hostel in budapest did not take credit card and I am landed with bank charge

jclm_2

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with this question...?!

I went on holiday last month and stayed in (quite a pricey) hostel in Hungary for a week. I booked on Hostel Bookers, and on my credit card paid 10% of the cost of the accommodation, which came to about 300 euros in total. I had a great time at the hostel, lovely staff and great facilities. However, when I went to check out, I discovered that they don't accept credit cards! (why? The only reason I can think of is that this facility incurs a small charge of 2.5% for each transaction.) The fact that they don't accept cards wasn't stated on the website or in the hostel, and in fact I chose this hostel exactly because it accepts card payments (ie from the Hostel Bookers site). I didn't have the full amount in cash and as all my debit/credit cards don't allow cash withdrawals abroad, this was particularly bothersome.

I gave the hostel owner 100 euros (most of the cash I had) and promised to do an international money transfer when I returned to the UK, which seems to be the only way to make the payment. However, I've discovered that to make the payment, it costs 10 euros in bank charges. The owner expects me to pay this extra charge.

My question is, who should pay the 10 euros bank charge for the international money transfer? Should it be me, or the owner of the hostel?

Many thanks for your help

Jclm

mad_rich

Did either Hostelbookers or the hosetl itself explicitly state that they accept cards?

If not, you can't assume that they will. Hostelbookers will, of course, accept cards for the 10% deposit. But for the rest, it's up to you to ensure the financial arrangements are to your liking.

It was very good of the hostel to accept €100 as part-payment. I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to pay the exchange charges, unless they had previously stated that they accept cards.

You could always post the cash (at your risk, obviously)

Edited to add this bit from the Help section on Hostelbookers:

Can I pay at the property by credit card?

Yes, if it mentions this in the facilities list. If not, be prepared to pay the outstanding balance in cash on your arrival.

jclm_2

thanks mad_rich for the opinion...

I still think it's completely bonkers that a hostel in Europe doesn't accept card payments (especially when payments could be for such a large amount of money). But perhaps it's my responsibility to contact the hostel/hotel directly to find out if they accept cards before booking. The real problem of course is not being able to withdraw money abroad however...

more opinions welcome!

jclm

duchy

Hard lesson learned although at least the hostel treated you decently and didn't call the police .
Never assume-always check is definitely the way to go

Volcano

duchy wrote: »

Hard lesson learned although at least the hostel treated you decently and didn't call the police .

Exactly. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for the police to detain you for not paying, whether it was your fault or not.

I would have been so relieved that the manager was trusting enough to let me leave the country without paying, that's there's no way I'd be quibbling over €10. In fact, I'd happily pay him a €20 tip on top by way of thanks, especially as you had such a good time there.

brownbabygirl

Volcano wrote: »

Exactly. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for the police to detain you for not paying, whether it was your fault or not.

I would have been so relieved that the manager was trusting enough to let me leave the country without paying, that's there's no way I'd be quibbling over €10. In fact, I'd happily pay him a €20 tip on top by way of thanks, especially as you had such a good time there.

EXACTLY! I think the original post is a joke.:eek:

jclm_2

many thanks for all the opinions. I feel bad now for making a fuss about 10 euros... I've actually just done the international bank transfer and didn't quibble about the 10 euro charge.

but brownbabygirl, why did you think the original post is a joke?! (do you mean my first post?)

thanks

brownbabygirl

jclm wrote: »

but brownbabygirl, why did you think the original post is a joke?! (do you mean my first post?)

thanks

yes i meant that.i just could not believe you were fussing over the charge after the huge favour the hotel owner had done you. well done, i am glad you sorted it all out.:T

jclm_2

brownbabygirl wrote: »

yes i meant that.i just could not believe you were fussing over the charge after the huge favour the hotel owner had done you. well done, i am glad you sorted it all out.:T

oh right... Now I see.

Perhaps it makes a difference that it was a small youth hostel and I'd gone on a trip organised by the hostel and had got to know the owner and some of the staff quite well, so perhaps that's why they trusted me. It could have also been my Dr status!

I can't imagine that the police would have been so interested, in any case, especially considering that I had promised to do a bank transfer on my arrival in the UK, and considering that the owner of the youth hostel did not have his bank details to hand (so I could not have done the transfer online).

Jclm

Volcano

jclm wrote: »

I can't imagine that the police would have been so interested, in any case, especially considering that I had promised to do a bank transfer on my arrival in the UK,

Just for future reference: if you ever get any problems with the police in a foreign country, 'promising' to sort it out when you get home is extremely unlikely to secure your release The owner sounds like a really nice guy.

Did anyone ever see that Fawlty Towers episode with the guy pretending to be a lord? Priceless stuff........

jclm_2

yeah, the owner was a really lovely person and the hostel got amazing ratings...

Well at least under UK law leaving without paying, and promising to pay later, is not illegal. I imagine it's different in other countries, especially when dealing with foreigners. But then the hostel should have accepted credit cards... I can't believe I'm the only one this has happened to! I've travelled quite a lot, to many hostels and hotels in Europe and it's the first time that a place has not accepted cards.

jclm