Charged for hotel room for someone else!

Viberduo

Just contacted bank who said as I paid by Maestro theres nothing they can do.

So I have just had £20 stolen from me pretty much, not much to most but I am on benefits and this was a one off treat.

keithdc

As it seems to be a non-authorised transaction, did you discuss with you bank whether this constitutes fraud/ theft?

wealdroam

Viberduo wrote: »

Just contacted bank who said as I paid by Maestro theres nothing they can do.

So I have just had £20 stolen from me pretty much, not much to most but I am on benefits and this was a one off treat.

You didn't pay anything.

The hotel took your money without authorisation.

Talk to your bank again... and keep on talking to them until they understand that and refund you.

Viberduo

I think the way the bank sees it as I booked one night and the hotel charged 2 nights therefore its the hotel who has to refund.

wealdroam

Viberduo wrote: »

I think the way the bank sees it as I booked one night and the hotel charged 2 nights therefore its the hotel who has to refund.

Well you tell us in your original post that there are two bookings.
One you made for one night, which you used, and another which your friend tried to make.

Again I say... speak to your bank.
Insist that you only made the one booking for one night.
Insist that the hotel had no authority to make the second charge to your card.

Have a read of MSE's Chargeback article.
I don't think it specifically mentions Maestro, but there is a picture of a Maestro card, thus implying that Maestro cards are also covered by chargeback rules.

Here is a quote from that article...

It's worth noting most bank staff don't really know about this procedure, so you may need to explain it to them.

Viberduo

Sounds correct, when I noticed the charge before I knew it was from them I thought it may have been the new hotel charging me twice by accident so asked and the guy said if they took payment twice the bank could return it.

Also another thing, they charged me a fee, only around 30p a transaction but the 3rd party website does not say they do this but the hotels website says they charge for card transactions, can they do this? I was not informed of that either

terra_ferma

You should also ask for the money from the hotel in writing threatening legal action (search 'letter before action' and you'll find some examples). This may convince them to give you the money back.
Did you explain that they have effectively stolen money from you?
Do they have a head office? Can you escalate your complaint?
Is there any evidence they could produce to claim they had your authorisation?

Fire_Fox

Viberduo wrote: »

I think the way the bank sees it as I booked one night and the hotel charged 2 nights therefore its the hotel who has to refund.

Then you need to make the bank understand, maybe try a written or e-mail explanation. You have been charged for someone else's room booking, the fact that it is your friend is a total red herring if you did not place the booking, you did not use your card, you did not use your account on a booking site.

TBH you are not the best at explaining the situation clearly, I struggled to understand because you brought in irrelevant stuff about another hotel and a second night. Whether the booking was confirmed is relevant to if your friend is liable to pay for a missed booking, it's nothing to with your liability.

Viberduo

Spoke to the branch today and the friendly woman asked a higher up and I made it clear I did not make the booking or authorise the card and they charged me for someone else and again was told all they can do is open a fraud case as maestro cards cannot have chargebacks.

artbaron

A fraud case as you describe it (which is difficult to understand) is exactly what should be happening. It's not a chargeback, it's unauthorised use of your card and therefore fraud.