AVOID CAR HIRE HEBRIDES / ADVENTRA – £1,473.81 STILL BLOCKED AFTER TWO FAILED BOOKINGS
On 29 September 2026, I attempted to book two rental vehicles through Car Hire Hebrides / Adventra. Neither booking was successful because the vehicles were unavailable.
Despite this, two card authorisations totalling **£1,473.81** were placed against my account.
Lloyds Cardnet subsequently confirmed that both transactions had been voided on 29 September and that no payments had been collected. Nevertheless, the funds remained unavailable through my card provider, Wise, which reported that the cancellation instructions had not reached its systems.
**As of 16 October 2026, more than two weeks after the failed bookings, I am STILL waiting for the £1,473.81 to be released.** The money remains inaccessible in my Wise account, despite Lloyds Cardnet confirming that both transactions were voided on 29 September and that no payments were collected.
Wise has informed me that the authorisations may not expire automatically until 30 October, meaning my money could remain unavailable for an entire month following two unsuccessful bookings.
What followed was an exhausting process of correspondence between the rental company, its payment provider and Wise, with no effective resolution.
I appreciate that the staff member I initially dealt with made efforts to investigate the issue and contacted Cardnet on my behalf. However, those efforts have not produced a satisfactory outcome, and my latest correspondence has gone unanswered.
As a customer, I should not have to spend weeks investigating what happened to almost £1,500 following two unsuccessful booking attempts.
I recognise that the failure to release the authorisations may involve the payment processor or card issuer rather than the rental company alone. Nevertheless, the booking system initiated these authorisations despite the vehicles being unavailable, and the overall experience has been completely unacceptable.
My greatest concern is that customers can find substantial sums temporarily inaccessible without receiving a clear explanation of what went wrong or an effective route to resolution.
I would strongly advise prospective customers to clarify exactly when payment authorisations are created, whether vehicle availability is confirmed beforehand, and what happens if a booking fails.
**An extremely disappointing experience that has seriously undermined my confidence in the company. I cannot recommend this booking service.**








