Unauthorised charges to my account

TJC2010

Good afternoon,

I've recently gone away on holiday for a long weekend, booked through hostelworld.com (a 10% charge used to secure the booking & also used to claim one nights accomodation fee if you don't turn up) on my Debit card & paid cash on arrival for the rest of the bill.

This was around 3 week ago, this morning i've looked at my online statement to see they've debited my account €251!! Without my consent, or authorisation...or even my knowledge. Of course i rang them up to find out why and they've just stated that the 'carpet required cleaning after we'd stayed, there was a few of us and shared 3 seperate rooms so it's possible i guess, i'm not disputing that. I did however dispute the amount they charged, which they didn't comment on any further & weren't even responsive as to why i hadn't been informed of the charge being made.

I've rang Barclays, told them of this unauthorised charge & they've placed a block on my Debit Card (to which i have to wait 5-7 days for a replacement) & they'll be sending me a form to reclaim the €251 taken from my account.

Should i just leave it at this with regards to the Hostel we stayed at? and have i taken the correct action?

TIA
Tom

Beast

I would suggest finding out from your group if any of them had an interaction with the carpet which might mean it needed cleaning would be the first step.

Secondly, did you sign a contract or any check in documents with the hostel or booking company which agreed to this in the small print?

If so, you may find the charge coming back I'd imagine once Barclays have investigated.

TJC2010

Nothing out of the ordinary, we were in Germany, and at the time the weather was terrible (lots of ice/snow). I can only think something was worked in, there was any kind of dirty protest or the like!

I didn't sign anything on arriving - we all just stumped up the money to pay for the rooms... they've retained my card details from the booking i made with hostelworld.com and just debited my account with what they think is a fair amount.

Surely they would have to atleast invoice me? as opposed to just taking money, isn't that class as theft?

Equaliser123

TJC2010 wrote: »

Nothing out of the ordinary, we were in Germany, and at the time the weather was terrible (lots of ice/snow). I can only think something was worked in, there was any kind of dirty protest or the like!

I didn't sign anything on arriving - we all just stumped up the money to pay for the rooms... they've retained my card details from the booking i made with hostelworld.com and just debited my account with what they think is a fair amount.

Surely they would have to atleast invoice me? as opposed to just taking money, isn't that class as theft?

No it isn't theft...

Sounds like you know what they are claiming for. Let's be honest and have the full story.

TJC2010

There isn't a full story to be had, i've already told you the weather was terrible over there so the only thing i can think of is dirty foot prints. It isn't like there was faeces up the wall or anything.

Are they allowed to just take the money without consent? I didn't sign any kind of contract when i entered the hotel, we just paid the remaining balance. I've checked the terms and conditions of the deposit paid and it doesn't state that the card will be used in the event of damage/cleaning costs.

RadoJo

I would have thought that the inus was on them to prove that the charge was justified, rather than on you to prove that it wasn't, and if your contract makes no mention of cleaning costs being covered, then they are presumably on shaky ground. However, they already have your money so it sounds like you're in for a bit of a struggle!

Have you contacted HostelWorld and asked them to intervene? Seeing as they are the agents who made the booking I would have thought they would bear some responsibility for helping you to resolve it.