restaurant taking money from credit card

adbaz

I paid a deposit of £5 per head for a group of us from work who were intending to go for a meal in an indian restaurant locally. We only a couple of weeks before. Then over the next two weeks two people had other commitments, one person was ill and one person was stuckl n the snow. As there was a minimum of 5 people on this night we cancelled by leaving a message on the phone.

When I got my credit card statement i found the full cost of all the meals had been taken out of my card three days after the date we had booked. I phoned the restaurant and was told that it was because we had not gone for the meal. I asked what the deposit was for and when I had been told that the full payment would be taken if we cancelled. i asked what their cancellation policy was. He said it would need 'about 5/6 weeks ' notice to which i replied that we had not booked that far ahead and why wasn't i asked for this full payment (it was a set menu) or at least told of this at the time.

i confidently asked my credit card to claim the money back and have received a letter from tham saying that as the service was available they cannot take the money back.

Is this true? I find it hard to belive. Can I make a small cllaims for this. I never intended to pay for everyones meal and juct collected the deposits. At no time did I give permission for the restaurant to take anything off my card other than the deposits and I was never asked or it was not explained that tmy card would be used in this way. Of course, everyone is keeping their heads down now as they obviously don't want to pay me for something they have not had. i don't blame them.

Any ideas or comments?
Thanks

flexrider

its bolox,

conatct your bank asap, get a imdemmity foam filled out,

metalgal

my dad went through a similar situation in a restaurant. He booked for about 23 people and as it was such a large booking they wanted a 10pp deposit, which would then be taken off the bill so he paid the 230 odd pounds on his card.

We all had a lovely meal and split the bill between us, the next though my dad realised the hadnt taken the £230 he had already paid of the bill. He phoned them on the monday and they said that they had taken the £230 as a tip. Even though we had given them a tip of about £100 on the night. The man on the phone was very rude to my dad and hung up. The funny part is that my dad is solicitor and within an hour a small claims notice was hand delivered to the restaurant. They paid in full there and then and since then we have never went back. They have lost a lot of custom as it was one of my dads favourite places to go.

Try your bank again and if not go for the small claims. Its always worth a try.

CLAPTON

I think you are on unclear legal grounds

if the restaurant can argue that they kept the booking for you and so lost trade then they have a good case in law

I'm surprised however that any restaurant can afford to lose customers like that as I guess you will never go there again.

Sponge

Can you get someobody else to go into the restaurant pretending to be a potential customer asking about a group booking. Get them to confirm their booking/deposit/cancellation procedure. If it's written down on a menu for example, all the better. Then take it from there.

I can understand losing a deposit in such circumstances, that's what they're for. But to lose the potential cost of a meal you didn't eat???

You cancelled the booking, making that slot available to the restaurant again. So for them to complain they lost business puzzles me, as it could have been re-filled. But not as much as your credit card's reply to your chargeback.

I'll certainly learn from your mis-fortune and not volunteer to pay for a group booking myself.

jonesMUFCforever

Why not ask them for all the meals you have paid for?
They can't refuse as you have paid for them.

adbaz

Thanks for all your replies. I wouldn't want to go and claim the food - they might spit in it (or worse)! but it's a good thought. I am shocked that the credit card company is taking this stance. Even if they have a case surely an invoice would be the way to go and not to take unauthorised payments from my cc. Good idea to get someone to go in and see what they have in writing and i will take that up and also consider the legal ground maybe through trading standards and also consider a writ. I have an email reply from them saying that no doubt the money would be refunded by my credit card and how very disappointed they were that they lost the business. So even they believed the cc would be refunded.

adbaz

flexrider wrote: »

its bolox,

conatct your bank asap, get a imdemmity foam filled out,

Thanks for your suggestion. What is an indemnity form and how does it relate to a credit card i.e. do you mean my bank or the one that the credit card is with.

gnaril

its funny peoples posts on here when they have no clue about the chargeback scheme and what can/cant be done.

There is a couple of options I would look to go down with this payment.

1- you aint going to get the deposit back.
2- the bank are right in terms of the additional charge on your account, you can be charged when you are not present- additional charges are allowed- think car hire, hotel same applied.

Contact your bank again ask to speak to someone that deals with precompliance. Unsure if you paid on visa or mastercard. Dont kno the codes off by heart but what you are looking for is.

Non disclosure of cancellation policy. the bank will be able to go at them for this ( based on what you have posted). You will need to put it in writing also as they need to use your documentation for this. Basically you paid deposit for meal/meals. Were unable to go, the merchant have debited you the full amount of the meals however you were not advised over the phone/post their cancellation policy.

Bank should have a good shout at chasing this up.

To be honest, I would have probably went with (hopefully its a Mastercard) Reason code 4859 rs7/ Dispute an Addendum charge. They would have to supply documentation to validate their ability/authorisation to debit you for the no show. Such as a cancellation policy/terms and conditions.

Half the time on here peoples banks seem to be quick of the mark to just not to "attempt" a chargeback. Granted it doesnt always work however I would always try someone that was within the regulations and have it come back than do nothing at all.

Anyways all the best mate I hope you get something sorted.

nomoneytoday

If the meals were chargable, I would ask your colleagues to pay their share of them...

choc_mouse

You never said if you got a cancellation confirmation (as you left a message only) so the restaurant could consider it a "no-show" and can rightly charge the full cost of the meal.

It also depends on how much notice you gave. If you cancelled the same day or the day before, I think many restaurants would have already prepared for your meals (order enough supplies) so may also be within their terms to charge the full amount.

Looking back, it would have been good to call again to confirm the cancellation and make clear what the charges would be.

You could always make this point politely to the manager - profit now and lose regular business and get a bad image from locals. Or refund if they want to see you again and recommend them to others.

If they (or your CC) don't pay up, it's only fair on you if you ask your colleagues to pay up.