Hotel Charged Cancellation Fee That Was Never Stated

*Bargain_Hunter*

Hi,

I was hoping someone could help me with this one...hope i've posted in the right area (nowhere else seemed relevant)

I booked one hotel room on 15th August and 2 rooms on 16th August 2011.

Unfortunately i have had to cancel both rooms so called yesterday afternoon to cancel. The person who answered couldnt deal with it so someone rang me back later. During this conversation i was told, for the first time, i would be charged £10pp cancellation fee which amounts to £40 as i have not given 2 weeks notice .

Following this i have again checked the terms on their website, which state:

Please note that an enquiry does not confirm a booking. Also, we reserve the right to request a non-refundable deposit of £10 per person to confirm any booking made. A confirmed booking is a legally binding contract and as a result you are requested to read these Terms and Conditions carefully and consider holiday insurance prior to making your booking.

Cancellation Policy

Should you cancel your booking within 48 hours of your arrival date, or in the case of a no-show, the person who made the initial booking will be held responsible for payment for the first night for the entire party. Should we be able to re-let your room, then there will be no liability for costs, however, the deposit of £10 per person will be non-refundable.

Plaese note ALL deposits taken are non-refundable.

Nowhere in the terms does it mention a 2 week cancellation policy and they opted not to take a non-refundable £10 deposit per person when i booked.

They have today taken the £40 from my account but i dont feel this is correct as i was never told about it at the time of booking or do they state it in the terms.

Is there anything i can do?

pinkshoes

How much did you pay for the rooms? If it was over £40 per night, then you've got off lightly, as their T&Cs state that you need to pay for the first night unless they re-let it, and also the £10 deposit.

ThumbRemote

pinkshoes wrote: »

their T&Cs state that you need to pay for the first night unless they re-let it, and also the £10 deposit.

No they don't. That only applies if they cancel within 48 hours, which this isn't.

Optimist

I assume you gave your card/bank details given they have now taken the money. They do not have to take the deposit at the time of booking and given the charges they incur if they did then it would be silly of them to do so. You giving the card/bank details gives them the facility to do so if and when they wish, in effect you are guaranteeing the room.

My opinion, they are perfectly reasonable charges at £10 pp and you have little to zero chance of getting them back.

Equaliser123

You cancelled more than 48 hours in advance. I can't see which part of the conditions require you to pay anything.

*Bargain_Hunter*

Optimist wrote: »

I assume you gave your card/bank details given they have now taken the money. They do not have to take the deposit at the time of booking and given the charges they incur if they did then it would be silly of them to do so. You giving the card/bank details gives them the facility to do so if and when they wish, in effect you are guaranteeing the room.

My opinion, they are perfectly reasonable charges at £10 pp and you have little to zero chance of getting them back.

Thanks for that, your probably right! If i was aware of them from the beginning i wouldnt grumble. Its come as abit of a shock being charged £40 and getting nothing.

System

Equaliser123 wrote: »

You cancelled more than 48 hours in advance. I can't see which part of the conditions require you to pay anything.

The one that says a £10 per person deposit may be taken and will not be refunded. The hotel has basically decided to take the £10pp deposit after receiving the cancellation notice, its a bit underhand but there is nothing in the T & C's which says they can't do this

shaun_from_Africa

Equaliser123 wrote: »

You cancelled more than 48 hours in advance. I can't see which part of the conditions require you to pay anything.

Probably this bit.

Also, we reserve the right to request a non-refundable deposit of £10 per person to confirm any booking made.

Plaese note ALL deposits taken are non-refundable

There is nothing stated to say that the deposit will be taken at the time that the booking is made, just that it can be taken.

zzzLazyDaisy

I would be inclined to follow this up, perhaps seek the advice of consumer direct.

Why?

Because they reserve the right to request a £10 non-refundable deposit to confirm the booking.

They didn't do this at the time the booking was made - ie they reserve the right to do this, but in fact chose not to exercise that right.

OP then cancelled the booking. At that point they cannot confirm the booking because it has already been cancelled, so there is no booking to confirm and the contract has already been cancelled. So taking the deposit at that stage seems a little like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

I should say, that I am a lawyer and our brains are hardwired differently to most people, so I am happy to accept that the 'common sense' view may well be different! :A

visidigi

Im confused, how do they know how many people are coming?

Did you actually have to name every person staying in the rooms? Seems VERY odd to have a per person charge instead of per room.

*Bargain_Hunter*

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I would be inclined to follow this up, perhaps seek the advice of consumer direct.

Why?

Because they reserve the right to request a £10 non-refundable deposit to confirm the booking.

They didn't do this at the time the booking was made - ie they reserve the right to do this, but in fact chose not to exercise that right.

OP then cancelled the booking. At that point they cannot confirm the booking because it has already been cancelled, so there is no booking to confirm and the contract has already been cancelled. So taking the deposit at that stage seems a little like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

I should say, that I am a lawyer and our brains are hardwired differently to most people, so I am happy to accept that the 'common sense' view may well be different! :A

Thank you for this! I have completed a form on consumer direct's website as thats how i read the Terms. If they had requested a deposit then fair enough. So we will see what they say.