hotel charges after guest has left

tellustuff

can a hotel make a charge to your credit card after you have checked out? for example if they say a supplied bathrobe was missing and charge you for it. Is it legal to do so without notifying that they are going to make that charge and after you have settled the bill and already left with no way of verifying at what stage if any the robe went missing?

DVardysShadow

I would say it could be a systematic try on. This sort of issue should be resolved at checkout and they should go and look if it is important to them. And I think that they really need an entry inventory if they are going to make this charge. Dispute it as an unauthorised charge.

pento

They may be able to make this charge if you gave them your credit card on check in and authorised it up to a certain amount, say £50, for minibar expenses. But if they do charge then I would definitely dispute it and get the credit card company involved.

unholyangel

It might be in their terms and conditions. You'd have to check and see.

Of course its not unreasonable of them to make a charge for such a thing after check out. Or would you rather them say "leave your room at 8am but you're not allowed to check out until 11am - which gives us time to check you havent stolen or damaged anything?"

The real question is, did you take it? I think everyones guilty of taking the shampoo/soap etc at some point, even if purely for a memento and obviously the hotel put these in the rooms with the expectations they will be used and wont be available to be re-used.

However that is not the case with bathrobes/towels etc. And technically, its theft. It may seem like its not but you're taking their property without their permission and/or without paying.

pulliptears

I would guess they would have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, afterall, cleaners etc would have been in the room after you left so its not unreasonable to think one of them could have taken it, or another guest if the door was open.

I think they would have a hard time enforcing it to be honest. Ask them to supply proof it was you, bet they cant.

Heliflyguy

unholyangel wrote: »

Of course its not unreasonable of them to make a charge for such a thing after check out. Or would you rather them say "leave your room at 8am but you're not allowed to check out until 11am - which gives us time to check you havent stolen or damaged anything?"

I think it is unreasonable as there is no proof that the guest has taken something, also how long was it between the guest checking out and the charge being made?

To say that a guest should leave the room at 8 am and check out at 11am is just daft, any hotel I have stayed in has completed a room check in no more than 20 mins and if the hotel cant do it while the guest waits then they need to organise them selves a bit better.

unholyangel

Morally it all comes down to whether the OP took the bathrobe or not...................

If they did, they can hardly complain they've been charged for it.

And my statement wasnt to be applied in that context. I was referring that they could hardly charge him for it prior to check out as technically, he's not deprived them of their goods until after he's checked out.

One person said if it were that important to the hotel they should have checked then and there. One could equally argue that if its that important to guests, they should demand the room is checked with them being present and a checklist completed so things like this cant happen

Like i said, all comes down to whether they actually took it or not. If they did, then the charge is a consequence of their own (technically criminal) actions.

tellustuff

the charge was reversed by the way. The point here is not whether an item was stolen or not, but what a retailer can do with your credit card details. Would you expect Tesco to make an unattended charge to your card because a couple of day after you shopped there they suspected that you had an extra yoghurt in your pocket. So forgetting the morals of taking something from a hotel room, a retailer cannot make unauthorised charges to your credit card. If they suspect theft they must treat it as theft and seek reimbursement through the courts or other means.

System

I think the travelodge charge you after checkout if you've damaged anything in the room. I imagine the hotels t&c's say they can make charges after checkout for any damages and thefts. By agreeing to stay at the hotel you've agreed to the t&c's.

System

It does sound like you nicked this bathrobe! I think it takes alot of cheek to steal something from a hotel room then when you get charged for the item complain about it! If it was the bank and not the company who reversed the payment then you may get further action from the hotel to recover the cash.

vax2002

Checkout means that Check out, they are supposed to inspect the inventory and declare any damage or missing items, once you have left the room and they have signed of checkout the contract closes.
Always ask for a written receipt that you have checked out and they have inspected the room.
Find a review site and make sure others know of the scam they have just tried to pull.