALES TAX"
Can anyone shed some more light on this, as ringing Virgin puts me through to a call centre and communication between myself and the young lady was near impossible!

Thanks
[/quote]

[ShirleyD]

The state and sales tax will be around 11 to 13% of the total cost. The airport customer facility charge is $2.50 per day up to $12.50, others may be able to help with the other costs

[Jill]

Have you tried ringing Dollar in the UK, think they now have an 0800 number? They can probably help with the figures. I know several people have found that it cheaper not to collect the car assigned by Virgin when they get to Florida but instead have found it cheaper to book a car through the link at the top of the page. http://www.floridahire.com/ The rates are very competitive and standard of service excellent.

Back in 1997, before we knew any better, we booked a holiday to Florida which included 'free car hire' which turned out to be quite expensive car hire.

[Toms Dad]

Thanks for all your help everyone.
I'm really disappointed that Virgin doesn't state this when you book, i even upgraded to a 7 seat minivan and no one mentioned this.
Looks like i will have to take their insurance or go direct to Dollar and see if they will do it cheaper, anyway I'm another £320 down.

Thanks again.

[blott]

We had one of those 'free' cars some years ago now and it cost us about £500 for all the extras - never again!

If you go direct with Dollar, don't you pay all the fees above as extras too?

You'd be far better off with uscarhire.co.uk (link at the top of each forum page) which includes everything you can think of in their price and with great customer service that can't be beaten also.

[steph_goodrum]

Paul
We're doing the same in December (I'm assuming if you booked the flydrive it was with Virgin Holidays not Virgin Atlantic as they are different companies).We were told about the "optional" extra insrances but in reality they are compulsory as if you were unfortunate enough to be in an accident and didn't have them it would be extortionate and also the taxes that are compulsory. We just tell them we want the smalles basic car and don't collect it at the other end. We have booked ours separately from US Car Hire and it does work out considerably cheaper.

Unfortunately it is in the small print of the brochure (although we were asked when booking if wewanted the extra insurance) and as you have found out many companies that offer things "free" do so at a cost.

Good luck with sorting it out though, I'm sure as soon as youu get there you'll forget about it and have a great trip.

[Steve and Dawn]

As you have already upgraded to a seven seater, I would imagine they will not change that now. Why not check out from Virgin what their all inclusive insurance is for your stay. Then check out the cost for the same period for a 7 seater from this site and see if it is still cheaper. Either way both options will be cheaper than doing it on arrival.

[Toms Dad]

Thanks for all your replies.
I have taken out Virgin Gold insurance and with a bit of a moan, got 15% off the cost.
6 Days to go!