Renting a car in UK

[Batty]

Hi there.  Im returning to the Uk for a 2 week holiday soon and have a reservation fully paid up with Avis.  I have a UK license and have used this before to rent with Avis Heathrow a few times, never been asked for uility bills or anything of that nature, just UK DL and passport is always fine.  The DL is registered to my Sisters address, but she moved last year so I changed the address with DVLA last month.  The new DL has been sent out, but not arived - usualy it takes 2 weeks but it has been a month already and hasnt arived so it looks like this is one of many DL's that go missing in the post.  Common, apparently.

 

Apparently car rental companies have tightened up security this last year or so.  If I present my DL with old address, they might check with DVLA and see the address is different which might kill the chances of renting.  I called reservations and asked them if I could use my 5 year Thai DL and they said not without an international DL, but told me to check with the branch so i called Heathrow and they never answer.

 

Does anyone have any recent experience with renting a car back there using a Thai DL?  Avis have always been great with me, they never need a credit card (I dont have one) and always accept my debit card and passport.  Im just worried this whole address change thing might have knackered the whole thing, if they somehow check with DVLA?

[blackcab]

I've used my 5 year Thai license with Hertz. Very easy all round. No international driving license needed.

 

Why not get an international driving license from the Department of Land Transport? Very easy and it's issued on the spot.

 

At least that way you will have a backup plan.

[topt]

1 hour ago, Batty said:

Does anyone have any recent experience with renting a car back there using a Thai DL?

Yes rented from Alamo/Enterprise last week. Did not book direct but via one of the consolidator sites. In their confirmation said I would need an IDP with my Thai licence so went to the DLT and got one for 500 baht.

You should not have to do anything other than fill in a form and queue for a picture and wait. Note that not all DLTs supply them.

 

Checking in at the rental desk they were not interested in seeing the IDP. However my Thai licence has address in English on the back which depending on when issued yours may not and no idea if that would make any difference.

 

As @blackcab says above for peace of mind I would get one. 

[UKresonant]

Do they require a check code anyway?  https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence 

don't know if it shows address,... 

[KhaoYai]

26 minutes ago, UKresonant said:

Do they require a check code anyway?  https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence 

don't know if it shows address,... 

Yes, as far as I know you don't even need to have your licence present if you let them check it using that site. They almost certainly will want to check in any case. Since the paper section of UK licences was done away with, most if not all hire companies require a licence check - its the only way they can can check for endorsements.

 

But I also agree with blackcab - get an IDP as back up.

Edited July 31, 2019 by KhaoYai

[Batty]

8 hours ago, blackcab said:

I've used my 5 year Thai license with Hertz. Very easy all round. No international driving license needed.

 

Why not get an international driving license from the Department of Land Transport? Very easy and it's issued on the spot.

 

At least that way you will have a backup plan.

Thanks for the post.  I didnt even realise an IDP was something you applied for here in Thailand - I just assumed it was something that needed doing in the UK.  Stupid of me not to google it realy.  Thanks for that, I will nip down there today and find out.  

[Batty]

6 hours ago, topt said:

Yes rented from Alamo/Enterprise last week. Did not book direct but via one of the consolidator sites. In their confirmation said I would need an IDP with my Thai licence so went to the DLT and got one for 500 baht.

You should not have to do anything other than fill in a form and queue for a picture and wait. Note that not all DLTs supply them.

 

Checking in at the rental desk they were not interested in seeing the IDP. However my Thai licence has address in English on the back which depending on when issued yours may not and no idea if that would make any difference.

 

As @blackcab says above for peace of mind I would get one. 

 

Thanks for that.  I passed my Thai driving test and got my first DL here I think about 10 years ago, just renewed my 5 year license for the second time last week, the name on the front is in English but there is no address in Thai on the back?

[Batty]

5 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Yes, as far as I know you don't even need to have your licence present if you let them check it using that site. They almost certainly will want to check in any case. Since the paper section of UK licences was done away with, most if not all hire companies require a licence check - its the only way they can can check for endorsements.

 

But I also agree with blackcab - get an IDP as back up.

