Travelodge ... A Con ........

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

We've stayed at Travelodge on many occasions and have booked online using our Visa Electron card then paid in cash on arrival or paid at the 'lodge with our card.

We've been unfortunate enough to have to pay the full price as no cheap rooms availabe, now we find that the dates we need AND the lodge we need are available for just £10 per night, great we think & go to book..

Our card isn't accepted online to book the £10 room, We ring the call centre who tell us that Visa Electron can't be used to book any rooms - oh yes it is I reply, "oh no it isn't" she says (bit of a pantomime)

So we're now discriminated against, we can book a £46 room no probs, comes to a £10 or £26 room, no can do

Anyone had similar experience - is this not discrimination against people like us who have no other credit/debit card

Certainly not paying for any more £46 rooms with them

:mad:

jenniferpa

Unfortunately, there are 2 types of Electron card 1 with a CVV number on the signature strip, and 1 without. The second 1 can't be used to order over the internet anywhere. Travelodge (and lots of other suppliers) have chosen not to distinguish between the 2 types, leaving you in your current situation. It seems to depend on who is doing travelodge's cc clearing for them. I do think it's discriminatory, but I don't think there's a lot you can do at present (apart from complaining in writing). When it gets to the point that more and more customers have these cards and companies are losing business I guess things will change. Of course, the hotel industry will be last, since this type of card will never allow you to go overdrawn, and if room damage occurs, they'll have no way of recouping their losses.

Jennifer

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

Thanks for that, ours is the type with the number on the back, it annoys me that for the £46 booking it will go through and yet for the £10 bookings it won't

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

Surely there is more people out there like ourselves who have had this same experience with visa electron ?

Gem_

have you thought about getting a SOLO card? It is the natwest equivilant to Electron and seems to be excepted in slightly more places.

I feel for you in this situation - it is totally unfair of the hotel to behave like this! you could always try contacting trading standards to complain at this duel treatment. Dont know if it would help.

G

Happy_saver_4

These Travelodge deals are a great buy - as you obviously agree.

Why call it a 'con' just because you are not prepared to comply with the Travelodge requirements?

I suggest you either pay the full price or get another card. We have used Nationwide and Barclay debit cards with no problems.

jenniferpa

Happy_saver wrote:

These Travelodge deals are a great buy - as you obviously agree.

Why call it a 'con' just because you are not prepared to comply with the Travelodge requirements?

I suggest you either pay the full price or get another card. We have used Nationwide and Barclay debit cards with no problems.

While I would agree that perhaps con is not quite the right word, you should recognise that a large part of the population, mostly the young or less well paid, are only able to get the Electron card. When you have a company that is happy to allow such a client to pay full price, but won't allow him to purchase a "product" at a lower price that is available to others, I think discriminatory is an appropriate description. It's not even as if the difference in cost would be sufficient to cover them for any possible damages. If the company felt that they might have a problem with "no shows" then they could set up a system whereby they debit the card for the entire cost of the room at booking, and then make a refund. Having said that, I assume the reason they offer these cheap rooms is because they feel that they would not have high occupancy levels without them, so if they had a no show, they'd still have the £10 plus the room would still be available to let at the higher rate, and they wouldn't have to perform housekeeping on it.

Personally, I feel that Visa should get their act together and make it a requirement that if you accept Visa, you should accept all their cards (while allowing for up-front charging as above). If Visa (and their agents, the issuers) don't push this, you've simply ended up with the essentially the same situation as before - cash and non-cash buyers, plus a boatload of cash spent on issuing useless pieces of plastic. Why, for example, you can't use the Electron card for Tesco Online (they're not going to deliver your goods until they've got your money and surely they could obtain the card-holders age before sending prohibited goods) is beyond me.

Jennifer

photome

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD wrote:

Thanks for that, ours is the type with the number on the back, it annoys me that for the £46 booking it will go through and yet for the £10 bookings it won't

I do feel sorry for you, but I guess the reason they accept your card for the £46 booking is that they dont take anything from you whereas the cheap deals have to be paid for when booking.

I know that doesnt help. Do you have family with a different card who could make the booking for you and you pay them.

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

Happy_saver wrote:

These Travelodge deals are a great buy - as you obviously agree.

Why call it a 'con' just because you are not prepared to comply with the Travelodge requirements?

I suggest you either pay the full price or get another card. We have used Nationwide and Barclay debit cards with no problems.

OH WELL JOLLY GOOD FOR YOU MATE !

:mad:

Happy_saver_4

jenniferpa wrote:

While I would agree that perhaps con is not quite the right word,...........

I'm only a simple guy and like to keep things that way.. I either comply with an offer's conditions or I walk away. I don't try and impose my own conditions.

Obviously this is an exceptional offer being made by Travelodge and I suspect they are getting sufficient reservations. Card issuers charge for their services; some more than others. If any Company decides to only accept certain 'cards' I believe it's up to them. I also believe the offer is made on the basis of pre-payment and no refund. This perhaps does not comply with some cards. It's Travelodge making the offer and up to me to accept or refuse.

I'm glad you agree it's not a 'con' as their is definitely nothing close to swindle involved - perhaps the OP should be more careful when making this implication about Travelodge.

I don't know whether making such an untrue defamatory headline regarding Travelodge is against Forum policy.Should the headline be pulled or changed :eek:

andrewmoorcroft

You have definitely not been conned although your payment method does seem to be descriminated against. I expect they have their reasons whether you consider them justified or not.

I can't see why you can't get a friend (with a valid card) to book the room for you and pay them cash. I booked rooms recently and you can fill in online that the room is being booked for someone else. You can then cancel your original rooms at no cost.