Preauthorization payment-advice needed!!

mankycustard

Hello,

I'm having some trouble after staying 2 nights in a spa hotel in America and have no idea what to do to resolve the issue. I pre-paid one night before check in and then handed over my debit card at check in where they put a hold on my card worth the cost of the second night and $100 for incidentals. I was at the end of a trip and decided to treat myself to two nights at a spa. Although I knew I was a little low on money I had budgeted to have enough left over to help pay bills when I got back and enough for food travel etc during my stay.

I had imagined when I checked out they would take the one night from the amount they had put on hold and then refund the $100. However, when I got back I checked my account and the cost of the second night had debited out of my account and the whole amount that was put on hold was still on hold. I contacted the bank and was told the money would be back in my bank the next day. That didn't happen. Meanwhile I contacted the hotel who didn't get back to me. I continued trying to sort it out by going into my bank and was then told that the hotel hadn't cancelled the transaction and it wasn't on it's way back to my account. I finally got hold of someone at the hotel who said that they didn't need to cancel anything as it should have automatically cancelled when I checked out. They gave me information about the fact that both transactions had the same ID number, but when I brought this up with the bank they told me that made no difference and that the hotel had put it through as 2 payments. I was advised that I have to wait 15 working days and by then it should have dropped off and if not then Royal Bank of Scotland will investigate. I am so, so lost about it all and am in serious trouble.

I started a business 10 months ago and had, had to go to America on business. I knew I was tight with money but thought I had a buffer of £200 that I would use for my mid month bills on the business account. It is the first time I have taken time off from my business and so money hasn't been coming in whilst I was away. I have made a little this week but not enough to cover my mid month bills. If the hold is returned before the 15th I'll be fine but if not for the first time since starting up I'll have direct debits that I can't pay. I wish so much I had never walked through the doors of that hotel but I wondered if anyone might know of anything I can do to hurry things up. I have a friend who had the same thing happen but her bank sorted it out within a day. Are RBS just fobbing me off? The last person I spoke to at my bank said they could look at putting a temporary overdraft facility on my account but I have a bad credit rating due to having lived without credit. I was rejected this time last year for business loans and don't want anymore rejections on my credit rating. He said they would run a credit check for the temporary overdraft. I feel both the hotel and the bank are just sending me round in circles and I think it is disgraceful. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Many Thanks!!

innovate

1. Borrow $100 from a friend/family to tide you over.
2. Take this as a lesson- - don't sail so close to the wind in future. Build up 6 months expenses in a savings account, in order to have a buffer to deal with unforeseen issues.

missile

I guess you do not have a credit card?

If you have been trading for only 10 months, I do not understand how you were rejected for a business loan "this time last year"?

A personal overdraft or loan would seem to be your only options. Do it quick or you risk running up fees for going overdrawn and declined DDs.

mankycustard

Thanks for the replies,

Missile, I was rejected this time last year for business start up loans from high street banks. I ended up getting a loan from a not for profit company and set up in October last year. I don't think i have an option of getting an overdraft due to the fact that my credit rating is poor.

Innovate, I'm not out of pocket by $100 from the transaction problem. It is actually $300 that they have put on hold on my account. In an ideal world I would have a buffer in a savings account but believe me the first year of setting up a small business is extremely tough. I will get through this somehow, but had hoped some people may know how to approach my bank in order to reverse the hold that was put on my account.

Thanks anyway

MPH80

By the time you've got through to the right department, they've investigated, and sorted it out, it'll have dropped off anyway.

meer53

Cancel your direct debits if the authorisation hasn't dropped off your account, then pay them yourself when you have the available money.

Pepelepew

Must admit, the same happened to me a few weeks ago. I was on Honeymoon and travelling around america for 2 weeks. Every Hotel took a pre authorisation of our card for, some for more than one nights stay. I had assumed we had massively overspent as 2 weeks after we had returned home we still hadnt had all the pre authorisations back into our account. It took an age.

Each hotel advised this would be held for a few days... not weeks. You will get your money back and I hope you do before the DD are taken. I would plan for them not to be due to recent experience.