That must be a new thing they are doing I guess, a DL check.  I shouldnt have bothered changing the address to my Sisters new address looking back, but then I didnt expect the new DL to go missing in the bloody post!  Stupid that they send out such a valuable bit of ID second class with no tracking or even signed for.  Thats probably been sold on the dark web for all I know!

[blackcab]

37 minutes ago, Batty said:

I didnt even realise an IDP was something you applied for here in Thailand - I just assumed it was something that needed doing in the UK.

 

Each country issues their own. In Thailand the DLT will only issue of your have a 5 year license. 2 year temporary licenses cannot be issued with an IDP.

[cleopatra2]

Do you need an IDP to drive in the UK on a Non GB licence ?

I am under the impression you can drive in the UK for 12 months on a foreign licence ( small vehicle )

[topt]

2 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

Do you need an IDP to drive in the UK on a Non GB licence ?

I am under the impression you can drive in the UK for 12 months on a foreign licence ( small vehicle )

The issue is more what the hire car company wil want because if they insist on an IDP what are you going to do.........

Hire car companies are not exactly renowned for their........flexibility shall we say.

[topt]

4 hours ago, Batty said:

 

Thanks for that.  I passed my Thai driving test and got my first DL here I think about 10 years ago, just renewed my 5 year license for the second time last week, the name on the front is in English but there is no address in Thai on the back?

Strange. I renewed my passport earlier this year so updated my licences (March/April I think) and although the old ones were only in Thai the new one has both.

[VocalNeal]

12 hours ago, blackcab said:

Why not get an international driving license from the Department of Land Transport? Very easy and it's issued on the spot.

When i went (bangkok) I was asked for a copy of my work permit.

Edited August 1, 2019 by VocalNeal

[NanLaew]

10 hours ago, UKresonant said:

Do they require a check code anyway?  https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence 

don't know if it shows address,... 

If you plan on using your UK DL for a UK car hire, you will need to apply for this check code before you go (it has 21-day validity). When signing up for the car at the UK rental desk, the clerk will ask you for this check code so they can check with the DVLC database for license validity, points, etc..

 

To be honest, it is far easier to rent a car in the UK with a Thai 5 year DL.

 

But this looks like a handy option if using a UK DL.

 

https://www.gov.uk/add-driving-licence-check-code

Edited August 1, 2019 by NanLaew

[blackcab]

2 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

When i went (bangkok) I was asked for a copy of my work permit.

 

I was aswell, which makes me rethink my previous statement. If the OP needs a certificate of residency from immigration then it might not be especially convenient for him.

 

Hopefully the OP will report back with the local requirements from his DLT.

[MJKT2014]

On 8/1/2019 at 4:15 AM, KhaoYai said:

On 8/1/2019 at 3:51 AM, UKresonant said:

Do they require a check code anyway?  https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence 

don't know if it shows address,... 

Yes, as far as I know you don't even need to have your licence present if you let them check it using that site. They almost certainly will want to check in any case.

So all rentals now need to check this site? I last rented in 2010 and used UK DL without any questions. If using this site I am out of luck as I have no national insurance number. Guess I will need to use only Thai DL in future.

[MJKT2014]

If using Thai DL in UK, what do they check for? My Thai DL only has my name and old pp number on it, with address written in Thai. Is that accepted?

[Batty]

On 8/1/2019 at 2:08 PM, topt said:

Strange. I renewed my passport earlier this year so updated my licences (March/April I think) and although the old ones were only in Thai the new one has both.

Sorry, I was wrong - it is indeed on the back I noticed earlier.  Very small, but its on there ????

[Batty]

I picked up an IDL yesterday, 505 baht only took 2 hours.  So with that and the Thai DL, hopefuly I will be fine.  Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

[theoldgit]

I rented a car from Avis at LHR using my Thai licence in June, like the OP it was prepaid, my car was waiting in an allocated spot with my name displayed on the monitor outside of the office and in the shuttle.
Never went into the office, just showed my Thai licence to the guy on the exit barrier, who didn't bat an eyelid, I wasn't asked for any ID whatsoever.
I booked direct with Avis as they were cheaper than a consolidator, I don't know if that makes a difference.

[FracturedRabbit]

I have rented with Avis the last two times visiting the UK and my 5 years Thai licence was accepted.